Jay is always proud to announce that he is originally from Brooklyn, NY.  Now he finds himself sharing that statement with how proud he is to serve as the chair of the Theatre Department at Towson University in Maryland.  Of course what tops the list of pride are his two children,  Asher and Seth and the life he shares with his wife Donna.

 

Jay holds a BA degree in theatre from Brooklyn College, and an MFA in theatrical lighting design from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.  He teaches courses in lighting design, sound design, CAD,  and Introduction to American Theatre.  Jay has been extremely active in the South Eastern Theatre Conference and has offered workshops almost every year for the past 14 years. He has traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia and Cairo, Egypt to show MFA work from Towson University

 

Since moving to the Baltimore/Washington area,  Jay has designed lighting and sound in the region and was gifted with  the Helen Hayes award  for outstanding lighting design in 2000.  He is the resident lighting designer for the Everyman Theatre in Baltimore and has numerous designs with Repstage, Woolly Mammoth and Theatre J (all in Washington DC) . Recently he designed lighting for “Two Front Teeth” a horror/comedy/KungFu spectacular coming to a Blockbuster video near you in October 2008.

 

Previous to landing in Maryland he designed many plays and dance concerts in New York City theatres such as LaMama and Theatre for the New City, has sailed the seas with Norwegian Cruse Lines and spent his early years as the Master Electrician for shows at Lincoln Center, City Center, and so many other stages of New York.  

 

 

Jay plans to visit Russia in 2008 as part of Towson’s upcoming event  that will welcome Russian directors to stage new plays by young Russian Playwrights.

 

Jay is a member of United Scenic Artists-  Local 829