In the newest production from the Ursinus College Theater Department, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, one student earned her title as the first ever student Lighting Designer on a department production. Caitlin Shanahan ’26 was awarded the opportunity to become the first Ursinus student to hold the position. “Typically for Ursinus College Theater, we have professional directors, faculty directors, and then we work with professional designers in the Philadelphia area,” commented Professor and Director Domenick Scudera. “This year, we have an advanced student who has been working in design and technology,” he continued. Shanahan was invited to be the Lighting Designer for the show, making her presence known in the Ursinus history books. “It is the first time in Ursinus College Theater history, I think, that we’ve had a student design the entire lighting design for a show,” continued Scudera. Shanahan is a Media and Communication Studies (MCS) as well as a Performing and Visual Arts Design and Technology (PVDT) major, giving her the experience necessary to be considered for the position. “I felt very honored to be trusted as the first student to hold the position. It meant a lot to me that my professors believed in my creative abilities, and also that they believed I could handle the huge time commitment and technical difficulty of the show,” expressed Shanahan. For those unfamiliar with the play’s format, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind is a series of 30 plays in 60 minutes. Audience members shout out numbers to the actors on stage, generating a random order in which the play is performed. This provides a unique challenge on Shanahan’s part. “Since the show is not in the same order every night it was an extra challenge in regards to tech. It was also challenging figuring out where to physically put the lights, and I had to make many, many revisions leading up to the show,” she explained. Despite the challenge, Shanahan rose up to the occasion. “Once the technical side was figured out things got easier, especially because the show is well thought out on the part of the director and other members of the design and production team,” remarked Shanahan. She credits her professor, Theater Department Chair Shann on Zura, for giving her guidance during this process.