Joshua Langman is a theatrical lighting, sound, and projection designer based in New York. He is the author of Standby: An Approach to Theatrical Design, a groundbreaking philosophy of design for the stage (Southern Illinois University Press, 2022). Joshua has designed for Summer Shorts (59E59), Ensemble Studio Theatre, La MaMa ETC, the Castillo Theatre, Teátrica, Brooklyn Gypsies, The 52nd Street Project, the Jim Henson Foundation, singer-songwriter Cidny Bullens, Between the Seas, Planet Connections, The Center on West Park, West of 10th, Worry Noise Dirt Heat, and more. He has been a guest designer at Fordham University, Sarah Lawrence College, and other institutions. Joshua has a specialty in design for devised work, puppetry, and solo performance. He is a faculty member in the Kean University Theatre Conservatory, where he teaches lighting, sound, and projection design, among other courses. He originated the theatrical design program at Talent Unlimited High School in Manhattan, and he has lectured and facilitated workshops on design at Carnegie Hall and other venues.
Design legitimizes our experience. It endorses our subjective reality. For a precious few hours, design lets the world as we wish it override the world as it is; it makes our dreams and feelings more powerful than documentary evidence — or, rather, it provides documentary evidence of our feelings and dreams. And when our emotional experiences count for more than objective reality, haven’t we won? Isn’t that what art is?
Standby: An Approach to Theatrical Design
Joshua’s other websites and résumés
(writing, typographic design, education, etc.)
Lighting design reviews
“Lighting designer Josh Langman’s work is highly accomplished in producing striking images when needed and subtle when required […] Lighting, sound and music are all utilized to great effect so that it is all visually quite stunning.”
— Darryl Reilly, TheaterScene.net (EST)
“A couple [of scenes] are written in ‘split-screen’ fashion (lighting designer Joshua Langman makes fine use of rapid-fire cross-fades) […]”
— Matthew Murray, Talkin’ Broadway (Lonely, I’m Not)
“The minimalist set […] and simple lighting by Joshua Langman help to break up the playing space and suggest differences in the various settings.”
— Helen Herbert, Theatre Is Easy (Lonely, I’m Not)
“Joshua Langman’s lighting design complemented the set and the action superbly.”
— Jacquelyn Claire, NY Theatre Guide (Lonely, I’m Not)
“Josh Langman’s lighting includes a lovely display of stars […]”
— David Barbour, Lighting & Sound America (EST)
“The simple lighting and direction […] lets it glide along, and if by the end you have a few tears in your eyes, well, you’re not the only one.”
— Mateo Moreno, The Artswire Weekly (EST)
“It’s their time to talk and to see the stars (powerfully brought to a ceiling near you by lighting designer Josh Langman).”
— Ed Malin, nytheater now (EST)
“The set, the lighting and direction […] were all smartly done.”
— Times Square Chronicles (EST)
Projection design reviews
“Interior […] takes place at sunset in the back garden of a cozy-looking house that looks like it’s been lifted out of a Norman Rockwell painting (gorgeous projection design by Joshua Langman).”
— Deirdre Donovan, CurtainUp (Summer Shorts 2019)
“[…] the distinctive projection designs of Joshua Langman create a number of potent images.”
— Samuel L. Leiter, Theatre’s Leiter Side (Summer Shorts 2019)
“Director James Rees moves us through the eerie cemetery scene, a creatively conceived projection design by Joshua Langman, with a feisty sense of contemporary pacing.”
— Rachel de Aragon, Berkshire Fine Arts (Summer Shorts 2018)
“[…] projections by Josh Langman […] are used to good effect in this series.”
— David Barbour, Lighting & Sound America (Summer Shorts 2018)
“The set for The Plot is an attractive slide projection of an autumn scene in a cemetery […]”
— Victor Gluck, TheaterScene.net (Summer Shorts 2018)
“The multimedia design — which [Cidny] Bullens put together with Joshua Langman — anchors the piece with home movies and family photos.”
— Amy Stumpfl, The Tennessean (Somewhere Between)
“The projections also proved to be indispensable and very well-chosen to illustrate the journey and broaden the play’s images, while retaining the aesthetic.”
— Antonio Bones, La voz hispana [original in Spanish] (Yoleros)
“The addition of projection is of great importance in suggesting the figurative message. ‘The video projections have been a great visual tool for conveying the second act of the work, which develops on the ocean. They were designed from a point of view that contrasts the world of the yoleros, or the dimension of these people inside a small boat, against a sea without limits, strong and uncontrollable but at the same time seductive,’ explained [director Martín] Balmaceda.”
— Antonio Bones, La voz hispana [original in Spanish] (Yoleros)