UTEP Department of Theatre & Dance
Technical & Performance Workshops
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James F. Ingalls | Sooner Rae Routhier | Jeff Sugg | Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz | Jeff Polunas
The Speakers
James F. Ingalls
JAMES F. INGALLS is a lighting designer whose work includes theatre, opera, modern dance, ballet and choral and symphony concerts.Recent productions include The Cherry Orchard andRichard IIIfor Ireland’s DRUID theatre in Galway; Orfeo et Euridicefor the Metropolitan Opera; The Firebirdfor Miami City Ballet and LA Master Chorale’s Lagrime di San Pietroat Disney Hall and on Tour.His 40-year collaboration with director Peter Sellars includes many world premiers: John Adams’ Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer andDoctor Atomic; Kaija Saariaho’sL’Amor de Loin, Adriana Mater and Only the Sound Remains; and many more new productions incliuding: Tristan et Isolde with video designs by Bill Viola; Saint François d’Assise, Idomeneo andLa Clemenza di Tito,all with scenic design by George Tsypin for the Salzburg Festival/Austria. His designs for the Mark Morris Dance Group include: L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato, The Hard Nut, Dido and Aeneas, Mozart Dances and Layla and Majnun.He designed Twyla Tharp’s 50th Anniversary Tour, several pieces for the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Merce Cunningham’s Split Sides, with music by Radiohead and Sigur Rós.He has designed three Nutcrackers: for San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet/Seattle and Miami City Ballet. Other ballet includes:Unbound, Festival of 12 New Works, San Francisco Ballet; The Sleeping Beauty, American Ballet Theatre and La Scala, Milan. Alexi Ratmansky, choreographer, Richard Hudson, set and costume designer and Onegin, National Ballet of Canada, Toronto. John Cranko, choreographer, Santo Loquasto, set and costume designer.His occasional work on Broadway includes the musicals: The People in the Picture, Roundabout Studio 54 and Galt McDermott’s The Human Comedy,New York Shakespeare Festival at the Royale. Broadway plays include Glengarry Glen Ross, The Elephant Man, Young Man From Atlanta and the original ’Night, Mother.
Sooner Rae Routhier
SOONER RAE ROUTHIER is an award-winning Designer, Producer, Director, and one of today's leading creative minds in the world of experiential entertainment. She has developed and produced some of entertainment's most recognizable performance moments for some of today's biggest headlining artists including, Coldplay,The Weeknd,KISS,Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers, Rhianna, Pentatonix, Jay-Z,Halsey, Motley Crue, G-Eazy, and Depeche Modejust to name a few. Sooners incredible story began in 1999 where she worked as a lighting technician and lighting director for Rainbow Concert Productionswhile attending Emerson College in Boston. After graduating in 2001 with BFA in Technical Theater, she launched her career as a Lighting Designer for the rock band Chevelle. Her talent and grit were quickly recognized in the industry allowing her to collaborate and design for some of the industry’s leading live and televised events.In 2007 Sooner teamed up with legendary production manager Robert Longto form SRae Productionsand embarked on a journey to redefine entertainment. She did just that, in 2015, Sooner was awarded a prestigious Parnelli Awardfor her lighting design on the Imagine Dragons Smoke and Mirrors Tour. While growing SRae Productions, Sooner was also able to cultivate new budding creative talent under her SRae umbrella and in 2017, Sooner and the SRae team joined forces with World-Renowned Composer Ramin Djawadiand together in a Live Nation/ HBOpartnership brought the world of Westeros to life and launched the "Game of Thrones – Live Concert Experience."Sooner has not only made her mark in entertainment industry, but she has also become a respected leader in her field and along with her colleagues helped pave the modern landscape of entertainment lighting, design, and production.Most recently, Sooner has begun working as lighting designer with creative director Jesse Lee Stout on Muse’sacclaimed Simulation Theory World Tour. She is also collaborating with rising recording sensation Alessia Cara, to develop a new performance experience.
Jeff Sugg
JEFF SUGG is an award-winning designer with over 20 years in the performing arts. His work ranges from experimental to classical to Broadway. Select credits include: Broadway: Tina The Musical, All My Sons, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweat, Bring it On, 33, Variations. West End: Tina The Musical. Off-Broadway & Regional credits include work at St. Ann's Warehouse, Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons, The Public, Steppenwolf, The Old Globe, Mark Taper Forum, Oregon Shakespeare, Arena Stage, and many others. Music: Flower Power (LA Phil), Fire In My Mouth (NY Phil), The Temest (LA Phil), Antharcite Fields (worldwide), and Prince's final appearance on SNL. Awards: Lucille Lortel Award, Obie Award, Bessie Award, and two Henry Heres Design Awards.
Lonnie Alcaraz
LONNIE RAFAEL ALCARAZ is a professional lighting designer and is also a Professor at UC Irvine, where he is the head of the lighting program. He has designed at various regional theatres, such as The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage, South Coast Repertory, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Laguna Playhouse, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, The Great River Shakespeare Festival where he is the Resident Lighting Designer, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Syracuse Stage, Arizona Theatre Company and East West Players. Lonnie has designed for Culture Clash for various shows, such as The Birds at both South Coast Repertory and Berkeley Repertory; Culture Clash in AmeriCCa at South Coast Repertory and San Diego Repertory; and their national touring show, Radio Mambo. Lonnie is an Associate Artist with critically acclaimed Cornerstone Theater Company which has given him the opportunity to create site-specific lighting designs throughout California. He recently designed for Beitak Productions in the country of Oman at the Royal Opera House of Muscat; an Ice Skating show centered around various Operas with professional Opera Singers and the National Orchestra of Prague. In addition to his theatrical experience, Lonnie designed for Universal Studios Islands of Adventure for Universal Studios, Japan. He is a member of the United Scenic Artist /IATSE – Local 829.
Jeff Polunas
JEFF POLUNAS is a professional sound designer and the Production Sound Supervisor at UC Irvine. He is a southern California based designer having received the 2015 and 2017 Scenie Awards (StageSceneLA) for sound design and has been nominated for a NAACP, Stage Raw and Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Awards. He has designed over 150 productions in his career at theaters including: South Coast Repertory, The Fountain Theatre, Antaeus Theatre Company, Son of Semele, International City Theater, Chance Theater, Summer Repertory Theater, The Old Globe, Moonlight Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, The Magic Theatre and PCPA Theaterfest. Jeff was the USITT Sound Commission Main events Coordinator from 2016-2019 where he oversaw the sound system for the larger events of the convention. Jeff is a member of United Scenic Artist/ IATSE- Local 829.