Meet Oti

Otinelis Iancu is the Technical Director for the Department of Theater and Dance at University of Redlands. Over the better part of the last decade, Otinelis has gained experience and honed her skills in a wide variety of technical aspects, from lighting design to scenic design and construction, to prop fabrication, and more. 

Otinelis’ love of storytelling and theater arts first sparked through acting. Through her exploration of that passion, Otinelis was featured in a commercial with professional athlete, Alexander Zverev, modeled for Harbor Freight (rather fitting for a Technical Director), performed in a number of plays (Hamlet in Hamlet, Catherine Donohue in These Shining Lives, Emily Webb in Our Town, Agnes in Agnes of God, to name a few), starred in a number of short films, and pursued further training at places like Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theater and Upright Citizens Brigade. Otinelis is an avid improviser, having done improv for well over a decade, and more recently, musical improv. 

Otinelis has a BFA in Screenwriting and a Minor in Drama. Despite being a film major, she spent a majority of her time in the theater, performing, designing, teching, and constructing for various shows throughout the years. She continued in local theaters following her graduation, leading to her being elected Technical Director of the Board of Directors at Redlands Footlighters Theatre, where she designed lights for 11 out of their last 16 shows. She has loved combining her training in theater and film by using her cinematography and editing skills to create video footage and projections to be integrated into live plays such as Marjorie Prime, Wally’s Cafe, and All in the Timing. 

Otinelis looks forward to collaborating on future U of R projects while educating the next generation of artists.