M.F.A. & Teaching Certificate, Northwestern University
B.F.A. and B.S., Southern Oregon University
Maya Michele Fein is an associate professor in lighting design and technology at Baldwin Wallace University. Although she has been involved with theatre for over 25 years, her love for lighting design developed when she realized that it is a synthesis of theatre, music, visual art, language, technology, science, math, and psychology. She approaches lighting design as if she was composing music for the eyes. It is essential to form a cohesive piece with a motivated arc, using individual instruments to enhance the overall quality and emotional context of a given piece.
Fein has worked across the country in theatre, opera, and dance. Favorite lighting design credits include: “Lizzie" (Firebrand), “A Kurt Weill Cabaret” (Theo Ubique), “Ain’t Misbehavin’“(Porchlight Music Theatre), “Talley’s Folly” (New Harmony Theatre), “Amahl and the Night Visitors” (Ash Lawn Opera), and “Death of a Salesman” (Williams Street Rep.), “Venus in Fur” (Circle Theatre), and Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” (USI).
Her current research focuses on Teaching Pedagogy with a specialization in gamification and the development of “Interconnected: The Tangle,” a dance theatre piece about mental health and awareness based on true narratives.
Prior to BW, Fein served as an assistant professor and lighting designer at Wofford College and University of Southern Indiana. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre: lighting design, a Bachelor of Science in psychology, and minor in Shakespeare Studies from Southern Oregon University. She received her Master of Fine Arts in stage design and higher education teaching certificate from Northwestern University.