ABOUT
Suzu Sakai is a NYC based freelance theater & production designer originally from Tokyo.
Working and having experience in theater production & design in NYC, Tokyo, and in other large cities, she has a passion for all aspects of artistic development and collaboration, as well as storytelling through new mediums in digital art & media.
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Recent & upcoming productions include: Club NVRLND (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, UK),The Brothers Size (The Shed, NY), Opera: The Rake's Progress (Shubert Theater, CT), Musical: Lizard Boy (NYC Off Broadway premiere & Oregon Shakespeare Festival production), and Straight White Men (Southwark Playhouse, UK), including festival shows in New York as well as working in production management at PARCO Inc. and space design in the digital art & media industry in Tokyo. She has assisted Broadway and Off-Broadway designers in both set & lighting.

Suzu holds a B.A. from Smith College, and an MFA in Theater Design at The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.
Born in Tokyo, growing up in California, Chiang Mai, and Hiroshima, Suzu is passionate about arts education and cultural issues around the globe, and hopes to bridge the world through artistic storytelling.
AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS:
  • Donald & Zorka Oenslager Fellowship Award in Design / DGSD at Yale / 2024
  • Donald M. Oenslager Scholarship in Stage Design / DGSD at Yale / 2023 

CV

2025
Club NVRLND by Jack Holden / Directed by Steve Kunis*
The Brothers Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney / Directed by Bijan Sheibani*
Set & Costume Design / Assembly Checkpoint (Edinburgh Fringe, UK)
Set Design / The Shed (NY, USA)
2024
The Ugly Xmas Sweater Musical by Dan Knechtges and Megan Larche Dominick / Directed by Kevin Cronin
The Brothers Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney / Directed by Bijan Sheibani
Musical: Lizard Boy by Justin Huertas / Directed by Brandon Ivie 
The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky / Directed by Danilo Gambini
Set Design / Playhouse on Park (CT, USA)​
Set Design / Geffen Playhouse (CA, USA)
Set Design / Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OR, USA)
Set Design / Shubert Theater (CT, USA)
2023
The Light by Loy A. Webb / Directed by Christina Franklin
Musical: Lizard Boy by Justin Huertas / Directed by Brandon Ivie
Color Boy by Esperanza Rosales Balcarcel / Directed by Jecamiah M. Ybanez
Moonie by Stefanie Kuo / Directed by Jisun Kim
Set Design / Chester Theater (MA, USA)
Set Design / Theater Row (NY, USA) *NYC Off-Broadway premiere
Set Design / Yale Iseman Theater (CT, USA)
Set Design / Yale Cabaret (CT, USA)
2022
Tempo by Harron Atkins, The Master's Tools by Zora Howard / Directed by Ashley Thomas
there is a thing at the end of the loop by Dylan Guerra / Directed by Christina Franklin 
Constellations by Nick Payne / Directed by Robin Levine
more, more, more by Stefanie Kuo / Directed by Stefanie Kuo & Jisun Kim
soft apples by Doug Robinson / Directed by Gabrielle Hoyt
Set & Lighting Design / Yale Cabaret (CT, USA)
Set Design / Yale Cabaret (CT, USA)
Set Design / Forestburgh Playhouse (NY, USA)
Lighting Design / Yale Cabaret (CT, USA)​
Set Design / Yale Cabaret (CT, USA)​
2021
Today is My Birthday by Susan Soon He Stanton / Directed by Mina Morita
Straight White Men by Young Jean Lee / Directed by Steve Kunis
Associate Set Design / Yale Repertory Theater (CT, USA)​
Set Design / Southwark Playhouse (London, UK)​
~ 2020
Virtual Identity / Directed by Suzu Sakai
Bakersfield Mist by Stephen Sachs / Directed by Sam Rush
Opera: Alexander's Feast by Handel / Directed by Steve Kunis
Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman / Directed by Hannah Sachs
Creative Direction / Studio Bybros Akasaka (Tokyo, JPN)​
Set Design / New Century Theater (MA, USA)​
Lighting Design / Harvard University (MA, USA)​
Set & Lighting Design / Smith College Theater (MA, USA)​
Please inquire through email for resumes and portfolios.