Nerissa Cargill Thompson is a freelance Designer and Community Artist with over 20 years experience of working in professional, community and education settings as a designer, maker and facilitator. She studied Theatre Design at Nottingham Trent University. Since graduating in 1995, she has been based in Manchester, working as a freelance set and costume designer for both theatre and film. She has also worked as a community artist, facilitating projects and workshops in a variety of visual arts, specialising in working alongside drama, music or dance workers to bring a visual element to performances and workshops. She was Head of Design for Manchester Youth Theatre from 1997-2000. Her achievements in this role included the World Premiere of Airwaves, the Manchester Evening News Special Award winning season in 1999 and a M.E.N award nomination for Agamemnon in 1998. Nerissa is Head of Design for Aqueous Humour, she adds a highly visual aspect to our work, collaborating with directors and performers and contributing to the devising process.
She has designed for theatre & film productions, including shows for the British Youth Film Academy, Arden School of Theatre, Mersey TV, Proud and Loud Arts, DIY Theatre Company, Paleface Pictures, The Lowry, Activ8, TIPP, Bury Met and many fringe productions in Edinburgh, London and Manchester.
She has worked as a scenic artist and prop-maker for theatres including the Royal Northern College of Music, Footlights Theatre School, The Lowry, Bolton Octagon, Library Theatre (Manchester) and Swan Theatre (Worcester).
She exhibited at the 2D>3D Theatre Design exhibition at the Millennium Galleries in Sheffield in 2002/3 and was part of the education team doing workshops with visiting school groups. She was also part of the SBTD exhibition in Nottingham in 2007 & 2015 and Cardiff in 2011.
