Iris Chiu

Sound Designer

2025, she/they BFA Drama, Sound Design

Iris Chiu (丘若杉) is a Chinese-American composer and sound designer born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She discovered early in her high school years that she harbors a passionate love for the art of designing all things sonic in the theatrical world, which led her to pursue a BFA at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama.

A storyteller of emotions first and foremost, Iris integrates imaginative effects and original music into the projects she is a part of to give voice to the unseen layers of feelings and ideas behind any production. She works to elevate the world and feelings of any production through heavy collaboration with her teams and a keen eye for detail.

Iris has had the opportunity to compose for two productions she designed in her time at Carnegie Mellon, writing an original score swirling with Scottish war drums for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and a dreamy soundscape of melancholy synths for Mallory Avidon’s Mary Kate Olsen is in Love.

Iris hopes to breathe much life into stories by building worlds with sound and curating emotion with music. She will chase the thrill of good collaboration for many years to come.

Work Samples

John Proctor is the Villain

By Kimberly Belflower
Directed by Bria Walker-Rhoze
Sound design by Iris Chiu
CMU School of Drama – November 2024

John Proctor is the Villain

By Kimberly Belflower
Directed by Bria Walker-Rhoze
Sound design by Iris Chiu
CMU School of Drama – November 2024

Macbeth

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Sofia Osborne
Sound Design by Iris Chiu
CMU School of Drama – February 2024