John Kelly

John Kelly was born in Cleveland, Ohio but moved to the north side of Chicago early, bringing with him only his support of consistently heartbreaking sports teams. He joined the Strawdog ensemble in 2014. His first Strawdog productions were The Improbable Frequency (2013) where he was the assistant lighting designer for fellow ensemble member Jordan Kardasz. John’s first designs at Strawdog were Great Expectations (2013) and Charles Ives Take Me Home(2014)- still two of his favorite Strawdog productions. Since then John has designed sixteen productions for the dog.

As a freelance lighting designer John has designed and assisted at venues including The Second City, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Goodman Theater, Theatre Wit, The Neofuturists, About Face Theatre Company, Red Twist, Interrobang, Oracle Productions and Chicago Dramatists.

Other than designing, John has also worked as a lighting technician in unique environments. He was the Touring Electrician for Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s “Short Shakes” (2014-2015) and Shakespeare in the Park (2014) tours, the Lighting Supervisor for Chicago Children’s Theatre (2014-2019) and the Electrician Supervisor for Blue Man Group Chicago (2019-2020).