Lighting Design and Technology

CCM Lighting Design and Technology’s BFA and MFA programs are guided by a hands-on, experiential philosophy and holistic approach to the entire entertainment industry. 

We offer students real production opportunities, access to industry standard technology and professional connections through exciting faculty, guests and alumni.

Opportunity

CCM is home multiple performance disciplines: plays, musicals, dance and opera form our active and varied production season. Student opportunities also include film projects like CCM Idea Lab and other collaborations with CCM's Media Production Division. We also have large format projects both in class and out, led by faculty with broad industry knowledge in multiple disciplines like concerts, TV and corporate events. Our opportunities are not just for lighting designers; they are also for programmers, technicians, innovators, media designers and creatives across the entertainment industry.

Technology

Our Lighting Design and Technology students get to work with multiple different lighting consoles and media servers, along with conventional, LED and moving lights and projectors in three different performance spaces that expose them to a large range of production sizes during their time here. We have partnerships with manufacturers and hold regular new gear demos. We organize trainings with industry partners like Disguise One. We offer two semesters of Moving Light Programming and two semesters of Lighting Technology.

Connections

CCM Lighting Design and Technology has active and connected faculty with decades of experience nationally and internationally working in theatre, dance and opera, along with concerts, television, corporate events and touring productions. Our students regularly get to interact with a roster of guest speakers from a variety of specializations ranging from designers for European opera, Cirque Du Soleil and the iHeartRadio Awards to high level programmers, production electricians, lighting manufacturers and event producers. Our alumni network is vast and strong, offering students a network and community.

CCM Lighting Design and Technology alumni don’t just work in the entertainment industry, they lead it. Our graduates design on Broadway and around the world, run concert, television, film and augmented reality production companies, keep touring shows running and develop the newest lighting technologies. They have those opportunities because of the training CCM provides, and that includes access to contemporary lighting technology while they’re in school so they’re ready to assume leadership positions immediately upon graduation and, perhaps most importantly, so they can return to CCM and share their successes, both to inspire and to help train the next generation.

Learn More About the BFA Program Learn More About the MFA Program

What's new and exciting at CCM?

Disguise Media Server

Since it began, disguise (formerly d3 Technologies) has been used on the largest and most complicated of projects. Creating shows for the likes of Massive Attack and U2, from live events, concert touring, theatre, fixed installs and broadcast, disguise has brought a new way of working.

WATCHOUT Media Server

WATCHOUT multi-display software is your fast track to creating spectacular shows. Use WATCHOUT to compose and manage all the different media elements in your show — video, still images, animations, graphics, live feeds, sound — and play it back on multiple displays. Perfectly synchronized, high resolution and right-on-cue.

Previsualization Suite & Vision/WYSiWYG

WYSiWYG is an all-in-one lighting design software with fully integrated CAD, plots, data, visualization and virtual show control. WYSiWYG features the largest CAD library with thousands of 3D objects you can choose from to design your entire show. The seamless integration between Vectorworks Spotlight and Vision allows you to create design documents, automate paperwork, and visualize your design in rendered 3D views. When you're done, easily send fixture and model information directly to Vision to previsualize, program and cue your show

Touch Designer

TouchDesigner is a node based visual programming language for real time interactive multimedia content, developed by the Toronto-based company Derivative. It's been used by artists, programmers, creative coders, software designers, and performers to create performances, installations, and fixed media works.

Resolume

Resolume puts you in charge. You can play your videos when you want, how you want. Forwards, backwards, scratch and adjust tempo to the beat. Mix and match your visuals quickly and easily and play Resolume like an instrument. Whatever your style is, Resolume offers you an easy interface to rock it. Use as little or as many videos and effects as you like. The only limit is your computer's raw power and your imagination.

ISADORA

Whether you are an artist, a designer, a technician or a student and you need to weave together video, audio and other media, ISADORA is ready to serve your creative impulses. The software combines the video and audio processing engine of a media server with a hyper-flexible visual programming environment to create an incredibly versatile media playback platform.

Faculty

Headshot of Gregory S. Falcione

Gregory S. Falcione, 

Master Electrician; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Lighting Design and Technology

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Headshot of Thomas Hase

Thomas Hase, 

Visiting Assistant Professor of Lighting Design and Technology

513-556-9440

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Headshot of Sharon Huizinga

Sharon Huizinga, 

ON PROFESSIONAL LEAVE. Returning 06/2025 Lighting Design and Technology

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Headshot of Kevin Lawson

Kevin Lawson, 

Assistant Professor of Lighting Design and Technology

513-556-5803

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Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration Division Head and Staff

Headshot of Rebecca Bromels

Rebecca Bromels, 

Division Head of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration (TAPAA); Chair and Associate Professor of Arts Administration

513-556-5803

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Headshot of Jen Lampson

Jen Lampson, 

TAPAA Production Manager

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Headshot of Deborah Neiheisel-DeZarn

Deborah Neiheisel-DeZarn, 

TAPAA Program Manager

513-556-5803

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CCM's admissions process begins on August 1 (undergraduate) and September 1 (graduate) for entrance in the following year's fall semester. All application materials must be submitted on or before December 1 to be considered for specific scholarship awards. Visit the CCM Admissions website for additional application instructions.

Theatre Design and Production - BFA

Pre-screening

Applicants must submit the required pre-screening materials via getacceptd.com/ccm on or before December 3 in order to be considered for admission and invited for an audition.

