About
I am a junior at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Illinois. I have been fascinated by lights, since my earliest memories, and am fortunate for the opportunities that have allowed me to explore my passion for lighting over the years.
When I was a toddler, repeatedly flipping the light switch off and on brought me much joy. I could also spot a burnout light bulb, as soon as I entered a room. As a preschooler, I requested touch lights from Santa and Snap Circuits and flashlights were my favorite toys.
In elementary school, I illuminated basement shows for family and friends from every direction and took my work very seriously. I designed and built a switch board (pictured) when I was eight. I was also gifted a mixing board and lighting console around this same time, which I put to good use while running sound and lights for Clow Elementary School's annual talent shows, in addition to improving upon the shows that continued in my basement.
In 2020, I started creating annual, synchronized Halloween and Christmas light shows at my house using traditional string lights and pixels. The shows, which began as a remote-learning school project during Covid, have evolved into high-traffic multi-house displays over the years. My light shows are included on the Naperville Trolley Tour and each year I embrace the trolley owner's mantra of, "More is more." Elliott's Mow Town, the lawn mowing company that I started when I was 13, helps finance my always-growing shows.
When I was a student at Gregory Middle School, I helped produce the school's musical each year and even had the honor of designing an upgraded lighting system for their musicals. During this time, I also took Technical Theatre classes at Paramount School of Performing Arts in Aurora, Illinois, where I learned how to weld and helped build props for the Paramount Theatre's Broadway Series shows.
Music is another passion of mine, as I began playing guitar when I was six and percussion when I was nine. In middle school, my passions of music and lights combined, when I began producing student showcases and big band performances at my percussion studio, Spevak Percussion Concepts, in Oswego, Illinois.
When I started at Neuqua Valley High School, I was thrilled to join their auditorium crew for the experience and the part-time, paying job it evolved into when I turned 16. Neuqua Valley High School has a very active fine arts program that has allowed me to develop my lighting design skills and gain experience by working with a number of different console types and rental rigs in their auditorium. I have served as a lighting designer for plays, musicals, dance showcases, variety shows, concerts, and community events. I have worked on shows ranging from full-scale musical productions with a pit orchestra, to mainstage plays, and smaller, black box productions.
I truly enjoy lighting and hope to further grow as a designer through college courses and experiences that will prepare me for my future professional endeavors. It should be noted that I can still spot a burnout light bulb, as soon as I enter a room, and probably always will.
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