Carolyn Burback

Scenic Designer & Technical Director

2026, she/her BFA Drama, Scenic Design

Carolyn is a show designer and technical director who believes in crafting highly detailed worlds to pull audiences and guests into immersive experiences. Carolyn’s favorite part of design and production are the design constraints on each project that lead to creative solutions. As someone who enjoys working quickly and to high standards, Carolyn possesses a constant desire to create and expand the boundaries of what is possible. 

In her time at Carnegie Mellon University studying Scenic Design and Technical Direction, she delved deep into the worlds of designing environments and what goes into making them peel off the page into real life. Hands-on fabrication became a highlight for her in learning how scenery and props are made. At the Glimmerglass Opera, she was a props fabrication apprentice building, painting, and carving props for the opera’s 50th anniversary. Highlight projects from her senior year include project managing and designing the Playground 23 Lobby Display, fabricating interactive props for CMU’s Theme Park and Engineering Group’s Halloween Escape Room, and scenic designing a haunted house experience at the former Pittsburgh Filmmakers Center. 
At CMU Carolyn was the scenic designer for Arcadia (2026), the Job Lead on The Little Prince (2026) and The Inseparbales (2025), and the Scenic Designer/Paint Charge/Prop Manager of Gloria (2024).

Work Samples

Arcadia

By Tom Stoppard
Directed by Kyle Haden
Scenic Design by Carolyn Burback
CMU School of Drama – February 2026

Playground 23

Project Management & Scenic Design by Carolyn Burback
CMU School of Drama – December 2025

Apocalyptic: A Fashion Show

Produced by Räyya Gracy
Scenic Design and Props by Carolyn Burback
CMU School of Drama – December 2023