BIO

Nykol DeDreu began her journey as a production manager in the late 1990’s, working for touring dance  companies and one season for a regional theatre. Her stage management journey began in 2002 when  she was offered an AEA contract by that same regional theatre. Her path has been filled with an eclectic  assortment of stops along the way, because she has very many interests and is always on the lookout for  new challenges. As a self-employed human for the last six years, Nykol served as Production Stage Manager for Kinetic Light,  a disabled arts dance company. Her work with this company since spring 2022 has taken her to cool venues like The Shedd and Lincoln Center in NYC, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. And for the last couple of years, Nykol  has worked as a special projects producer for Blue Man Group, retrofitting new video technology and content upgrades to sit-down shows in New York, Chicago, and Boston. Most recently, she served as Production Stage Manager for a five week sit-down of Annie at Madison Square Garden, starring Whoopi Goldberg.

Career highlights include: Blue Man Group (PSM, Chicago), NETWorks Productions, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Polar Express, Phoenix Metropolitan Opera, The Phoenix Theatre Company, The Fulton Theatre,  Music Theatre of Wichita, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare, and  Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Nykol earned a BS in Theatre from Texas Woman’s university, and an MFA in Lighting  Design from Tulane University. 

Educator as well as practitioner, Nykol was the Head of Stage Management at Columbia College Chicago  2015-2019, and currently serves as an adjunct there and at DePaul University. She has lead the Stage Management Mentor Project at USITT since 2020, and loves every minute she spends with the students. 

Nykol lives the happiest of lives in Chicago with her partner Michael and two doggos Ruth Boxer Ginsberg and Ketanji Blue. Because she believes strongly in work/life balance, Nykol spends as much time as possible with her artistic hobbies, with friends and family, and in nature. During the Covid shutdown, she discovered the joy of video games; current favorite is Cities Skylines.