M. Milner Sommers
Raised in Southern California, Milner was born to a family of filmmakers and has always had a passion for storytelling from a technical perspective. Becoming immersed in theatre in high school, they found a passion for live entertainment and abstracted storytelling. They found their niche as a Lighting Designer for theatre and followed this interest into college, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from the University of Southern California.
At USC they designed dozens of shows both for the School of Dramatic Arts and independent student productions. Most notably, they have designed the lighting for the Spring musical, A Chorus Line, and Caryl’s Churchill’s Mad Forest. They also designed both the scenic and lighting for Branden Jacob-Jenkins’ Everybody. They gained experience in projection design as well as technical experience as a theatrical electrician, scenic carpenter, props artisan and scenic painter.
Moving forward, Milner is most interested in continuing their involvement in theatrical storytelling as well as branching out into dance, immersive entertainment and filmmaking. They are fascinated by non-linear, abstracted stories as well as narratives exploring gender and sexuality.