Education

M.F.A. in Stage Design, 1983, Case Western Reserve University
B.A. in Theatre Arts, 1980, Allegheny College

Experience

Mr. Darling had worked for eighteen years as a professor of Theatre prior to joining Kirkegaard Associates in 2002. Most recently he taught at Northwestern University where he was Sound Design Supervisor and Production Coordinator. He has been very active as a Theatre Sound Designer. Recent productions at Northwestern have included Titanic, Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Cleansing and To Kill A Mockingbird. He also served for eight years as Sound Designer for Northwestern’s annual WAA-MU Show of original music theatre. Designs for professional companies have included The Student Prince, Kismet and Countess Maritza for Light Opera Works and six productions for Face To Face Productions, most recently The Wizard Of Menlo Park.

Mr. Darling has served as Sound Designer and/or Sound System Designer for many medium-sized theatres, including those at the Court Theatre; Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; Goodman Theatre (asst. des.); College of St. Benedict; Simpson College: and Northwestern University. Projects of this type as Sound System Consultant for Kirkegaard Associates include the Canton Performing Arts Center; East China Performing Arts Center; Monroe County Community College; and East Lansing High School.

Mr. Darling’s recent work for Kirkegaard Associates has ranged from sophisticated presentation systems to large multi-purpose auditoriums. Such projects include: Medical Conference Center at Northwestern Memorial Prentice Hospital; the renovation of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Education Center; Tennessee Theatre, iKnoxville, TN; Conmy Hall, Fort Myers, FL;, Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne Music Building; and the Virginia Beach Performing Arts Center, Virginia Beach, VA.

Professional Membership

Mr. Darling has been an active member of USITT for many years and been an Officer and frequent presenter for the organization. He is a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), and has represented USITT to the Technology Commission of the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT). Mr. Darling has also served as a member of the Midwest Section of USITT Executive Board and as Commissioner of Design and Technology for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. He is currently Co-Commissioner for the USITT Sound Commission and Immediate Past Chair of the Midwest Section.

Research

Mr. Darling has published several articles in Theater Design and Technology, the quarterly magazine of the USITT, as well as in Design and Production Review, and Theatre Crafts Magazine. He has presented numerous papers and chaired several workshops at USITT Conferences. The subjects of his presentations, seminars, and articles have ranged from theatre production labor deployment to scheduling and project management to computer sound design, loudspeaker technology and show-control.