Mark Stanley & Guests

This impactful, in-person course is your entry into professional lighting design practice. Class held in Lower Manhattan, New York.

Offered for Monday evenings and Saturday mornings in two 3-hour sessions per week, with additional lab time available for projects and homework.  We will be working with state-of-the-art equipment and working on problems, including:

Lighting for plays and music, programming, drafting, and more in a LEARNER-centered and INCLUSIVE environment.

This course is recommended for post-secondary learners seeking professional training and job skills in Lighting Design.

A diverse group of instructors and guests from varied professional backgrounds in live entertainment lighting will teach the course.

Schedule (subject to change):

Unit 1: Considering Light
Week 1 – September 12-
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m: Why do we put light on stage? Constructive ways to talk about art and basic lab procedures.
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Fundamental Console Training: Getting Started

Week 2 – September 19-
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: View Project 1-Light a poem, music, or painting
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: View Project 1-Light a poem, music, or painting

Week 3 – Septebmer 26-
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Qualities of Light //Angles Workshop
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Qualities of Light // Color Workshop/Movement

Week 4 – October 3-
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Qualities of Light //Form (Distribution)-Intensity-Movement- Workshop. Sketching Light
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: More advanced console concepts: Working with Moving Lights.

Week 5 – October 10-
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Exploring the text/source material for info and ideas. Mid-Course Reflection and Check-in.
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: no class, indigenous people’s day.

Unit 2: Designing Light

Week 6 – October 17
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Finding and Using Actionable Connotative and Denotative Lighting Research
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Translating Research into a visual language

Week 7 – October 24
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Lighting from the Humans out. Key, Fill, and our relationship to environment.

Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: View and Discuss Lab Project-Realized Cue seq

Unit 3: Scaling and Communicating Your Design

Week 8 – November 7
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Unit 3: Communicating your Design
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Scaling your Design ideas into a Larger-Sized-Space.

Week 9 – November 14
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Scaling your Design ideas into a Larger-Sized-Space.
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Creating Systems of Light

Week 10 – November 21
Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Paperwork: Sections and Elevations
Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Worksheeting

Thanksgiving November 26.

Week 12 – (no class on Saturday, November 28, 2026)

Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Draft Paperwork: Shop Orders and advanced Console Training

Week 13  – December 5, 2026

Saturday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.: Final Paperwork Project

Monday, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Music Projects, Course Reflection, Next Steps

Some limited partial tuition grants are available; please see the application for more information.