TheatrIcal lighting designer Jason Lynch talks about freelancing in Chicago.

Topics:

⭐️ LLCs

⭐️ Estate Sales

⭐️ Keeping our humanity

⭐️ Investing in the S&P 500

⭐️ Some of Jason’s recent design fees

⭐️ Moving to a big theatre city, that’s not New York

Video Version

https://youtu.be/y5PApxbBG_I

Artistic Finance

https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance

Jason Lynch

https://www.jasondlynch.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasondlynch/

https://www.instagram.com/jasonlynch.design/

Vehicle Expenses Tracker

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kDb48wLKWWnkGigyu52tYYGWRHDV2h-Ai7AizNCrtb8/edit?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZh7dkkg9Htl1oE4M46Emo-Cw8yEahk7n90sRBCDy5R32W5D1xbTHSjvYI_aem_adKVVnGYaIN_xPS6bS21wQ&gid=1052323773#gid=1052323773

IRS.gov

https://www.irs.gov/

Lynn Nottage - "Why I'll Never Make It" Interview

https://broadwaypodcastnetwork.com/podcasts/why-i-ll-never-make-it/lynn-nottage-writes-through-some-of-life-s-hardest-moments/366

SPY

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY/

Arrived - Real Estate Investing

https://arrived.com/

Lofty - Real Estate Investing

https://www.lofty.ai/

OSF - Oregon Shakespeare Festival

https://www.osfashland.org/

Indiana Rep

https://www.irtlive.com/

Estate Sales

https://www.estatesales.net/

JASON LYNCH is a Chicago-based lighting designer for theatre, dance, opera, and other live performance art.

Regional: Alley Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, City Theatre Company, Dallas Theater Center, Denver Center Theatre Company, George Street Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Goodman Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Huntington Theatre Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Northlight Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Old Globe, Trinity Repertory Company, among others.

Lynch was also the recipient of the 2022 Equity Jeff Award for his work on Choir Boy at Steppenwolf Theatre and the 2019 Michael Maggio Emerging Designer Award, which recognizes emerging theatrical designers within the Chicago area. Jason is represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE and The Gersh Agency. jasondlynch.com, @jasonlynch.design

Instagram handles:

@jasonlynch.design

@ethansteimel

@nicolevsteimel

Projection designer Sven Ortel talks about career finances.

Topics:

⭐️ Being persistent

⭐️ Insisting you get credit for your work

⭐️ Organizing your taxes and writing it down

⭐️ Separating the production budget from the design budget

Video Version

https://youtu.be/YDxUvU-in4U

Artistic Finance

https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance

Sven Ortel

https://www.svenortel.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/svenortel/

https://www.instagram.com/svenortel/

Is the credit "Projection Design" or "Video Design?"

https://www.projctn.com/about-projection-design

Projection Design Costs

https://www.projctn.com/projection-design-costs

Trudy C Durant

https://tcdurant.com/home.aspx

Notion

https://www.notion.com/

Caite Hevner Episode

https://www.artisticfinance.com/93.html

Since 2000, Sven Ortel has been exploring and advancing the use of imagery and projection in the live arts. His primary interest is how digital and emerging technologies can create engaging narrative experiences. He is particularly drawn to complex scenic and production design challenges that place live audiences at the center of the experience, and he enjoys collaborating with other experts and creatives.

Originally from Cologne, Germany, Sven earned his BA in Lighting Design in London, where he designed media for Simon McBurney’s seminal production of *Measure for Measure* at the National Theatre in 2004. He then created many projection designs for opera, dance, musicals, and plays across Europe and eventually in the US. In 2012, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his work on Disney’s *Newsies*. In 2014, he received a Drama League nomination for his designs in Julie Taymor’s *A Midsummer Night's Dream* at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn.

Notable recent projects include NHKS4220 at New York’s Artechouse, *Thoughts of a Colored Man* (Broadway, Drama Desk nomination), *Parade* (Broadway, Outer Critics Circle nomination and winner of Best Revival of a Musical), and *Once Upon a One More Time* (Broadway), as well as the multimedia installation *Lamentations at Liesbeck*, which premiered at Mesa’s Mix Center.

Sven always seeks innovative ways to tell stories through media and create cohesive visual environments that fully engage live audiences.

