On this week's episode, we sat down with special guest Xotchil Musser — our 2024 Barbizon Lighting Company Jonathan Resnick Lighting Design Award winner, to talk about their design process, their study of the connection between lighting and mental health, advocacy for anti-racist theatre, and more. Click here to learn more about Xotchil Musser and …

It's that time of year again...commencement season! In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, Danielle is joined by Becca Wilusz (Duke University) and Joey Doster (PNC Arena) for a look at what goes into planning university and high school commencement ceremonies. Discussion includes unique demographic challenges, transportation planning, policy…

On this week's episode, we chat with Lighting Designer Dawn Chiang, our 2024 Distinguished Achievement Award (DAA) winner for her work in Lighting Design and Technology. Join us as we ask Dawn about her creative process, impactful industry relationships, her work on the Great White Way, and more! To learn more about Dawn and the DAA for Lighting De…

Gareth, Kody, and Christian got the chance to sit down and chat with Joe Jeremy! They started with Joe’s impressive career starting as a carpenter all the way through founding Niscon. Along the way they also got to talk about some of the cool projects Joe’s worked on all around the world.By Creative Conners Inc.

*Trigger warning: This episode touches on the topics of mental health, suicide, substance abuse, bullying, and therapy. Please listen with caution. Over the past month, we partnered with the Behind the Scenes charity to share their resources on Mental Health First Aid, suicide prevention, bystander intervention, and more for Mental Health Awareness…

In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, Danielle welcomes a trio of crowd management experts from the United Kingdom Crowd Management Association (UKCMA) for a conversation about crowd safety in smaller venues - Anne Marie Chebib (Select Security & Stewarding Ltd), Eric Stuart (Gentian Events Ltd), and Tom Devine (TMS Protection). Discussion i…

On this week's episode, we're joined by theatrical and game audio designer and our 2024 Rising Star Award winner, William Lowe. Join us as we chat about the storytelling of sound, how keeping up with industry trends can be a full-time job, and working in the vast world of game audio design. To learn more about William and the Rising Star Award spon…

In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, Danielle welcomes back ESA board member Bryan Huneycutt for a recap of this year's USITT Conference in Seattle. They discuss key takeaways from this year's event, presentation highlights, current safety & health commission initiatives, and more.By Bryan Huneycutt, Danielle Hernandez

On this week's episode, We sat down with special guest Andrew Riedemann— our 2024 Bernhard R. Works, Frederick A. Buerki Scenic Technology Award winner, to talk about the live entertainment industry, life in technical production, working overseas, and more! Click here to learn more about Andrew Riedemann and the Bernhard R. Works, Frederick A. Buer…

On this week's episode, we sat down with special guest Aholibama Castañeda González — our 2024 KM Fabrics, Inc. Technical Production Award winner, to talk about the live entertainment industry, technical production in the festival world, what the award means to them, and what’s next in their career! Click here to learn more about Aholibama Castañed…

Mike, Kody, Christian, and Gareth have been squashing lots of bugs over the last month and have lots to say about them. In the midst of bug squashing Gareth also built a 6-axis show and Kody designed a new Stagehand.By Creative Conners Inc

In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, Danielle and Steve are joined by ESA board member Bryan Huneycutt for a discussion of key insights from Steve's recent participation at SERMAnar in Colorado Springs, which focused on processes related to active assailant events. We delve into his experience with a fresh approach to active shooter trainin…

TECHnically Speaking is back with a brand new episode featuring 2024 Howard Vincent Kurtz Student Engagement Grant winner and interdisciplinary artist, Marisa Lawrence! In this episode we chat with Marisa about her research on integrative Costume Technology applications beyond the stage and screen, how she keeps up with the ever-evolving tech world…

Staging intimacy on stage and screen requires a delicate balance between artistic vision and actor well-being. In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, Danielle and Steve sit down with Laura Rikard, CEO of Theatrical Intimacy Education, a consulting group specializing in researching, developing, and teaching best practices for staging theatrica…

Mike, Kody, Christian, and Gareth get together to chat about CAT1 stopping and brake sequencing for an upcoming job in Hawaii. Kody and Mike also recount some of the fun from USITT this year, all of which leads to an impromptu discussion about our headphones.By Creative Conners Inc.

"Don't write a Kobayashi Maru" In the latest episode of The Event Safety Podcast, we welcome back the amazing Emma Parkinson for a deep dive into the topic of tabletop exercises. We look at what they are (and aren't), who should be included, how to develop one for your organization, common traps that undermine their effectiveness, and so much more.…

In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, we shift from the tennis court to the basketball court, with a look at the issue of "court storming" featuring Duke University Assistant Director of Athletics/Game Operations (and friend of the Pod) Becca Wilusz! We discuss what motivates attendees to take such actions, whether they are reasonably forese…

Gareth, Mike, Kody, and Christian are back discussing some of the ever-green tech support issues and some of the new products that were proposed during Creative Conners’ annual product summit. All of this set to the dulcet tones of general contractors renovating the new offices.By Creative Conners Inc.

