Rita Kogler Carver

Carver graduated from Stroudsburg High School in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1981. She immediately enrolled at Cedar Crest College and graduated in 1985 with a BA in theater. “I was dared to try out for a part in my sophomore year of college, and I got the part. When it came time for set building and technical design, and the builders asked if anyone knew how to use power tools or a screwdriver – because Cedar Crest was a women’s college at the time – so, I volunteered. My dad taught me how to do all that stuff. From then on, I always worked behind the scenes; I caught the theater bug pretty quickly.”[1]

Carver took a year off before starting graduate school. During that time she studies with Gustav Rehberger at the Art Students League in New York City. She later attended graduate school at New York University, studying under John Gleason in the Tisch School of Arts and graduating with an MFA in lighting design in 1989.

Carver was born on January 7, 1963, to her parents Albert H. Kogler, Jr., and Rita LoVerme Kogler. She grew up in North Tonawanda, New York, spent one year in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then moved to Willingboro, New Jersey, eventually landing in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

Carver lived in New York City for almost twenty years after graduate school. After the World Trade Towers fell, she wanted to make a change. She relocated to Tarrytown, New York, followed by Poughkeepsie, New York.

From 1992 to 2002 she was married to George Allison. On September 18, 2004, Rita married John Carver. They currently reside in Earlton, New York. She was a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 and NABET Local 16. Carver was also a member of IES (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) ], IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers) and ESTA.

After graduation from NYU, she began work in theater as a lighting designer. She worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in regional theater, dance, and opera. She was fortunate to work both in the US and Europe.

In 1996 she branched out into television, gaining work on news shows and soap operas for ABC Television as well as a variety of shows for VH1 and the Food Network. She then expanded into talk shows such as The Montel Williams Show. She was part of the team that designed the NBC news studios for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, for which she won an Emmy.

Carver has been teaching for over fifteen years. Schools where she has taught include New York University, SUNY Fredonia, Dutchess Community College, and Westchester Community College. Other teaching opportunities have been at industry trade shows such as the LDI Show. She has also written many articles for the trade magazines Lighting Dimensions and IEEE Multimedia. She was also one of the original moderators for a pro lighting forum on Creative Cow.

• 2007–2010, artistic director, DragonFly Performing Arts
• 2003–present, designer, BearFly Designs
• 1998–2007, systems/lighting designer, The Lighting Design Group
• 1992–1998 associate lighting designer, Pat Collins Enterprises
• 1989–1998 lighting designer, Allison/Kogler Designs

• BearFly Designs