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Showlight Introduces New Workshops for 2025
Sonja Walker • March 24, 2025
Showlight Introduces New Workshops for 2025
Fresh for 2025, Showlight is introducing a new attraction - an enticing programme of informative, interactive Workshops guaranteed to get the creative juices flowing! These will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday 21 May 2025 and will be open to all delegates on a first come, first served basis, with a strong emphasis on student attendance.
The Workshops will be conducted by leading experts in their field and offer unprecedented insights into subjects from the latest technology to personal development. Numbers are limited so delegates will be encouraged to sign up for their choice of workshop via the Whova App when it goes live closer to the date.
Here’s the low-down on Showlight’s inaugural Workshop presentations:
WORKSHOP 1:
Colour and Light
Led by lighting designer, author, and co-founder of Studio School of Design, Clifton Taylor, Colour and Light in the age of LED luminaires will be a practical demonstration exploring design storytelling afforded by today’s high-powered, multi-emitter LED luminaires. Topics will include agreeing on a language of colour, and the limitations and possibilities of working in LED based rigs.
WORKSHOP 2:
Lighting Loopholes
Award-winning lighting designer, Sherry Coenen, has extensive experience working on puppetry and new writing. She will bring this knowledge to her examination of how to use non-theatrical lights in theatrical settings, theatrical lights in ways they weren’t designed for, and other lighting loopholes designed to show how giant dreams can be realised on tiny budgets and other restrictions.
WORKSHOP 3:
Redefining Success!
Founder of an award-winning, women-owned lighting firm, Traci Klainer has over 30 years of experience and more than 100 lighting designs to her name. This workshop will explore what success in lighting and beyond really looks like – and what happens when you start your career wanting to be a Tony award winning lighting designer and end up as an Executive Producer!
WORKSHOP 4:
Developing your own ‘Health & Wellbeing’ workplace strategy
This interactive wellness workshop will be led by the collective skills of Mig Walsh, Brant Thomas Murray, Dr Keili Camille Murray and Grace Halton. Participants will be encouraged to think about their own personal health and wellbeing workplace strategy; learn about emotional intelligence, burnout and the law and policies that can be adopted in the workplace linked to health and wellbeing, and come away with their own action plan to take back into working practice.
WORKSHOP 5:
Understand and Quantify the Visual Appearance and Aesthetic Rendering of Scenic "Objects" under LED Lighting
This workshop will introduce the SceALED project, a university project (granted by the French National Research Agency) aimed at understanding and quantifying the visual appearance of scenic objects under LED lighting, with the intention of creating standards and practical tools for performing arts professionals. It explores how light spectra affects aesthetic perception, develops measurement tools, and applies an interdisciplinary methodology combining artists, engineers, and researchers, and offers the audience the opportunity to participate in a psycho-visual experiment. This workshop will be led by Véronique Perruchon, Noël Richard and Ludwig Lepage.
More information on each of the workshop leaders can be found on the Showlight website at www.showlight.org/workshops
The new Showlight 2025 Workshops are sponsored by Platinum Sponsor, Claypaky, to whom we extend many thanks for their generosity in supporting this new initiative for Showlight.
Showlight 2025 tickets can be purchased now from the Showlight website at www.showlight.org
Hotels can be booked at special rates at www.showlight.org/hotels-travel
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The deadline for Showlight’s new Emerging Professionals Bursary/Scholarship Scheme has been extended to Monday 31 March 2025 . Aimed at early career freelance professionals to help make attendance more affordable, this is a fantastic opportunity to win a ‘scholarship’ that gives you access to some of the most creative minds in the entertainment lighting industry. Successful applicants will have free access to Showlight 2025’s full schedule of activities (ticket price normally €580.00) including the Papers Sessions, Workshops, Exhibition, Welcome Reception (in Dijon’s ornate, historic Salle des États), Company Dinners and the grand Conference Dinner in a glamorous, as yet undisclosed, location! A hotel room will also be included with the bursary and we hope to offer some assistance with travel costs too. “Showlight wants to encourage as many people as possible to be able to attend this unique conference and appreciates that, for those early in their freelance professional career, the cost of attending can be daunting,” says Showlight committee member, lighting designer and President of the ALPD, Rick Fisher. The Emerging Professional Bursaries is a completely new initiative, made possible by the generous support of Showlight 2025 Diamond Sponsor, Ayrton. It complements Showlight’s already well-established Student Sponsorship scheme to enable an even greater range of delegates to participate and enjoy this unique quadrennial networking event. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the best! Showlight only comes round once in every 4 years. Submit your application now via the Showlight website at www.showlight.org/bursaries . Just send us your resume/CV and 200-word statement describing your career and interests, and why you would like to attend Showlight 2025 in Dijon this May. The Headline Sponsor for Showlight 2025 is Robert Juliat, and we would like to acknowledge the amazing support Showlight receives from all its sponsors, a list of whom can be found on the website at ( www.showlight.org/our-sponsors ). Their generosity allows Showlight to maintain the standards education, entertainment and networking expected of this unique lighting quadrennial, and we look forward to delivering another sparkling event in May.
