Chauvet Professional 5th Annual Student Lighting Showcase Creates Learning Experience

	Chauvet Professional Student Lighting Showcase

The stately building at 1615 Vine has a distinguished history of advancing theatrical arts in Southern California. When it opened in 1927, it became the first legitimate Broadway-style theatre in Hollywood. Some seven decades later, it was purchased by the Ricardo Montalbán Foundation as part of its mission to promote theatre education and the work of Latino artists. More recently, the building, which was renamed The Montalbán, has also served as an incubator of budding theatrical talent by hosting the Chauvet Professional Student Lighting Showcase.

Now in its fifth year, the annual interactive educational event, which was sponsored by 4Wall Entertainment, gives lighting students from Los Angeles-area college theatre programs an opportunity to collaborate on design projects and have their work evaluated by noted lighting designers. This year's group of designers included Jeff Ravitz, Matt Ford, James Schipper, Rachel Miller, Mark Devlin, and Aron Altmark.

Aside from having the opportunity to receive feedback from leading professionals in the lighting industry, students got to work with some of the most advanced lighting equipment like the Ovation E-930VW ellipsoidal and Maverick MK2 Profile as they completed their designs. They also got to run their designs on ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium consoles.

Once completed, the students' designs were evaluated by a panel of judges. This year's winner was professor Anne Militello's Cal Arts team for its "Conga" design. The school was awarded a ChamSys MQ80, and the students, Caleb Wildman, Benjamin Wilson, Pei-Yu Lai, and Ryan Wichterich, each received a ChamSys PC Wing. Other winners included:

* Second place -- UCLA: Stephanie Laing and Vanessa Arciga, students; Neil Peter Jampolis, professor

* Third place -- Cal State Long Beach: David Zahacewski, Nathan Hawkins, Szu Wang, students; David Jacques, professor

* Fourth place -- University of Southern California: Edward Hansen, Derek Christiansen, Milner Sommers, Rudy O'Brien, students; Jeff Flowers and Elizabeth Harper, professors

In addition to the educational opportunity to collaborate on designs, the event gives students the chance to mingle with lighting designers as well team members from Chauvet and ChamSys during a relaxed reception.

"Those of us from Chauvet and ChamSys who participate in the Student Lighting Showcase enjoy it every bit as much as the students do," said DeAnna Padgett, national sales manager at Chauvet Professional. "Interacting with students and learning about their concerns makes us all better at our jobs. Plus, it's reassuring to us to see the enthusiasm and ability displayed by people who are the future of our industry."

Padgett also expressed gratitude to Gil Smith and the crew at The Montalbán for their support. Their collective effort has provided yet another example of how the building at 1615 Vine continues to be fertile ground for advances in theatre.