Judges
Contest Judges
Our judges come from all facets of the theatre and live event business! They’re excited to see what you’ve created.
Meet The Judges:
Genevieve V. Beller is a costume designer and artist working for stage, tent and screen. She is dedicated to the idea that art matters because people matter. She is a founding member of Costume Professionals for Wage Equity where she dedicates her time and talents to outreach, education and alliances with theatre artists and institutions who share her goal of creating a more diverse and equitable theatre landscape through Wage Reform. (www.cpfwe.org) In her spare time, Genevieve does her part to subvert gender stereotypes by creating and selling “Candi Staches,” hand-tied glitter mustaches in a variety of colors and styles for self-expression beyond the binary. (@candi_stache on Insta) She makes her home in New York among a vibrant community of storytellers, artisans and bodega cats. Portfolio samples can be found at http://www.gvbeller.com.
Zach is a human-being based out of New York City. A proud ‘Dog Dad’, and Escape Room Enthusiast, he tries as hard as possible to keep a level head, and a healthy work/life balance. Zach approaches his work from a painterly, art-forward, point of view. He feels that the lighting instruments are his paint brushes and the stage his canvas. He is a Dramaturgical Storyteller that deals in the medium of light. Having a very real obsession with human psychology, Zach likes to say he “breaks down archetypes for a living”. Spending much of his time visualizing the world in which he hopes to create, Zach takes into account all of the hopes and dreams of his fellow collaborators. Zach feels the lighting is the “intangible goo”, the “connective-tissue”, that brings the raw materials, of a multi-layered story, together into one cohesive visual.In his view, the lighting is a tool to help calibrate the emotional undercurrent. It is the delivery system. The majority of audiences would not actively be able to perceive, or put into words, how the lighting is changing, or positioning things, but they are subconsciously affected by the lighting at all times. Designers are like magicians, taking the spectator on a journey by guiding them with a sleight of hand. Please Follow Zach on Instagram to keep up to date with his lighting adventures, as well as see cute pictures of his new puppy Gabriel!
Coby Chasman-Beck is a New York based lighting designer who’s background includes theater, dance, fashion, corporate events, industrial design, concerts and broadcast. His international work extends to such countries as Ireland, England, Poland, Italy, Dominican Republic, Canada and China. Coby is a proud member of USA829(Projection Designer, University of Florida – Associate in Multimedia Arts) UF projects and Productions: Rough Magic, Dance 2019, Hairspray the Musical, 1984 (Hippodrome), Jacare Concert 2019 (Digital Worlds), Constans 50 Celebration Recent Projects: Madame Butterfly, Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors, Finding Neverland National Tour (US Assoc. Designer), Tell me A UFStory (Asst Art Director), 911 Memorial 2018 (Video Lead- Programming). Will Rogers Follies (Designer) Also: Jersey Boys, Ring of Fire ,700 Sundays, Dracula, The Musical , The Elephant Man, (Designer Broadway), All the Way, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Annie, Chaplin, Ghost the Musical, Brief Encounter, Lennon (Assoc Designer Broadway) Domesticated, (Lincoln Center), Frankenstein (Off-Broadway) Forza, M Butterfly and Aida (Baltimore Opera) Macbetto and Manon Lescaut (Washington Opera) Regional Projects include: Company, Sunday in the Park With George and Merrily We Roll Along (Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration) Villains Tonight (Disney Cruise Lines), Le Denier Judgement (Cannes)
Jennifer is a New York City-based Lighting Designer for theatre and dance. Select designs have been featured at Lincoln Center Education, Long Wharf Theatre, Flint Repertory Theatre, Detroit Public Theatre, The Know Theater Of Cincinnati, Gibney Dance, HERE Arts Center, Portland Stage, The New School For Drama, NCPA Beijing, Flynn Space, Ars Nova, Luna Stage, Company One Boston, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Theatre At Monmouth, among others. BFA Theatre Design and Production from Ithaca College.
https://www.instagram.com/jfoklighting/
Dalton Hamilton works around the country as a lighting designer, associate, and programmer. He has worked extensively in theater, dance, corporate events, and theme park entertainment. His lighting designs have been seen at the Nashville Repertory Theatre, Bay Street Theater, freeFall Theatre, Eight O’Clock Theatre, and the Manatee Performing Arts Center. As an Associate and Assistant, Dalton has worked for designers on projects such as Mike Billings (2020, Prince of Egypt, West End); Mike Wood (2016-present, Various Projects); Ken Billington (2015-present, Busch Gardens Williamsburg); and Mike Baldassari & Peggy Eisenhauer (2018, Cabaret Nat’l Tour). For a full list of credits, please visit his website. Dalton also holds a BFA in Theatre Production from the University of Florida’s School of Theatre and Dance.