The preparations for the Showlight Quadrennial in Dijon in May are gathering speed with the programme of speakers almost complete and logistics rapidly falling into place. Key to the spirit of Showlight is the support received from our generous Sponsors and Exhibitors without whose valuable contributions Showlight, as an entirely voluntary organisation, could not take place. We are excited to welcome no less than 22 Sponsors and 30 Exhibitors to Showlight 2025, with more still to come, bringing their products and their presence to enrich the event over the three exciting days. The Exhibitor Hall is the centre of the networking space, where all delegates and speakers mix in between Papers Sessions to exchange ideas, meet colleagues and make new contacts. The emphasis is on networking, and talk revolves around shared ideas and innovations: LDs can give direct feedback to manufacturers, students can chat with designers, manufacturers can learn from lighting practitioners - established and upcoming - all in an informal, convivial atmosphere. New for this year, as an addition to the traditional stands, are sponsored tables amongst which delegates are invited to sit and chat over lunch and tea breaks. Our current lineup of exhibitors looks like this: AC-ET, ACT, Astera, Avolites, Ayrton, Cameo, Canto USA, CAST Group, Chauvet, Christie Lites, Claypaky, Coemar, Elation, ETC, FACE, Groupe Novelty, Highlite, LSC, Lumen Radio, MA Lighting, Martin Professional, PRG, Prolights, Robe, Robert Juliat, Roxxlight, Schnick Schnack, Starway, Vari*lite and Vectorworks. A special thanks go to these exhibitors, all of whom also sponsor a student or young professional to attend free of charge, giving them unprecedented access to those at the very heart of our industry, and the profession they have chosen to join. Exhibitor spaces are now nearly sold out, but there are still a few booths and some table top options available. Contact Matt Hallard on exhibit@showlight.org if you want to be part of this unique lighting forum. We also want to thank our unprecedented number of Sponsors for Showlight 2025 who currently look like this Headline Sponsor: Robert Juliat Diamond Sponsor: Ayrton Platinum Sponsors: Chauvet, Claypaky, Elation, ETC, MA Lighting, Robe and Starway Palladium Sponsors: Cameo and FACE Gold Sponsors: Avolites and PRG Silver Sponsors: Ambersphere Solutions, 3LR, Christie Lites, Martin Professional, Schnick Schnack, Vari*lite and zactrack. Bronze Sponsors: AC-ET and LSC We particularly want to thank our Media Partner, LSi, which does an immense amount of administration, marketing, design and backroom work for us, and to our treasured Media Supporter, Lighting and Sound America, without both of whom, Showlight would be whistling in the dark! Don’t miss your chance to be part of Showlight yourself! Tickets for Showlight are on sale now and can be purchased from the Showlight website at www.showlight.org/tickets . A list of discounted hotels is also available ( www.showlight.org/hotels-travel ) on a first come, first served basis, so be quick to make your booking! Finally, don’t forget you can sign up to the Showlight Mailing List to hear the latest news as it breaks.
Showlight is very excited to announce the latest round of international speakers to present Papers at Showlight 2025, as Willie Williams, Dr, Yaron Abulafia, Christina Thanasoula, Saffran Popille and Brad Schiller sign up to share their experiences with audiences in Dijon. The Visual Future of Live Entertainment: Too much, or not enough? Willie Williams , best known for his 40-year creative relationship with rock band U2, amongst his many other skills and projects, shares insights gained from his extensive work combining immersive visuals with live performance. Artists now possess the tools to choreograph an entire audience’s perception during a live, shared experience. Williams asks, what does this mean for a performer? Is this the future, or just a distraction? Too much, or not enough? ‘Working Light’: Realising Light-Spaces in the Spectators’ Minds Visual artist and researcher, Dr. Yaron Abulafia , whose work explores the dynamic intersection of light and space, will share his aesthetic vision of how he creates immersive dances of light to arouse spectators’ bodies and minds. He will present innovative production designs with kinetic and sculptural lighting scenography in some of the world’s leading ballet troupes, using examples from The Dutch National Ballet and The Stuttgart Ballet. Stage Lighting Design and Live Feed Cameras on the 21st Century Theatre Stage Christina Thanasoula has designed the lighting for over 250 opera, theatre and dance performances. She will examine how the dramaturgy of light is affected by live feed cameras as the ‘magnifying lens’ of lighting design combines with the camera to focus viewers’ attention on particular areas or actions on stage. Les Reflets d'Or – Golden Reflections on Dijon’s Architectural Heritage In a very special feature from our host city of Dijon, lighting designer Saffran Popille will give a presentation of the rue de la Liberté lighting project in Dijon. From the lighting design team and architect working on it from the beginnings of the project, commissioned by the city of Dijon, through the lighting design concept to the technical implementation, with particular emphasis on the dynamic lighting. Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone Based in Wales, Elanor Higgins has been lighting productions for theatre, opera, dance, musicals and children’s theatre for over 25 years. Reflecting on her role as Lead Lighting Designer for Galwad (2022), a transmedia, multi-platform and site-specific performance, Elanor will show how she worked in close collaboration with the Director of Photography and the Installation Light Artist, blending theatre lighting, single-shot cinematography and a water projection installation to create a unique visual experience. Transforming the Industry: The Promises and Potentials of GDTF Self-proclaimed ‘lighting geek’ Brad Schiller returns to Showlight, this time with a look into the wonderful world of GDTF (aka General Device Type Format). This standardized system is a godsend in the entertainment industry, allowing us to describe easily the properties of lighting fixtures and other devices. But beware, there are also some pitfalls in the current implementations. Learn how to improve your workflow with GDTF and Brad! Visit the Showlight 2025 website (www.showlight.org/speakers) to see the growing list of speakers, with more being added in the coming weeks. Better still, join the Showlight Mailing List (www.showlight.org) and social media sites to be the first to hear new additions as they are announced! Photo Caption: Speakers, t op row, L-R: Willie Williams, Dr. Yaron Abulafia, Christina Thanasoula. Bottom row L-R: Saffran Popille, Elanor Higgins, Brad Schiller
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