About
Marcos Everstijn is a Seattle-based set designer, technical director, and carpenter.
Born in El Salvador of a Salvadoran mother and a Dutch father, he was raised in San Salvador until his family fled the country—due to civil war—to the United States, where he grew up in Houston and New Orleans. He has also lived in Chicago and Naples, FL. The diversity of his background is the lens of which he connects to characters in a play to tell their story effectively through environmental design. His favorite part of the design process—beyond the collaboration with other creatives—is getting to research different cultures and time periods. He now resides in Seattle with his husband and his dog Hugo (who is quickly becoming a well-known character in the Seattle theatre community).
Aside from designing, he has a variety of skills in construction and art. He’s been a staff carpenter for Steppenwolf Theatre and Alley Theatre, which has afforded him opportunities to work with some of the best designers and technicians in the United States. Through these experiences, he has benefitted from observing their working styles, and how their work was received.
Several shows he’s worked on for these companies have moved to Broadway and Off-Broadway runs. Some have received Tony nominations and wins (Not About Nightingales, The Civil War, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, 2012, and others), and a Tony Award for Best Set Design (August: Osage County). He has also served as Resident Set Designer and Technical Director for Naples Dinner Theatre, and has been the Technical Director on many of his designs, giving him the ability to easily talk with shops, get the desired effect in budget and time frame, with an end goal of effective and efficient use of materials and resources—without compromising creativity.
He has also designed and built furniture, art pieces, and remodeled several of his residences, giving him practical, real-world experience that he applies in the theatre world.