PODCAST · arts
Casting Light Podcast
by Casting Light
Featuring leading practitioners of the art, craft, and business of entertainment lighting, we serve the need for user-driven information in the hope of creating a forum for sincere, unscripted community interaction.
Episodes
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Jeff Croiter Pt 2: How to make lighting and influence people
Jeff Croiter is back on the show! This time, we discussed the musical Bandstand – Jeff explained what he did, why and how he did it, and how his design supported the show’s messages and concepts. He also went into great detail on his design for Freestyle Love Supreme, including the show’s...
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Jeff Croiter Pt 1: making magic with light
Jeff Croiter has had quite a career thus far. While best known for his Broadway lighting designs, his work on theater, dance, and opera has been seen from coast to coast in the United States as well as internationally and on broadcast television. He has been recognized with Tony, Hewes Design…
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Jeff McCrum Pt 2: Theater renovation, construction, and improvement
Jeff McCrum of Fisher Dachs Associates is back with us for more discussion about how new venues are built, how old venues are renovated, and what theatrical consultants do. We discussed some of his key projects as a theatrical consultant: renovation of the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre aka…
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Jeff McCrum Pt 1: how to make a venue from scratch
How does a new venue go from concept to completion? Who asks the key questions and makes the decisions that the venue’s utility hinges on? When a lighting position has no realistic way to access it or the houselights don’t dim, what happened during that venue’s design process? Jeff McCrum of…
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Elizabeth Harper Pt 2: on being inspired, and inspiring others
We are back for more with LA-based theatrical lighting designer Elizabeth Harper! This time we got to get into the details of her work on the world premiere of Kemp Powers’ Little Black Shadows at South Coast Rep, and the West Coast run of Sarah Jones’ Sell / Buy / Date at the Geffen Playhouse.…
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Elizabeth Harper Pt. 1: in Los Angeles, the play's the thing
Elizabeth Harper chooses to do great work that she can be proud of, to focus on important new plays, and do it all in L.A. Her love for art and for the creation of vital theater has fueled a career the speaks for itself, including numerous world premieres including Julia Cho’s Office Hour and...
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Bill Berner Pt. 2: the serious business of lighting comedy
Bill is back on the show with even more information about how he creates lighting for television, how the TV business works, and the protocols he works under on set during the pandemic. His nearly 40 years of experience on camera, first as a lighting designer and then as a director of…
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Bill Berner Pt. 1: 40 years behind the camera
There are few people who know more about lighting for television than Bill Berner. Over the course of a nearly 40 year career, he’s lit countless series and episodes of celebrated television, and picked up six Daytime Emmy Awards and 11 nominations. He shares a nomination for Sesame Street and a...
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Susan Rose Pt. 2: Cruise ships, installations, and programming, oh my!
The Squintress has returned, and we are thrilled to have her back on the podcast! This time, we discussed her extensive experience handling lighting on cruise ships, including how shows are set up and what the wide range of entertainment types and venues on these ships requires. We talked about…
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Jason Badger Pt 2: Lighting Everywhere Else
Jason Badger is back on the show! We talked about his work as projections programmer on a stunning production of Ring Cycle at the Los Angeles Opera, the curtain shows he’s created at the El Capitan Theater, how DMX based fountain control works, and what inspired him to get so deeply under the…
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Jason Badger Pt 1: Lighting the Happiest Place On Earth
Many lighting designers have been tasked with lighting a corporate campus, but it’s rare for that campus to include rides, attractions, and theatrical performances that range from brand-new technological marvels to beloved, decades-old experiences. After 25 years of work in theme parks, Jason...
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Susan Rose Pt. 1: The One and Only Squintress
Nashville is the place to go when you want to become a country music star, but when Susan Rose got there, she found her life’s work waiting for her. She knows how to take advantage of an opportunity – not only did she become a professional musician, she had the opportunity to learn to program the...
