Charles R Kaiser
Biography
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, The Arkansas Children's Theatre, March 1992
Who I Am
I am a lighting designer, technical director, and a sound engineer. I am also the owner of a consulting firm called Godtar Consulting Services. In addition to my work on projects with Godtar, I work full-time for the Town of Newmarket, Ontario at the Newmarket Theatre. Although my official title is theatre technician/assistant administrator, I really act as the de facto technical director in addition to being the lighting designer and resident sound guy. I hold an honors Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Lighting Design and Technical Direction from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. I moved to Canada from the United States when I got married in 1993. I am a citizen of both the United States and Canada.
What I've Done
I have worked for the New Mexico Repertory Theatre, the Sarasota Opera, the Porthouse Theatre, the Santa Fe Opera, the Greater Miami Opera (now the Florida Grand Opera), the Arkansas Children's Theatre, and as a freelance designer and technician all over North America. My job just previous to my tenure at the Newmarket Theatre was as production manager at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (now the Toronto Centre for the Arts) in Metropolitan Toronto. The Centre is a major performing arts venue with three theatres: a 1800-seat main hall, a 1032 seat recital hall, and a 200 seat studio theatre. When I left, I was in charge of the whole shootin' match.
I came to the Newmarket Theatre more than twelve years ago after spending almost six years in various capacities at the Ford Centre working for former theatre giant Livent Inc. While with Livent I worked on projects for various shows including Show Boat, Sunset Boulevard, Ragtime, and Fosse. Basically, I moved up the ladder from an assistant designer position to the position of production manager of the facility. In addition to duties for shows in the 1800 seat main hall, I also was busy overseeing the production aspects of all rentals and concert series events in the 1000 seat George Weston Recital Hall. The George Weston Recital Hall is generally accepted as being one of the most acoustically superb halls in North America. It regularly played host to such internationally acclaimed artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and Kathleen Battle. We also presented many artists requiring sound reinforcement such as Arlo Guthrie, Chick Corea, the Boys Choir of Harlem, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
While I enjoyed many aspects of my job with Livent, as an administrator I felt very disconnected from the actual hands-on work that I used to do as a designer and technician. I credit the financial failure of Livent with changing my life. After spending nearly six years in the pressure cooker environment of the Ford Centre, I was ready for a change. All I needed was a push. Coincidentally, that push came in the form of the spectacular failure of Livent just nine days into what was to be an eight-week leave for medical reasons. As I was about to head out the door on my last day before my leave, my wife phoned regarding the position with the Newmarket Theatre. I interviewed for the job during a break in my medical treatment, was offered the job on Christmas Eve, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Current Lighting (and Other) Projects
My full time job with the Newmarket Theatre sees me doing lots of one offs with very little time to document my work. My current specialty is what I call the "Eight Hour Musical." This is where I light a full musical for a user group in just one day. More details on the Eight Hour Musical can be found in my article All By Myself in the May 2005 issue of Entertainment Design (now called Live Design) magazine. you can also find a .pdf of the article HERE.
You may have read other articles and submissions of mine in Lighting&Sound America magazine as well as in Projection Lights & Staging magazine. You can find most of my published work at my website's Publications Page.
In addition to doing lighting and sound for live theatre and one off concerts, I often find myself lighting for the local cable televsion company, as they produce many events in our venue every year.
I am also a fully licenced pyrotechnican, and enjoy setting up fireworks shows.
- photo from my flickr photostream.
The Newmarket Theatre
The Newmarket Theatre, far from being just a community theatre, regularly plays host to nationally and internationally known stars. In past seasons we have presented the likes of: famed Canadian pianist John Arpin, well known Canadian children's entertainers Judy and David, Celtic tenor John McDermott, former Men At Work front man Colin Hay, Canadian singer/song writer Jim Witter, the legendary Irish Rovers, the internationally renowned Famous People Players, Canadian legends The Stampeders, internationally known illusionist Ted Outerbridge, stage star Michael Burgess, The late Jeff Healey, The hilarious Tartan Terrors and the famed Canadian east coast group the Barra MacNeils.
Work History
The following list contains position held, and employer information only. For dates of service and supervisor's names etc., please contact Charles R. Kaiser via Email.
Technical Director/Resident Lighting Designer - Town of Newmarket
Newmarket Theatre - Newmarket, Ontario
Production Manager/Technical Director - Livent Canada Inc.
Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (Now the Toronto Centre for the Arts) - North York, Ontario
Associate Production Manager - Livent Canada Inc.
Ford Centre for the Performing Arts - North York, Ontario
Studio Theatre Technical Supervisor - Livent Canada Inc.
Ford Centre for the Performing Arts - North York, Ontario
Assistant Lighting Designer - Show Boat - Live Entertainment Canada North York Performing Arts Centre (Later the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts) - North York, Ontario
Freelance Technician, Designer & Consultant
North America
Technical Director/Resident Lighting Designer - Arkansas Children's Theatre
Arkansas Arts Center - Little Rock, Arkansas
In-School Tour Lighting Designer/Technical Director - Greater Miami Opera (Now the Florida Grand Opera) Touring Dade and Broward Counties - Miami, Florida
Lighting Designer/Instructor - Buck's Rock Summer Theatre
New Milford, Connecticut
Electrician/Apprentice Lighting Designer - Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Graduate Assistant in Technical Theatre - Theatre Arts University Theatre
Virginia Tech - Blacksburg, Virginia
Carpenter/Sound Editor - Porthouse Theatre Company
Porthouse Theatre - Blossom Music Center, Ohio
Lighting Designer/Tour Technical Director - Sarasota Children's Opera
Sarasota Opera House - Sarasota, Florida
Assistant Technical Director - Sarasota Opera
Sarasota Opera House - Sarasota, Florida
House Electrician (Albuquerque, Kimo Theatre) - New Mexico Repertory Theatre
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Announcer - CIMN Radio AM 700
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Theatre Instructor/Camp Counsellor - Brush Ranch Camp
Tererreo, New Mexico
Cast Member - Up With People (Viva La Gente) Cast B
1982-83 Tour of Mexico and Southern United States
Studio Camera Operator/Floor Director - KENW TV 3 (PBS)
Portales, New Mexico
Theatre Counsellor - Parks & Recreation Department City of Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico