Tyler Roach has a wide skill set, so as his career has grown, so have the various roles he fills on various projects. He is a lighting designer, lighting director, media server technician, systems and network designer, owner and partner. He first made a name for himself during his 16-plus years at Upstaging and solidified his reliable reputation over the last five years as the principal designer of his own firm, Eclipse Creativity. Based in Chicago, Roach works from a design studio space that he jointly owns and operates with Robb Jibson’s design firm, So Midwest. PLSN recently caught up with the hard working, in-demand Roach.
PLSN: How did you get your start in the industry?
Tyler Roach: I went to school at Liberty-
ville High School, in Libertyville, IL. They had a good technical program in the theater because of local corporate sponsorship; mostly McDonalds. It was a great program, with good equipment, and a good supervisor. Then I went to Ithaca College, where I earned a BFA degree in Theatrical Production Arts.
I got a summer job at Upstaging after my first year in college, that was ‘96. My first day, Def Leppard was programming in the shop, that was cool. For me, it was an opportunity to learn more about the technology. The Wholehog II had just come out and moving lights were a thing; I wasn’t going to get any experience with any of that gear doing summer stock — plus I made some money, which you also don’t get at summer stock.
When I finished college, I worked full-time at Upstaging. Initially it was all tech work; coiling cable, counting truss bolts, and all that. Then little by little, I was doing more things behind the console and doing small corporate events, shows at department stores in Chicago. It just kept growing and growing, where eventually I was — somehow — the in-house designer of Upstaging.
The core of your work is in the corporate event market, right?
I didn’t really — and don’t still — aspire to do any rock ‘n’ roll work. I’ve done my time in a tour bus, and it’s not a desirable place to go back to at this point. I haven’t really developed that world, business-wise. I have found that there’s plenty of work to do in the corporate market.
When did you form Eclipse Creativity?
I left Upstaging and went out on my own in June 2012. I would classify myself as a lighting designer, but I do a variety of different things. I’ll do lighting direction and gaffing; sometimes I’m running video for a boxing event. Mostly, I’ve been designing my own projects for a range of corporate clients. It just depends on what’s needed.
I work a lot with Bob Peterson [Real World Lighting, Inc.] as a lighting director and programmer. When I work with Jason Robinson and Michael Nevitt [Crossfade Design LLC] it is more as a media server guru and sometimes as video director. It depends on the event; sometimes I’m behind the light board, sometimes I’m behind a video switcher.
I think to do different roles well you need to trust people to do their job, and you also need to know your client. You do that over time. I know what Jason is looking for now, what Bob is looking for now, I know what Nevitt is looking for now. That’s a relationship that we built up over the years.
You also do a lot of systems design and integration.
I do. That turned into one of my major roles at Upstaging later in my career there. Before there was wireless DMX, Upstaging did the opening of Millennium Park in Chicago with John Featherstone [Lightswitch]. We needed a wireless solution, so I built a big 2.4 gigahertz Wi-Fi system to distribute our network all over the park in downtown Chicago.
Recently, I worked as the project manager for Crossfade Design on the control systems for the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. That project was absolutely fantastic. I’ve never done anything more complicated than that. It brings lighting and networking across the entire corporate network to control all kinds of lighting, all over the building, at the press of a button on the video switcher whenever the Detroit Red Wings score a goal. It took a while to get it all figured out, but it all works and it’s pretty cool.
Who have some of your mentors been?
Certainly, Bob Peterson. I’ve learned a lot from him over the years, certainly from a design standpoint and what you need to do to get it to look good on television. That’s one thing that many, many people, still to this day, are honestly challenged with. It’s tricky. I’d also say Jason Robinson. Actually, Jason worked with Bob a long time ago as well. It’s funny, it all circles back to Bob no matter who in my life has influenced me. I’m probably forgetting some people, but I’d say those are the two major ones at least in recent history.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love the diversity of it all. Every day is full of different challenges on different projects. I have three different exhibit projects I’m working on right now. That diversity of projects is great and so is being busy. I have a pretty well-rounded lighting career.
Plus, you have the design space that you share with Robb Jibson of So Midwest. Tell me about that.
I had an office in my home, but then we had a baby, and it was time to get all the Pelican cases out of the house; half the time the car couldn’t get in the garage. Now I have a great space to work from, not far from home, which is a big deal in Chicago traffic.
Robb and I made sure there was also room for other local people to come in and work. We are a loosely-built business network; getting a bunch of like-minded people in an office together who are friendly with each other as we all build our own businesses just by helping each other out as friends. Nobody stealing clients or any of that, just, ‘Hey, I can’t do this project, but can you do this next week?’ There’s been several moments like that where it’s just wonderfully easy to collaborate with each other.
Michael S. Eddy is editor-in-chief of Stage Directions magazine, a publication affiliated with PLSN.
