Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Rawson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ben. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I became involved with theatre in high school through a technical theatre class. I was trying to figure out what I had enough interest in that I could envision myself pursuing a career. Later I learned that I could not only work in theatrical production and design but in lighting design specifically. I moved to Atlanta in 2012 to study at Kennesaw State University. My first professional design in Atlanta was a new production, an adaptation of Red Badge of Courage co-produced by 7 Stages Theatre and KSU in 2014. From that experience on, I worked professionally at theatres around the area as much as possible during my undergraduate years.
In addition to in-town work and university designs, I pursued work outside of Georgia at festivals offering internships or assistantships around the country, which opened another door for me. I began working as an assistant designer to well-established professional lighting designers; these relationships and connections allowed me to explore various methodologies of the design approach. In 2015, I accepted an assistantship as a lighting intern and assistant designer at the Berkshire Theatre Group in Massachusetts. The following year, I was hired as the Lighting Supervisor Intern at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival in New York, which gave me intensive, professional training that further developed my design skills.
The designer/assistant designer relationship has been greatly influential in my early career. Besides my own design work, I have worked frequently as an assistant designer with the Atlanta Opera since 2015 and at the Alliance Theatre, as well as an associate designer at San Diego Opera in 2017. Now I am finding myself in a place where I am beginning to transition from being an assistant designer at these larger, regional companies and am beginning to design at these companies myself or bring on my own assistants to other projects.
Being exposed to these designers’ work and companies outside of the southeast kick-started my design work back in Atlanta. I began designing at professional venues more frequently as my time at KSU ended and upon graduation in 2016, I hit the ground running and booked everything I could, reaching out to all the companies I had built relationships with and trying to establish a presence for myself. It takes a lot of drive and energy to establish yourself as a young working lighting designer.
Over the past few years here in Atlanta, I have had opportunities to rapidly advance my design work, which can be seen at the Alliance Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, Actors Express, 7 Stages Theatre, Fly on a Wall, Synchronicity Theatre, Fabrefaction Theatre, Emily Cargill and Dancers, and various others. I have designed over 80 productions here in Atlanta, worked as an assistant or associate designer on 22 regional productions, and been a part of 20 world premiere teams.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It really comes in waves. Much designing is freelance-driven, so you have to take as much work as you can handle while keeping your ideas and schedule straight. You have to stay busy and maintain relevance in the industry, but at the same time balance a personal life and relationships while sometimes working up to 18 hours a day. Working with supportive companies and having people in my life that understand the expectations makes a huge difference. I am lucky to have my amazing partner, Maddie, behind me.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Ben Rawson Design – what should we know?
I work in primarily live stage entertainment disciplines such as theatre, dance, musical theatre, and opera. I also have additional experience lighting events, film shoots, music acts, and museum galleries. The “live” aspect of this job is such a dynamic force to reckon with because everything is coming together right in front of you in that moment. Putting so much time and energy into having a show run perfectly as designed night after night in one seamless pass, in front of a live audience, is an interesting and challenging work dynamic.
My designs usually start by collaborating with the director or choreographer to create the appropriate atmosphere and environment for that specific world we’re trying to create onstage. I facilitate the storytelling of the productions through light with shifts in intensity, color, location, texture, or shape to guide the audience through the narrative and visually express the emotions or ideas being presented. All of this must also be executed in a way that complements the other designers and creative team members, as to make the aesthetic of the production cohesive.
I love being able to design in a variety of different styles and approaches to performance; it allows me to constantly change my thought process, adapt to new material, create original environments, and construct fresh narratives. As I’ve immersed myself in these disciplines, I’ve developed certain qualities that reflect my individualize aesthetic and design style. I am often sought out by productions that are darker, more abstracted interpretations, often considered surreal or magical-realism. My lighting for dance companies favors the modern and contemporary, which is part of what has forged my wonderful relationship with Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre. In musical theatre, I have recently found myself doing many contemporary productions that are more heavily produced with lots of vibrancy and flash, a lot more rock concert influenced.
Across the mediums I work in, however, I think designing for new productions and world premieres is a substantial part of who I am as a designer. Being a part of the foundational creative team to help invent a new world is so liberating, to have no existing influence or restrictions. To help decide the flow of the story and what its defining locations and moments look like is a huge creative liberty and I always want to do that privilege justice. Being part of the inception of a work of art and supporting it from such an early stage and then seeing how it changes and grows is extremely rewarding.
This fall, I am designing four world premiere productions: Nick’s Flamingo Grill at the Alliance Theatre, Reykjavik at Actor’s Express, a to be announced new dance work presented by Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, and Outo Kaats, a new dance work created by Ana Maria Lucaciu and Nathan Griwsold of Fly on a Wall to be presented in Bucharest, Romania.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Having a support system is so significant and my friends, family, and partner are all incredible with that. My mentors span from my initial introduction to the industry by Jamie McAteer and Jared Moore to my formal education from lighting designers like Rebecca Makus and David Tatu at KSU. The relationships I have built assisting and learning from lighting designers from across the country like Robert Wierzel, Mark McCullough, Thomas Hase, Ken Yunker, Amith Chandrashaker, Paul Whitaker, Alan Edwards, Jake DeGroot, and so many more have proved invaluable.
The bonds I’ve built with directors, choreographers and companies that connect with my visions and enjoy my style and design aesthetic have become symbiotic. Finally, being part of recurring creative teams at companies like Atlanta Opera and Atlanta Lyric Theatre, and becoming the resident lighting designer for Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, has allowed me to develop strong ongoing relationships and foster creative ideas together.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.benrawsondesign.com
- Email: benrawsondesign@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/benrawsondesign/
Image Credit:
Brian Wallenberg, Jamie Katz, Chris Bartelski, Ben Rawson, Cayce Callaway, Jennifer Clark
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