Biography

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Austin Kelm has been working and designing in the AV industry for the past four years,the last two of which have been spent in the theatre. In between designs, Austin works for the UNF Fine Arts Center as a Master Electrician and Stagehand, and JU’s Scene Shop as a Master Electrician and Carpenter. Austin is also a member of IATSE Local 115. Austin has had four designs nominated for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, three of which are for the upcoming 2019 festival. He is currently pursuing his B.F.A. in Theatre Arts at Jacksonville University and will be graduating in the Spring of 2019. He plans on pursuing his masters in Lighting Design in the fall. Austin got his start at Celebration Church, where he first designed with a few barely-working LEDs and cheap Scanners. Eventually, the church opened their new Arena location and his experience grew while getting to work on their 50 mover rig. In 2015 Austin started at JU and began to learn about more conventional instruments which gave him the foundation to design he hadn't previously had. Since then, he has started working for the UNF Fine Arts Center, getting to practice his craft on a wide variety of instruments, shows, and clients. In the spring, Austin will be interning with the Five & Dime Theatre Company, who he has been working with for the past 2 years, as a Lighting Designer.