With Rising Star Award nominations right around the corner, we decided to throw it back a couple of years and catch up with 2016 Rising Star Award winner, Stephen Moss. He shared his history with the Institute, his role in the industry, and what it’s like to be introduced as “the award-winning Stephen Moss.”

Tell me about how you got your start in technical theatre?

I ran sound for a few talent shows and plays in high school. When I went to college as a music education major, I devoted myself to solely focusing on that my first couple of years, but I missed the technology side of things and signed on to work for the on-campus events department. That summer they did not have a lighting tech and needed someone to run lights for some coffeehouse concerts. I was placed on the gig. I told them, “You know I know nothing about lighting, right?” They said it was fine and handed me a user manual for the console. I picked it up quickly and continued to learn as much as I could about lighting. I learned a lot from hands-on training. Learning by trial and error gives you a deeper understanding of why some approaches work and why others do not. You understand more clearly than just reading about theories in a book alone.

A few years later, I changed my major to technical theatre. From there I got connected with Studio Tenn Theatre Company, which was just starting out my senior year. My lighting design professor and I co-designed a production of A Christmas Carol with them. When the production closed, I gave the managing director my card and told them to give me a call if they needed anyone in the future. The next semester, they did just that, and I designed a production of The Glass Menagerie. That summer, the Franklin Theatre was reopening after an almost $9 million renovation. Studio Tenn was helping produce the opening gala, and the original lighting designer for the evening was unable to do it. Again, Studio Tenn reached out, and I accepted. And from there, I had my “in” into the industry.

What’s your educational background?

B.A. in Technical Theatre from Lipscomb University ’11. Minor in Music. The technical side I come by naturally from my parents. My dad is a structural engineer and my mom is a retired high school math teacher.

Where are you working now?

I am the Resident Lighting Designer for Studio Tenn Theatre Company. In addition, I am one of the primary lighting designers for the Franklin Theatre, which is a venue that hosts numerous concerts, events, and theatrical productions every year. I also design some events for my alma mater, Lipscomb University. Beyond that, schedule permitting, I will occasionally take freelance gigs.

How did you get involved with USITT?

My college lighting professor told me about USITT. I joined as an early career member in 2013. My first convention was 2014 in Fort Worth. I was a volunteer in the light lab in 2015. When we had the open light lab time that year, I stationed myself around the Hog 4 console to answer questions since the Hog is the primary console on which I program.

What was it like to win the Rising Star Award? How were you feeling?

When I found out I won, I was ecstatic! I was in disbelief. It had been several months since nominations had closed, and I still hadn’t seen anything about who was selected. I felt like there were so many great young designers out there, so I thought someone else had won. I was on my way to the theatre to work on some lighting notes when I checked my email at a stop light. I had to read the email a couple of times to make sure I was reading it correctly. I was thrilled to have been chosen! It took a while for it to sink in.

How has your career changed since winning the award?

Sometimes the work you are meant to do in the arts is right where you are at the moment. I was already working with a great burgeoning regional theatre company (Studio Tenn) and an exceptional, intimate concert venue (Franklin Theatre) that world-class artists always enjoy performing in. Some of my colleagues now introduce me as the award-winning Stephen Moss. Nashville is a rapidly growing city, so I’m interested to see how this will affect the arts scene. How will it grow and develop in proportion to the population growth?

What does the award mean to you?

A sense of validation. As artists, we are at our most vulnerable when we create. There’s especially a lot of self-doubt and learning going on the first couple of years out of college. If you care about your work, you’re never completely satisfied with it. You always see room for improvement. It’s easy to wear yourself down over time. The Rising Star Award helps to encourage young artists to continue being vulnerable and keep designing.

Who are some of your biggest inspirations?

In terms of lighting designers that inspire me, I draw stylistic inspiration from Paule Constable, Kevin Adams, Howell Binkley, and Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer. In a broader artistic sense, I find inspiration in impressionism and the works of Van Gogh, Monet, and Debussy. I have always had a love for film composers, as well. One particular element that Richard Wagner used in his operas that John Williams adopted for use in his film scores is the use of reoccurring motifs and themes for characters. I have implemented this device on occasion in some of my designs, using a particular color scheme to represent different characters. If I still can’t find inspiration in any of this, there’s always 1980s music to fall back on.

A word of advice for aspiring technical theatre professionals?

Observe. Be mindful of images and events around you to provide you with material that you can conjure up later during the design process. Study the works of leaders in the industry. A good friend of mine in college studied musical composition. Composers first learn by imitating the styles of other composers. He would frequently get frustrated and want to do things differently and uniquely his own way. However, you must learn the rules before you can break them. Once you know what the current techniques and trends are in the industry, then you can develop your own approach and style. This will also provide you with a good set of fundamentals to fall back on when your creativity is having a hard time getting jump-started.