We recently connected with Alanna Easley and have shared our conversation below.

Alanna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

This may not be quite so specific, but it’s a lesson I wish I had recognized earlier in life. I grew up as a jack-of-all-trades type – never quite finding my niche, but having my hands in absolutely everything. I was in theatre, choir, band, sports, academic tournaments, and all different jobs, and always felt like I was “good” but not “great” at all of it. Particularly in college, I started to really resent the fact that I hadn’t found my “thing” yet. I felt like I was behind the curve somehow, wasting my time on things other people were better at.

However, once I did find my niche in lighting design, I realized how much every single one of those worlds contributed to my current success. My dance and music backgrounds make me a better designer by allowing me to feel musical movement and cleanly design to rhythms. Sports taught me teamwork and keeping up morale. Temping taught me organization. Waitressing taught me strong communication skills. Phone marketing taught me to efficiently and clearly get an idea across to a client. Every single “good” in my life is the reason I can be “great” now. There is a skill to be learned in everything, and no time is wasted in which you are learning or enjoying yourself.

Alanna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a full time Lighting Designer/Director originally from Philadelphia, PA. I began freelancing while working toward my BA in Theatre from Ohio Wesleyan University. After graduating in 2018, I continued to freelance alongside a full time position as the resident LD at Shadowbox Live in Columbus, OH. In early 2023, I moved to Nashville, TN where I am currently based as a freelance designer and house LD at EXIT/IN. Over the last 8 years, I have designed lights for around 50 plays, musicals, and dance productions and over 100 music artists.

A large focus point of my work is the interplay of art. As someone who designs in several different styles and fields, and who hopes to work in even more throughout my career, I am always curious to find crossovers between them. For example, where an idea for a dance show may not work, it could work perfectly for a scene in a play or an acoustic set months later. While the conventions may be different between formats, I love to try and break down those walls.

Have you ever had to pivot?

After almost 5 years as the resident designer at Shadowbox Live, I decided it was time to move forward in my goals. While I had learned and grown so much there, I was feeling unfulfilled and my work was growing stale in my eyes. It had become clear that music was where my designer heart lied, so I quit my job and moved to Nashville, TN to work towards making concert design my primary career focus. I was scared and uncertain, and essentially starting over from scratch – suddenly I needed to learn new consoles, new programming techniques, new fixtures, and a whole new style of design and production. All I had was my eye and a drive to learn. I spent hours upon hours researching, studying new consoles, watching other designers work to pick up what I could, and networking as much as possible. When the right connection came along, I spent every waking second learning their board (a grandMA 1 Light at the time!) to prepare for my first day. Having the space to learn and grow again felt amazing, and I have not stopped learning and exploring my style and skillset ever since. I am so proud of and thankful to myself for being brave enough to take the risk.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal in every production that I work on is to enhance the emotional fabric and energy of the show. Whether it’s a dance piece, a concert, or a musical, every production has a story to tell and a message to send, and my job is to help that message come through loud and clear. It’s not just about making things visible or flashy – it’s about telling a story, sharing a feeling, inspiring the crowd. At the end of the day, if my audience leaves with an experience that stays with them, then I’ve done my job.

Both my studies in the theory of performance and my experience as a performer have offered my an interesting perspective to bring to my design. “Everything is a choice” is a phrase that comes back to me from my studies often. Every movement, every color, every texture, even the angle you choose to light your subject from matters. So the question becomes, does it help tell the story? Every choice I make should help amplify the subject matter and allow the audience to be completely present and in tune with the performers. I think of it like mind control – the second the lights come up, the audience should know how to feel without even noticing.

Contact Info:

• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/alanna-easley-15398413a
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Josh Trotter Jenna Perry Patrick Phongsa Buzz Crisafulli Terry Gilliam