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Mike Grabowski: a Philly street magician lights Times Square’s biggest night
Mike Grabowski is on the show by listener request! He’s a Senior Lighting Designer at LDG, a member of Local USA 829, and has lit innumerable projects for broadcast over the course of his 15 year career. We discussed several of those projects, including the intricacies of his work on Dick Clark’s...
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Eddie Kramer: He knows more about electrics than you
Is six circuit multicable code compliant? Why do LED fixtures put load on neutral? What did old-time producers dislike even more than organized labor? Eddie Kramer knows the answers. He’s a member of the electrics crew at Radio City Music Hall, a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and...
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OK, Now What?
It’s the 50th episode of Casting Light, and we’re doing something different this time. With our business in flux and many people looking for some guidance, we’ve put together an incredible panel to answer the question, “OK, now what?” Reinvention, keeping abreast of industry changes, knowing how…
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Hillary Knox: lighting director, programmer, and problem solver on stage and in studio
Multitalented and multi-genre, Hillary Knox has found himself involved in fascinating projects throughout his career. Growing up in Nashville, he thought he would be a musician – but he soon discovered that the lighting department was where he fit. He cut his teeth working at Opryland before...
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Tony Bonilla Part 2: on building structures, building a team, and building your career
Tony Bonilla is back on the podcast! We had so much to discuss during our interview, we had to separate it into two parts. This time, we’re talking about a massive project that Tony and his company BNW Rigging worked on at The Shed in Hudson Yards, how lighting and rigging can work together wore...
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Tony Bonilla Part 1: An artist becomes a rigger, a rigger becomes an entrepreneur
Fifteen years ago, Tony Bonilla was already an experienced rigger, having toured with theatrical productions and rigged special events. Seeing some gaps in what was being provided in the business, he decided to create his own company: BNW Rigging. At the time, it was intended to be a D/B/A for…
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Cha See: designing new, vital, non-traditional plays, and helping others in need
Coming off a run of standout work, including designing lighting for Aleshea Harris’ What To Send Up When It Goes Down, Donja R. Love’s one in two, and Sarah Einspanier’s House Plant, Cha See joined us to discuss some of her productions in depth – and talk about how the pandemic has affected us…
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Christopher Robinson: lighting for revolutionary productions
Our guest Christopher Robinson has a lot going on, or at least did until the business shut down this past March. His position as the associate production electrician on Hamilton has taken him all over the country, he is Leslie Odom Jr’s lighting designer, he creates lighting for music videos and...
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Mike Wood: lighting designer, educator, previs contest creator
The Casting Light Podcast is back, and we’re talking with Mike Wood of Mike Wood Lighting Design. Mike is based in Nashville, TN, and works as a lighting designer and lighting director throughout the United States. Joining Mike and your host is Abby May, a frequent collaborator of Mike’s. Mike...
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Scott Barnes: making movies one cue at a time
Scott has worked with cowboys, aliens, the Whos down in Whoville, recording stars, and marvelous superheroes of all kinds, and now we're lucky enough to have him on our show. He's a highly specialized Wholehog programmer, working almost exclusively on big-budget, general release films. In this...
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Chris Landy: experienced TV LD, business owner, cheesemonger
Even before founding Vibrant Design with his wife Ellen Waggett, Chris Landy already had a colorful career as a TV lighting designer. With a start in theater as a teenager, he moved on to a BFA in theater from Wagner College, an MFA from NYU, and then broke into television at LDG. The acronyms...
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Pete Borchetta Part 2: a new home at Altman Lighting
We're back for more from Pete Borchetta in the second half of our interview with him. He's been with Altman Lighting for just over a year, but has over two decades of experience in the business. On the last episode, we discussed his beginnings, his career up until Altman, his work as an educator,...
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Pete Borchetta Part 1: How to rappel into a life in lighting
Pete Borchetta, who's worked everywhere from the Far East to the far end of Ashburton Ave in Yonkers, is kicking things off in the first part of our interview with him. He's been in the business for 20 years, and in that time, he's been a lighting consultant, educator, product manager, and...
