John Zuiker
The Columbia College Chicago School of Theatre and Dance warmly congratulates Columbia College alum John Zuiker ’05, a graduate of the Theatre Program’s BA Program in Theatre Design, who won the 2024 Emmy Award for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special for his art direction of The Oscars, which aired in the United States on ABC on March 10, 2024. The 96th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, honored films released in 2023.
Zuiker has been nominated for five Emmy Awards for his work in the field of live/variety television; this is his first win. He was previously nominated for his art direction for the 2023 Oscars show and for the 2017, 2018, and 2021 Golden Globe Awards shows. His credits also include such awards shows as the Grammy Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the BET Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and the MTV Video Music Awards, as well as The Voice, America’s Got Talent, American Song Contest, Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special, and Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music & Laughter. He got his start in Chicago’s storefront theatre scene after graduating from Columbia College Chicago. Among the many stage productions he designed in Chicago was the Bohemian Theater Ensemble’s production of I Am My Own Wife, for which he received a Joseph Jefferson Award for scenic design. He also holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University is a proud member of the Art Directors Guild, Local 800.
Zuiker is a member of the Columbia College School of Theatre and Dance’s new Theatre Advisory Board, a volunteer organization of Columbia College Theatre alumni and other professionals in the worlds of theatre, film, and television – accomplished actors, writers, directors, designers, production managers, arts administrators, producers, and teachers. “I wanted to give back to a place that gave me so much. My time at Columbia was so formative, and I hope to be able to help future students in their quests to spread their wings and dream big,” Zuiker said in a statement affirming his participation in the advisory board.
The group’s inaugural event on Saturday, September 21, is “Sheldon Patinkin: The Life, Laughs, and Legacy,” a reception, panel discussion, and open forum marking the 10th anniversary of the passing of beloved director and teacher Sheldon Patinkin, longtime head of the Columbia College Theatre Program. Columbia Theatre alumni, former faculty and students, and friends of the Theatre Program are all invited to attend the event to celebrate Patinkin’s significant impact on the Theatre Program’s history and future with the Sheldon Patinkin Award. The event runs from 12:30 to 4 PM at the Getz Theatre Center of Columbia College, located at 72 E. 11th St. in Chicago’s South Loop. For more information and to RSVP, click here.