Alex Jainchill is a New York-based lighting designer. Recent designs have been featured at Playwright Horizons, Manhattan Class Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Geffen Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Arena Stage, and Cleveland Playhouse. He has been the Associate LD on two Broadway shows Old Times (American Airlines) and Significant Other (Booth). He was also the Associate LD on the World Premiere of Dear Evan Hansen.
Jimmy is a Scorpio, new father, cat owner, and a music enthusiast, who enjoys scotch and bourbon. He only runs when chased. Jimmy designs lighting for opera, theatre, dance, corporate clients, architecture, interiors, and more. New York work includes Broadway, Off Broadway, and beyond. Jimmy’s work has been seen internationally in Abu Dhabi, Sydney, Mexico, Canada, and Germany. MFA from NYU Tisch. Member of USA 829
Charles Murdock Lucas is a scene and media designer based in San Diego, California. He has designed for companies across the United States and internationally at the Sofia National Opera and Ballet in Bulgaria, and the Daejeon Arts Center in the Republic of Korea. Companies in the USA include: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Barter Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre, American Stage, the Duke City Repertory Theatre, the Ohio Light Opera, freeFall Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Gulfshore Playhouse, Flux Theatre Ensemble (NYC), Virginia Stage Company, Broadway Rose Theatre Company, Eastman Opera Theatre, PCPA, Cygnet Theatre, and more. In previous seasons he has served as the Resident Scene Designer for the Ohio Light Opera, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Luna Stage and Duke City Repertory Theatre.
Recent designs include The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (Cygnet Theatre Company), Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Skylight Music Theatre), Out of Darkness, Into the Fire, The Turn of the Screw (Eastman Opera Theatre), Trying, Gidion’s Knot (PCPA), The Light in the Piazza, Peter and the Starcatcher (freeFall theatre), Curtains (Barter Theatre) The Royal Family (The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), Oliver! (Cabrillo Stage), American Idiot (Children’s Musical Theatre of San Jose), Mary Poppins (Children’s Musical Theatre of San Jose), Honky Tonk Angels (Virginia Stage Company), La Voix Humaine and The Old Maid and the Thief (Eastman Opera Theatre), Honey Fist, Sans Merci (Flux Theater Ensemble, NYC), Vita and Virginia (as Resident Scene Designer for Luna Stage’s 2012-2013 season), and George Frideric Handel’s Orlando (Eastman Opera Theatre), among others.
Awards and honors received include: the Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Showcase sponsored by OPERA America for production concepts for The Cradle Will Rock, the USITT Scene Design Award Sponsored by Rose Brand for 2012, the A.J. Fletcher Opera Fellowship in Scene Design, and the USITT Young Designers Forum. His work has been exhibited at: the 2019 and 2011 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, Mozawa’s Y PORTRAITS: AWAKENING in Chicago, and the DELURK Gallery. Selected images of his designs for The Whipping Man, The Tempest, Trifles, and Krapp’s Last Tape are published as illustrations for Scene Design and Stage Lighting 10th Edition by R. Craig Wolf and Dick Block. He was also on the board of advisers for the first ever OPERAHACK in 2019, sponsored by San Diego Opera, and Microsoft, a first-of-its-kind gathering of artists, designers, and technology experts from around the world dedicated to the advancement of the art form of Opera.
He is the Head of Scene Design, and Head of Projection & Integrated Media Design for the BA and M.F.A. programs at San Diego State University. He teaches scene design, projection and integrated media design, drafting, digital painting, advanced media design and animation, collaborative studies, and more. He has also served on faculty at Southern Oregon University, taught courses at University of North Carolina School of the Arts and lectured at Temple University, The South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the University of Alabama, the Associated Colleges of the South Conference, the North Carolina Thespian Festival and Furman University. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Scenic Design at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he was the A. J. Fletcher Opera Fellow in Scene Design. Murdock is a member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829 New York, Scenic Design Category.
https://www.charlesmurdocklucas.com
Abby is a NYC based Lighting Designer around the country and while she is not designing, you can find her on tour with Ailey II as the Lighting Supervisor. Originally from Tampa, FL Abby went to college at the University of North Carolina to get her BFA in Lighting Design and she now typically works in dance and musical theater!