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Dennis Parichy Part 2: Sharing a legacy, educating the next generation
We are back for part two of an interview with "The best creator of mood, time and place through light in the contemporary theatre," as per the Cambridge Guide to the American Theater. There was still so much to talk about with Dennis and Mike Baldassari, including Dennis' work with Athol Fugard,...
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Dennis Parichy Part 1: 50 years of illuminating the play
There are few who know more about lighting plays than Dennis Parichy, whose career has brought him into close collaboration with giants of American playwriting. His lengthy association with Circle Rep, and its founders Marshall W. Mason and Lanford Wilson, yielded legendary productions like Burn...
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Kellen McNally: Accuracy in surveys, models, and layouts lead to more successful designs
When a production takes place in a 300 meter long tent that has to be set up with almost no margin for error, or spreads across hundreds of acres where environmental and safety requirements necessitate accurate placement of dozens of elements, who makes it happen? As we become increasingly...
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David Arch: here comes the general
We want you to join us in the room where it happens with David Arch. David is a multi-talented lighting director and lighting programmer, and among his credits are 40 Broadway shows including Hamilton. Those, however, are only one part of a career that has spanned continents, genres and decades....
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Steve Lieberman: tripping the light fantastic
A great light show has been an element of the most well-loved and successful nightclubs and music venues since Jules Fisher and Paul Marantz put together the iconic designs for Studio 54 40 years ago. It took some time for promoters, club owners, and event producers to catch on, though – when…
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Daniel Connell: take us to church
Lighting and production design for houses of worship combines the design needs and skills for theater, concerts, and television in a new segment of the industry. This market is still evolving as more churches and organizations decide to add production to their services, and our guest Daniel…
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Robert Mokry: on lighting service, guitars, and becoming a businessman
What happens when a fixture is discontinued? Normally manufacturers will continue support for a given length of time, but no matter how long that is, production/rental shops, venues, and other users don't stop using them. More importantly, they don't stop needing spare parts for them – and that's...
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Kelly O'Connell: designing, building, and installing educational theaters
Kelly O'Connell joined the team at YES after working for the past decade as a professional Production Manager, Lighting Designer and Associate Designer in NYC and nationally. She's had to build systems from the tightest off-broadway budget to a fully funded 6000 seat outdoor theater. Most…
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Norman Coates Part 2: in service to his industry, his city, and his art
We're back for more with the Director of Lighting at the UNCSA School Of The Arts Design and Production Department! This time, we discuss an exciting project that serves the area around UNCSA, as well as the lighting students themselves: the Winston–Salem Light Project. Students create major...
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Norman Coates Part 1: the life of a designer, the responsibilities of an educator
Just over 40 years ago, Norman Coates took a trip from Philadelphia to New York to see a production of Waiting For Godot. Before the show was over, he knew he'd found the art he truly loved. Norman's passion for lighting has driven him to create stunning designs on Broadway and off, for national...
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Haskell Wexler, ASC: Legendary cinematographer, 1922—2015
On December 27, 2015, the legendary cinematographer Haskell Wexler, A.S.C. passed away at the age of 93. He lived an incredible life, including a tour in the US Merchant Marine during World War II, and had an amazing career running from 1953 through his death, including winning two Academy…
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Chris Lose: lighting director and programmer on tour, on ships, and in demand
Hailing from Las Vegas, Chris Lose has had a varied and consistently interesting 17-year career in the business. He found theater in high school, went pro during college, got another education at Vari*Lite, went cruising as a production manager and lighting director, and went on tour as a dimmer...
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Randy Wade: the Morpheus circle is complete
Randy is the Senior Accounts Manager at Morpheus Lights, which is both a major production rental shop as well as the US distributor for Ayrton LED lighting fixtures. He has been in sales and rentals for 27 years, having gotten his start at Morpheus back in the early 80's and then moving on to…
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Miriam Nilofa Crowe: creating lighting, creating community, and the business of art
Miriam Crowe has been a lighting designer for nearly 20 years, and has worked at every level of the business, from the Fringe Festival to Broadway. She is a founding member of Wingspace Theatrical Design, a design collective which promotes collaboration in and fosters larger conversations about...