He has worked at public research universities for the past ten years, focusing on educating the next generation of designers, artists, and thought leaders. His work in academia focuses on adapting effective creative processes prevalent in the performing arts, particularly projection design, to address the design challenges found in other live experiences, especially in emerging forms of rich media like immersive and XR productions. This research is central to his role as a professor of practice in immersive and entertainment design at Arizona State University and as a faculty member at Mesa's innovative multidisciplinary Mix Center.

Outside of his professional work, Sven is a passionate landscaper dedicated to restoring and stewarding the land. He also loves camping, running, hiking, and mountain biking—more info at svenortel.com or linked-in.

Instagram Handles

@svenortel

@ethansteimel

@nicolevsteimel

Discussing designer pay and transparency with Broadway, Off-Broadway, and West End lighting designer Isabella Byrd.

Topics:

⭐️ Dealing with the IRS

⭐️ Union pension, healthcare, and the union ledger

⭐️ Commercial theatre fees (aka Broadway) versus off-Broadway fees (aka non-profit theatre)

⭐️ CDs, as in Certificates of Deposit

Video Version

https://youtu.be/HJ1wBWuLwKQ

Artistic Finance

https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance

Isabella Byrd

https://www.isabellabyrd.design/

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/isabella-byrd-527907

Drift

https://studiodrift.com/work/drifter/

The Shed

https://www.theshed.org/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvr--BhB5EiwAd5YbXqw-o1AZJ4K0bhxLrH613ZH2yPapTv6-Lw54hGG-7dZ_7bVzULR3pBoC8hkQAvD_BwE

Death Sex And Money - Podcast

https://slate.com/podcasts/death-sex-money

Zenith American - USA 829 Benefits Hub

https://www.zenith-american.com/

USA 829

https://www.usa829.org/Membership-Info/Benefit-Funds

CD Rates - Bask Bank

https://www.baskbank.com/products/certificates-of-deposit

Entertainment Community Fund

https://entertainmentcommunity.org/services-and-programs/financial-wellness-0

In 1: The Podcast - hosted by Cory Pattak

https://in1podcast.com/

Instagram Handles

@isabelllaa

@ethansteimel

@nicolevsteimel

Today is the 5th anniversary of Artistic Finance. A quick thank you to mark the occasion and announcing a non-AEA casting notice for NYC!

Broadway lighting designer Beverly Emmons discusses commercial theatre practices for designers.

Topics:

⭐️ Adding riders onto your contract

⭐️ Theatre Law which aims to protect investors’ money

⭐️ W2 and 1099 and how that impacts copyright for designers

⭐️ The history of the theatre design union - United Scenic Artists

⭐️ Those union contracts, what they protect, and how they’re helpful for expediting theatre negotiations because so many things are spelled out already, so there isn’t need for a lot of negotiation.

Video Version

https://youtu.be/t8rVQO00IjE

Extended Interview https://www.patreon.com/posts/124372571

Artistic Finance

https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance

Beverly Emmons

https://performingartslegacy.org/emmonsbeverly/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverly-emmons-57339135/

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/beverly-emmons-25645

The Lighting Archive

https://thelightingarchive.org/

Don Holder Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXHdU1JVmRE&t=34s

Ken Billington Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuojA4i6y5c

Jules Fisher

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/jules-fisher-7001

Kermit Blumgarden - producer

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/kermit-bloomgarden-14214

Ted Mann - producer

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/theodore-mann-15532

Broadway Grosses

https://www.broadwayleague.com/research/grosses-broadway-nyc/

Atlantic Theatre joins IATSE

https://deadline.com/2025/03/atlantic-theater-iatse-1236348882/

Theatre Lighting in the Age of Gas

https://archive.org/details/theatrelightingi0000rees/page/n9/mode/2up

Broadway Theatre Manager - Peter Bogyo

https://bookshop.org/a/86693/9781621536246

https://bookshop.org/a/86693/9781621536253

(affiliate link)

USA 829

https://www.usa829.org/

Instagram Handles

@bemmonsld12gmail

@ethansteimel

@nicolevsteimel

Alvin Hough Jr, who’s currently the associate music director of The Lion King on Broadway, talks about career finances and a few things about musical theatre musicians.

