Behind the scenes and designing dreams: Theatre alumna Catherine Pratt's journey into lighting and design

The auditorium is shrouded in darkness. Audience members are waiting in suspense as the cast takes their places on the center stage. The curtain pulls back, the introductory background music has begun, and the only thing still necessary for the show to truly begin … is the lights. 

Alumna Catherine Pratt '17 understands the importance of impactful lighting in theatre as she is a freelance lighting designer and technician. Since graduating from Mount Marty with her bachelor's in theatre for technical design, she has worked on more than 100 productions and contributed lighting and design work to more than 50 of them. "I love the intangible parts of lighting — how with a few small changes, we are able to adjust the mood, focus and feel of the production," Pratt said. "My designs always flow and breathe throughout the performance, matching what the actors are bringing forth in the scene to help support them, while also informing the audience of what they should be feeling and paying attention to."

How it began

Pratt began her time at Mount Marty as an education and chemistry major, but after the first week of classes, Pratt knew this wasn't the path for her.

"Around that time, I got to know the theatre faculty and came to realize that you could get a degree in theatre and have a career in it outside of community theatre or working in a high school setting," Pratt explained. "Both Andy and Jim inspired me to change my degree to theatre, as I loved being in the theatre constantly and was enjoying my work as the stage manager on the production of ‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at that time.’"

Pratt spoke of Mount Marty's Andrew "Andy" Henrickson, theatre director, and James "Jim" Hovland, technical director and designer. With Henrickson and Hovland's guidance, Pratt was able to receive hands-on experience at Mount Marty through her classes and hours as a theatre work study. Pratt said, "For each production during my time there [at Mount Marty], I was able to have a major design or technical role to give me the opportunity to apply what I was learning in my classes to actual work."

Pratt said her fondest memories were in the Mount Marty theatre. "Even through the work of getting productions ready for shows, we always managed to have fun while doing it. I still remember stapling hundreds of lauan bricks to the set for 'Little Shop of Horrors.'"

Setting the stage for success

Following graduation, Pratt interned for two years with Kalamazoo Civic Theatre as their lighting and sound design intern. She was able to take all she learned at Mount Marty to the stage, where she worked on more than 30 shows in those two years. Pratt said, "This provided a great transition from academics to professional work and allowed me to really say, ‘Yes! I want to be a lighting designer.’"

After her internship, Pratt decided to attend graduate school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to earn her master's in fine arts (MFA), as she knew her long-term goal was to work in higher education. During her time in graduate school, Pratt was able to hone her skills and even teach some courses as a graduate assistant. She also earned a teaching certificate in higher education from University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"I knew getting my MFA would open doors to work in higher education, but I did not realize how many other doors it would open," Pratt said. "Through my experience and connections, I was able to find work designing right away after graduate school."

Career and passion align

Pratt began to provide freelance work in the Las Vegas Valley while teaching part time at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She also joined 4Wall Entertainment as the prep coordinator and oversaw numerous productions. Since 2022, Pratt has worked with companies such as Sierra Repertory Theatre, Rainbow Company Youth Theatre, Opera Las Vegas, Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Super Summer Theatre, PS Productions, Signature Productions, Metropolis Theatricals, Green Valley Baptist Church, the Laguna Dance Festival, the Las Vegas Men's Chorus and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Performing Arts Center. 

"For me, I love the creativity and collaboration behind lighting and theatre," Pratt said. "In all other art forms, you can sit in a room by yourself, create something and then show the world. In theatre, it's the opposite. Lighting is only one portion of each production. Without scenery, without costumes, or actors, there is nothing to light. My passion and creativity comes to life when I am able to collaborate with everyone to discover how to incorporate lighting with the rest of the production." Pratt also said she loves using color in her work as she researched color psychology in graduate school. "It is a really strong tool to subconsciously let the audience know what is happening emotionally."

Pratt mentioned two productions she is most proud of, but for different reasons.

In 2023, Pratt worked on the show "Behold the Man," an opera performed in Las Vegas. For this world premiere, Pratt was doing both lighting and projection. The opera's plot portrays the real-life events of a small church in Borja, Spain, and a failed restoration of the church's special painting. In this production, all scenery elements were projected, including the painting.

A challenge Pratt encountered in this project arose in the second act of the opera, when the painting needed to move and follow the singer on stage. "This became a huge challenge for me as I had never done it before. During tech week, we went through new recordings each day to try to make it all work. We even rerecorded parts before opening to fine-tune the final product. I vividly remember being in the booth for the show, hoping it would all time out right. Somehow, between the maestro, singer and myself calling the show, we got the timing perfect and the audience loved it."

Pratt was also proud of her work on Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High School production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 2025. Pratt said she enjoyed working with the students and their director, Elena Ferrante-Martin, who pushed Pratt in her design skills and provided her with new opportunities.

In "Jesus Christ Superstar," a scene featured no action and required musical coverage. Pratt's only instruction was to continue with the rock and roll theme. "This was a lot of fun to play with," Pratt said. "Right out of the light show, the apostles enter, and Elena had them blocked to turn around in their positions to face the front one by one. I decided to continue the rock and roll lighting feel and have a strong downlight come up on each apostle as they turned. The chills we all had in the room the first time we ran this will stay with me forever. It became a powerful moment and really set the stage for the rest of the number."

Photo by Catherine M. Pratt. Jesus Christ Superstar, Bishop Gorman High School, February 2025. Directed by Elena Ferrante-Martin. Lighting Design by Catherine M. Pratt. Scenic Design by Elena Ferrante-Martin & Michael Martin. Costume Design by Tammy Silva-Pessango. Sound Design by Michael Martin.

Returning to the classroom

Earlier this year, Pratt recognized her desire to return to teaching full time. In January, Pratt accepted the lighting coordinator faculty position with Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Each semester, Pratt will teach three classes and work as a production electrician on the school's seven shows produced throughout the year.

"I am excited to be in the classroom full time and be able to help students learn and grow," Pratt said. "I love seeing their light bulb moments, especially when they can take concepts and ideas in the classroom and realize, hands on, how we apply them to various productions." As the year continues, Pratt also hopes to establish herself in the Nashville theatre community as a freelance lighting designer and electrician and live out both of her passions — teaching and freelancing.

Pratt said that something she brings into her teaching style that Henrickson and Hovland inspired is the value of student connections. "Each semester, both Jim and Andy worked to make each student feel a part of our theatre community. Looking back, the relationship we built together as well as what I saw them build with other students has really stuck with me and made me realize that while we are teaching various class subjects, the relationships we build are just as important."

Sharing of knowledge

Pratt's advice to anyone pursuing a career in lighting and design is to get involved on and off campus. "Getting to work on each production produced during my time there [at Mount Marty], being involved with the Dakota Theater, doing work calls with the Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion, as well as doing summer stock with the Betty Ling Tsang Summer Fine Arts Series, Northern Fort Playhouse and the Clinton Area Showboat really gave me the opportunity to push myself as a theatre technician and gave me the experience needed to find work."

She also said never to underestimate the power of networking. "So much of the work I was able to get in Las Vegas came from word of mouth. Someone would be looking for a designer, and my name would be given. Soon, I would have people calling me to see if I could design for them, troubleshoot or provide last-minute help. Along with that, even on bad days, have a smile and stay calm. It helps the process way more than you think it does."

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About Mount Marty University

Founded in 1936 by the Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic, Benedictine institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, recreation management, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.