Donald Holder has worked extensively in Theatre, Opera, Dance, Architectural and Television lighting in the US and abroad for over 30 years. He has designed 60 Broadway productions and has been nominated for fourteen Tony awards, winning the Tony for Best Lighting Design for 'The Lion King' in 1998, and for the 2008 revival of 'South Pacific'. Recent Broadway productions include: 'The Pirates of Penzance' (Spring 2025), 'Tootsie', 'Kiss Me Kate', 'McNeal', 'Anastasia', 'My Fair Lady', 'Oslo', 'Straight White Men', 'She Loves Me', 'Fiddler On The Roof', 'The King and I', 'On The Twentieth Century' and many others. Projects at the NY Metropolitan Opera include: 'Champion', 'Rigoletto', 'Porgy and Bess', 'Samson et Delilah', 'Otello', 'The Magic Flute' and the premiere of 'Two Boys'. He has worked at most of the nation's leading resident theatres, and has designed over 100 Off-Broadway productions. His television/film work includes the theatrical lighting for 'Spirited' (Apple Studios), seasons one and two of 'Smash' (NBC-Dreamworks), 'Oceans 8' (Warner Brothers Pictures), 'Gossip Girl' (HBO Max), and 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' (Amazon).

Recent International projects include the 2024 London West End revival of 'Kiss Me Kate' (Barbican), and 'The Great Qin' (Xian, China).

Mr. Holder's architectural lighting projects include the refurbishment (conversion to all LED light) at St Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre, NY, Bond 45 and Patio at the Edison Hotel, Dance Theatre Workshop- West 19th St. NYC, Sony Plaza's Public Spaces and the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, AT and T's Interactive Communications Gallery in Bedminster, NJ, The America's Smithsonian Exhibition (touring 12 cities across the United States), and several restaurants in midtown Manhattan, including the Redeye Grill and The Brooklyn Diner .

Holder was Head of the lighting design program at CalArts from 2006-2010, then led the lighting program at Rutgers University- Mason Gross School of the Arts 2016-2025, before transferring as Head of Lighting Design at The Yale School of Drama starting 2025. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and the Yale School of Drama, and the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Muhlenberg College.

Instagram Handles

@donaldholder12

@nicolevsteimel

@ethansteimel

Interview by Ethan Steimel

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(224)

199: Projection Design, On Broadway, In A Studio, As A Parent, and SEP IRAs with Wendall K Harrington

An interview with projection designer Wendall K Harrington. Topics: ⭐️ Building credit ⭐️ SEP IRAs for freelancers ⭐️ Asking producers to contribute to your SEP IRA ⭐️ Artistically building a 3rd sh...

3 Maalis 1h 40min

198: The Business of Projection with Zak Borovay

A conversation about the business side of being a projection designer with Zak Borovay, who on Broadway has designed Elf, Xanadu, and Rock of Ages. He has also done work for Disney and Universal theme...

16 Helmi 1h 30min

197: Never Doing Just One Thing with Choreographer Staś Kmieć

Choreographer Staś Kmieć explains how he’s handled the business side of his theatre and dance career. Topics: ⭐️ Tax filing ⭐️ Healthcare ⭐️ Fiddler On The Roof ⭐️ Not spending money when on tour ...

28 Tammi 1h 29min

196: Financial Education as a Theatrical LX Programmer with Brad Gray

Broadway lighting programmer Brad Gray discusses financial literacy and the importance of making that choice to prioritize your finances so that you aren’t forced to hustle until your dying day. Top...

22 Tammi 1h 2min

195: Gross Income ≠ Take-Home Pay with Susan Lee

Tax expert Susan Lee discusses tax implications and best practices for freelancers. Topics: ⭐️ Cashflow ⭐️ Having a will ⭐️ Being your own bookkeeper ⭐️ A financial health checklist and a financ...

15 Tammi 1h 4min

194: Pay Equity in Theatrical Design with Costume Designer Elsa Hiltner

(Audio problems? I made a mistake uploading, so delete the episode and then try to play it again.) Costume designer Elsa Hiltner talks about the lack of pay equity in theatrical design and what she i...

5 Tammi 1h 30min

193: America The Beautiful (Except The Financial Setup for Freelancers) with Jane Cox (Part 2 of 2)

Part two of the conversation with Broadway lighting designer Jane Cox. Topics: ⭐️ Keeping overhead low ⭐️ Paying theatre designers hourly ⭐️ Penny Remsen - Jane’s lighting mentor ⭐️ Paying for assi...

4 Heinä 202557min

192: America The Beautiful (Except the Financial Setup for Freelancers) with Lighting Designer Jane Cox

Lighting designer Jane Cox discusses life as a freelance theatre designer who has also taken on some full time academic work. Topics: ⭐️ Parenting while working in the arts ⭐️ Paying student loans w...

12 Kesä 20251h 5min