David Zinn

Zinn in 2018.

David Zinn is a costume and scenic designer based in New York, New York. He has been nominated ten times for the Tony Award for both his costume designs and scenic designs, winning two Best Scenic Design for a Play awards for The Humans in 2016 and Stereophonic in 2024 and one Best Scenic Design in a Musical award for SpongeBob SquarePants in 2018.[1] He has over 80 Off-Broadway credits in his lifetime.

Early life

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Zinn was born on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle, Washington. He wanted to be an actor and then moved backstage to start designing in middle school.[2] After using his high school career at Bainbridge High School to work in and around Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Zinn decided to move to New York City.[3] Zinn attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for his MFA in Design for Stage and Film where he said he was most influenced by musicals and by avant-garde theatre like the Wooster Group.[4]

Career

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Soon after leaving NYU, Zinn went to work as a costume designer for regional theater. After a big break at Santa Fe Opera, which featured his scenic and costume designs, he became known for both aspects of his work.[3][5] He then went on to work in several Off-Broadway theater for years. He also worked closely with Target Margin Theater Company, headed by David Herskovits and graduate school friend Lenore Doxsee.[6][7]

In 2010 Zinn worked on Broadway with his costume designs for Xanadu. He then went on to design costumes on Broadway for A Tale of Two Cities, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), Good People, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Other Desert Cities, The Other Place, Picnic, Rocky, Airline Highway, and An Act of God as well as scenic designs for The Realistic Joneses, Violet, The Real Thing, The Humans, and Present Laughter, and scenic and costume designs for Seminar, The Last Ship, Fun Home, Amélie, and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.[8]

Awards and nominations

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Theater

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Source:[9]

Year Award Show Result
2008 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Costume and Set Design N/A Won
Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Scenic Design The Four of Us Nominated
Henry Hewes Design Award, Scenic Design
2009 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Scenic Design Chairs
2010 Tony Award for Costume Design In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)
Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Scenic Design The Pride
Henry Hewes Design Award, Costume Design Circle Mirror Transformation
Henry Hewes Design Award, Scenic Design
2011 Henry Hewes Design Award, Scenic Design Middletown
Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Costume Design Other Desert Cities
2012 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Scenic Design The Select (The Sun Also Rises)
Henry Hewes Design Award, Scenic Design The Submission
Henry Hewes Design Award, Costume Design Look Back in Anger
2013 Henry Hewes Design Award, Scenic Design The Flick
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play
2014 Henry Hewes Design Award, Costume Design Fun Home
2015 Tony Award for Scenic Design of a Musical
Tony Award for Costume Design of a Play Airline Highway
2016 Henry Hewes Design Award, Costume Design Fondly, Collette Richland
Henry Hewes Design Award, Scenic Design The Humans
Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Scenic Design
Tony Award for Scenic Design of a Play Won
2017 Tony Award for Costume Design of a Play A Doll's House, Part 2 Nominated
2018 Tony Award for Costume Design of a Musical SpongeBob SquarePants Nominated
Tony Award for Scenic Design of a Musical Won
2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical Kimberly Akimbo Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Awards for Scenic Design (Play or Musical) The Minutes Nominated
2024 Tony Award for Scenic Design of a Play Jaja's African Hair Braiding Nominated
Tony Award for Scenic Design of a Play Stereophonic Won
Tony Award for Costume Design of a Play An Enemy of the People Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Scenic Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) Stereophonic Won

References

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  1. ^ "David Zinn Tony Awards" broadwayworld.com
  2. ^ Brendon Lemon, "Making the Scene with David Zinn", Lincoln Center Theatre, January 30, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Houlihan, Mary. "It's a Matter of Minutes for Set Designer David Zinn's Latest Work", Chicago Sun, November 11, 2017.
  4. ^ Stuart Miller, "David Zinn Goes Big and Keeps it Real" American Theatre, March 2015.
  5. ^ "David Zinn" Archived 2018-03-28 at the Wayback Machine Opera Stage
  6. ^ Stuart Miller, "David Zinn Goes Big and Keeps it Real", American Theatre, March 2015.
  7. ^ Target Margin Theatre Company Website
  8. ^ "David Zinn Broadway" IBDB
  9. ^ "David Zinn Off-Broadway Credits" lortel.org
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