Beyond the Spotlight

Tobin Ost is an award winning, TONY nominated scenic and costume designer who has been has been working professionally in New York for close to 20 years.
His work on Broadway includes Disney's NEWSIES, BONNIE & CLYDE, JEKYLL AND HYDE, DISASTER! - ON BROADWAY, THE PHILANTHROPIST, and BROOKLYN - THE MUSICAL, several which generated multiple national tours as well as subsequent productions internationally.
Select Off-Broadway work includes NIGHTINGALE, both written and performed by Lynn Redgrave at Manhattan Theatre Club; Maurice Hines' TAPPIN' THRU LIFE at New World Stages; ZANNA - DONT! starring Jai Rodriguez at the John Houseman Theater (GLAAD Media Award); and THE OVERWHELMING, directed by Max Stafford-Clark for Roundabout Theatre Company's Laura Pels Theatre.
Tobin has also worked extensively for major regional theater companies across the nation, including Center Theatre Group, Arena Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Ford's Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Asolo Repertory Theatre, The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage, Alliance Theatre, and many others.
Additionally, his work can be seen in film and television, restaurant and event design, and he is frequently called on as a theatre design educator in University and Workshop settings, including Broadway Teaching Group's "Broadway Teacher's Workshop", iTheatrics' Junior Theatre Festival Atlanta, and Broadway.com's "Broadway Classroom."
Tobin originally hails from Adrian, Michigan. He received his BFA degree in Art History and Theatre from the University of Michigan, with additional studies in traditional Japanese Theatre at Kyuushu University, Japan, where he completed a dissertation on bunraku puppetry.
He received his MFA degree in Set and Costume Design from the Yale School of Drama.

For more info on Tobin: Tobin Ost Design

Chris Shrom is a Nashville-based lighting designer and technician for live tours and corporate events. He grew up in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania where he got his start in production when his church connected him with Susquehanna Sound. In middle school and high school, he traveled with a band called Saline, and another, Heartbeat Productions. His family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio after his freshmen year, where he toured with a drama group called Mishpachah, Inc., still doing audio. He also volunteered at church as the monitor engineer on Sundays.

After a year of studying mechanical engineering at the University of Cincinnati, Chris was strongly encouraged to pursue his passion for audio at Belmont University where he studied music business and production. His early college years were spent behind an audio console, but soon Chris became known for his abilities in lighting. It was then that the hobby and the fascination with light became a career.

Some of the artists he’s worked with as a Lighting designer or technician:
Little Big Town
Billy Currington
Jeremy Camp
Natalie Grant
Bebo Norman
Sanctus Real
Rascal Flatts
Sara Evans
Keith Urban
Brothers Osborn
Chris Stapleton
Kacey Musgraves

Chris on Twitter & Instagram: @ChrisShrom
Chris' webpage: http://www.ChrisShrom.com
4 Wall Entertainment, Inc.: https://www.4wall.com/

Emily and Cathy Stein have spent a decade working as dressers and wardrobe specialists in community theater and on national tours.

Emily Stein began doing theater in high school and hasn’t stopped since! She's done everything from running a light board to costume designing. Emily has not only been active in the West Michigan theater scene, but has also been on 3 national tours as the head of wardrobe and assistant wardrobe/head of wigs.

Cathy Stein did a little theater in high school and then got involved again later, when her daughter Emily started. She's done numerous shows throughout Grand Rapids, MI for almost 10 years and has done everything from running a spot light, to deck crew, to dressing.

Emily on Instagram

Cherie B. Tay is a New York City based stage manager by way of Texas, Connecticut, Singapore, Pennsylvania, and San Diego. She’s built an impressive resume of shows - on and off-Broadway productions, national tours, as well as international productions. Currently, Cherie is the Assistant Stage Manager at the Tony Award® winning show HADESTOWN on Broadway.

Outside of the theater, Cherie has many other talents including photography, music / ukulele, podcasting (UNSAD Podcast), voice overs, good food, website building, and puzzle cubes.

Cherie’s website
Cherie on Instagram
Uplifting News Sleep Aid Daily [UNSAD] Podcast

We chat with Dave Horowitz, A1 at Beetlejuice The Musical on Broadway, about the challenges of mixing sound for such a frenetic production, as well as the journey that brought him to this point in his career.

Originally from White Plains, NY, Dave studied Music/Sound at Penn State University, and has worked in various audio-related positions at The Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, A Bronx Tale The Musical, and Head Sound at Spring Awakening Broadway. He's also an accomplished musician with deep family roots in music and Broadway.

He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and child.

Dave Horowitz on Instagram
Dave Horowitz on Facebook
Beetlejuice The Musical website

Electric and double bass man, George Farmer, is a player with an all new blend. He began his musical training at a young age, receiving his earliest musical lessons from his father, legendary jazz trumpeter Art Farmer. In a house filled with American Soul as well as classical music, Farmer benefited from a unique blend of musical influences and began playing the electric and upright basses at the same time. With a curriculum that included conservatory training at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, private study, and a demanding live performance schedule, Farmer absorbed everything from Schubert's Serenades to Bootsy's Rubberband bass grooves.

Farmer moved permanently to the United States in 1997 and soon began getting calls for high profile dates. His first gigs in New York City included the "Young Lions of Jazz" ensemble with Delfeayo Marsalis and Mark Whitfield, as well as serving as the musical director for California based producer, Don Freeman (The Pointer Sisters, Bill Withers). In the year 2000, Farmer became the bass player for the legendary, Benny Golson. Farmer toured in Europe and the U.S. with Golson, and recorded on the 2000 Legend Recordings release, "The Athens Sessions".

