most of the time i spent following around our third year student. she was kind to let me sit in on all of her one-on-one sessions with designers, directors, producers, choreographers, and master electricians, which included Steve Shelley, Al Crawford, Michelle Habeck, David Grill, Rick Baxter, Gary John LaRosa, Mitch Dana, Beverly Emmons, and Ed McCarthy. There were also mini seminars on USA, consoles, moving lights and more. Before the exhibit and reception, we had a panel discussion about the collaborative process led by Ken Billington and the rest of the creative team from Sondheim on Sondheim (James Lapine, Beowulf Boritt, and Peter Flaherty). AND, did i mention that i had lunch with Ken Billington? :)
the most amazing thing about the entire experience was the spirit of the room. true to Gilbert Hemsley, these lighting designers were not only interested in the work you are doing, but also in trying to help you. who you were as a person and your passion for the work you were doing was just as important as the quality of the drafting or whether your pictures were in the right order. on the same coin, they were tough as nails--trying to make you better and showing you what needed to happen in order to be viable as a designer. i wrote an entire legal pad of notes on drafting, cueing, plotting, balance and composition, assisting, and what it's like to be a professional designer.
picture from the hemsley websiteand they were a fun lot. they all love what they do and they laugh and joke. that was wonderful to see. Being serious and hardcore has a place but it's "all about relationships at the end of the day" (Ken Billington). the review was like a big family, who was offering young designers a chance to form relationships that would help them for the rest of their lives. that may sound corny, but it really felt that way.
in addition to being in a room full of famous lighting designers, i got the chance to look at the work of 30 graduating lighting students--displayed beautifully. it was AMAZING--the work that these people are doing just blew me away. there were some stunningly beautiful moments and being able to see what my peers are creating was so inspiring for me. it makes me want to return to school and try to apply all the things that i have learned this weekend, so that next year i can be proud to display my work next to theirs. it was also incredibly interesting to see the different styles of design coming out of the different schools. you could recognize the yale or nyu student (and there was A LOT of pretty for sure!) and there were amazing people from schools ive never heard of with a completely different approach. there was one person from ucsd who had the most incredible exhibit i have ever seen! i really can't wait to present my work next year--it's going to be even more fun!
it is rare that you will ever be in a room with 60 other lighting designers--much less one where the primary focus is your artistic and professional development. i don't know of anything else in the world that grants young designers this opportunity. i am incredibly grateful to mark for letting me be part of this weekend. next year is going to be awesome!
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