Pre-screening Requirements
  • Current resume
  • 500-word applicant statement
    • Use the 500-word statement to express: how you came to your area of theater design and production, what you expect to gain out of the CCM experience, and what direction you intend to go upon graduation. What are your personal and professional goals and how does CCM get you closer to those goals?
  • Upload contact information for three references
  • Portfolio (include theatre, artistic, and/or craft work)
  • Theatre Design and Production questionnaire

Interview

Interview Requirements
  • Application materials, along with experiences, achievements and long-range goals will be discussed at the applicant’s interview. All applicants will interview with faculty from the Theatre Design and Production department.

Additional Information

  • Candidates should only apply to one major within Theatre Design and Production unless you are seriously considering two areas.

Theatre Design and Production - MFA

Pre-screening

Applicants must submit a graduate application by March 1 and the required pre-screening materials via getacceptd.com/ccm on or before March 3 in order to request an interview with the faculty and be considered for admissions.

If you’ve participated in U/RTA you must submit the required materials (listed below) to Acceptd to be considered for admissions into CCM. 

Pre-screening Requirements
  • Current resume
  • 500-word applicant statement
    • Use the 500-word statement to express: how you came to your area of theater design and production, what you expect to gain out of the CCM experience, and what direction you intend to go upon graduation. What are your personal and professional goals and how does CCM get you closer to those goals?
  • Portfolio (include theatre, artistic, and/or craft work)

Interview

Interview Requirements
  • MFA Interviews should be coordinated and scheduled directly through the appropriate faculty. Visit the Theatre Design and Production website for the faculty directory and contact information.
  • Application materials, along with experiences, achievements and long-range goals will be discussed at the applicant’s interview. All applicants will interview with faculty from the Theatre Design and Production department.

You will gain valuable hands-on experience working with our industry standard professional lighting and video equipment, software and inventory, including:

  • Martin, High End Systems and Vari*Lite automated fixtures
  • ETC Eos Family consoles, GrandMA consoles, High End Systems Hog consoles
  • LED Lighting fixtures including a large inventory of ETC Source4 Lustr Series 2 fixtures
  • A huge inventory of conventional fixtures
  • Previsualization computer with both Vectorworks Vision and Wysiwyg by Cast Software
  • Disguise Media Server
  • Watchout Media Server
  • Touchdesigner, Resolume and Isadora installed on custom built media computers
  • High output laser projectors for large venues
  • Light lab for student use to explore your lighting and projection ideas
  • Four different performance spaces

News and Events

1

CCM student wins ACT Entertainment's grandMA3 Programming...

January 3, 2025

UC College-Conservatory of Music Lighting Design and Technology student Nate Miller was selected by the ACT Academy as the grand prize winner for the 2024 grandMA3 Programming Contest, where designers created virtual lighting shows using grandMA3 software. For his submission, Miller created a light show to accompany Daft Punk's "The Game Has Changed" from Tron: Legacy.

2

CCM hosts Moveable Feast gala fundraiser on Jan. 24, 2025

Event: January 24, 2025 12:00 AM

UC College-Conservatory of Music hosts its Moveable Feast fundraising gala live and in-person on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Presented by CCMpower, a dedicated volunteer group of friends, advocates and alumni, Moveable Feast 2025: A Tempo generates essential support for the next generation of performing and media artists at CCM. Learn more about the event's "artistic menu" in our digital program!

3

CCM winter apparel available for purchase online

November 27, 2024

Show your school spirit this spring with official CCM apparel! New UC College-Conservatory of Music apparel is available for purchase online. CCM's latest quarter zip and crewneck sweatshirt designs can be ordered online now through Dec. 8, 2024. You can preview both items below.

4

Giving Tuesday: Support CCM health and wellness

November 26, 2024

For the UC College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) community, Giving Tuesday offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact by supporting Student Health and Wellness. As our students dedicate themselves to the arts – pursuing rigorous schedules filled with practice, performance, and academic study – their mental and physical well-being is crucial.

5

CCM presents Bernstein musical 'Wonderful Town' Nov. 21-23

Event: November 21, 2024 8:00 PM

UC College-Conservatory of Music presents "Wonderful Town" on Nov. 21-23 in Corbett Auditorium. Directed by CCM Musical Theatre Professor Diane Lala, the musical features a Book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov, Music by Leonard Bernstein, and Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office.

7

BLINK: CCM students create lighting design on 'Insane 51' mural

October 8, 2024

UC College-Conservatory of Music students are lighting Cincinnati during BLINK, the nation's largest immersive art and light event. Illuminated by ArtsWave, BLINK transforms 30+ city blocks from Over-the-Rhine through Northern Kentucky on Oct. 17-20, 2024.

8

CCM Play Series opens with Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale'

Event: October 3, 2024 12:00 AM

CCM's Play Series opens with William Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale", presented Oct. 3-5, 2024, in Patricia Corbett Theater. A jealous king, a betrayed queen, a lost daughter and a fairytale ending. "The Winter’s Tale" is one of Shakespeare’s great late romances, full of magic and hope. Tickets on sale now through the CCM Box Office!

9

CCM ranks in top 10 most represented colleges on Broadway

September 16, 2024

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music has once again been named as one of Playbill’s “Big 10.” Ranked as one of the top star-producing institutions in the nation, CCM was represented by at least 24 alumni performing on Broadway stages during the 2023-24 season according to Playbill's coverage.

10

Attend a concert or show at CCM: Fall schedule of major events...

August 26, 2024

Experience world-class performances by the next generation of performing and media artists at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)! The college’s fall 2024 schedule of major events is now available; tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office.

12

Tony-nominated lighting designer Isabella Byrd is not afraid of...

June 12, 2024

Broadway.com features UC College-Conservatory of Music alumna Isabella Byrd ahead of the 2024 Tony Awards. Byrd received two Tony Award Nominations — Best Lighting Design of a Play for An Enemy of the People and Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.

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