Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister celebrate their 500th Episode with this wild and whacky hour of hilarious critical exploration of what the Hell they have been doing for the past 9 1/2 years!

Join Ellen, Stan, Steve, David, Zac, and Dennis, as they reminisce about their favorite Light Talk moments. Included are their craziest moments with guests and Legends of Light; a few questionally tasteful "Light Talk After Dark" moments; Some totally whacky sponsors who were way ahead of their time; and a wild game of "Light Talk Jeopardy" (Definitely rated "R").

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Decorating your house to Strange Horrors in the Theatre. 

Join Ellen, Stan, Steve, David, and Dennis, as they discuss: Welcome back, Stan; Going into the haunted vaults of the Light Talk Catacombs; Prepping for our 500th Anniversary Show next week; Running power for roof decorations; "SJ" vs "BS"; Using GFCI; Alternate (not so safe) methods for roof power; Remembering Benjamin Franklin; Our favorite scary Halloween movies; Coping out on decorating the house; The "Candycorn Theme"; Skittles and Cigs; Led Zepp Halloween Magic; Stephen R...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Sisters present their second in a series of special round table discussions exploring Women in Lighting. These episodes brings together veteran women Broadway lighting designers, along with young professionals who have recently entered the lighting community.

Join Isabella, Maria, Jen, and Ellen, as they discuss: More challenges for women in the industry; What its like to win a Tony; Current projects; Advancing in the industry; Happiness through dancing; Musical influences; Being panelists at LDI; Biggest challenges; A "new" Fantasticks; Being a woman during "intense collaborations" and moments of adversity...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from     "Light Talk Jeapordy" to AI-ALD.

Join Ellen, David, and Dennis, as they discuss: Lumen Ladies Episode next week; Dennis' expansive memory; ALD opportunity for "A Light in the Piazza" in LA;  The best time to deliver the lighting plans and paperwork to the Master Electrician; A lawsuit from Snoot; Guidelines for a-vista scene changes; Hadestown; AI-ALD;  The takeover of the Entertainment Award Shows; "It's all about the Gambling"; and The Craziest Load-ins.

Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Make...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Dennis' Battered Yacht, to When to Just Give Up.

Join Ellen, Steve, David, and Dennis, as they discuss: Our 500th Episode plans; David is looking for an ALD; Architainment Lighting; Color Correcting "Bumper Shots"; Back to Additive color mixing; Mixing primary colors in washes; "Simple and Bold is Usually Better"; Light the people first!; Yacht Owners... To Be or Not to Be?; All about the LDI sessions, shows, and parties; Collaborating with Furries; When to decide to just give up; "Filling time" in...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Improvisational Lighting Designers, to Loving an Ugly Preset.

Join Cory, Ellen, David, and Dennis, as they discuss: Developing "Spot-On"; Designing a Disney/Pixar theatrical show; "Light Humor"; Developing the Podcast "In-One"; Broadcasting during Covid; When to reveal "lighting tricks"; Talking through the lighting with the Director before you start in the theater; "The Great Gatsby"; The secret of the "Green Light"; "Spamalot"; Thoughts on Lighting Education and graduate schools; Training under Ken Billington; Lighting and Jazz; Why Cue #1 is the most important cue...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Tearing Down the Kennedy Center to Dennis' Alimony Payments.

Join Ellen, Steve, Zak, David, and Dennis, as they discuss: The "Emotional Arc" of light; A high school student pursuing lighting as a career;  Learning how to be a Human Being; Looking for financial and health security in our profession; Advice and help from USITT; "Great Opera Disasters" and "The House"; Dumplings; The 9/11 "A Tribute in Light" and drone show; Drone Show restrictions; The "challenge" of lighting design; and Embracing the Chaos.

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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from numbering fixtures to watching the mansions float away.

