Jaymi Lee Smith

Jaymi Smith has been designing for theater around the country for more than 20 years. Her work includes four seasons at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, where she designed the lighting for 16 productions; Two Trains Running, The Taming of the Shrew and the upcoming Great Expectations at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; The Wiz and Rocky Horror at Dallas Theater Center; Peter and the Starcatcher and Topdog/Underdog at South Coast Repertory; the world premiere of The Who and the What at La Jolla Playhouse; Smart Cookie at Alliance Theatre; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune at Hartford Stage; Orlando and Mary Stuart at Court Theatre; Among the Thugs and Anna in the Tropics at Goodman Theatre; No Place Like Home, Uncle Vanya, The Dazzle, Absolution and The Ordinary Yearnings of Miriam Buddwing at Steppenwolf; Tug of War at the Getty Villa; and the national tour of John Astin’s Once Upon a Midnight.

Her work has also been seen at Denver Center Theatre Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Clarence Brown Theatre, The Pearl Theatre, Victory Gardens, Marin Theatre Company, Redmoon, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Naked Eye Theatre Company, Lookingglass, Milwaukee Repertory, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Madison Repertory, San Jose Repertory and Hartford Stage, among many others. She was a founding member of Naked Eye Theatre Company and an ensemble member of The Next Theatre and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in Chicago.

In addition to theatrical design, Smith has created scenic and projection designs for dozens of productions, worked as an architectural lighting consultant on more than 350 private residences, designed four restaurants in Chicago, and produced more than 50 special events for nonprofits, red-carpet events and private parties.

Her production management work includes serving as senior production manager for KBA Marketing, which produced more than 10,000 events annually for clients such as Coca-Cola, RJ Reynolds and Nike. She managed the groundbreaking citywide Chicago festival Theatre Fever, featuring 80 theaters presenting free workshops and performances. Smith also served as producer for The League of Chicago Theatres for seven years, overseeing galas, media events and community conferences. Additional credits include Outfest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Mrs. T’s Triathlon.

Smith trained in the conservatory program at The Theatre School, DePaul University. In 2003 she received the Michael Merritt/Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award. She earned a 2010 Joseph Jefferson Award for Mary’s Wedding with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, and has been nominated for Jeff Awards for Orlando at Court Theatre, The Incident with The Next Theatre, Terrible Girls with About Face, Yellowman with The Next Theatre and Offspring of the Cold War with Walkabout Theatre. She received a Column Award for Rocky Horror at Dallas Theater Center and a Henry Award nomination for Animal Crackers at Denver Center Theatre Company.

Her teaching experience includes adjunct faculty roles at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Associated Colleges of the Midwest and The Theatre School, DePaul University.