Biography and expertise
Cheri Prough DeVol is an American scenic and lighting designer who employs theatrical forms to synthesize her passion for music, storytelling, truth, and beauty. Inspired by both physical and metaphorical action in the source material, she creates sculptural forms that evoke emotion and provoke movement and rhythms that allow the story to resonate within the performance space. Her scenic designs celebrate negative space, while her lighting designs infuse that space with buoyant energy. Her work has been produced at regional theatres and in colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Professor DeVol is Director of Graduate Studies and Head of Design in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film.
She holds an MFA in Theatrical Design from the University of Texas at Austin.
Professor DeVol is Director of Graduate Studies and Head of Design in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Film.
She holds an MFA in Theatrical Design from the University of Texas at Austin.
Education
Master's Degree
MFA in Drama
University of Texas at Austin, 1993
Bachelor's Degree
BA in Theatre Arts
Hendrix College, 1990
Teaching Interests
Research Interests
Featured grants
- DeVol, Cheri Prough. 2013 Hearst Grant, Institutional (Higher Ed). (Funded: 2013). Grant.
- DeVol, Cheri Prough (Supporting). Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize, Opera America, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $2000. (Submitted: October 2020, Funded: January 2021 - May 2022). Grant.
- Flores, Lorin (Co-Principal), DeVol, Cheri Prough (Co-Principal). Online Resource Grant for the Alexander Street Performance Design Archive, Texas State University, $27500. (Submitted: February 2018). Grant.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Lighting Designer, The Elixir of Love.
September 2025 - March 2026.
Performances:
- Utah Symphony/Utah Opera. March 7, 2026 - March 15, 2026 J Q Lawson Capitol Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT.
- (Refereed).
- Scenic & Lighting Designer, A Chorus Line.
March 1, 2025 - July 13, 2025.
Performances:
- Beck Center for the Arts. July 11, 2025 - August 10, 2025 Lakewood, Ohio.
- (Refereed) Reviewed by: Yuko Kurahashi.
- Lighting Designer, The Elixir of Love.
May 22, 2023 - January 27, 2024.
Performances:
- Minnesota Opera. January 27, 2024 - February 4, 2024 Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, St. Paul, MN.
- (Refereed) Reviewed by: Rob Hubbard.
- Scenic Designer, Once On This Island.
July 7, 2023 - August 6, 2023.
Performances:
- Beck Center for the Arts. July 7, 2023 - August 6, 2023 Lakewood, Ohio.
- (Refereed) Reviewed by: Roy Berko.
- (Refereed) Reviewed by: Mark Horning.
- (Refereed) Reviewed by: Christine Howe.
- (Refereed) Reviewed by: Howard Gollop.
- Scenic, Lighting, and Projection Designer, How I Learned What I Learned.
June 2022 - September 2022.
Performances:
- Black and Latino Playwrights Celebration. September 8, 2022 - September 23, 2022 TXST Evans Auditorium, San Marcos, TX.
- Reviewed by: Michael Barnes.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Scholarly and Creative Activity, Texas State University. August 2021
- Award / Honor Recipient: Cleveland Critics Circle, Best Scenic Design for Broadway Bound, Cleveland Critics Circle. 2021
- Award / Honor Recipient: Best of Cleveland Theatre, Best Scenic Design for Glengarry Glenn Ross, The Cleveland Jewish News. 2019
- Award / Honor Recipient: College Achievement Award for Teaching, College of Fine Arts, Texas State University. August 2019
- Award / Honor Recipient: College Achievement Award for Scholarly/Creative Activity, College of Fine Arts, Texas State University. August 2016
Featured service activities
- Graduate Advisor
School of Theatre, Dance, Film
- Chair
Personnel Committee
- Other
Texas State University Student Chapter of USITT (United States Institute of Theatre Technology)
- Member
COFAC Scholarship Committee
- Other
SW USITT
- Member
Graduate Council