All stories by Rob Halliday on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Rob Halliday: For lighting technicians, time flickers at a capricious pace by Rob Halliday

For something so intrinsically precise, time is strangely malleable and bending time is a big part of what we do in theatre.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Rob Halliday: What next for lighting consoles? by Rob Halliday

It must be so frustrating, being a manufacturer of lighting consoles. Just when they think they’ve solved the problems of fading lights

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:01PM
Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Rob Halliday: Rebranding theatre shows as ‘start-ups’ could pay dividends by Rob Halliday

Unless you’re a tech nerd, you’ll probably have no idea who Scott Forstall is. Yet, chances are a product he helped create

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Rob Halliday: Standing on the shoulders of giants helped light my path by Rob Halliday

Sometimes, you know you want to say something, but don’t quite know what. So here goes. I worked for Michael Bogdanov –

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Rob Halliday: It’s time to celebrate 25 years of revolutionary theatre technology by Rob Halliday

The tendency in our industry is to look relentlessly forward – perhaps not surprising given that once a show is gone, it’s

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:00AM
Monday, August 28, 2017

What you need to ask before choosing a technical course by Rob Halliday

So, you want to go to drama school to learn about working backstage and making shows. Fair enough: a lot of people

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:00AM
Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Rob Halliday: Tokyo team’s enlightening approach is bang on cue by Rob Halliday

It’s strange, the different directions the winds of showbiz can buffet you. There was a long period when it felt like almost

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Friday, July 28, 2017

Rob Halliday: Made in Britain – we export great things but get little in return by Rob Halliday

So, I’m an export. At least, I think I am. I’ve been in Tokyo for five weeks now, working on a new

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 09:00AM
Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Rob Halliday: Imagination – the human trait technology can’t replace by Rob Halliday

Ever felt like you chose poorly? Whether because of that slightly raised eyebrow of disappointment when you told your parents you were

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Rob Halliday: From Chester’s Storyhouse Theatre to Showlight in Florence, tech teams shine by Rob Halliday

The problem with appearing here just once a month is how to deal with things that are timely and topical. Like congratulating

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Friday, May 12, 2017

Rob Halliday: All work and no play could make lighting design dull by Rob Halliday

I’d be curious – if a little frightened – to know how much of my career (which I often think of as

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:40AM
Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Rob Halliday: Don’t leave it too late to learn from experience by Rob Halliday

Once again, a reminder that if you wait too long, you leave it too late. As you’ve probably heard, Ken ‘AK’ Bennett-Hunter

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Rob Halliday: I’m a lighting designer, but I’m all for switching the power off by Rob Halliday

As you might have noticed, this column has a somewhat loosely specified brief. So it probably won’t surprise you that the book

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 03:00AM
Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Rob Halliday: Why all of my work seems to revolve around food by Rob Halliday

So there I was at the lovely Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, taking part in an impromptu but fascinating conversation with a

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Rob Halliday: Stage managers channel chaos into order and creative freedom by Rob Halliday

Proof, if it were needed, that the world would be a calmer place if stage managers were appointed as presidents and prime

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Rob Halliday: ESTA needs your help to maintain global technical standards by Rob Halliday

The thing about a good standard is, you’ve probably never thought about it. It seems obvious and sensible that the plug goes

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Friday, October 28, 2016

Rob Halliday: Virtual reality technology at Plasa gave me a sneak preview of Hamilton by Rob Halliday

The Stage doesn’t go in for post-trade-show reports. But if it did, I hope that a post-Plasa report would have mentioned the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 12:13PM
Monday, October 24, 2016

Backstage: How the National reinvented theatre by Rob Halliday

It’s easy now to forget that the National Theatre was created in two parts. While the company turned 50 back in 2013,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:00AM
Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Rob Halliday: After 60 years, let’s celebrate the NYT’s technical stars by Rob Halliday

That the National Youth Theatre has just turned 60 suddenly makes you realise that its first youths can by no means be

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Rob Halliday: In a game of two halves, make sure you get to play both ends by Rob Halliday

I can’t be the only one to notice that entertainment technology is an industry of two halves: those who make the equipment,

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Rob Halliday: Human touch is vital, even after advances in followspot technology by Rob Halliday

An interesting difference you notice very quickly if you’re lucky enough to work on musicals in London and in New York: the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Rob Halliday: Social division is clearer to theatre staff who tour the UK by Rob Halliday

‘Print lag’ – that unavoidable newsprint delay between the writing and the reading – means the sharp stab of shock at the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Monday, June 20, 2016

Backstage: Technical crews, meet your new best friends by Rob Halliday

Tools are out there that you just don’t know you need – because you haven’t heard of them. Once you do, you’ll wonder

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 05:00AM
Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Rob Halliday: Some things are more worthwhile than a career in entertainment by Rob Halliday

My mother died a few weeks ago. I say this not to provoke any wave of sympathy (though the support from the

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Rob Halliday: Be quick on the draw with internet software, Drafty by Rob Halliday

Get the word out: someone’s made us a new tool. It’s called Drafty. It lives on the internet. And if you make

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Rob Halliday: To buy or not to buy? Testing answers the question by Rob Halliday

This is the tale of two light bulbs. Except, really, it’s of a quest we should all be on before specifying products

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:40AM
Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Rob Halliday: Time to ditch the paperwork and let consoles remember the cues by Rob Halliday

Shows, particularly shows with a long life across multiple productions, generate a lot of lighting paperwork: plans, sections (though sadly not always), focus

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:00AM
Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Rob Halliday: It’s important to be social in this solitary career by Rob Halliday

It’s perhaps because lighting is such a solitary profession – there’s rarely more than one lighting designer on a gig, visits during

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:40AM
Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Rob Halliday: Tracking the beaten path to a career behind the scenes by Rob Halliday

What are you doing now, and how did you end up doing that as your career? It’s a simple enough question in

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 02:40AM
Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Rob Halliday: The magic of Les Mis may lie in the human touch by Rob Halliday

With apologies for being late to the celebration (in part, because I was helping light the celebration), happy 30th birthday, Les Miserables.

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 07:00AM
Thursday, October 22, 2015

Plasa Show 2015 round-up by Rob Halliday

When the Plasa Show took over Excel London’s exhibition centre last week, Rob Halliday took a look at the entertainment technology showcase…

SOURCE: The Stage Registration at 01:01PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic