Tony Award-winning lighting designer Donald Holder* will present a session titled “The LED Revolution—Looking Forward,” on Friday, June 1, at the 2013 Broadway Lighting Master Classes. The session provides an objective look at the pros and cons of LED fixtures versus traditional sources, and how the use of LED's can affect perception and the overall intention of a design. Leading Broadway production electrician Randy Zaibek (who worked with Holder on Spider-Man and Promises, Promises) will also provide insight into how the explosion of LED technology in the theatre is affecting the planning, installation and maintenance of Broadway lighting rigs.
As a supporter of the “Save Tungsten” campaign, Holder writes: “As a professional lighting designer with over 25 years of experience in the industry, I want to express my support for the initiative to preserve the tungsten halogen source as an essential and irreplaceable part of our theatrical lighting vocabulary.
Although LED technology is long-lasting, energy efficient and has expanded our 'toolbox' in exciting ways, we will always continue to turn to tungsten-halogen sources when looking for a subtle and poetic light that can't really be produced by any other means.
An essential part of the lighting designer's job is to reveal the world of a play or musical in a manner that is truthful to the intentions of his/her collaborators. Tungsten halogen sources will continue to play a huge role in this endeavor, and I urge all manufacturers to consider how important they are to our profession before making any decisions that might affect the long-term future of this very beautiful light.”
Register for the BLMC by May 1 for early-bird rates and be part of this illuminating Broadway tradition now celebrating its 20th year.
*Donald Holder has worked extensively in theatre, opera, dance, architectural lighting, and television in the US and abroad. He has designed over 40 Broadway productions, has been nominated for eight Tony awards, winning the Tony for Best Lighting Design for The Lion King in 1998 and South Pacific in 2008. Recent/upcoming Broadway projects include: Annie (2012 Revival), Golden Boy, Spiderman Turn Off The Dark, Come Fly Away, Ragtime (2009 Revival), Promises, Promises (2011 Revival), Big Fish, Bullets Over Broadway, and The Bridges of Madison County. He designed the theatrical lighting for 'Smash' Seasons 1 and 2 (NBC-Dreamworks). Holder was head of lighting design at the California Institute of the Arts (2006-2010), and is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.