EPISODE 174:
BUSINESS IN DESIGN WITH DON HOLDER - LIGHTING DESIGNER
Host: Ethan Steimel
Release Date: 12/04/2024
Release Date: 12/04/2024
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A conversation with lighting designer Don Holder.
sssss Topics: ⭐️ Advice for young designers ⭐️ Managing finances as a freelancer ⭐️ Advantages of filing taxes as a C Corp |
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Links and Resources
Video Version
https://youtu.be/YXHdU1JVmRE
Artistic Finance
https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance
Don Holder
https://www.donaldholderlighting.com/welcome/portfolio/index.html
https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/donald-holder-25700
The Lion King
https://lionking.com/
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Turn_Off_the_Dark
Eastern Standard - Don's first Broadway design
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Standard
Imero Fiorentino
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imero_Fiorentino
Bill Klages - TV Lighting Designer
https://www.livedesignonline.com/news/memoriam-bill-klages
Randy Nordstrom
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0635210/
Frank Brault
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankbrault
George Tsypin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tsypin
Jennifer Tipton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Tipton
LDI - Free registration with promo code ARTISTICFINANCE
https://www.ldishow.com/
LDI AF Recording - The Art of Tailoring A Show
https://sched.co/1odhj
LDI AF Recording - Financial Independence for Creatives
https://sched.co/1hUTn
Sylie Scowcroft
https://www.financialgrove.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvie-scowcroft-55670361/
Madelline Song In Two Languages at Once
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GoEuuMEkng
Donald Holder has worked extensively in Theatre, Opera, Dance, Architectural and Television lighting in the US and abroad for over 30 years. He has designed 60 Broadway productions and has been nominated for fourteen Tony awards, winning the Tony for Best Lighting Design for 'The Lion King' in 1998, and for the 2008 revival of 'South Pacific'. Recent Broadway productions include: 'The Pirates of Penzance' (Spring 2025), 'Tootsie', 'Kiss Me Kate', 'McNeal', 'Anastasia', 'My Fair Lady', 'Oslo', 'Straight White Men', 'She Loves Me', 'Fiddler On The Roof', 'The King and I', 'On The Twentieth Century' and many others. Projects at the NY Metropolitan Opera include: 'Champion', 'Rigoletto', 'Porgy and Bess', 'Samson et Delilah', 'Otello', 'The Magic Flute' and the premiere of 'Two Boys'. He has worked at most of the nation's leading resident theatres, and has designed over 100 Off-Broadway productions. His television/film work includes the theatrical lighting for 'Spirited' (Apple Studios), seasons one and two of 'Smash' (NBC-Dreamworks), 'Oceans 8' (Warner Brothers Pictures), 'Gossip Girl' (HBO Max), and 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' (Amazon).
Recent International projects include the 2024 London West End revival of 'Kiss Me Kate' (Barbican), and 'The Great Qin' (Xian, China).
Mr. Holder's architectural lighting projects include the refurbishment (conversion to all LED light) at St Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre, NY, Bond 45 and Patio at the Edison Hotel, Dance Theatre Workshop- West 19th St. NYC, Sony Plaza's Public Spaces and the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, AT and T's Interactive Communications Gallery in Bedminster, NJ, The America's Smithsonian Exhibition (touring 12 cities across the United States), and several restaurants in midtown Manhattan, including the Redeye Grill and The Brooklyn Diner .
Holder was Head of the lighting design program at CalArts from 2006-2010, then led the lighting program at Rutgers University- Mason Gross School of the Arts 2016-2025, before transferring as Head of Lighting Design at The Yale School of Drama starting 2025. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and the Yale School of Drama, and the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Muhlenberg College.
Instagram Handles
@donaldholder12
@nicolevsteimel
@ethansteimel
Interview by Ethan Steimel
https://youtu.be/YXHdU1JVmRE
Artistic Finance
https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance
Don Holder
https://www.donaldholderlighting.com/welcome/portfolio/index.html
https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/donald-holder-25700
The Lion King
https://lionking.com/
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Turn_Off_the_Dark
Eastern Standard - Don's first Broadway design
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Standard
Imero Fiorentino
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imero_Fiorentino
Bill Klages - TV Lighting Designer
https://www.livedesignonline.com/news/memoriam-bill-klages
Randy Nordstrom
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0635210/
Frank Brault
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frankbrault
George Tsypin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tsypin
Jennifer Tipton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Tipton
LDI - Free registration with promo code ARTISTICFINANCE
https://www.ldishow.com/
LDI AF Recording - The Art of Tailoring A Show
https://sched.co/1odhj
LDI AF Recording - Financial Independence for Creatives
https://sched.co/1hUTn
Sylie Scowcroft
https://www.financialgrove.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylvie-scowcroft-55670361/
Madelline Song In Two Languages at Once
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GoEuuMEkng
Donald Holder has worked extensively in Theatre, Opera, Dance, Architectural and Television lighting in the US and abroad for over 30 years. He has designed 60 Broadway productions and has been nominated for fourteen Tony awards, winning the Tony for Best Lighting Design for 'The Lion King' in 1998, and for the 2008 revival of 'South Pacific'. Recent Broadway productions include: 'The Pirates of Penzance' (Spring 2025), 'Tootsie', 'Kiss Me Kate', 'McNeal', 'Anastasia', 'My Fair Lady', 'Oslo', 'Straight White Men', 'She Loves Me', 'Fiddler On The Roof', 'The King and I', 'On The Twentieth Century' and many others. Projects at the NY Metropolitan Opera include: 'Champion', 'Rigoletto', 'Porgy and Bess', 'Samson et Delilah', 'Otello', 'The Magic Flute' and the premiere of 'Two Boys'. He has worked at most of the nation's leading resident theatres, and has designed over 100 Off-Broadway productions. His television/film work includes the theatrical lighting for 'Spirited' (Apple Studios), seasons one and two of 'Smash' (NBC-Dreamworks), 'Oceans 8' (Warner Brothers Pictures), 'Gossip Girl' (HBO Max), and 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' (Amazon).
Recent International projects include the 2024 London West End revival of 'Kiss Me Kate' (Barbican), and 'The Great Qin' (Xian, China).
Mr. Holder's architectural lighting projects include the refurbishment (conversion to all LED light) at St Agnes Cathedral, Rockville Centre, NY, Bond 45 and Patio at the Edison Hotel, Dance Theatre Workshop- West 19th St. NYC, Sony Plaza's Public Spaces and the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, AT and T's Interactive Communications Gallery in Bedminster, NJ, The America's Smithsonian Exhibition (touring 12 cities across the United States), and several restaurants in midtown Manhattan, including the Redeye Grill and The Brooklyn Diner .
Holder was Head of the lighting design program at CalArts from 2006-2010, then led the lighting program at Rutgers University- Mason Gross School of the Arts 2016-2025, before transferring as Head of Lighting Design at The Yale School of Drama starting 2025. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and the Yale School of Drama, and the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Muhlenberg College.
Instagram Handles
@donaldholder12
@nicolevsteimel
@ethansteimel
Interview by Ethan Steimel
