174: Business in Design with Don Holder - Lighting Designer

A conversation with lighting designer Don Holder.     Topics: ⭐️ Advice for young designers ⭐️ Managing finances as a freelancer ⭐️ Advantages of filing taxes as a C Corp   Video Version https://youtu.be/YXHdU1JVmRE   Artistic Finance https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance   Don Holder https://www.donaldholderlighting.com/welcome/portfolio/index.html https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/donald-holder-25700   The Lion King https://lionking.com/   Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Turn_Off_the_Dark   Eastern Standard - Don's first Broadway design https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Standard   Imero Fiorentino https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imero_Fiorentino   Bill Klages - TV Lighting Designer https://www.livedesignonline.com/news/memoriam-bill-klages   Randy Nordstrom https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0635210/   Frank Brault https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankbrault   George Tsypin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tsypin   Jennifer Tipton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Tipton   LDI - Free registration with promo code ARTISTICFINANCE https://www.ldishow.com/   LDI AF Recording - The Art of Tailoring A Show https://sched.co/1odhj   LDI AF Recording - Financial Independence for Creatives https://sched.co/1hUTn   Sylie Scowcroft https://www.financialgrove.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvie-scowcroft-55670361/   Madelline Song In Two Languages at Once https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GoEuuMEkng   Donald Holder has worked extensively in Theatre, Opera, Dance, Architectural and Television lighting in the US and abroad for over 30 years.  He has designed 60 Broadway productions and has been nominated for fourteen Tony awards, winning the Tony for Best Lighting Design for 'The Lion King' in 1998, and for the 2008 revival of 'South Pacific'.  Recent Broadway productions include: 'The Pirates of Penzance' (Spring 2025), 'Tootsie', 'Kiss Me Kate', 'McNeal', 'Anastasia', 'My Fair Lady', 'Oslo', 'Straight White Men', 'She Loves Me',  'Fiddler On The Roof', 'The King and I', 'On The Twentieth Century'  and many others.  Projects at the NY Metropolitan Opera include: 'Champion', 'Rigoletto', 'Porgy and Bess', 'Samson et Delilah', 'Otello', 'The Magic Flute' and the premiere of 'Two Boys'.  He has worked at most of the nation's leading resident theatres, and has designed over 100 Off-Broadway productions.  His television/film work includes the theatrical lighting for 'Spirited' (Apple Studios), seasons one and two of 'Smash' (NBC-Dreamworks), 'Oceans 8' (Warner Brothers Pictures), 'Gossip Girl' (HBO Max), and 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' (Amazon). Recent International projects include the 2024 London West End revival of 'Kiss Me Kate' (Barbican), and 'The Great Qin' (Xian, China).   Mr. Holder's architectural lighting projects include the refurbishment (conversion to all LED light) at St Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre, NY, Bond 45 and Patio at the Edison Hotel, Dance Theatre Workshop- West 19th St. NYC, Sony Plaza's Public Spaces and the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, AT and T's Interactive Communications Gallery in Bedminster, NJ, The America's Smithsonian Exhibition (touring 12 cities across the United States), and several restaurants in midtown Manhattan, including the Redeye Grill and The Brooklyn Diner .   Holder was Head of the lighting design program at CalArts from 2006-2010, then led the lighting program at Rutgers University- Mason Gross School of the Arts 2016-2025, before transferring as Head of Lighting Design at The Yale School of Drama starting 2025. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and the Yale School of Drama, and the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Muhlenberg College.   Instagram Handles @donaldholder12 @nicolevsteimel @ethansteimel   Interview by Ethan Steimel