Young Professionals Forum: Building Designer/Programmer Relationships
How did industry professionals get where they are today? What does a designer look for in a programmer? We've put together a panel to find out.
Our special guest panel of designers and programmers discuss the collaborative process of building a lighting team. Designers Ken Billington and Paul Miller and programmers Ryan Phillips and Victor Seastone will talk personal experiences, best practices, and general advice for newcomers to the industry.
Doors open at 6:30pm, panel starts at 7pm. Seating is limited and first-come, first-served. Snacks and beverages provided before and after the panel discussion.
Hope to see you there!
About our panelists
Ken Billington (Lighting Designer) has almost 100 Broadway shows to his credit, including such theatre milestones as Sweeney Todd and the longest running American musical in history, Chicago. Touring productions include the current Waitress, Dirty Dancing, White Christmas, Chicago (worldwide), previous tours Riverdance (lighting supervisor) Fiddler on the Roof (from 1976 till 2012) and Annie (1989 till 2017) to name a few. Other projects include Disneyland’s Fantasmic!, Hugh Jackman in Concert, the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular from 1979 to 2006, and the architectural lighting for New York’s Tavern on the Green. Awards include the Tony, NY Drama Desk, Outer Critics Awards, Ace award for Television lighting and the Lumen for his architectural work. In 2015 he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.
Paul Miller (Lighting Designer) has designed lighting for theatre, television and special events across North America as well as in Europe and Asia. In New York City, he served as Associate Designer for over 25 Broadway shows, and his design work has since been seen on Broadway (Amazing Grace, The Illusionists, Legally Blonde, Freshly Squeezed, Laughing Room Only), Off-Broadway (Desperate Measures, First Love, Out of the Mouths of Babes, Clinton – The Musical, Pageant, Vanities - the Musical, Waiting for Godot, Addicted, Nunsense, Balancing Act), New York City Center Encores!, Second Stage Theatre, Skirball Center, Avery Fisher Hall, and numerous regional, touring and international productions. Paul’s lighting for television include Camelot (Live from Lincoln Center), numerous specials for Netflix, Showtime and Comedy Central, the internationally renowned fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Broadway Bares, as well as every live performance from the internationally televised New Year’s Eve Celebration from New York’s Time’s Square for the last 19 years.
Victor Seastone (Programmer) In addition to being on the other end of the phone as New York technical support, Victor has worked on Broadway extensively since 1997, programming moving lights on Tony Award for Lighting winners Light in the Piazza, South Pacific, American Idiot, War Horse, and The Coast of Utopia. Other favorites include The Invention of Love, Rock of Ages, Urinetown, Henry IV, Rocky, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Sunday in the Park with George, Misery, Falsettos, In My Life, and this season’s revival of My Fair Lady. Victor helped usher in the age of Eos on Broadway with its debut, 110 in the Shade for Christopher Akerlind, and its first Tony Award winner, South Pacific.
Ryan Phillips (Programmer) Ryan is a full time Eos programmer and lighting director who specializes in television and live events. He is the programmer for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and a proud member of IATSE Local One.