Ground_Cloth collects past, present, and future work of Louisa Thompson in which she has explored spaces and objects for hands-on participatory engagement. Ground_Cloth also seeks to share Louisa’s passion for textiles and play into a new series of art installations, products, and collaborations. Textiles help us engage our world through their tactile, sensory, and functional properties.

Louisa Thompson is an award-winning set/costume designer and creator of theatrical work for young audiences. In 2018, she received an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Design.  Her designs have been seen Off-Broadway, on Regional stages, and internationally (with the 10 year tour of GATZ by Elevator Repair Service).  Known for explorations of audience space, site specificity, and the potential for materials on stage, Louisa is considered an innovator in the field and has been recently featured in the book Scene Shift.  Currently, Louisa connects her projects as Ground_Cloth, a container for past, present, and future explorations of cloth, play, and environmental justice.

Throughout her career Louisa has received funding to support her body of work exploring textiles with young artists/audiences. In 2015, Soho Rep and Louisa received a $40,000 grant from the Children’s Theater Foundation of America to produce an original TYA play.  This led to the creation of Washeteria, a site-specific event that featured the work of Cesar Alvarez and Charise Castro-Smith. In 2018, Louisa was selected by the New Victory Theatre as LabWorks participant. She created a tactile exploration of clothing and textiles in WORKSHOP!. Residencies at Space on Ryder Farm and The Icelandic Textile Center have also informed her work on Ground_Cloth. 

In addition to her professional work as a designer, Louisa has been a Professor at Hunter College since 2001 where she has designed over 20 productions with undergraduate students. For the past 10 years, Louisa has developed a new course on Creating Theatre for Children. Each semester the course culminates with a live performance piece in the community, such as 3 Little Rats at the Fort Greene Community Garden last Fall.

Louisa has degrees from Yale School of Drama (MFA) and Rhode Island School of Design (BFA).