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Chris Conti: managing some of the most exciting developments in the business
When Chris Conti became a PRG Product Manager in 2008, he became part of a team responsible for moving the goalposts on the state of the art. He is now the manager for PRG Bad Boy, PRG Best Boy, Series 400 Power & Data Distribution System, and the newly launched GroundControl Remote Followspot...
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Vickie Claiborne: control systems expert and educator extraordinaire
When Vickie Claiborne became the head lighting programmer for the opening and closing ceremonies during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, she was just getting started. Over the course of her distinguished 25 year career, she has programmed lighting and media for shows – and trained lighting & media...
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Brad Schiller Part 2: Building The Machines
In order for us to go through the process of creating lighting for theatricals, events, broadcasts, films, and performances, any number of other creative processes needed to happen first – including the specification, design, and engineering of fixtures and control consoles. We dive into some of...
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Brad Schiller Part 1: Feeding The Machines
Brad Schiller was there as the job of Automated Lighting Programmer emerged, and he has influenced the job's evolution over the last 25 years as he moved from freelance to High End Systems to Philips Vari*Lite to Martin Professional. We sat down with Brad and discussed his remarkable career, but...
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Laura Frank: Building a new paradigm for media management, programming, and planning
Today's televised events tend to lean heavily on video; in some cases, 80% of the scenery is actually a video surface. How does the content for all that real estate get created, handled and played back seamlessly? To find out, we sat down with Laura Frank: a screens producer working on some of…
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Bobby Hale: High End fixtures need high-end solutions
How are complex automated lighting fixtures conceived, designed, and built? Our final guest of Season One, Bobby Hale, has some answers to that question – he is a Business Development Manager with High End Systems, and has been with High End for over 15 years. While he works in sales now, he was…
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Anne E. McMills: She wrote the book on Assistant Lighting Design
Anne McMills knows well how important the job of Assistant Lighting Designer is. She has been an Assistant and Associate LD on an incredible array projects over the last 15 years, from Broadway to Vegas to touring to television, and has employed many Assistant and Associate LDs on her own design...
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Panel Discussion at 4 Wall NY: today's DJ's, tomorrow's designers
To help new people them find their way, Al Ridella and CJ Wescott of 4 Wall Entertainment reached out to DJs and nascent production companies working in events in the NY Metro, and invited them to a panel discussion about this end of the business. Your host was one of the panelists, as were Zach...
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Fred Bock: Making a home at 30 Rock
Back when he was completing a double major in theater and broadcasting, Fred Bock dreamed that he'd be able to make 30 Rockefeller Center his workplace. He made that dream into a reality, one that has included working on Rock Center, Today Show, Nightly News, Football Night in America, Macy’s...
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Mike Baldassari Part 2: theater, concerts, touring, and real estate
Concerts and theater share many things, from the uniqueness of any single performance to the dedication of their artists to the techniques used to move them from venue to venue. One other thing they share is Mike Baldassari, who has lit innumerable concerts on tour, on stage, and on film, and has...
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Mike Baldassari, Part 1: from The Garden to The Road to The Street
It was 1977, and Mike was headed to a Kiss concert at Madison Square Garden. The audience blinders came up, 20,000 people cheered, and Mike knew he'd found a home. Since then, he has lit Broadway musicals, including collaborating on Cabaret with the great Peggy Eisenhauer; television shows,...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Featuring leading practitioners of the art, craft, and business of entertainment lighting, we serve the need for user-driven information in the hope of creating a forum for sincere, unscripted community interaction.
HOSTED BY
Casting Light
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Casting Light Podcast have?
Casting Light Podcast currently has 64 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Casting Light Podcast about?
Featuring leading practitioners of the art, craft, and business of entertainment lighting, we serve the need for user-driven information in the hope of creating a forum for sincere, unscripted community interaction.
How often does Casting Light Podcast release new episodes?
Casting Light Podcast has 64 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Casting Light Podcast?
You can listen to Casting Light Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Casting Light Podcast?
Casting Light Podcast is created and hosted by Casting Light.
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