Programs specifically made for lighting designers at all levels of their career
In conjunction with United Scenic Artists, Local 829 in New York City, join us for Vor for Designers on November 7, 2026 at 12 PM ET / 11 AM CT / 9 AM PT on Zoom or in person in NYC.
Scott K. Tusing and Jess Creager
Saturday April 25, 2026: 12-2pm, 3pm – 5pm. Synchronous Online.
One-day seminar on creating & adapting your lighting for the camera.
A LIVE online interactive course
September 12 – November 30, 2026. In Person, New York City.
A high-impact, low-cost course in Lighting Design with noted lighting designers from Broadway, Ballet, Opera and more.
Mark Stanley & Guests
September 14 – December 7, 2026. In Person, New York City.
The second essential course in our curriculum program. A deep dive into script analysis and scaling up your work for realized projects.
Mark Stanley and Guests
January 3 – February 21, 2026. Online.
Sharpen your drafting skills with Vectorworks Fundamentals.
Join us for a special community event at the Met Museum in New York City. Light Walk is a guided walk-through of the Met’s European art collection, 1300-1800, exploring the invention of light as a symbolic tool in Western Art. Facilitated by lighting designer Clifton Taylor.
Clifton Taylor
Studio School of Design is once again partnering with the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, Local USA 829, and TSDCA to co-host our annual series of Designer & Director-Choreographer networking events!
Jane Shaw and Daisy Long.
May 5 – June 30, 2025. Online.
Working as an associate or assistant on large-scale projects has become a viable career option. This course will examine the associate and assistant role in a large-scale Commercial (Broadway) production. You will also gain skills that can be applied in other areas of lighting careers.
Craig Stelzenmuller, Kat Zhou, and Guests
June 17 – 19, 2025. In Person.
Jane Cox and Mark Stanley are joining forces to present a special 3-day in-person workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark. This course will be an in-person, hands-on learning intensive.
Jane Cox and Mark Stanley
July 14 – July 21, 2025. In Person.
Studio School of Design’s Summer Workshop for High School Students. This coming summer in Manhattan. An eight-day intensive to include hands-on workshops with working professional lighting designers, a visit to see a New York show and tour backstage, and culminating in a public showing of the work accomplished during the workshop.
Deandra Bromfield, Emmanuel DelGado, Darius Knight Evans, Venus Gulbranson, Amara McNeil, Mark Stanley, Clifton Taylor. Guest Speakers Kevin Lawson, Josephine Marquez, and more.
September 8 – November 24, 2025. In Person.
A high-impact, low-cost course in Lighting Design with noted lighting designers from Broadway, Ballet, Opera and more. This 11-week course will be your entry into professional lighting design practice.
Emily Clarkson and Mark Stanley. With special guests Clifton Taylor and more.
After the first two sold-out walkthrough events, we’re going to do it again on February 14, 2025
This community event is a guided walk-through of the Met’s European collection of Art, 1300-1800, exploring the origins of light as a symbolic tool in Western Painting. Facilitated by lighting designer Clifton Taylor.
This event is limited to 20 participants.
Clifton Taylor
What is an image, and how do we create imagery and design to tell stories? Led by award-winning projection designer and educator Wendall Harrington, this two-session, hands-on, workshop will help you better understand how we communicate with non-verbal symbols to express ideas and emotions in support of realistic and abstract narratives.
WE HAVE RECEIVED FUNDING TO MAKE THIS COURSE FREE. REQUIRED THAT YOU ATTEND BOTH SESSIONS. Donations are gratefully accepted.
Expected Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will:
Wendall Harrington
“Why We Make Cues” is a series of workshops with leading lighting designers Jennifer Tipton, Natasha Katz, and Mark Stanley, designed to increase your understanding of cue placement, cue rhythm & timing, and compositional sequences to support story, movement, emotion, and musical expressions. Each session will focus on the unique aspects of either text, music, or movement that impact cue placement and composition.
Sessions include discussion of source material, how to develop cue lists, and hands-on cue creation with feedback from the professional designers and participants.
An in-person, hands-on workshop. October 28, November 4, and November 11, 2023 Three Saturdays: 10:30 am-6 pm
Target audience:Emerging artists to experienced professionals. The workshop is designed to be learner-centered, and the projects will focus on real-world lighting problems and solutions.
Expected Learning outcomes: By the end of this workshop, the learner will be able to:
Jennifer Tipton, Natasha Katz, Mark Stanley
This course will take an intensive look at lighting for dance and movement. How do we think about movement and light connect? How do we talk about it with a choreographer? What useful ways to create a cue list? How do you create a light plot from contemporary equipment? What are the challenges of managing a repertory plot and database for large scale dance companies?
Three (3) online sessions: April 8, 15 and 22, 2023, 12pm – 2pm EDT, UTC-4.
Mark Stanley
ONLY ONE SLOT LEFT!
Working as an associate or assistant on large-scale projects has become a viable career option. This course will examine the associate and assistant role in a large-scale Commercial (Broadway) production. You will also gain skills that can be applied in other areas of lighting careers.
As with ALL Studio School of Design ONLINE Courses, each session will be videotaped and shared with participants for a limited time in case you can not attend a specific session.
Studio School Courses are open to participants from around the world.
Eight (8) 2-hour sessions meeting online on Mondays (except May 28), 6 pm – 8 pm (EDT) (2200-0000 UTC).
This course is designed for early and mid-career professionals
Craig Stelzenmuller and Guests
Photo: “Billy Elliot” Scenic Design by Campbell Baird and Robert Andrew Kovach; Costume Design by Dustin Cross; Lighting Design by Craig Stelzenmuller. Pictured: Sam Faulkner Photo by Curtis Brown. Production at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, North Carolina Theater.
This online, zoom-based course will cover the ins and outs of setting up your own business, working as a freelancer under the new and changing tax codes, negotiating skills, and other parts of our life that are not generally covered in designer training.
As with ALL Studio School of Design ONLINE Courses, each session will be videotaped and shared with participants for a limited time in case you can not attend a specific session.
Studio School Courses are open to participants from around the world.
This course will consist of Six (6) 2 ½-hour Sessions meeting on Wednesdays from July 6-August 10 7pm-9:30pm, UTC-4 (EDT).
This course is designed for theatrical designers in all disciplines and at all stages of their career
Amith Chandrashaker and Guests
Photo: Fairview at the Soho Rep, Scenic Design by Mimi Lien, Costume Design by Montana Levi Blanco, Lighting by faculty member Amith Chandrashaker, Pictured: MaYaa Boateng as Keisha, Photograph by Julieta Cervantes
