I have spent the last week here at the Live Design Master Classes and have learned more in one week than in the last semester of college. I have been given the chance to meet with some of the most important designers in their fields and pick their brains. I have really enjoyed this week and am ready for my next show to try all the things I have learned. Next year’s classes are already on my mind and what possible things I might learn during them. This was my second year here at the Master Classes and it won’t be my last. If you ever are presented with the chance to attend the classes do not let this opportunity pass you by, because it is the educational experience of a lifetime.

~Bill Digneit

It’s Friday and that means the Broadway Projection Master Classes are in full swing over at NYU. Here are a few live shots from today’s event:

Wendall K. Harrington presenting “The What, Why, and How of Projections as an Art and a Craft”

Willie Williams talking about LEDs

The BLMC was definitely an interesting and educational experience. It was great hearing what all the speakers had to say about their design aesthetics. I found the projections portion refreshing, especially the dichotomy between Wendall and Willie and how they approached their respective fields of projections. The products showcase was helpful; it was great to see all the different new products. I was always of the opinion that the more you know about your tools the better you can use them. Overall, I’d say the events this year were spectacular, and I look forward to the classes again next year.

- Shawn Duan

Student, NYU

To be completely cliché: this has been an experience of a lifetime. Its totally one of those things where you learn so much at one time, you just can’t take it in all at once. I am sure I will be designing a show a year from now and remember some random technique that was spoken about and carry it through into my design. Jules Fisher is short in stature, but when I met him face to face, he towered over me. I actually felt weird trying to pick these peoples’ brains. I mean, what do you say to someone who obviously knows that they are amazing at what they do? I guess after trying to speak with people, I turned into more of a silent observer. Peggy’s speech on sculpting time and rhythm was such a great session. I am so glad that I am not the only lighting designer that sings to their stage manager. It was such a relief to hear her speak about here approach because I think that we would agree a lot on how the lighting moves through time. People tell me when they see me watching a tech from the house it is like I am watching a football game. I feel like it is a lot like that with her. Kevin Adams has the best style. It goes with out saying that Spring Awakening was ROCKIN!

Over all its was phenomenal!

On to the next show armed with a new arsenal of ideas.

- John Horan

Lighting and set designer and 2007 USITT Rising Star Award Winner

If you had asked me about a year ago if I would be attending such a prestigious event as the Broadway Lighting master Class in NYC with some of the most important and accomplished lighting designers of our time I would have never answered yes. It is such an honor to be here and to be exposed so imtimately to the processes and design instincts of such respectable artists. This event is truly a gift to any aspiring designer and has served as a reminder that as people of the theatre we are all a part of the same community and share the same passions. My ambitions for the future have grown immensly within the last few days, and I have many people to thank for allowing me the opportunity to be here. I will soon be a first year graduate student studying for my masters in lighting design and cannot imagine a better way to start this journey.

~Carla Linton

Suny New Paltz 07′

Kristin Hayes (left) and Carla Linton