Cory Pattak is an NYC based Lighting Designer. New York: Final Follies, Stalking the Bogeyman, Revolution in the Elbow, Handle with Care, Skippyjon Jones, Unlocked, Freddie Falls in Love. Regional: Resident Lighting Designer for the Broadway Center Stage series at the Kennedy Center; Weston Playhouse, Old Globe, Portland Stage, Goodspeed, KC Rep, Maltz Jupiter, Asolo Rep, Syracuse Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Capital Rep, Miami New Drama, Footloose for Norwegian Cruise Line. National Tour of Flashdance. International: Sunset Boulevard, Singin in the Rain (Brazil). Broadway Associate: Newsies, Peter and the Starcatcher. Creator of “in 1: the podcast,” featuring interviews with theatrical designers. 
LD, Programmer and Head Electrician from Switzerland. Educator for Eos Family consoles, Networks and theatre lighting in general.
Olivia Sebesky is an award winning, New York City based Art Director, Projection Designer, and Motion Graphics Designer.
Olivia creates video based art for theater, dance, TV, concerts and special events.
She brings a background in fine art and music to her bespoke digital media work, making her work stand out in the entertainment industry.
She has designed for James Taylor, Aerosmith, Hootie & The Blowfish, NOFX, Bebe & Cece Winans, Nike, Jordan Brand, Bloomberg, Spiegelworld, Tommy Hilfiger, Soho House, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, TED, NY Fashion Week, The Nasser bin Hamad Awards, TruTV, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Streb, STREB Extreme Action Dance Company, Fordham University, Charles Aznavour, Baba Brinkman, Paper Mill Playhouse, The New Group, Goodspeed Opera House, Martha Graham Dance Company, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and more…https://www.instagram.com/scott.tusing/
NYC based lighting programmer who works on Broadway, international, and 1st national touring productions.
http://www.chriswernerdesign.com
http://www.instagram.com/chriswernerdesign
http://www.facebook.com/chriswernerdesign
Christina is a New York City based designer for theatre, dance, music, and events. NYC: Lincoln Center, The Public, WP Theatre, EST, Primary Stages, Cherry Lane, 59E59, HERE, The New Ohio, Theatre Row, Urban Stages, INTAR, The Bushwick Starr, and Theatre for the New City to name a few. Regional: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Brown/Trinity Rep, Virginia Stage Company, Charlottesville Opera, Palm Beach Dramaworks, White Heron Theatre Company, Florida Rep, Bristol Valley Theatre. TV: Colin Quinn (co-design). USITT Gateway Mentor. Knights of Illumination winner. MFA: NYU Tisch. Member USA 829.Mike Wood (Lighting Design) is a designer and educator whose award-winning work has been seen throughout the country. He has served on the design and technology faculties of Marymount Manhattan College, The Collegiate School, Hillsborough Community College, and Howard W. Blake School of the Arts. He is the resident lighting designer at City Springs Theatre in Atlanta, GA and the resident sound designer at Denizen Theatre in New Paltz, NY. Mike is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local USA829. www.mikewoodld.com // @mikewoodld.
Judging FAQ:
Most of the judges self-volunteered after seeing my posts in the USA829 Facebook group asking for volunteers who wanted to participate. Some were recruited by me directly, and others were recruited by fellow USA829 members.
I did not turn away anyone who expressed interest in judging.
Unfortunately, no. You video will be viewed by a semi-random grouping of judges. The exact number will depend on the total number of entries.
We have a wide range of backgrounds in the judging pool. We’ll make sure that your panel is made up of “not all lighting” people and “not all scenic” people, to ensure as fair of a process as possible.
The judging rubrics have been available on Github since the end of the first week of the contest.
The judges will use these rubrics to score each entry. The mathematic totals will determine the top 4 finalists.
If there is a tie, the videos in question will be adjudicated by 2 additional judges each, at random, who have not previously seen the video.
You will get your total score upon the close of the contest.
As soon as we get a chance to process all the data, we’ll send out individual category scores and judges feedback, if you requested it when you submitted your entry. At this time, no firm date for this is set. It will depend on the total number of entries.
No, but you will be able to receive feedback if the judge has provided it as you have opted-in on the submission form. We are not requiring judges to provide personalized feedback, as they are all volunteering their time. They are free to leave it if they want.
In the interest of privacy, the judges are able to select, on a score-by-score basis, if they want to remain anonymous or share their name with you.
mikewoodld
