Neil Koivu is a versatile lighting designer with over a decade of professional experience across theatre, concerts, and live performance. His work is driven by a strong commitment to storytelling, blending artistic sensitivity with deep technical expertise to support each production’s emotional and visual impact.

Neil is an Andes Award winner for Little Shop of Horrors at Meadow Brook Theatre and an A Wilde Award nominee for the remount of Eric Gutman’s From Broadway to Obscurity with Detroit Public Theatre. He has collaborated with a wide range of regional theatres and arts organizations throughout Michigan and beyond.

In addition to lighting design, Neil’s career spans sound design, scenic design, and production electrician, allowing him to approach projects with a holistic understanding of the production process.

His concert work includes performances with renowned artists such as Thornetta Davis, Chita Rivera, Patti LuPone, Charles Strouse, Bebe Neuwirth, and Barbara Cook.

Selected credits include:

• Meadow Brook Theatre: Vanities the Musical, The Angel Next Door, Native Gardens, Blues in the Night, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline

• Nicely Theatre Group: Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, The Drowsy Chaperone, Anything Goes

• Tipping Point Theatre: Steel Magnolias, A Christmas Carol, The 39 Steps, A Comedy of Tenors, The Miss Firecracker Contest

• Detroit Public Theatre: DPT Holiday Cabaret 2025, American Hero, From Broadway to Obscurity

• Planet Ant Theatre: Failure: A Love Story, The Hebrew Hammer, Invasion! Henrietta Hermaline’s Fall from Great Heights, The Lonesome West

• Jewish Ensemble Theatre: Cabaret, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Casa Valentina, and the annual production of The Diary of Anne Frank

Neil is especially drawn to new works, musicals, and productions that explore unconventional spaces and bold storytelling choices. A trusted collaborator within the regional theatre community, he continues to seek projects that challenge him creatively while serving the story with clarity and intention.

Neil is always open to new collaborations and conversations about upcoming projects.