Andrew Carson is associate professor of lighting design and head of the lighting design area at Shenandoah Conservatory, where he is delighted to be in his eleventh year teaching and designing. With more than twenty years of professional experience, Carson’s work spans theatre, musical theatre, opera, dance, concerts, television, and performance facility design.

His credits include the world premiere, national tour, and PBS telecast of Considering Matthew Shepard with Conspirare. His designs have been seen at Boston Symphony Hall, Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater, the Savannah Music Festival, and the historic Barn Theatre. Selected productions include American Idiot, Rock of Ages, Mary Poppins, Pippin, A Chorus Line, and The Full Monty. At Shenandoah, his designs have included numerous conservatory and Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre productions, including Jersey Boys, Grease, West Side Story, Newsies, 42nd Street, and Young Frankenstein.

Carson’s work has been recognized with the Suzi Bass Award, the Oscar Wilde Award, and multiple regional BroadwayWorld Awards. He is also a recipient of Shenandoah University's Wilkins Award.

In addition to his academic work, Carson is the founder and managing partner of Carson & Associates Design, the professional design and consulting practice he established in 2006. The firm’s work encompasses lighting design, theatre consulting, and performance-facility planning.

Carson holds a Master of Fine Arts in Theatrical Design from The University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Production Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he graduated magna cum laude.

Carson continues to balance an active professional design practice with teaching and mentoring the next generation of designers and is always glad when those two worlds come together onstage.