Join Ellen, Steve, David, and Dennis, as they discuss: Ben Green's Emmy; The "9/11 Tribute" in NYC; "Space Cannons"; Don't Knock Miss Piggy!; Researching iconic lighting designs from the 70's and 80's; "Qello.com" and "Nugs.net" for old concert recordings; "Tales from Texas"; Proper (and somewhat controversial) ways to number fixtures and channels on a light plot; Spider Noir; Jim, Janis, and Drone Focus Deluxe; and A Stick of Uranium. 

Nothing is Taboo, N...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Lighting Designer Chris Medvitz.

Join Chris, Ellen, David, and Dennis, as they discuss: Growing up in Belmont Shore; The Guess Who Tour; Planning the Show Design; Considering "The Throwback Heritage Experience" when Designing a show; The process of finding the right setlist to support the emotional journey of the performance; Determining the size of the tour rig; Utilizing house rigs; Working with different video screens with different aspect ratios and resoltions; Specifying equipment types; Choosing color from the media content; Dealing with LED color for...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview esteemed Broadcast Lighting Designer, Ben Green.

Join Ben, Ellen, Steve, and Dennis, as they discuss: Planes vs. Yachts; Working with Al Gurden on Jesus Christ Superstar; Calling 12 followspots; The importance of supportive parents; Working on the Super Bowl; Live testing of new equipment on shows; Working with Kamala Harris; Building a Cardboard Box Light; The Oscars in Union Station; "Theatre that you are pointing a camera at"; The pleasure of working outdoors; Meeting the needs of broadcast and live audiences at the same time; Curling...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview esteemed broadcast Lighting Designer, Geoff Amoral.

Join Geoff, Ellen, David, Steve, and Dennis, as they discuss: Getting started in broadcast lighting; Geoff's many years at Saturday Night Live; A typical weekly production schedule for SNL; Lighting the musical guests; Working with the other great Broadcast LD's on SNL; "Trust Your Gut"; Working with Kanye West ("It's a Good Story Now"); How technology evolved at SNL; Working with Nirvana, Paul McCartney, and The Rolling Stones; Dealing with multiple LD's; Being out on the floor; Using the...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Sisters present their first in a series of special round table discussions exploring Women in Lighting. This episode brings together veteran women Broadway lighting designers, along with young professionals who have recently entered the lighting community.

Join Christina, Dawn, Elena, Kelsey, and Ellen, as they discuss: Challenges for women in the industry; Putting women in positions to "manage personalities"; Other training options for women besides pursuing a Bachelors or Master's degree; Preparing for a career in teaching; Does undergraduate theatre training prepare young designers adequately?; Challenges in touring; Recreating...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview the Director of German Lighting Products, Mark Ravenhill.

Join Mark, Ellen, David, Dennis, and Steve, as they discuss: The "EVEN" program; Flashbacks to days in Ft. Lauderdale with Martin Professional; David reminses about working with Gary Mass and Jorge Valdez; What technology will be driving new lighting fixtures; The story behind the X5 Dot; How the tariffs affect lighting equipment companies; How manufacturers deal with unsold equipment; The Edsel of lighting equipment; The "10 out of 10" Podcast; The "Juliette Console"; Finding "The Holy Grail"  for the L...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview renowned lighting designer Tom Kenny.

Join Tom, Ellen, Dennis, and Steve, as they discuss: Skipping classes to work for The Police; Early days designing for U2 in Ireland; Focusing 400 Par Cans for Eric Clapton; Tom's "Super-power"; What qualities Tom looks for in a programmer; How to get a gig with The Who; Getting jobs from Instagram; Banning cellphones from concerts; Working with Virtual Scenery and Lighting; A shout-out to Chris Kuroda; Transitioning into broadcast lighting; Leon Russell, Elton John, David Byrne, and David Bowie; Differences...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Starting a Career as an Educator to the "Margarita-To-Go Man".

Join Ellen, Dennis, and Steve, as they discuss: How can you be assured that the CRI rating in LED's will produce an accurate color; Designing the "Perfect Light"; TM-30 vs. CRI; How to market yourself as a programmer; The skills that separate the great from the good programmers; "The Stagehand Flashlight"; How to start a career as an educator; and A Sophomore's Tale of Woe.

Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Pre-Viz, to The Temptation of Total Administrative Power.

Join Ellen, David, and Steve, as they discuss: David's birthday discounts; Using Pre-visualization programs for productions; Vision, Capture, and Carbon; A (not so) tempting opportunity to become Chair of your department; Drunken Tattoo Nights; The qualities that lighting designers have that seem to make them good chairs; 10 rules for Speaking with your Set Designer for the first time; and Good classes to take in Community College to help prepare you for your Junior and Senior...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Leaving a Production to Suing Backstage Coffee.

Join Ellen, Dennis, David, and Steve, as they discuss: Madness at MSG; Max Keller's new book; 4th of July shenanigans; Repurposing your light cues from production to production; Is it really possible to work with a lot of directors over your career?; What to do when a family emergency pulls you away from a production a few days before load-in; The Snoot Group; Emmy Award nominations; Dealing with a playwright in residence; and Dennis up on...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Meetings with the Director, to Cringe-Worthy Concert Light Cues.

Join Ellen, Dennis, David, and Steve, as they discuss: Trump's "Great American Fair"; Advice on using followspots in operas; How to make inital meetings with Directors less stressful; Annoying, over-used concert lighting cues that we hate; Your first day as a rock n' roll stagehand; and Staying focused when the Director changes their mind.

Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.

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In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Lighting Designer David Grill.

Join David, Ellen, Dennis, and Steve, as they discuss:  Finding your first job; Why it took 37 years to get to Broadway; Working at Radio City; Working with Ken; Getting into Dance; "My Son is a Lighting Designer!"; Choreographing with Light; Stories from Designing the Superbowl Halftime Show; Sleeping under a Tarp; Working with new lighting technology; Luring one into the visual picture; What David did during the Pandemic; The University of Klages; Becoming a Good Teacher; and Advice for young theatre l...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Rowing your Boat, to Becoming a Visual Storyteller.

Join Ellen, Steve, and Dennis, as they discuss: Visiting the Asolo Theater; Dinner with Brother Stan; The Coxwain; LDI moving to New Orleans; The Four "C's" of lighting; How to survive a Lighting MFA program; The most important skill to have to be a successful professional lighting designer; and How to design a plot for a multi-purpose space.

Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Broadway Lighting Designer Isabella Byrd.

Join Isabella, Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David, as they discuss:  Attending this year's Tony Awards Show; Jules Fischer's Lifetime Achievement Award;  Historic Firsts; "No Boys Allowed"; Qween Jean; Lighting Theatre in the Round; Lighting "Caberet"; The story of DOTS; How union contracts are adapted for multiple designers working as a collective; Freelancers' rights; The difference between Europe and North America in the way theatre artists get paid; "The Most"; A "Production Design" Tony award category; Bringing Caberet to our time; "De...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister discuss everything from Wisconsin Shot Glasses, to "Breaking Up is Hard to Do".

Join Ellen, Steve, David, and Guest co-host Drew Bielinski, as they discuss:  What to do with crappy Light Talk swag; Slumming it in the ETC Lounge; Do you really need a degree to do this?; The Seven-Year Plan; John Haupt; Should you be in this business if you want to raise a family?;  What to do when a Director "Ghosts" you after a long relationship; When hiring an Associate LD makes sense; "A Be...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Lighting Designer Jen Schriever.

Join Jen, Ellen, Dennis, Steve, Zac, and David, as they discuss: Everything you ever wanted to know about lighting "The Lost Boys"; Straight onto Broadway; Lighting flying Vampires; Longing for "Luma-Suck"; Co-designing with the Director; Tech table madness; The beauty of slow cues; Being a part of Broadway history: Being a member of the first all-women production team on Broadway; Teaching at SUNY Purchase;  Living and designing in a LED world; Cutting noisy lighting fixtures; "Revolutions, baby!"; "The Essence of Love"; H...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Lighting Director and Director of Photography, Bruce Aleksander.

