Josh K. Wilson

I am from Memphis, Tennessee and attended the University of Memphis, receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Theatre Lighting and Sound Design. I have a Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre Lighting Design and Technical Direction from Utah State University. My Plan B Thesis was written about four projects in Lighting Design and Technical Direction which included: Lighting Designs for The Three Musketeers and The Miracle Worker, and Technical Direction of Legally Blonde and Proof.

After working a few years, I went back to school to obtain my Master’s degree with the intention of becoming a Professor of Theatre Design and Technology at the collegiate level. I very much enjoy lighting design, sound design, and technical direction with my passion being to teach students. I love to design lighting, then I enjoy the process of problem solving associated with design. My best skill and the thing I enjoy most of all about theatre is figuring out the puzzle, physically the technology and process, of how it’s going to work together. Personally, I like to “think of something cool,” then figure out how to make it.

My responsibilities as Master Electrician are listed in priority below. First, execution of lighting requires accounting for technical, venue, electrical, labor, time, and budget requirements needed to implement lighting for each departmental project. As part of this, I manage the budget and purchasing for the light and sound departments. Second, I manage lighting crews on a daily basis, which consists of up to eight work-studies and as many as 42 total student crew members. Third, I am responsible for the creation of lighting practical’s including: AC/DC power, RC4 Wireless, LEDs, LED tape, illuminated hand props, set dressing, costume pieces, mounted on the set, and fixtures rigged to fly. Last, I design lighting for departmental productions as needed.

While at Baylor, I have worked in or mentored students in the following areas: lighting design, lighting technology, electrical skills, sound technology, and safety. I have taught several components of our departments Lighting and Sound Elements classes including: hang, focus, troubleshooting, dmx, ETC Ion programming, Vectorworks Spotlight, Lightwright, circuiting/addressing a light plot, electricity, wiring things, sound technology (as needed), and tasks related to being a master electrician. I teach components of lighting design and advanced lighting design related to technology (as needed) including: advanced ETC Ion programming, Hog 4 Programming, GrandMa2 programming, interfacing with digital devices, LED/automated lighting use and maintenance, show control with Qlab 4 triggers, and pixel mapping. Additionally, I co-teach the Automated Lighting Class which includes portions of the above skills and programming with ETC Ion, GrandMA2 and GrandMA 3D or WYSIWYG as a visualizer.

Some of my favorite previous theatrical positions include: teaching at Miami University in Oxford Ohio as Visiting Assistant Professor- Technical Director/ Master Electrician, then later (sabbatical replacement) Interim Lighting and Sound Designer, Assistant Lighting Designer/ Production Electrician at Tuacahn Center for the Arts (AEA Rep LORT B+) in UT, Master Electrician for Barter Theatre (AEA Rep LORT D) in VA, Resident Lighting Designer for Burbank Theatre at Summer Repertory Theatre in CA, Assistant Technical Director/ Master Electrician at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre in TN, Carpenter/Welder at the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre in UT, Master Electrician at TriArts at the Sharon Playhouse (AEA Cost) in CT, Lighting Designer/Master Electrician at Theatre Memphis in TN.