We recently connected with Nicole Blodig and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
This is a great question, and now is when I get sappy. My most meaningful project was from this last fall, when I was the lighting designer for “rockabye, or: a play about a tree” written by my colleague Meg Mechelke. This might be kind of ramble-y, so bear with me (I just have a lot of great feelings about this project). The University of Iowa’s theatre department is big on new works, and it is so fulfilling to work on something that is 100% original. So, “rockabye”: one of the greatest pieces I have ever seen. What I admire most about Meg is how they are so unapologetically who they are. The things they feel, think, believe, Meg just embraces all of it and whatever comes with it. Which is what makes “rockabye” so great because the play just… is the way it is. It’s funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming, strange, and all together a beautiful hodgepodge of everything that makes us human. This project was so exciting because it lives in this absurdist, melancholy, existential kind of world that many often shy away from, but is where I find myself most comfortable.
With all of that in mind, let me talk about why this was so meaningful. The way I design is very in tune with emotion and that tends to be what I choose to represent on the stage through color, patterns, angles, and movements, and with “rockabye” I wasn’t afraid to be bold with heavy saturation, varieties of angle, and sometimes hardly lighting the actors’ faces. Designing a show that deals with such a wide range of emotion that also lives in this aforementioned existential world is kind of my dream — I could focus in on all of the things I love about lighting and wasn’t worried about not being realistic enough. I focused in on moments of subtraction, which are just as powerful as the big, bright moments. It was so easy to get started designing because I was easily able to connect to the characters and the message of the play through all of the raw emotion at hand. The way they spoke, moved, behaved was the same way we all do. Somehow, I knew exactly how to express everything, and it felt like all of us got things right on the first try. It was one of the smoothest and most uplifting projects I have ever worked on; this project really affirmed my choices as a designer and solidified my style for myself. I still think about it often and carry this passion with me to each new project.
Nicole, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Nicole Blodig, and I am a lighting designer and rising fourth year at the University of Iowa. At the University of Iowa, I am earning my BA in Theatre Arts on the design track with a Studio Art minor. My love of lighting design lives in the theatrical and dance worlds that allow me to emphasize emotion and generative qualities of light over realism and narrative qualities (though, I often find myself doing a lot of both.) Through lighting, I’ve begun to dive into the world of media design and am working to explore that path through live performance and concerts in conjunction with lighting.
Ever since I was young, I knew my career would be something in the creative world. When I got to high school, I started working on shows with my school’s thespian troupe, but it wasn’t until the winter of my freshman year where I knew theatre was my true calling. Our tech director couldn’t find a student who wanted to be the lighting designer for the winter play, and they had asked if I would be interested in assisting them to take some weight off their back. I was happy to try anything, so I said yes, and something just clicked when I sat down to program that first day. I was so fascinated by the way I could shape an entire show with lighting and fell in love with the craft. I’ve been an artist for my entire life, and lighting design felt like I was painting in 3D. Everything about the way the actors looked to the way the audience felt was in my hands, and this love has only grown stronger.
Aside from designing, I am a theatrical electrician with the UI Department of Theatre arts, where our team installs, maintains, and strikes 5 mainstage theatrical productions and two operas each year, along with maintaining one dance venue. This summer, 2023, I am a lighting intern with Hope Repertory Theatre where I am designing, assisting, and working as an electrician on multiple projects across the entire season. I am also a painter, but that’s shifted into more of a side hobby as the years go on. To see more about my work as a designer, electrician, or artist, please be sure to check out my website: nicoleblodig.myportfolio.com .
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I’ve been asked this question (or similar) quite a bit over the last few months as I’ve continued to develop my professional career outside of the university, and every time I think of the same situation. I had to unlearn the idea that my ideas were the only ideas that mattered, and learn how to be open to collaboration and criticism.
I have always been a bit hard-headed, always a “my way or the highway” kind of person. When I started getting serious about lighting design, I felt so proud of myself; however, I took it too far when it became this idea of having a knowledge that not many others did and it led me to this feeling of being “above” others. This became such a large problem when I was in high school that I was sat down by one of my troupe directors, and to sum it up, was told I was not going to be designing the spring musical because I had a terrible attitude and people didn’t want to work with me. Yikes. I was only 17 at the time, and having someone that I respected tell me this was a hard thing to hear. I sat on it for a few days until it all clicked – everything they had discussed with me was true. I realized that this leader told me this information because they too respected me and knew that I could make that change within myself. I was incredibly ashamed to have gotten to that point and I began to implement attitude changes immediately. I used to take offense when a director disliked a design choice I made or suggested a conflicting idea, and would refuse to acknowledge when I was in the wrong. It wasn’t hard to figure out that I was reacting this way because I wasn’t as confident in myself as I let on; I didn’t understand that I didn’t need to be perfect to be good at what I do. I unlearned the notion that my way was the only way, and from that moment I started to prioritize the collaboration aspect of theatre. I began understanding that things I used to view as negative comments were actually constructive criticism or new ideas, and I could feel myself becoming happier with myself and with the work I was producing. I could feel how my change in attitude made working in the theatre more enjoyable for me – I started learning how to love the mistakes I made and enjoying the process of learning instead of staying stagnant in my own world. Now, my favorite aspect about being a designer is getting to work with others and figuring out how we can create a piece of work that is meaningful to all of us. Though it was one of the most difficult conversations I have ever had, it taught me a very valuable lesson and I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without that guidance.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I think the most rewarding thing about being a lighting designer is how lighting comes in as one of the last steps and pulls a show together. For a lot of productions, they start with the cast, then add in music, props, scenery, costumes, until we finally add in lighting. What is so rewarding about being the last piece of the puzzle is seeing how people light up (quite literally and figuratively) when you start to incorporate your design. When the stage lights come up and the audience goes dark, everyone falls into a trance as they watch the magic of live theatre in front of them. The scenic designer finally gets to see how color and texture emphasize their work, the costume designer can see their pieces take shape and life, and the director sees how their choices for the cast will stand out to the audience. I do what I do for many reasons – first and foremost, because of my love for the craft, and second, for this collective feeling of joy and pride we all share at that first tech rehearsal when it all comes to fruition. Knowing that the tech process that follows always has so much love, compassion, and teamwork awaiting us shows me that I chose the right career path no matter how stressful it becomes. Collaboration truly is the heart and soul of what we do in the theatre. 
Contact Info:
- Website: nicoleblodig.myportfolio.com
- Instagram: nblodigdesign
- Linkedin: Nicole Blodig
Image Credits
Images 1 and 2- Grace Smith Image 3- Scott Tallarida Image 4 and 5 – none Image 6 – Maddie Harbour Image 7- Amy Mills Image 8- Scott Tallarida