Meanwhile, Farmer has become a sought after sideman and studio musician stateside as well as in Europe. In the year 2001, Farmer spent 3 months touring with Wolfgang Ambros, one of Europe's most beloved rock stars, and Farmer also recorded on Ambros' certified-gold album, "Hopelessly Self-conscious," that same year. He returned to Europe the following summer, where he played with world renowned vocalist, Natalie Cole.
In 2003 Farmer signed on as the bass player for 2004 Grammy-nominated Artist, Amel Larrieux. Featured on both electric and upright basses, Farmer's playing on Larrieux's sophomore album "Bravebird" (Warner Brothers) is a focal point. Since the album's release in 2003, he has toured Japan and the United States with Larrieux, while still maintaining a busy performance and recording schedule that includes performances with emerging artist, Darius DeHaas, as a part of the "American Songbook: Stevie Wonder" Series at Lincoln Center.

George's love for accompanying singers led him to him to become a first-call player for numerous Broadway shows (Spring Awakening, Memphis, Fun Home, to name just a few), and he currently holds the bass chair for the Broadway smash Ain’t Too Proud.

George’s website
George Farmer on Instagram
George Farmer on Facebook
"Ain't Too Proud" website

Noddea Skidmore has worked as the Director of Creative and Audience Development at Circle Theatre since 2015. This summer she’ll play Patsy Cline in the musical Always… Patsy Cline. Past Circle Theatre main stage credits include Regina in Rock of Ages (Grand Award Nomination), Joanne in Company, Lady of the Lake in Monty Python’s Spamalot (Grand Award Nomination), Miss Hannigan in Annie (2010), Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, Patsy in Bingo!, Marlene in Daddy’s Dyin’…, Vicki in The Full Monty, and the ensemble of Nine.

At Circle she’s had the opportunity to be a part of several Summer Concert Series shows like Edge of the Millennium: Top Hits of 1999, Broadway Babes: Dames of the Stage, Silver Screen: Academy Award-Winning Songs, California Dreamin’: Cool Cali Sounds Past and Present, Leather and Lace: The Women of Rock, and Hits of the ‘80s. Other community credits include Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Wild Party, and Urinetown at Actors’ Theatre and Elf, Ring of Fire: The Johnny Cash Musical, The Wizard of Oz at Civic Theatre.

A popcorn-lover, cinephile, and dreamer/planner of visits to Manhattan and Broadway shows, Noddea lives at home (especially a lot these days!) with her little family - her husband Calin, and two dogs Big and Beatle.

Circle Theatre website
Circle Theatre on Instagram
Circle Theatre on Facebook
Noddea on Instagram

Lindsay Schmidt has vocal directed high school musicals (Annie, Footloose, Willy Wonka, and Tarzan), worked with the some youth classes at a local community center, and has been performing in community productions around West Michigan since 2001. Lindsay also traveled with first national tour of “The King & I” as a guardian/child wrangler from 2016-2018. Her husband is a traveling audio engineer for musicals/plays and has been touring for about 15 years.

Lindsay on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/lindsaybutt/

Growing up in Dallas, John Thomasson found the bass guitar the same way many did - a friend started a band and no one else played bass. He attended the Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and then the University of North Texas, where he studied music. After that, he was part of a band called Little Sister (later changed to Sister 7) and had some minor radio hits in the 90s. After moving to Austin, John started playing with one of his heroes - Davíd Garza, playing on his first major label record called This Euphoria.
In 2000, John got married, quit playing music for the most part and went back to school to get a degree in Psychology and focused on musical cognition. After working some tech jobs at Apple and Hewlett Packard, he wanted to play a little bit more while preparing for grad school. He started recording and touring with Matt Nathanson in 2004, and one of Matt's songs that John played on was "Come on Get Higher", a double-platinum single. Working with Matt also gave him the chance to play on the original Conan O’Brien show and Late Night With David Letterman.
After the birth of his first son, John and his growing family moved to Nashville in the fall of 2009. There, he learned about the family-friendly way that Nashville acts toured and that sealed the deal for him. He landed the gig with Little Big Town in April of 2010 and has toured with them ever since. During that time, he also recorded with LBT on numerous successful records, including: Tornado (platinum album) which featured hit singles "Pontoon" and "Tornado", Pain Killer (Platinum album) which including the triple-platinum single "Girl Crush" and gold single "Day Drinking", The Breaker, Wanderlust (produced by Pharrell Williams), and most recently, Nightfall (Self Produced).

Spotify playlist of some of John's work:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0s9wubeza5T6XMKuZNyeED?si=vj4C1X7fTiWhrsQnU7E-Mw

John Thomasson on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/johnthom/

Little Big Town website:
http://www.littlebigtown.com/

This time, we step into the world of broadcast TV sports - specifically, the sound. From stringing miles of audio cables to placing dozens of microphones, find out what it takes to bring the sound from the playing field right into your living room!

After spending decades in video production as an editor and videographer, Scott Sandstrom is now a freelance sound engineer for live broadcast sporting events of all sorts. He spends long days in college and professional sports venues around the midwest, working in various audio support roles, to help bring the exciting sounds of live televised sports into your home.