Being unseen while still being able to hear everyone’s enjoyment is a sense of anonymous that I crave. Confused? Well I’m a light board operator, the guy that controls the lighting at concerts, or shows on Broadway that you rarely pay attention to or may not ever see. January 11th, 2020 was the last time I was able to control lighting for a show. It was a dance concert in East New York Brooklyn and I was very excited for this show to be seen. We’ve been hard at work for a few months leading up to this show and I loved how they used dance to show a story which would progress in each piece. I’m a lover of musicals so to see a story told in this way was very different to me but it peaked my interest. I spent the months before preparing all my lighting, over 45 lights were used with different effects and haze to help enhance the story. Haze is basically the smoke that allows you to see the beams of light but its not really smoke because it denser. One scene I was very nervous about because it was a dance that had a lot of effects programmed for it and I was hoping it didn’t take away from the dance. My job is to not only light the performers but I have to also help tell the story without really drawing attention to the lighting itself. 7:30pm came so fast on that night as people because to fill the seats, we were sold out and I’m sitting in the empty lighting booth, alone, and I give the signal to start the show with the dimming of the lights. Its all in my hands, I control when things are seen and help the message get across but nobody who attends will ever see nor know where I am. The best satisfaction is when you hear the “ooo’s” in the audience or the loud applauses after scenes. It lets you know it was all worth it, being seen or not, what you put out there, your hard work, it was worth it.