About

Tania is a scenic designer and artisan for the theatre. She received her B. Arch in architecture from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru in 2015. Before beginning her MFA, she worked as an architect for 5 years in the architecture studio Vicca Verde in Lima, Peru, starting as a trainee and working her way up to project manager.

She received her MFA in Scenic Design from the Pennsylvania State University. She received the Creative Achievement Award from the College of Arts and Architecture and the Anne Gibson Award for Professional Development in Theatre Design and Technology in 2020.

Production credits include Panto Alicia in Wonderland at Stages Houston directed by Marissa Castillo and Benito Vasquez, A Little Night Music directed by Phillip Fazio and To Kill a Mockingbird directed by Susan Schulman at The Pennsylvania State University. She has assisted Milagros Ponce de Leon in the Production of Miss you Like Hell at the Olney Theatre Center in Maryland and Life is a Dream at the Gala Theatre in DC.

She was the Head of Design at the University of Central Arkansas and Assistant Professor of design at the Film, Theatre and Creative Writing Department.

She is currently a Tenure-track Assistant Professor at the Department of Drama at Vassar College, NY.

Awards and nominations

  • Nominated for Best Scenic Design (Tier 2)- The Colorado Theatre Guild's Annual Henry Awards 2024: “Inventing Van Gogh”

  • Creative Achievement Award - The Pennsylvania State University - 2020

  • Anne Gibson Award for Professional Development in Theatre Design and Technology - The Pennsylvania State University - 2020

Press Notes

  • “The actors create an intimacy, but the tech team paints around them and reinforces everything. The stunning tableau at the show's end is jaw-dropping in its pitch-perfect design.” Broadway World

  • “ And this production is technically spectacular. Tania Barrenechea’s set is beautiful and feels real, putting the audience in the recording studio with these guys but with a bird’s eye view of every detail, from the working clock and rotating tape in the recording booth to the exposed brick exteriors for intimate smoke-break conversations to the neon signs that capture place and time.” Revue Arts

  • “Tania Barrenechea’s mid-century set is period perfect, down to the bear paw and bunny slippers under the couch.” Buffalo Theatre Guide

  • “The best way to describe the home is to look back at a “shotgun” house or a “railway flat.” Basically, that means it’s long and thin and usually wedged in from each side, leaving limited natural light and only front and rear entrances. The Alleyway stage is different and Tania Barrenechea’s set design is a masterpiece at making it all work. “ Speak Up W NY

  • “Inventing Van Gogh is a thought-provoking and visually stunning theatrical experience.” On Stage Colorado

  • “Set designer Tania Barrenechea has delivered an iconic space filled with portable props designed by Adriana Ayala that fill the room.” The Berkshire Edge

  • “The scenic design by Tania Barrenechea is clever, practical and simple. Consisting essentially of nothing more than black square walls, with seemingly random hooks scattered on each piece, and several rolling open sided boxes resembling food service carts which alternately serve as platforms, prisons, and storage, the set is an understated complement to the action which unfolds in front of, and eventually upon, it.“ Berkshire on Stage Blog