About Spencer Donovan

Spencer Donovan is a fourth-year scenic design graduate student. His past credits at IU include Carrie, Jump, Twelfth Night, The Servant of Two Masters, and Ascendant. This past summer, he acted as projection designer for the IUST season on both Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The 39 Steps. Before coming to IU, he spent a season acting as Resident Designer and Head Scenic Charge at Timberlake Playhouse in Mount Carol Illinois, where he designed Forever Plaid, Beehive, Hounds of the Baskerville, and Born Yesterday. He received his undergraduate degree in theatre from Loyola University Chicago, where he acted as scenic designer on the jukebox musical Tin Types, and the play Eurydice. While in the windy city, he also did some associate design work for The Chicago Children’s theatre on the touring production of Red Kite, Green Mountain, a show that was geared towards children on the autism spectrum.
While he considers himself to be a scenic designer first and foremost, he has also found himself acting as scenic charge and props master/designer on several productions including She Kills Monsters, Water by the Spoonful, The Threepenny Opera, By the Bog of Cats, Sueño, and IUST’s production of Closer Than Ever. He has also been privileged enough to stretch his projection design abilities with the Bloomington Playwrights Project on the show Modern.
When Spencer is not designing, he is spending time with his partner Daniel and his dog Deeogie. He enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons, creative writing, and putting his prop skills to work making crafts and cosplay. He also has a YouTube channel, where he creates videos that focus on educating audiences about queer history, transgender health, and LGBT rights. He plans to move back to Chicago after graduating this spring.

Recent Credits

Into the Woods

IU Summer Theatre — Props Manager

The Winter's Tale

IU Theatre — Props Manager

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

IU Summer Theatre — Projection Designer

The 39 Steps

IU Summer Theatre — Projection Designer

Carrie: The Musical

IU Theatre — Scenic Designer

Sueño

IU Theatre — Scenic Charge

JUMP

IU Theatre — Scenic Designer

The Threepenny Opera

IU Theatre — Props Manager/Artisan

Gross Indecency

IU Theatre — Scenic Designer (thesis)

Everybody

IU Theatre — Scenic Charge

Closer Than Ever

IU Summer Theatre — Props Manager, Projection Design Assistant

Twelfth Night

IU Theatre — Scenic Designer

The Servant of Two Masters

IU Theatre — Scenic Designer

At First Sight - A Festival of New Plays

IU Theatre — Props Master, jelly beans

From the Ground Up

IU Theatre — Scenic Designer/Props Master

Water by the Spoonful

IU Theatre — Assistant Scenic Designer/Scenic Charge

By the Bog of Cats

IU Theatre — Props Master