Kirsten attained her Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. After several years of acting, designing and producing community theatre in Yellowknife, she specialized in lighting design at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal.

Kirsten has designed lighting for: the Shaw Festival, Drayton Entertainment, the Segal Centre, Centaur Theatre, Théâtre du Rideau Vert, Magnus Theatre, Sudbury Theatre Centre, Neptune Theatre, Gros Morne Theatre Festival, Theatre Baddeck, Watermark Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Lost&Found Theatre, Teesri Duniya, Carousel Players, Essential Collective Theatre, Lyndesfarne Theatre Projects, Hart House Theatre, Concordia University, University of Waterloo, University of Windsor, Theatre Sheridan, and George Brown Theatre School.

Kirsten is a member of Associated Designers of Canada, and L’Association des Professionnels des Arts de la Scène du Québec. She resides in Kitchener, Ontario.