Live Design and LDI have appointed Hannah Kinnersley as the new content producer at Live Design. It’s a sort of homecoming for the British/American editor, as Kinnersley’s first job in New York City in the ‘90s was at TCI/Lighting Dimensions, working for Pat MacKay.
Kinnersley says, “I have so many fond memories of attending early LDI shows and working on the groundbreaking, but ultimately too far ahead of its time, digital community, ETEC.”
Before arriving in New York, Kinnersley began her career as a lighting technician on Evita in London’s West End, where she made lifelong friends who are still working in the industry. She also briefly sampled the life of a roadie running followspots for various touring bands, including Marillion (remember Marillion?) and The Damned.
After moving to New York, she volunteered as the board operator and assistant to the lighting designer on a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Gene Feist’s Roundabout Theatre Company. The show took place in a 150-seat space in a basement in Chelsea and proved to be a career turning point for her when she realized that, for the good of the arts, she should restrict her lighting design efforts to Christmas trees and settle for writing about the industry instead.
After leaving ETEC, she moved to Computer Shopper Magazine and PC Mag, covering commercial and technical developments in the early years of the World Wide Web. Always fascinated by the new digital world, Kinnersley next became a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, advising readers on how to use technology to win eBay auctions, translate foreign languages into English, and even learn the penny whistle online. As the digital world expanded to the classroom, she worked for online education pioneer 2U, building content for remote master’s degree students at Georgetown, UNC Chapel Hill, and the University of Southern California.
Before returning to Live Design, Kinnersley covered meeting technology and venues as senior content producer at MeetingsNet Magazine, finding a great deal of crossover between the worlds of live entertainment and large-scale conferences and conventions. These two parts of the live event industry are both facing similar issues: recovering from the pandemic shutdown and providing a safe space when we can all gather again. According to Kinnersley, “There are several obvious areas where both sides can benefit from the same technology. Facial recognition registration systems are one, where attendees for every kind of event can be admitted swiftly and with minimal exposure for people working the show, and improvements in green technology, cutting down on the industry’s carbon footprint. It is clear that many professionals from one side of live events also work in the other, and equipment manufacturers should be accessing markets in both.” Despite her varied career, Kinnersley has always stayed in touch with Live Design through its different iterations, from TCI/Lighting Dimensions to Entertainment Design, covering everything from cruise ship entertainment on the Queen Mary and Oasis of the Seas to the Eurovision Song Contest. She adds, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be back as live entertainment prepares to reopen. The last year has been horrific for everyone, but the end of the pandemic is in sight, and people will want to go to shows more than ever before. For me, the recent Mars landing is a symbol of how resilient and adaptable the entertainment industry is. NASA turned to our market for a microphone tough enough to withstand extreme temperatures and a six-month journey through space to capture sounds from the Red Planet. After a similarly difficult journey, concerts, theatre, and themed entertainment will be back.”
Marian Sandberg, vice president and market leader for LDI and Live Design, remarks, “We are so pleased to have Hannah back at LDI after so many years. Her expertise in the market, as well as her high level of achievement across many markets as a journalist, will be such a boon to us and the entire company. We are excited to have her join us in this year of recovery and on our road to LDI in November!”
Contact Hannah with story ideas or just to say hi at [email protected].