Education

As a designer and an educator, I believe in the raw, transformative power of live theatre. As designers, we have a unique responsibility to present meaningful art that enlightens and informs. As educators, we have an equally important responsibility to mentor students as they discover methods for achieving these goals. I encourage my students to think beyond what is "the right way" and to push the boundaries of their creativity.

In addition to the artistic side of the work, I also place a great value on preparing students for the actual realities of a career in the arts and in the theatre lighting business. As an active member of USA-829 and an employer of assistants and associates, I am able to bring real-world knowledge of industry best practices, trends, and opportunities to students in my programs. I have close relationships with nearly all major lighting manufacturers and national lighting vendors/shops, as well as connections with colleagues and friends throughout the country at all levels and types of live production. I find that many students are graduating from university programs with no real idea of how things like taxes and insurance work for people in our unique line of work. It's our duty as educators to prepare students both professionally and artistically.

I am skilled at identifying particular strengths and weaknesses in students and helping create plans for young designers to develop and improve their talents. My range of experience in all types of productions lets me shift from mentoring students doing a large rock musical to a Shakespeare play instantly, and my people-management skills allow me to navigate and de-escalate stressful situations in tech with ease.

It's also vitally important to me that students stay up to date with ever-changing technologies in our world and in our industry so they can put them to work. I strive to stay current with industry technologies and trends and have a wide range of technical skills from lighting programming to database coding to construction and more. This technical knowledge allows me to connect the theoretical design world with the practical world, something I see missing in many young designers today.

Finally, I think that it is absolutely essential for any design educator to maintain a professional working career in the industry. A designer who isn't designing in the real world is not doing their students any favors. The only way to stay current on "how things work" is to actually be doing the work in a real-world production setting. I often facilitate video classes with my students when a project takes me out of town or otherwise away from the classroom, where students are able to get a video tour of the show, systems, and setup. I enjoy collaborating with institutions that share this core belief.

I long to work with students who share a love for theatrical design and who want to make this crazy business their career. I love watching a student fall in love with the art and science of lighting and it's incredibly rewarding to mentor young people to succeed.