Light Talk with The Lumen Brothers

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, as part of our Young Designers Series, The Lumen Brothers and Sister interview USITT PAT MacKay Diversity in Design Scholarship Winners Darius Knight Evans and Elena Hewett.   In this episode, Elena, Darius, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: How young designers find the right education; Different paths in discovering lighting design careers; Connecting with th...

In this 2026 New Years Extravaganza, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: What we did last night; Swag Complaints; Comfy Socks; Lighting "Rockin' New Years Eve with Dick Clark"; Where broadcast lighting designers dock their yachts; Video quality in movie theaters; Outstanding art direction on Apple TV; The future of projections; Fake theatrical lights in projectipon content; "Maybe Happy Endin...

In this episode of THE BEST OF LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister celebrate the holidays with this 2020 recording of that year's Lumen Holiday Extravaganza! Join Ellen, Steve, Brackley, Stan, and David as they pontificate about: Favorite Holiday Songs; Lighting devices for our stockings; Stan's new eyeballs; Brackley's drug store glasses; Rudolph's gender identity; What do Jews do for Chris...

In this 2025 LDI Review Episode, Kelsey, Steve, Dennis, Brackley and David discuss: Our Light Talk live show;  Impressive new products; What we wanted to see but didn't; Our favorite booths; Our favorite demos/shows; Our favorite circle bar drinks; Battle of the busk; Our favorite swag; LDI Awards; and Our favorite Viva Las Vegas moments! Nothing is Taboo, Nothing is Sacred, and Very Little Makes...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister present their LIVE AT LDI IN LAS VEGAS show presented on December 7, 2025. In this episode, Ellen, Zac, Steve, Dennis, Brackley, David, and Snoot answer live audience questions about: Why we hate and love Followspots, What are the next big advances in lighting fixtures; The most fun lighting jobs we have done; Why the A-Frame ladder...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers pontificate about everything from What We Hope to See at LDI, to 1960's Flashbacks. In this episode, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: LDI Excitement!; Transferring a production from a proscenium stage to an arena stage; Site Surveys; Feeling the "Vive of the Space"; Finding a path out of the womb; Dancing Mirror Balls; Honey Badgers; New produ...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, as part of our Young Designers Series, interviews lighting designer and Programmer, Rane Renshaw. In this episode, Rane, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: Brackley's Legendary X-Rated Pool Party; Light Talk at LDI Surprise SWAG; The Village People; Designing at the huge nightclubs in Vegas; Rane's beginning his career at the...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, as part of our Young Designers Series, the Lumen family interviews lighting designer and Emmy Award winner, Hannah Kerman. In this episode, Hannah, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and Brackly discuss: Early days in Dallas;  Hannah's early years at Carnegie Mellon; Skipping grad school for real-world training in the industry; Cold-Emailing des...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, From "The Best of Light Talk", we revisit last year's 7th Annual LIGHT TALK LIVE show from LDI!  The Lumen Family talks about everything from AI Madness to Our Favorite Sandwiches. Join Anne, Steve, Brackley, Zak, Stan, Snoot, and David as they pontificate about: The future of AI in our industry; What will be the relationshop of lighting and video sources in the futu...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen family interviews lighting designers Leo Lei and Sam Molitoriss. In this episode, Leo, Sam, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: The future of integrating the various lighting CAD and database programs to an all-in-one software; Consolidation vs. Fragmentation; When will AI make all this moot?; Should academic institut...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Lighting challenging faces on television to Unfortunate news about your design fee. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Recapping our interview with Justin Townsend; The Daytime Emmy Awards for Lighting; Gobo sizing; Clever uplight solutions; Chin and Catch Lights; What happens when...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen family interviews Broadway lighting designer Justin Townsend. In this episode, Justin, Ellen, Steve, and Dennis discuss: Justin's journey as a lighting designer; Teaching hand drafting; Working with Jonathan Groff and Alex Timbers; A trip to Home Depot for Mini 10's; "Bat Boy"; Teaching at NYU; "Here Lies Love"; Collaborat...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister present their annual Halloween Spectacular! Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: What to feed the kiddies; Annoying your neighbors; Planning your display with the right design apporach; What to do when kids start  talking to inflatables; Halloween ghosts projections; Bats in the Belfry; Using haze, smoke, and s...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Cue Server to Director Talk. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and Stan as they pontificate about: News from Dallas and Bobby Hale; The futility of lighting black drapes; The production design of "The Studio"; What Ozzy really thought of Spinal Tap; Apple's "For All Mankind"; How to understand "Director Speak"; Workin...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, as part of our "Young Designers Series", the Lumen Family interviews Production and Concert Touring Designer Cort Lawrence . In this episode, Cort, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, Zac, and David discuss: Working with immersive video screens in design; Using AI in design development; Programmers and designers using AI to scan audio tracks to f...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, as part of our "Emerging Young Artists Series", the Lumen Family interviews Broadway Lighting Designer Colleen Doherty. In this episode, Colleen, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: The Prime Time Emmy cinematography and lighting winners; Trump's Emmy; Starting as a performer in Florida; Undergrad and Graduate School Days; Gett...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen Family interviews Lighting Entrepreneur and "Geezers of Gear" podcaster Marcel Fairbairn. In this episode, Marcel, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: Being the Poorest guy in Wellington;  GearSource; Musical roots; The "Rock Mass"; Early days at Martin; Crazy parties; PAL 1200 and RoboScan stories; Ticket Bots; Dinin...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Mystery Budgets to Missing Professors. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Vectorworks says: "Thanks for the invite... but...."; The differences between an Assistant and Associate Lighting Designer; What do you do when your Superstar lighting professor is rarely at school; Knowing wh...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Rising  Vectorworks Prices to Dennis' Lighting Injustices. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Dancing in the Dark; The new Sphere Wizard of Oz show; Extensive uses of Gobos; Creating a stained glass look on a window; Paying attention to the playwrights' lighting notes; Designing the...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Being Attracted to Triangles to The Village People. Join Ellen, Zac, and David as they pontificate about: New time for "Light Talk at LDI"; Zac's new appointment as one of USITT's Digital Media Commissioners; Making the world safer for projections; Lighting Zones; Odds vs. Evens; Striving for a "Hot Center"; De...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen Family interviews Lighting Programmer/Designer and Tech, Matt Schiller. In this installment of our "Young Designers' Series", Matt, Ellen, Steve, Dennis, and David discuss: Getting started right out of high school; Telling Mom and Dad that you are going on the road; Doing the PRG Internship; Touring with Diddy; Safety issu...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK with The Lumen Brothers and Sister, the Lumen Family interviews Lighting Designer Mextly Couzin. In another installment of our "Young Designers' Series", Mextly, Ellen, Dennis, and David discuss Mextly's amazing and meteoric career. Mextly describes her fearless journey from earning a Pure Mathematics degree to designing her first Broadway show. Tons of wise words and...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk with stage designer and Professor of Scenic Design at San Francisco State University, Michael Schweikardt. Join Michael, Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they discuss the Passing of Legendary Theatre Artist Robert Wilson; and The ever-changing landscape of budget, enrollment, workload, and expectations that are affecting the futur...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from The "Ellipsoidal of Death" to  Poking Pigs. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: Upcoming deadlines; The Billy Joel documentary; How should a resident lighting designer or assistant prepare for a visiting guest designer;  Our favorite lighting fixture; "Shower Curtains Can Be Your Bes...

In this episode of LIGHT TALK, The Lumen Brothers and Sister talk about everything from Creating the Illusion to Remembering Ozzy Osbourne. Join Ellen, Dennis, Steve, and David as they pontificate about: David and Snoot's wedding report; Our memories of Ozzy; Royal Castle burgers in a box; Tomorrowland fire; How to choose your colors while using subtractive and additive mixing; Remounting shows an...