Christopher R Boltz has been designing various elements of theatre since the early 1990s. He made the transition from young actor to magical effects designer for a production of Once Upon a Mattress for Ephrata Playhouse in the Park (Ephrata, PA). He found the world of design exciting enough to make a career choice of it. Since then his main focus has been scenic and lighting design for theatre and live events.In 2002, he completed a Masters Degree in Theatrical Design at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Beyond just designing, Chris has spent the last several years training the next generation of designers and technicians. He taught in U.S.C.’s high school outreach program, as an adjunct professor at Cypress College in Orange County California, and is currently a tenured faculty member at Fresno City College in central California. Chris was one of the original instructors with Fresno County Office of Education’s STAGES Project, which brings quality theatre education to high school students in short summer intensives based on devised theatre techniques.
His great love of dance lighting led him to work with the Gabriella Axelrad Foundation’s “Everybody Dance!” designing their season end concert at various venues in Los Angeles. He is a member of U.S.I.T.T. and was privileged to work on their exhibit for the Prague Quadrennial in 2003.
When not designing, he can be found attending the theatre, writing plays, composing songs, playing with his pets, and bicycling around Fresno.