Mr. Simms has designed worlds for over 200 projects across the United States and his designs for performance have been seen all across the globe.
ITHACA, NY, March 19, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ — Jason Benjamin Simms has been included in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Mr. Simms leverages nearly two decades of experience as a professional scenographer in his role at Cornell University where since 2020, he has taught at the rank of assistant professor. Prior to his current role, he served as an adjunct instructor at Montclair State University, and concurrently, Mr. Simms served the student population as a guest lecturer at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, between 2018 and 2019.
In his capacity as a professional scenographer, Mr. Simms has designed worlds for over 200 projects across the United States and his designs for performance have been seen all across the globe. He accumulated broad, practical experience as a set designer with such notable companies as The Public Theatre, NYC; Aspen Opera Theatre Center in Aspen Colorado; Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City; The Juilliard School in NYC; Philadelphia Theatre Company; Chautauqua Theatre Company, Chautauqua, NY; Bristol Riverside Theatre, Bristol, PA; Two River Theatre, Red Bank, NJ; Berkshire Theatre Group, Stockbridge, MA; Denver Center Theatre Company, Denver, Colorado; among many others. Mr. Simms counts his design on “Murder on the Orient Express” with Pioneer Theatre Company as one of his most notable achievements in the theatre thus far. In addition to work in live performance, Simms has production designed music videos for the bands Brothers of End and Maximum Balloon as well as several short films.
A church project ignited Mr. Simms’s passion for design at a young age when he was asked to create a set for an in-house production. His subsequent involvement with theater and puppet troupes led him to write and design a puppet version of “Jonah and the Whale,” which resulted in his first award for design. This early accomplishment foreshadowed Mr. Simms’s future success, and in 2012, he humbly accepted the prestigious United States Institute for Theatre Technology Rising Star Award.
Broad academic achievement further defines Mr. Simms’s profile. He is proud to hold a Master of Fine Arts in design for stage and film from New York University, which he earned in 2009. Additionally, Mr. Simms completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in set and costume design from Cornish College of the Arts in 2005.
Mr. Simms is currently dedicated to an innovative virtual reality exhibition project titled “1991.” The project, which explores the intersection of art culture decline with the political shifts following the collapse of the Soviet Union, is supported by a grant from Cornell University, and Mr. Simms aims to collaborate with software developers to bring this immersive experience to life and further demonstrate his commitment to nurturing the intersection of technology and scenic design.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Marquis celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2023, and Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who’s Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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