Topics:

⭐️ Dollar pizza

⭐️ Being a saver, not a spender

⭐️ Living off per diem while touring

⭐️ Rehearsal call versus a performance call

⭐️ Rates of pay for different numbers of instruments

⭐️ The differences between the piano and the keyboard

⭐️ Working a double, in musician speak, and what that means for your pay scale.

⭐️ The importance of family and Alvin investing early on, on the advice from an aunt

Video Version

https://youtu.be/J9Gjb5o_h7E

Artistic Finance

https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance

Alvin Hough Jr

www.alvinhoughjr.com

https://www.instagram.com/alvinhoughpiano/

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/alvin-hough-493607#broadway

Believe NYC

https://believe-nyc.com/

Arts for Autism

https://www.artsforautism.net/

Randy Cohen - Keyboard Programmer

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/randy-cohen-454486

NYMF

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Musical_Theatre_Festival

The Lion King on Broadway

https://lionking.com/

Avioms - In Ear Mixing

https://www.aviom.com/AviomProducts/

ALVIN HOUGH, JR. Alvin is a pianist, conductor and arranger in New York City. He is currently the Associate Music Director of Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway and was the Associate Music Supervisor of Merrily We Roll Along, featuring Daniel Radcliffe, which closed this past July aEer winning the Tony for Best Revival. Alvin is the Music Supervisor of the current 2nd NaHonal Tour of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, and he has also worked on numerous films and TV series, from “Schmigadoon 2” and “Spirited” to “Annie Live!” and the South Park 25th anniversary commercials. Classically trained by a private teacher from the age of 5, Alvin has had the privilege of performing at the Kennedy Center, the Capitol and the White House while growing up in Washington, DC. One of the more important things Alvin likes to share is that there is no special formula to end up on Broadway. As proof, even though he's currently not using them, Alvin has a Bachelor’s from Harvard College in Earth and Planetary Sciences and a Master’s in Meteorology from the Georgia InsHtute of Technology. He sends love to his wife, Rebecca, and their two young children, Samuel (7) and Camille (6). www.alvinhoughjr.com

Instagram Handles

@alvinhoughpiano

@ethansteimel

@nicolevsteimel

Technical director Tab Birt discusses his journey through live entertainment, financial lessons learned along the way, and his dream of trading the stage for a glass artist’s studio in Norway.

Topics

⭐️ Glass blowing

⭐️ Not selling yourself short

⭐️ Getting on a stagehands union call list

⭐️ Burning out, being cynical, and the joy of theatre

⭐️ The secret investment vehicle called a ROTH IRA

Video Version

https://youtu.be/Kh9TP0Gls0s

Artistic Finance

https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance

Tab Birt

https://www.tbirtdesign.com/

https://www.instagram.com/tbirtdesign/

Saints Peter & Paul - Homeless Shelter

https://www.stspeterandpaulstl.org/homeless-shelter

Third Degree Glass Factory

https://www.thirddegreeglassfactory.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoonESXmz4AvOFvGWqiziSPkJy_kBTC66ol4q9J4rvcuYxhm7cfN

Here’s What I Don’t Get

https://hereswhatidontget.com/podcast

Bullsh*t Jobs - David Graeber

https://bookshop.org/a/86693/9781501143335

Debt: The First 5,000 Years - David Graeber

https://bookshop.org/a/86693/9781612194196

David Graeber Lecture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kikzjTfos0s

ROTH IRA

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rothira.asp

Design Action - Minimum Rate Calculator

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KpsHWVKvc0FYfDftayTh1Dh2befS-oPM6_rwQ6waoVk/edit?gid=691329339#gid=691329339

The Lighting Archive

https://thelightingarchive.org/

Tab Birt hails from the Land of Praying Hands, Tulsa Oklahoma. He received his BFA in Lighting and Sound Design from the University of Oklahoma, and currently resides in in St Louis as the Technical Director for Edison Theatre. He’s worked in live entertainment for 17 years around the country, and when not in production you can find him in the hot shop pursuing his interest in glass, or at home sipping a fine whiskey, grilling steaks, or smoking a rich cigar. He dreams of one day retiring from theatre and becoming a glass artist in Norway.

Instagram Handles

@tbirtdesign

@thirddegreeglass

@ethansteimel

@nicolevsteimel