Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ningning Yang. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ningning, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about innovation. What’s the most innovative thing you’ve done in your career?

Scenic Design is usually understood as creating a space that holds and assists the storytelling of a show. It can be an emotional space, or a realistic, tangible space. Though I do work within the confines of that idea, and couldn’t help becoming interested in merging my interest in audiovisual relationship into my set designs.
I find the collaboration of visual movement or stillness while combined with sound able to create and distort experiences in a magical way. I started making installations that explore this phenomenon and also have been embedding opportunities of visual movement into my scenic design.
For Pippin at Syracuse University, directed by Torya Beard. I designed multiple movement pieces into the set. Curtains that are traveling on ring curtain tracks, a large spin wheel that glows as the actors spin it, brick walls that glow through the mortar joint. This design made more movements between the cast and the set possible, and serving the magical music of the show. It was quite an experience tickling more senses of the audience while they enjoy the show.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Ningning Yang is a scenic designer for theatre and screens. Also an exploring artist currently interested in the audiovisual experience. Born and raised in China, she pursued fine arts until she fell in love with theatre through bootlegs and occasional touring shows, then decided to come to the US to pursue scenic design. She is a Syracuse University and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama alumni.

For Ningning, scenic design is translation- I work to understand the core of the story and the vision of my collaborators, translating into something tangible. A “physical world” that works with movement and time to serve the storytelling.
Recent & upcoming productions include Recurring & House of Blue Robes (LAByrinth Theater Company), Dragon Mama & WTF Cabaret (Williamstown Theater Festival), Pippin (Syracuse University Drama Department), Ariodante (Pittsburgh Opera) and she has also designed for three site-specific productions with Southern Plains Productions that took place in a planetarium, a farmers market and a mercantile.

Ningning also enjoys creating audiovisual installation pieces that immerse, interact, and heal. She spent the past several years mainly pursuing scenic design, but found herself connecting with other mediums like performance art, installations and music. Creating is about sharing your voice with others, to connect and provoke resonance, thoughts or empathy. Ningning is always looking for new ways of creating, inspiring and raising questions.
In her installations, Ningning creates environments that are interactive with either the performer or the audience. Connecting the senses- touch, visual movement and sound to create an immersive experience. Trying to bridge storytelling and tactile experiences that exist between senses, not just language. She has explored themes such as commenting on bureaucracy, the environment/dystopia as well as healing. She is interested in exploring ways of enhancing interaction such as integrating sensors, as well as audience driven movements in the installations.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Coming to the US to pursue theater when I was 18, having spent my entire life in China, I was a bit shaken by the culture shock. It would take me twice the amount of time to read a script which is a very important part of the job for any theater artist. I was a bit distraught at the beginning, but realized the ability of understanding a story shouldn’t be limited by language. The emotion and thought provoking morals hidden behind each story can be shared. I started first by reading the stories in both mandarin and english, then signed up for more script analysis classes and directing class. Slowly my ability to reading improved and I gained confidence at being able to understand the core of the story, the motive of the writers very precisely. I realized that language didn’t equal to great understanding, practicing empathy and sensitivity to emotions really helped me cross that bridge.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal of healing and promoting peace, and learning about shared experiences is definitely at the forefront of my creative motives. I really do believe that by consuming art, people are changed and influenced.
Doing art that can touch someone, or change someone’s mind, even if the someone is just 20 people, I feel gratitude and abundance, and that the work is worthwhile.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ningningyang.com
• Instagram: ningning39y

Image Credits

Dave Rubin
Laurel Hinton
Arden Grace