faculty

Jonathan Hicks, M.F.A.

Associate Professor Theatre Arts, Co-Chair and Director of Film Studies Minor
(805) 451-9107

Office Location

Porter Hall 111B

Office Available

By Appointment

Specialization(s)

Lighting and sound design, technical direction, production management, and color theory

Biography/Details

Jonathan D. Hicks oversees the Westmont College Theatre Arts department Design and Technology program. Jonathan is an active member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Local 442. He is currently the Locals Secretary-Treasurer and a regular member of the unions collective bargaining agreement committees, as well as a Department Head at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara.

Between 2014 to 2019, he regularly designed lights with the Lit Moon Theatre Company. During the summers of 2015 to 2017, Jonathan traveled with the Lit Moon Theatre Company to present Hamlet, Julius Caesar & Richard III, as well as a series of staged sonnets at the Bitola Theatre Festival in Macedonia as the lighting designer. In 2015, as part of the larger “Bit Fest” in Bitola, Jonathan developed the lighting design for Lit Moon’s production of The Cherry Orchard. This adventure was part of a two-year project in conducting research about different approaches to lighting design in Macedonia. In the fall of 2016, Hamlet & Julius Caesar productions were remounted as part of the 2016 Shakespeare@400 festival in Santa Barbara.

His work on the Executive Board of IATSE Local 442 ranges broadly from supporting the Business Agent with contract negotiations to working closely with the Qualifications, Training and Recruitment officer to support the various needs of over 300 stagehands in the Tri-County area (Santa Barbara, Ventura & San Luis Obispo).  His work with Local performing arts venues provides hands-on experiences for Westmont College Theatre and Film students.

MFA, Lighting Design, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

BA, Theatre Arts, Westmont College