Sean has been designing for the theater since 1995. His interest in theatrical design can be traced back to helping his mother build scenery for school productions as a teenager and a great admiration for his architect grandfather, Wesley Barnum. Sean attended University of Portland in Portland, Oregon for his undergraduate program. This small, close-knit program provided Sean with a wealth of opportunity to study and apply his design skills. His first mainstage scenic design received a Meritorious Achievement Award from the American College Theater Festival (ACTF); his senior project, a set and light design of Twelfth Night garnered him a National Finalist Award. He received a Bachelor of Arts in theatre with an emphasis in design and a minor in philosophy in 1998.
Sean elected to continue his study of theater at Boston University and in 2001 was awarded a Master of Fine Arts in Scenic Design. While at BU he had the privilege of studying with two great scenic designers, Jim Noone and Robert Morgan, both of whom had a great influence on Sean's innovative yet technically grounded style.
Sean has designed for Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, NH; Boston Director's Lab, Rough and Tumble Theatre, The Theatre Cooperative, Riverside Theatreworks, Boston University Theatre and Boston University Opera Instititute, all in the greater Boston area. In Portland Sean designed for Mock's Crest Productions, Stark Raving Theatre and University of Portland. He spent one season as Assistant Designer at Summer Repertory Theatre in Santa Rosa, CA and two summers as a painter with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, Colorado. In 2001 Sean accepted the position of Technical Director and Designer at Noble and Greenough, an independent school in Dedham, MA, where he produced and/or oversaw all aspects of scenic, lighting and props design/production while teaching classes in design, directing and acting.
Sean, a native Californian, has recently relocated to Chicago with his wife Jennifer and looks forward to joining the thriving "windy city" theater scene. He can be contacted at [email protected].