It's so much more than tennis! In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, Danielle and Steve head down under (virtually) for a chat with Lee Ross and Martin Luders, part of the highly skilled safety and compliance team for the Australian Open. Discussion includes what goes into producing an event of this scale, weather planning, compliance, and h…

Gareth, Mike, Christian, and Kody are back discussing bringing New features to old controllers, big New Spikemark features, and the New ways they’re looking at the company and what they do.By Creative Conners Inc.

It may be cold outside, but the latest edition of The Event Safety Podcast is RED HOT. In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Kevin Kloesel for an update on what's happening in the event weather space. Discussion includes how planning for one risk can introduce new ones, the importance of deeply understanding your venue, emergency messaging, new ligh…

Kody, Christian, Mike, and Gareth are here to look back on 2023 in this very special bonus episode.By Creative Conners Inc.

Kody, Christian, Mike, and Gareth chat for 4 hours about the Geffen Vortek retrofit that Kody and Christian were just on site for, and even in this abridged version they follow all the tangents.By Creative Conners Inc.

With the new year just days away, we're looking back at some of the most important, impactful, or undercovered stories of 2023. From guest issues to climate impacts, it's been an eventful 12 months in the safety world, so grab another cup of cocoa, put your feet up, and join Danielle and Steve as they close out the year. From all of us at The Event…

This week we're joined by USITT23 Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award winner and sound designer, Huhao Yang. From designing in China during his undergraduate studies to his large-scale work with Toyota and Wyndham, we covered it all in this week’s episode! Click here to learn more about Huhao Yang and the Robert E. Cohen Sound Achievement Award…

This week we're joined by sound designer and 2023 Distinguished Achievement Award (DAA) for Sound Design & Technology winner, David Budries. We chatted about about his illustrious career in sound that he assures us is NOT over — even now during his retirement, his passion for the industry, where he gathers design inspiration, and how he paved his o…

What did YOU think of the 2023 Event Safety Summit? In this episode of The Event Safety Podcast, we recap some highlights of this year's Summit with two attendees, Francesca Ghizzoni (Production Manager, SXSW) and Emily Jeu (Director of Production, Columbus Association for the Performing Arts). They share their views on what drove them to attend th…

Mike, Kody, Christian, Harry, and Gareth are back at it introducing some new service offerings from Creative Conners. In the midst of all the new they(Kody) experience some technical difficulties and really lean into the “other cool tech” part of the show with some tangents about Windows and cameras. Finally they say farewell to Harry as he moves o…

LINKS: ANSI ES1.40 - 2023, Event Safety - Event SecurityBy Event Safety Alliance

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by visual artist and 2023 USITT Makeup Design Award sponsored by Kryolan Professional Make-Up winner, Ying-Syuan Zeng. Hear us chat about her work in many facets of the industry including wigs, makeup, and scenic design, her creative process, favorite show to work on, and more! Click here to learn more about Yin…

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by costume designer and 2023 Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume Design & Technology Award winner, M.J. Hromek. Click below to learn about M.J’s creative process, her best advice for those new to the industry, and what this award win has meant to her. Click here to learn more about M.J. and the Zelma H. Weisfeld Costume D…

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by designer, educator, and costume commissioner Howard Vincent Kurtz to discuss the creation of Student Engagement Grants. These new grants encourage and support emerging theatre artists, and are funded by Kurtz each year to support our student members. Student Engagement Grants nominations close Nov. 9! Click h…

The gang's all here! Kody, Christian, Harry, Mike, and Gareth are back this time discussing the upcoming improvements to Spikemark groups, the brand new Spotline Mini, and some cool new features in Fusion 360. Along the way they get distracted with Christian’s impeccable naming skills as well as a few other things.…

On this week’s episode, we’re joined by stage manager and 2023 YDMT winner of the USITT Stage Management Award sponsored by Clear-Com, Kelsea Sibold. We chatted with Kelsea about her favorite events to stage manage, lessons learned from working with different teams, her best stage management advice, and more! Click here to learn more about Kelsea a…

It's a Powerpalooza! In this episode of the Event Safety Podcast, we get deep and nerdy on the subject of sustainable power in event applications with the team at Overdrive Energy Solutions. We discuss the safety benefits and challenges of portable battery technology, integrating it into your site plans, and their experience powering the guest pack…

On this week’s episode we’re chatting with 2023 USITT Scene Design Award Sponsored by Rose Brand winner, Mia Irwin. We talked with Mia about her award win, her paint work on over 50 productions, her creative process, and more. Click here to learn more about Mia and the USITT Scene Design Award Sponsored by Rose Brand. All episodes of our USITT23 se…

Gareth’s back on the podcast with Christian, Kody, Harry, and Mike. They have lots to say about some custom jobs, new products, cool sensors, and much more.By Creative Conners Inc