In 1997, I walked into a theatre at Brooklyn College and saw a man standing in moonlight on stage. A lighting designer was focusing lights for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. The light looked completely real — real moonlight.
I remember thinking: I believe this.
I believed in the magic of it.
At the time, I had studied physics with little interest and no clear direction. Theatre had always drawn me in — I had acted with a small company in Korea and later came to the United States to study acting — but I had not yet found my place.
That night, something settled inside me. I realized that light could create magic — not illusion for its own sake, but transformation. It could hold emotion, shape silence, and make the invisible visible.
Years later, when I drift or doubt, I return to that moment. I still say to myself: I believe this.
I continue to pursue that same kind of magic — the kind that can’t be replicated, only experienced.
Contact: jiyoun.chang@gmail.com
Mentions:
"The structure of the play is disorienting, at times even overwhelming. But Lileana Blain-Cruz’s direction provides clarity amid the cloud of pain. The production is exquisitely timed and calibrated, from the precision of the actors’ coordinated dialogue to the brief thaws of Jiyoun Chang’s glacial lighting and the eeriness of Rucyl Frison’s sound."
Adam Feldman for Time Out New York
“When the bandmates are in formation behind the recording-booth glass — elevated on a higher plane, their faces enshrined by warm halos (the exquisite lighting is by Jiyoun Chang) — they’re like gods on Mount Olympus glowering down at the tech table.”
By Naveen Kumar for for New York Times, Stereophonic (NYT Critic’s Pick)
“And though superior work from the sound designer, Ryan Rumery, and the lighting designer, Jiyoun Chang, help direct our ears and eyes, we have to assemble the story ourselves.”
By Jesse Green for for New York Times, Stereophonic (NYT Critic’s Pick)