Architect of Temporary Worlds

I design theatrical environments for plays, readings, political theater, and experimental performance. My work combines visual storytelling and video to create spaces that emotionally shape audience experience. I typically design for productions with ambitious ideas, limited budgets, unconventional spaces, and fast schedules.

“Susan Shaw is a trusted collaborator with a rare combination of talents: the eye of an accomplished visual artist and a deep mastery of dramatic form. I never want to do another show without her!”

— Wayne Maugans, Artistic Director,
Voyage Theater Company

MOTHERANIMAL — digital scenery by Susan Shaw

Who I AM

Scenic Designer & Visual Artist

Susan Lysbeth Shaw is a Scenic & Environmental Designer and Visual Artist Creating theatrical worlds for plays, political performance, public events, and experimental theater. From Lincoln Center and the New York Public Library to intimate Off-Off Broadway productions.

“Susan Shaw created digital scenery for a production of my opera The Golden Gate. It was fantastic, and she’s a great collaborator. She did it under a crazy tight schedule, completely responsive to the needs of the production, and the result was polished, elegant, and deeply expressive. She’s the best.”

— Conrad Cummings, Composer

Shaw designs environments that shape how audiences experience story, space, and collective imagination. By fusing design, engineering, and strategy, solutions are crafted that challenge conventions and unlock new possibilities for progress.

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