Biography

During the 2025-26 season, Kate Ashton makes her HGO debut as the lighting designer for Of Mice and Men. Ashton’s recent work includes A Thousand Acres and Wozzeck (Des Moines Metro Opera); Elizabeth Cree (Glimmerglass); Hometown to the World (Santa Fe Opera); Cinderella and Swan Lake (Ballet West); The Sleeping Beauty (The Washington Ballet); Josephine and I (The Public Theater); The Tales of Hoffman (Aspen Music Festival); Tango Song & Dance (Kennedy Center); Death of a Salesman (Theatre Mitu / BAM); and more than 30 productions at Juilliard, including Turn of the Screw and La clemenza di Tito. Ashton is the lighting director for the Fall for Dance Festival at New York City Center, where she has designed pieces including Christopher Wheeldon’s The Two of Us. Ashton received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of William & Mary and her Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University. She is a member of United Scenic Artists.