ABOUT
"I am a storyteller first, a designer second. Every line, color, texture and object is intentional. Everything on stage has purpose and meaning."
(academic C.V. available upon request)
Jason Simms (he/him) is an award-winning and multiple award nominated scenographer for Theater, Opera, Musicals, and Film & Media. Raised in Carson City, NV, Simms started designing scenery for theatre and puppet performances as a teenager.
Jason has designed for New York stages and companies including The Public Theater, Second Stage, Partial Comfort Productions,13P, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Soho Playhouse, The Ohio and New Ohio, The Metropolitan Playhouse, Third Rail Projects, Waterwell, The Sheen Center, The Cherry Lane, The Bushwick Starr, The Juilliard School, and more. Regional venues include Pioneer Theatre Co., Salt Lake City; Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bucks County; Denver Center Theatre Company; The Old Globe, San Diego; Philadelphia Theatre Company; George St. Playhouse; Berkshire Theatre Group; and more.
Other projects include designs for the Bronx Zoo as well as 1991, a virtual reality documentary exploring the Turkmen artists’ experience through the collapse of the Soviet Union set to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in the fall of 2022.
Jason has taught at Montclair State University, Fordham University, and Williams College, Cornell University, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Design within The University of Iowa's Department of Theatre Arts.
He received his training at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle (BFA) and NYU, Tisch School of the Arts (MFA).
​
Simms is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829, a Clubbed Thumb Affiliated Artist, an Artistic Ensemble member of Civic Ensemble, and a proud honored listee in Marquis Who's Who in America.