Chris Akerlind

So Chris Akerlind says he's in Portland and can't commit to any appointments that aren't in the distant future, then shows up a week later--for anyone who has been confused by Chris Akerlind before, it's Portland, Maine! The Tony-Award-winning lighting designer talks about his penchant for taking on impossible projects and then, well, winning Tony awards. Whether it's recreating the shadows cast in Firenze versus the dusty atmosphere of Rome, as in The Light in the Piazza, or how to light dancers who are flying, as in Martha Clarke's Garden of Earthly Delights, Chris tells Will how sometimes you have to listen to the director, and how sometimes you have to lay down the law (34 minutes).

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