Originally hailing from a ranch in western Colorado, Caisa began their life in the theatre at a young age when they went to rehearsals with their mother, who acted and directed at a community theatre. They got their first taste of design when a friend asked them to design the scenery for Forever Plaid, followed soon by scenery for a traveling outdoor adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. When Caisa decided to take classes at their undergraduate institution, Mesa State College, they discovered the joys of lighting design. While at Mesa, they were mentored by David M. Cox in both scenic and lighting design.

 

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics (their original career intent when entering college), they got a job working in the scene shop of a local dinner theatre, which eventually led to them becoming the theatre's lighting designer. After that, almost two years working as an electrician at SeaWorld convinced them to attend graduate school for lighting design. They graduated in 2015 with their Master of Fine Arts in Theatre, Lighting from Illinois State University. While at Illinois State, they discovered an additional new passion for sound design and have been designing sound for Arkansas State University shows, as well as professionally for St. Michael's Playhouse in Burlington, VT since 2019.

 

For eight years, they were the lighting designer for the Midwest Institute of Opera, designing Amahl and the Night Visitors, La Cenerentola, Carmen, and Le Nozze de Figaro, among others.

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Previously, they were the Assistant Technical Director of Lighting and Sound at the University of South Carolina. and the Associate Professor for Lighting and Sound at Arkansas State University. Currently, they are the Assistant Professor of Lighting, Sound and Projections at Southern Oregon University. In their free time, they enjoy martial arts, rock climbing, and reading mystery novels.