Lighting Designer/Director/Programmer
Emily Bornt has been steadily building her career as a lighting designer/director/programmer for concert touring over the last few years and many are taking notice of her work. After earning a BFA in theatrical design from Adelphi University, Bornt freelanced in theater, corporate, television and live concert production work, becoming a member of I.A.T.S.E. Local 340. She also worked in production shops, serving as a moving light technician. She moved into touring work as an FOH tech on many productions flashing the rigs and running lights for opening acts.
In 2016, she moved to Los Angeles and formed her design company, Lighting Entertainment and Production Services, LLC (LEAPS). Bornt specializes in grandMA2 and grandMA3 programming and as a Vectorworks draftsperson.
She has worked with designers including Butch Allen, Cory FitzGerald, Rob Sinclair and Peter Morse. Bornt is establishing herself as a lighting director and a designer as she travels the world running lights for live music and television. Her most recent credit is as lighting designer/programmer/director for Lil Wayne, on tour with Blink-182, Summer 2019. Her recent work can be found on her website, leaps.design, and on Instagram @ leaps.design.
You started out studying theater, how did you make the transition from theater to concert touring?
I mean it was a long weird transition. I started with costume design and fashion, not realizing how much of a world of theater there was as a career, Once I found out that theater was a real job, I was like, ‘Well sh*t.’ A lot of doors just opened up. So I went to college for theatrical design. While I was a student at Adelphi, I worked at the local venues and I ended up at the arenas pushing cases and working on a lot of rock shows. I really kind of fell in love with that while I was trying to make money in college.
So when I graduated, I got my union card, started working in the shops and meeting more people. I got bored of being in the shop and wanted to be a tech on tour. When I started getting bored of being a tech I knew I wanted to be more involved in the design, so I learned drafting. It was just always this constant drive to do more and be more involved. Today, I feel like I still incorporate a lot of theater into my lighting. Colors have meaning and there’s things that inspire movements; my theater training still comes through in things like that.
What was your first tour you went out on?
My first tour was Big Time Rush back in 2012 as tech. Butch Allen designed it. For the first year or so while I was establishing myself, I’d still work at the local arenas, pushing cases, when I was home or doing shop work, but after about a year or so, it picked up pretty much nonstop.
What was the transition from touring tech to the drafting and lighting director work?
That happened New Year’s Day 2017; it was kind of a New Year’s resolution. I’d moved out to LA at the end of 2016 and was still touring. When I finished my winter tour I said ‘that’s it. I’m not touring as a tech anymore. I need to put my foot down, be more serious about going after this.’ The first job was when I started drafting for Rob Sinclair. I’d worked with him as a tech before and I got a call from him when he saw on Instagram I did drafting. He had Queen + Adam Lambert coming up and could use some help drafting it. So it just kind of started from there. The first thing as lighting director was for Kehlani. Manny Conde was supposed to go out on that for the designer, and he had something else pop up. So he reached out to me, asked if I was available and I said yes. So that was the first I actually got to go out as lighting director.
Were there particular moments that really set you on your career course?
I don’t think there’s been any particular lightning strike moments, but there’s definitely been great experiences working with different teams that have inspired me. Some tours are better than others. Some are worse. There’s been some experiences where I’ve been like, ‘Oh my God, do I really want to do this for a living? I’ll just be a dentist. Screw this.’ But then there’s definitely people that you work with that have the same kind of passion that you do, and it reminds you why you do it. Because it’s not an easy job. It’s not an easy lifestyle. So working with other like-minded people really helps out.
What’s an important skill or trait you feel you need to have?
I guess in a technical way would be drafting, being able to understand what you’re doing in three dimensions before you actually put it in the room. When a designer can’t really draft too strongly they can have a hard time expressing what they want to happen. Outside of the technical, I think patience is definitely the biggest tool to always keep in your tool belt. Patience and hard work. I mean, you’ve just got to do the work and be patient with your coworkers and the process. That’s really the most important part.
What do you enjoy most, and least, about your career?
I think what I most enjoy is just the creativity. Being able to express music through visuals is definitely something that keeps me in love with this. The least is the travel and being away from real life. You just end up in this bubble, and everyone else’s lives go on without you.
And who have some of your mentors been?
Cory FitzGerald is a phenomenal person and designer. I love working with him. Butch Allen is, again, phenomenal. What he does; he is very no-nonsense. And I love that sense of honesty. I think it’s very important to stay real in this industry, and not sugarcoat stuff. Rob Sinclair is the same way. I absolutely love what he does with not a lot. He’s extremely creative in how he places things and how he uses them. And again, he’s no-nonsense. If he doesn’t like something, he’ll say it and he’ll express why. Also, Peter Morse and Benny Kirkham are fantastic; I love working with them. They’re both so smart at what they do and they do beautiful work in a very short amount of time. I’ve been very lucky to work with a lot of great designers through my years touring as a tech, and now as a lighting director.
And is there a piece of advice you got at the start of your career that you still find applicable today?
At the end of the day, be that person you want to go have a drink with. At the end of the day, you still have to be a person and be a likeable person, and it’s important to get the job done, but it’s also important to keep that realness with your crew, and with your coworkers. So just be that person you want to hang out with.
Michael S. Eddy, is the Editor of Projection, Lights & Staging News.