Join Bruce, Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David, as they discuss: Getting started in lighting in the 2nd grade; Theatre summer camp; Finding the way into television studios; Learning by working with the studio crews; "Signing with Cindy"; Renovating studios; Designing the lighting for studio sets with video walls; VIrtual worlds; The evolution of lighting news shows with the changing audience watching habits; Bad remote guest lighting; Does the audience care about bad lighting?; Will virtual anchors care...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Lighting Director and Programmer Chris Lose.

Join Chris, Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David, as they discuss: A tribute to David Goodman; Coming up... The National Design Portfolio Review and Design Showcase West; Falling for the pretty girl in High School; Getting started with "The Carnival of Wonders"; Working at Varilite; The best bunk on the bus on the Pearl Jam Tour; Working with Journey; Learning how to program; Working at The Joint in Las Vegas; Designing the Circle Bar; Chris' console of choice; Consoles in...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Reimagining the Tony Design Award Categories, to "Total Hackdom".

Join Ellen, David, and Steve, as they discuss:  The St. Barts Film Festival; Ellen in her Bonnet; The Tony nominations; Why the Tony Committee does not have Projections Design as its own design category; Watching videos of previous productions of a show you are designing; Will lighting designers be replaced by AI?; "Gaffa-No-Go"; How to say goodbye to a Director; and Tungsten fixtures we will miss. 

Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sa...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers talk about everything from Laughing at Your Mistakes, to Hanging Out in the Hyperbaric Chamber.

Join David, Dennis, and Steve, as they discuss:  Zac's new gig; David's Drone Focus Deluxe dream can now come true; Dealing with balancing the light from outdoor windows that are behind the talent; Crazy theatre nightmares; Trapped inside Vectorworks; "The Designer's Tiny Notebook of Excuses"; Will this be the show that finally exposes you as a "Hack"?; and, At what point do you say "No" to a director.

Nothing is Taboo, N...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from The inaccuracy of lighting console color pickers, to Celebrating the Invention of the Zipper!

Join Ellen, Dennis, and Steve, as they discuss:  Buying Manhattan for $24; The NAB Convention; Concerns about AI in the lighting industry; Dennis' lighting award for the Presidential Debate; How television lighting has changed in the LED era; Good color meters; Preparing for your first country music busk; "The 9 steps of focusing"; Dealing with Critical Feedback; and Looking at your show as an audience sees it.

Nothing is...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Dining with Bobby Harrell to "The Muse is Out to Lunch!"

Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David, as they discuss: The Bruce Rodgers episode; "Designer's Block"; How to design a "Black and White Show"; What the color of moonlight really is; David Waxing Poetic; How to get great lighting reviews; "Tales from Texas"; Good reasonably priced moving lights; What happened to VariLite; and Staying in Crappy hotels on out-of-town gigs.

Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview esteemed production designer Bruce Rodgers.

Join Bruce, Ellen, Dennis, and David, as they discuss: Bruce's genesis in the entertainment business; The beginning of Tribe Inc; Working with Bobby Dickenson; Challenging moments from 20 Years of Superbowl halftime shows; Conquring the design challenges for Prince, The Who, Bad Bunny, and Kendrick Lamar; "Let's go to Plan C"; "390 connections in 8 minutes!"; Working with the artists' creative teams; Developing the idea of "The Grass People"; More sophisticated audiences; and Advice for students of Production Design. 

Nothing is Ta...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Broadway lighting designer Kat Morrill.

As part of Light Talk's Young Designers Series, and to begin our 10th Season of LIGHT TALK,  join Kat, Ellen, Dennis, and Steve, as they discuss: Playing in the Pit; What is easy and what is difficult; Pretty Big on Punctuation; Getting started at Brooklyn College; How music came into Kat's life; Kat's process when working with a new director; Designing for cruise ship shows; Working at the SoHo Playhouse; Running Showtrax for "O"; Staying up to date with the l...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from The Bupkis Awards, to "Kaye is Yiddish for Trebek".

Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, David, Stan, Brackley, and Zac, as they celebrate and discuss all the insanity from the 9th Season of Light Talk. They comment about the past year, the future years, and finish off with a hilarious game of "Light Talk Jeopardy".  

Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.  

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from "And the winner is..." to Girl Scout Cookies.

Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and Zac, as they discuss: The Academy Awards Show; The Penultimate Episode of Season 9; Recomended texts about Broadcast Lighting; What is the best way to prepare to show your video projection portfolio; Zac and Wendel on "Artistic Finance"; The pleasures of working with Slide and Pani projectors; Video cues run by MIDI trigger or manually?; Merit badges for stagehands; How to stay inspired; and More of the most common mistakes...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister welcome Creative Director Melody Tsang and Lighting Designer/Programmer Caleb Franke to the show!

Join Caleb, Melody, Ellen, Zac, Steve, and David, as they discuss: The creative and production process for the Elation Lighting Booth show at LDI 2025; Winning the LDI Award; Learning and Programming the Obsidian lighting console; Preparing for "Plan B" changes; A 14 year-old touring with "Thorn"; Learning creative direction at the Parsons School; The new Elation automated lighting fixtures; LILI laser technology; The future of AI in lighting and creative direction; and Wise...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister "Breaks Out the Bucket" to answer unanswered questions from the 2025 Light Talk at LDI Show, and discusses the Merger of Tait and Silent House.

Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, Zac, and David as they discuss: Rolling or folding light plots; What are the most common mistakes young designers make; What the differences are between your relationship with the Lighting Supervisor vs. your relationships with the Associate and Assistant Lighting Designers; When programming your own show, how to make sure that programming does not affect your creativity; A...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister welcome acclaimed lighting designer Ben Stanton to the show!

Join Ben, Ellen, Zac, Steve, and David, as they discuss: Shoverling snow; Early days at UMASS as a jazz drummer; Teaching at Brooklyn College; Early inspirations; Beyond Synergy; Discovering lighting from music; How drumming connects with the creative process of lighting design; The connection of jazz and lighting improvisation; The process behind "Maybe Happy Ending"; Using Lightstrike; "A Strong, single gesture..."; The process behind "Fun Home"; Living and working with a video designer, and raising children when...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister welcome Award Winning Director and Production Designer Eric Siegel to the show!

Join Eric, Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David, as they discuss: Nautical navigation; Getting started in TV Direction and Production Design; Studying at NYU; Focusing on story and concept; Professional Internships; Discovering directing; Working at "Good Morning America"; Working with Lighting Designers on Film, Theatre, and TV; Creating with Cinema 4D; The Future of Drone cameras in television and film; The Evolution of the TV Director's Role working with New Technology; The Most Challenging Projects...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister review the 2026 Grammy Awards Show, Super Bowl Halftime Show, and The Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies.

Join Dennis, Steve, Zac, David, and Guest Lumen Sister Hannah Kerman, as they discuss these three epic events and their lighting and stage designs. Backstage during the lighting process of the Grammys; The incredible New Artists sequence; Working with previz on the show; Dennis' obsession with red dresses; How they lit Lady Gaga; Politics be damned, they also discuss how they really feel about Bad Bunny, and the MAGA Alternative Halftime...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister continue their interview with Legend of Light, Bob Dickinson.

Join Bob, Ellen, Dennis, Steve and David as they discuss: The future of AI in broadcast lighting; The development of broadcast lighting following camera technology; Lighting Elizabeth Taylor; Using multiple angles to build in flexibility; Considering color temperature in lighting for live and broadcast; Working with content creators; Lighting in front of video walls; Issues with virtual lighting content; Being disciplined with color and cues; The Athens Olympics; The future of Full Flood; Noah Mitz; and Wise...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview Legend of Light, Bob Dickinson.

Join Bob, Ellen, Dennis, Steve and David as they discuss: Yacht and other small boat ownership; Going with your instinct; Getting started in Broadcast Lighting; Solid Gold; Working on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert; Discovering moving lights and moving them to broadcast; Bob's first (and almost last) Oscar gig; Working with "assholes"; The importance of learning how to manage Divas; Designing the Tony Awards; and Working with programmers.

Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes Sense.<...