Sean Cavanagh - biography

Training:                               St Martin's School of Art, London (1967-1968)

                                             Central School of Art & Design, London, under Ralph Koltai, (1968-1971)

                                             Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, under Douglas Heap (1971-1972)

Qualifications:                      Theatre Design (Central Diploma)

                                             Theatre Design (RADA Diploma)

Professional Experience:    49 years experience as a major UK Theatre Designer of over three hundred and fifty major productions and events both in the UK and abroad including: London/West End (33) - Musicals & Operas (47) - Contemporary (180) - Classics (54) –Corporate (24)

Currently Associate Director of the York based Riding Lights Theatre Company and an associate of the Lighthouse Theatre Company in Wales.

Designer of the 2001 World Premier of Ben Hur the Musical in Singapore, David Oyelowo’s 2006 production of The White Devil, the acclaimed 2012 production of the York Mystery Plays, the 2016 production of Dracula in Bangkok and Singapore and the subsequent 2018 UK tour and the Hungarian production of the musical Pickwick  for the Hungarian National Theatre in Budapest.  Nominated as Designer of the Year in 1994 for his designs for Of Mice and Men

Head of Design for the Leeds Playhouse (1974-1975), Plymouth Theatre Company (1980-1982), Theatre Royal Plymouth (1982-1984) and Riding Lights Theatre Company (1990 – present)

Responsible for overseeing aspects of 2 new theatre building programmes and organisation.  (Plymouth Theatre Royal & Friargate Theatre, York)

Designed and developed the scenery and rostrum system FORMid for the theatre, television and film industries.  [SC1] Designer of Award winning Trade Show stand for FORMid for 1987 ABTT Trade Show. 

Experienced in 2 Dimensional and 3 Dimensional CAD

Academic Experience:        20 productions designed and supervised for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.  Has lectured on theatre design throughout the UK and for the Annual Semester in London of the Colgate College USA.

New directions:                    The recent Covid lockdown has given Sean the opportunity to design and build an ambitious environmentally sensitive low impact house in Wales and to further develop his digital skills for the Virtual productions of Breaking Day and Pericles recently produced by Riding Lights Theatre Company.

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