We recently connected with Minjoo Kim and have shared our conversation below.

Minjoo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

My days as a restless 17-year-old teenager were ordinary and dull as I spent many sleepless nights tossing and turning concerned about my future. I was very indifferent to everything at least until my music teacher made us watch the musical “Aida”. This film rendition of the play, brightly projected in the dark classroom was fascinating to the point where my eyes and ears were captivated. As I became overwhelmed by its grand scale, blasting sound of memorable songs, and brilliant lighting in various colors, every sense, and organ of my body began to wiggle, along with the play. It was not until after the last light had dimmed that I was able to draw my breath back, as I had watched the entire play in a state of awe. As the darkened classroom returned to a state of brightened normalcy, I felt a bright light shining down in the corner of my heart that had, for so long, been colorless. Just as when a play starts, the lighting shines down on a dark pitch stage, the first light showing the start of my dream that had for a long time been in darkness, shined on me. My dilemma over my future was solved. Afterward, I gradually became interested in ‘performance’ and the space called ‘theater’. I became greatly interested in how every visual component of the stage, such as how the prop, color, and effect were materialized. I was completely captivated by an intangible material called ‘light’. I became even more fascinated by light in the sense that it could not only fill space, and express atmosphere, but also how it could express many other things, even in an empty space, through color, texture, and direction.

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

I am a lighting designer who is on a never-ending quest of understanding the perpetually fascinating facets of light. Working as a theatrical lighting designer in Korea, China, and the United States, I developed a keen eye for lighting and honed her drafting skills. Using hands-on techniques from live productions, I can approach design from dynamic and diverse visual perspectives. I always give myself time to experience and learn many things without limitations. It gives me chances of meeting diverse people as well as genres that I have not experienced. I believe not only learn a lot from the great intuitions of theater-makers but also have invaluable experience in cooperating with them. Through these experiences, I wish to deliver a message: Everyone can make theater and art if you are eager to do it regardless of who they are or where they belong.
Collective lighting design credits include Sh-Boom(Sierra Rep), Twelfth Night(Synetic Theater), A Few Good Men(Bristol Riverside Theatre), Henry V(Chesapeake Shakespeare Company), Water by the Spoonful(Cygnet Theatre), The Royale(KC Rep), Life Sucks(Cygnet Theatre), The Great Leap(Round House Theatre), The Chief(Pittsburgh Public Theater), One in Two(Diversionary Theatre), Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies(Mile Square Theatre), The Two(Space Owul), The Great Leap(Cygnet Theatre), Quiet No More(San Diego Women’s Chorus), Qulili(The Blindspot), IDEAS-Cetacea(Calit2 Theater, Atkinson Hall), Crimson Girl(Dongsoong Art Center), Die or Not(Seoul Art Space Mullae), Mask on/off(Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre).
Othello got selected in the Emerging Artist/Imagination Exhibit from the USA at Prague Quadrennial in 2019 and Emerging Artist Exhibition of World Stage Design 2022.
Website: minjoo-design.com

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Early in my career, I mostly focused on how the lighting looked great, and how the show is having good reviews. Specifically, I was very satisfied when the lighting, sound, and actors work perfectly together. It gives me euphoria. It made me feel like all the particles correlate and worked together. More and more I work on diverse shows with different types of audiences, I feel a sense of achievement from reactions of the audience. During the preview, I mostly sat in the back seat so I can glimpse the audience. I’m happy to see people enjoy the shows the whole team creates. It makes everyone who works for the show satisfied that we can provide them time to laugh, be glad, sad, and cry.
I had a show at Sierra Rep recently, and I spoke with one of their board members. She mentioned she thinks the theater makes the town better by providing them with a variety of entertainment. It makes me think that it’s okay to work on any show if we can give the audience a good time.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish that I knew the power of comprehensive knowledge in various genres. Studying any kind of art including music, poetry, painting, photography, architecture, etc makes you gain a well-rounded and extensive knowledge. It opens your eyes of visual effects and will enhance the ideas and skill of lighting.

I started to get into “Art” when I was 4 years old. I started playing piano dreamed of being a pianist and began to learn painting and dreamed of being a designer. And then studying theatrical lighting design. When I design lighting I am influenced by my experience in painting. I think I developed my eyes in visual art during that time period.

I’ve always used images for research for my idea resources. Because the image is the visual resource. One day in a class in grad school, the professor gave me a book and found a page or paragraph as my lighting idea. I wasn’t sure how text can be a research for the lighting design ideas. I started reading the book with suspicion, and I found out in one paragraph that I can perfectly imagine the scene. I felt the air, sound, landscape, and lighting. This experience broadens my boundary of lighting.

Contact Info:

• Website: minjoo-design.com
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/minjookim0129

Image Credits
The Royale: Don Ipock Life Sucks: Karli Cadel A Few Good Men: Mark Garvin