Renata Taylor-Smith is a Lighting Designer, Programmer, and Electrician based in New York City. She is originally from Rockville, Maryland. She has two degrees, a B.A. in Theatre Design and Production and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. Renata has worked as a designer, assistant, programmer, and designer with numerous community theatres in the Maryland-Washington D.C. area during her college career. After graduating she spent 2024-2025 as the lighting/electrics fellow at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where she had the pleasure of assisting the theatre's Lighting Supervisor and working and learning from professional lighting designers on operas, musicals, and world premiere shows. She is currently working at the Juilliard School as the Electrics Apprentice. ​​​When not doing theatre you can find Renata at the public library looking for the her next book to read or crocheting something colorful.