My latest book about Vectorworks was announced yesterday. You should go HERE and order Entertainment and Lighting Design with Vectorworks Spotlight then, come back and read the rest of this post. This is my fifth book about Vectorworks, a subject about which I am obviously passionate. Vectorworks has helped me earn my living for some time now.

The Broadway community has been incredibly embracing and has offered a considerable amount of encouragement on this project. Specifically: Susan Myerberg and Sharon Fallon from The Helen Hayes Theatre, The Shubert Foundation, John Darby and Peter Entin of the Schubert Organization, Scenic Designer David Gallo and his associate Steven Kemp, Producer Roy Miller of Paperboy Theatricals, and Scenic and Costume Designer Beowulf Boritt.

Several colleagues have offered guidance and advice: lighting designer and author Steven Shelly (creator of the Field Templates and Soft Symbols, author of A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting), scenic and lighting designer Cris Dopher; Daphne Mir; scenic designer, lighting designer, and technical director Scott Parker of Stage Seminars; and architect Stanley Paul Rostas of Shook Kelley. Of course, everyone at Nemetschek Vectorworks deserves mention and thanks.

All that I have written has been based on my experiences in the classroom. Dean Geoffrey Newman, Professor Michael Allen, and Professor John Wiese of Montclair State University made that happen, and to them I am grateful. I am equally grateful to the too-many-to-mention students whom I taught. I hope they learned as much from me as I did from them.

Matthew William Anastasio is a professional draftsman and a former student. He tested this text to ensure the accuracy of my descriptions. A thankless task that he is thanked for here and now.

I am always thankful for the people who taught and mentored me, both while in school and as a young professional, among them: Reagan Cook, John Figola, Keith Gonzales, Phillip Graneto, Mark Kruger, W. Scott MacConnell, Lester Polikov, Peter Politanoff, Phillip Louis Rodzen, Tom Schwinn, David Steigerwalt, and Peter Wexler. From these talented individuals, I learned about the importance of precision in a pencil-based world and the crucial need for clarity of communication in order for the vision to be properly executed.

The production on which this design for Romeo and Juliet was originally produced was at the American Globe Theatre in New York City. American Globe artistic director John Basil directed the production, Jim Parks designed the costumes, and Scott O’Brien created the original score.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the love and support of my wife and partner Kathleen McDonough, not to mention her superb editing skills, without which this book would be nowhere near
as readable.

Cover Photograph: The Rivals
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Produced by the Montclair State University, College of the Arts, Department of Theatre & Dance
Directed by John Basil
Scenic Design by Kevin Lee Allen
Costume Design by Stephanie Peterson
Lighting Design by Christina Burr
Sound Design by Emma Shankland
Photo by Kevin Lee Allen

Of course, this post needs a tease, the image at left illustrates the project the book teaches. Order your copy today!

Click on the rendering, see all of the things that YOU want to learn ho to do with Vectorworks, Spotlight and Renderworks.