Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers

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...

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; Sle...

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 pr...

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 contract...

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 yo...

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...

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...

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 b...

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...

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; "T...

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 ha...

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"...

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 Bunn...

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...

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".   No...

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...

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...

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 relationsh...

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...

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...

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 sequ...

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 light...

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...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Sisters interview lighting designers/programmers, Aria Hailey and Erica D. Hayes.   Join Aria, Erica, Kelsey, and Ellen as they discuss: The challenges of being a woman in the industry; What its like to be the only woman on the bus; Opening doors; Great women designers working in theatre and the concert industries; New pathways; How to get the courage to st...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview renowned lighting designer, Jeff Nellis.   In this episode, Jeff, Ellen, Steve, and Dennis discuss: Getting into the business; Early High School lighting connections; Working in the Sphere; Using Virtual Lighting; Williamstown Theatre Festival; Working with "Screamers"; Working in Ken Billington's studio; Aqua-Marine and Salmon...