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