Lena Castro
Lighting & Technical Theatre
Lena Castro (they/them) leads lighting design and technical execution across university, community, and commercial productions. Their toolkit spans lighting design and programming, rigging, and technical planning, built through hands-on work with ETC software, Vectorworks, and QLab, with a steady focus on safety, organization, and clear communication from concept through execution.
As Lighting Supervisor at Wichita State University, Lena designs lighting setups and technical plans for university fine arts productions and events, and trains student volunteers on lighting techniques and equipment use. They also work as a Stagehand and Rigger with IATSE Local 190, rigging lights, curtains, and scenery and setting up lighting, video, and sound equipment for live performances, and as a Rental Technician with Kent Audio Visual, setting up and operating lighting equipment, LED video walls, and other commercial AV systems for events.
Production credits include work as stagehand and fly operator for Music Theatre Wichita's Disney's Frozen, Gypsy, and Beautiful: A Carol King Musical, where Lena coordinated line set schedules, rigged equipment, and installed fly systems, and as scenic carpenter at Wichita State University, building sets using carpentry, welding, and scenic painting.
Core skills: ETC software, Vectorworks, QLab, rigging, equipment maintenance, and project management.
Carpentry &
Rigging
Lena Castro (they/them) builds and rigs the physical world of a production, from framing and finishing sets to flying scenery safely overhead. Their work blends carpentry, welding, scenic painting, and blueprint reading with rigging know-how gained on union calls and university mainstages, always with safety protocols front and center during load-ins and load-outs.
As Scenic Carpenter at Wichita State University, Lena constructs sets by applying carpentry, welding, scenic painting, and blueprint reading skills, and has explored techniques like 3D printing, laser cutting, and automated set changes to improve production efficiency. As a Stagehand and Rigger with IATSE Local 190, they rig lights, curtains, and scenery for shows and live events, and uphold safety inspections and protocols during load-ins and load-outs.
Production credits include fly operator and rigging work for Music Theatre Wichita's Disney's Frozen, Gypsy, and Beautiful: A Carol King Musical, coordinating line set schedules and installing fly systems.
Core skills: rigging, carpentry, welding, scenic painting, blueprint reading, and equipment maintenance.
For The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Lena designed the physical set for a 1950s Irish home stuck twenty years past its prime, developing the concept from research into period low-income housing through concept sketches, a full groundplan and elevation with detailed measurements, and a finished white study model of the living room and kitchen, complete with scaled cabinetry, doors, and windows.
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |
Wardrobe, Hair &
Costume Design
Lena Castro (they/them) designs costumes and hair concepts that carry as much narrative weight as the choreography or blocking around them, researching character and culture before ever picking up a needle or a comb.
For Wichita State University's production of Ti-Jean and His Brothers, Lena researched Trinidadian flora and fauna, including the Great Kiskadee bird, Aspisoma firefly, tree cricket, and emerald eye tree frog, translating each creature into wearable silhouettes for the show's animal characters. Research into 1950s Trinidad plantation life shaped the human characters' period clothing and plaid fabric choices, with each design moving from early sketch to full-color rendering before construction.
For Ballet Wichita's Breaking Barriers, Lena designed the hair concept, centering braids and professional stylists to honor the role hair and hairstyling play in Black culture and to give local stylists a platform for their work. Finer hair textures were styled with wedding-inspired references, while coarser textures drew on more artistic, sculptural styles.
The Breaking Barriers hair design moved through research and moodboarding, a proposal and financial plan presented to the choreographer, director, and rehearsal manager (three stylists, a $300 stipend each, and a $100 design-map budget), dancer preparation, and same-day execution: detangling, sectioning, braiding, and finishing with hairspray, pins, and nets as needed.
Choreography &
Performance
Dance has been part of Lena Castro's (they/them) life long before their work turned toward the technical side of the stage, spanning ballet, marching arts, and ensemble theatrical performance.
Their performance background includes ballet training, color guard and flag work with marching band, and partner and ensemble choreography, experience that shapes how they think about blocking, movement, and stage picture when they're behind the light board or building a costume.
That crossover is clearest in Ballet Wichita's Breaking Barriers, a piece exploring the history and legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, where Lena worked as hair designer for the production, bringing a performer's understanding of movement and a designer's eye to how the dancers' hair needed to move, hold, and read on stage.
Lena's long-term goal is to work as a technical director for cultural celebrations around the world, work that draws directly on this combined background in performance and design.