Austin VanWinkle (he/him/his) is an up and coming lighting designer and artist originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated from William Woods University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Equestrian General Science. While completing that degree, he became heavily involved in the theatre department which led him to pursue higher education.

Austin graduated with his Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Technology, with an emphasis in Lighting Design, at the University of Missouri – Kansas City in May of 2022.

Austin’s lighting career started in 2017 with a production of BINGO! The Winning Musical. Since then, some of his highlights include Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead (2018), Drowning Girls (2018), Peter/Wendy (2018), Dance Nation at The Unicorn Theatre (2021), and Jane Eyre at UMKC (2022). 

While in graduate school, Austin has discovered a love for dance and has worked with a multitude of dancers and choreographers including Ronald Tice and Gary Abbott. Many smaller projects include working with local choreographers such as Olivia Emert, Alexis Borth, and Kaitlyn Gardner.

Austin’s acting credits include Silence (2016), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2016), Unnecessary Farce (2017), Love Minus (2017), Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead (2018), Eurydice (2019), and finally Sir Slob and the Princess (2019).

Austin currently lives in Saint Charles, MO with his two cats, Gus and Cleo. He works with Lindenwood University as the Lighting Coordinator.