Lighting One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was a fun challenge! The director and set designer had a vision in making the “nurse’s station” area to be more industrial and structured, and as the set moved away from that station, it began to deteriorate - to show how the minds of the patients in the hospital also became broken. We chose to mimic this feeling as well with the lights.

Next to Normal was my biggest project to date, with over 150 light cues. The small cast of six each had their own color scheme that was utilized when they were on stage. The brainwaves in the background were also programed to be in different colors, and “strobed” with parts of the rock songs. LED bars lit up the textured background and at one point, beat in time to the “heartbeat” with the music.

The show was canceled after one weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I was fortunate to rebuild this show for the remount of this production in February, 2022.

This theatrical company did the exact same show, Scrooge, the musical the Christmas prior, and one of the challenges was lighting it differently from before. The set was completely different with a revolving “clock”, and LED bars were installed underneath that were lit every time a ghost appeared or “magic” was happening. Fog was also utilized to accentuate the atmosphere.

“Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” has two casts - a present and a past - and several times both eras were on stage at the same time. To help the audience follow the “Then” and “Now”, the teens were bathed in colors whenever their scene was happening, and the adults were in a stark light.

This musical retelling of the classic children’s story utilized a lot of zoning, as well as specific spotlights as seen here. “Hallways” were created using light as Mary and Archibald wandered the Manor, just missing each other as they passed in the darkness.

Guys and Dolls features several different locations and different times of day. This scene pictured takes place in early morning, so the stage was bathed with soft pinks and yellows. The iconic sewer scene (where the song, “Luck Be a Lady” is sung), was created using a projection light to simulate water dancing on the wall, as well as lights shining through a manhole.

Children of Eden had a large cast and the director utilized the entire stage as well as into the house. Because the show featured several different locations, the director chose to convey the mood and location of the setting via lights and we projected 6 LEDs behind a wire scrim. Pinlights, held by actors, became stars and a special was aimed into the back of the house to spotlight Father. 

The look in 1984 was stark and white for the Ministry of Truth and for Room 101 - but warmth was utilized when the scene shifted to the interior of O'Brien's home - to show the difference between what the Ministry offered their underlings vs. what they offered those in the inner party. A solo spot was the only light for the scenes in Room 101, showing Winston alone and emphasizing shadows.

The request from the director was to have Godspell be "moody, with purples and blues and no whites until the end". Using only gels, we created a very moody play and one of the most ambitious to date. Shadows were our friend, and the colors helped tell the mood of the ensemble. Several chases during some of the more upbeat songs were also incorporated.

Area zones were again utilized for this fast-paced courtroom drama. As a minimalist set was used, the lights in A Few Good Men helped tell the audience where on the stage the action was happening as well as the location in the story (Kaffee's office was lit in browns, greens, and blues, to give the feeling of florescent lights, whereas Jessup's was lit in red, orange, and yellow as his office was in the heat of Cuba).

Deathtrap was another interior set, but with a view to the outside patio where we could again play with the time of day reflected through the window. A lightening storm was also created during the climax of the show with minimal lighting.

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Voice of the Prairie was a fast-paced telling of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and with simple roll-away sets, we again had to use light to convey location and time of day. Blues were used during the snow storm and moody lighting for the times inside the cabin.

A Christmas Carol used zones to help the audience know the scenes and the locations. No colors, just a general wash but lit in a way to keep it dark and mysterious. Special effects (pyrotechnics) were used in the fireplace and LEDs in Marley's cloak to give him that other-worldly and ghostly look.