Sweeney Todd
Lighting Designer
Sweeney Todd was my first lead design of a musical for Baylor University's mainstage. This was a very large-scale project and I faced many challenges that forced me to grow both as a lighting designer but also as a creative collaborator. It was intimidating for me at first to be the only student in design meetings with my professors, but I eventually gained my footing and was able to lead my design area and take charge in the ways that I needed to in order to accomplish my goals. Alongside a boost in my confidence in leadership skills, this show taught me a lot about working as a collaborator in theatre. There were many aspects of the design that required me to work closely with the scenic designer (Michael Sullivan). Throughout many meetings over topics such as an arc in the stage's pit, where footlighting could be implemented into the design without taking us out of the world, practical smokestacks with fog machines, and an oven that needed to be able to engulf our Lovett in flames, I gained a lot of experience in effective ways to communicate ideas and concerns across different departments and skill in finding solutions that worked for everyone. This show also gave me a lot of practical knowledge and experience in creating a musical light plot, working with an assistant (Caroline Wells), programming fog & haze effects, and programming such a massively cue-heavy show (shout-out to the stage manager, Elise Fuselier).
