Jane Reisman


Maritza Jane Reisman, known as Jane Reisman, was an American lighting designer for Broadway, ballet and opera.

Early life

Reisman's parents were Lillian Castleman and Leo Reisman, a violinist and big band leader. Reisman spent her childhood in Manhattan and Massachusetts and attended Vassar college with a degree in drama. She then moved to London to begin her career.

Career

Reisman worked as a professional lighting designer beginning in 1963.

Work

Reisman designed the lighting for shows both on and off-broadway as well as for ballet and opera companies around the world. Notable work includes designs for ABT, Rome Opera Ballet, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet as well as over 50 opera productions. Reisman and her husband, Neil Peter Jampolis, collaborated on the Tony-nominated lighting design for the Broadway musical Black and Blue. They again teamed up on Forever Plaid a musical show along with the 2009 film adaptation on which Reisman designed the lighting and Neil designed the production. The show has been performed globally since originally opening in New York City in 1989.

Teaching

Reisman taught Lighting Design at Emerson College, Bennington College and UCLA. She also taught master classes at Banff [Centre for Arts and Creativity|Banff] for seven years.

Legacy

Reisman and her husband founded a trust in 2003 that stipulated their home on the shores of the Minas Basin to be left to a non-profit organization that would use it as a retreat for writers and artists. The cottage in Avonport, Nova Scotia was donated to the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia fulfilling its intended purpose.

Notable productions

Broadway

Source:
WARP - Opened February 14, 1973
Me Jack, You Jill - Opened March 14, 1976
G.R. Point - Opened April 16, 1979
Black and Blue - Opened January 26, 1989

Off Broadway

Shadow of Heroes - Opened December 5, 1961
Breakfast Conversations in Miami - January 1984
A Breaking the Prairie Wolf Code - Opened November 13, 1985
Faith, Hope and Charity - Opened December 1988
Forever Plaid - Opened May 20, 1990
Tale of Two Cities - April 1990
Who Will Carry The Word? - November 1993
Beauty's Daughter - Opened January 25, 1995
Saint Lucy's Eyes - Opened March 28, 2001

Other

Cornet Christoph Rilke's Song of Love and Death - December 1990
The Postman Always Rings Twice - March 1994
Turn of the Screw - April 1994