An avid writer, artist, musician and advocate, Ethan Hollinger has worked across the country as a lighting, sound, and media designer in such venues as the Duluth Playhouse, New Hazlett Theatre, Tennessee GSFTA, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, and the Texas Shakespeare Festival to name a few. In addition to teaching and mentorship, Hollinger’s designs have been seen academically at Illinois State University, PCPA/Pacific Conservatory Theatre in Santa Maria, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and soon, UC Davis. His work spans a variety of genres and styles, including but not limited to theatre, dance, opera, art installations, architectural lighting, and interactive audience experiences.  

Within Hollinger’s work as a designer and educator, he continues to study the evolving role of technology in storytelling, as well as developing continued opportunities to create immersive experiences. He was awarded the prestigious Frederick Douglass Fellowship for two years at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where his work and service focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as his specialties in script analysis, graphic techniques, and queer literature. Throughout his academic career, Hollinger has been awarded many grants to continue and bolster his research efforts through a variety of outreach projects and cross discipline collaborations. 

Hollinger has been a decorated participant and lecturer in several regions at the Kennedy Center American Collegiate Theatre Festival, with the most recent being “Certificate of Merit for Excellence in Sound Design” for UMD’s invited production of Stupid Fucking Bird- (UMD, Region 5, Spring 2023), which also received the distinction of “Distinguished Performance and Production Ensemble.” Additionally, he regularly attends and presents at both the annual United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) National Conference and the annual Live Design International conference. 

Born and raised in the Carolinas, Hollinger has been traveling since he was born and has lived and worked in 22 states in the last 10 years. But he is happy to be in a warm climate again where he can enjoy the outdoors year-round and hopes to one day complete his hike of the Appalachian Trail. He is a devotee of popcorn and a proud abuser of all kinds of tea.