Chris Tilton brings more than 25 years of professional experience to each and every one of our clients.  His early experience included exhibit and interactive display design, lighting for all genres of performing arts, lighting and production for industrial and trade shows, and technical direction at a small private university. 

 

For over eight years, Chris was the Director of Operations for a convention and theatre complex in Davenport, Iowa.  This opportunity provided him with an immersion in facility systems, operations, budgeting, leadership, and client relations.  The experience gained from this role has served Chris well, allowing him to balance design aesthetics with practical and functional requirements of the project owner and end users.  No matter where he is or what he is doing, Chris loves experiencing his surroundings, researching new subjects, and keeping current on the older ones.

 

Earlier in his career, Chris was active in I.A.T.S.E. Local 085, and was the senior rigger at the TaxSlayer Center (formerly the iWireless Center) in Moline, Illinois.  He has been a house electrician, flyman, rigger, gaffer, grip, carpenter, and audio engineer.

 

Chris started his planning and specification consulting career in 2006, as an architectural lighting designer with KJWW Engineering Consultants, PC.  While at KJWW, he also applied his theatrical knowledge to the design of stage rigging, lighting controls, acoustical shells, and associated systems.  In 2011, Chris accepted an opportunity with Westlake Reed Leskosky (WRL) to increase emphasis on theatrical planning and system design in an integrated design setting.  Following the acquisition of WRL in late 2016, he discerned the need to establish About The Stage. 

 

Chris holds a BA from Virginia Tech in theatre arts with an emphasis in lighting and sound design.  He is an ETCP Certified Rigger-Theatre, and is Lighting Certified by the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP).  Chris is an active professional member of the Entertainment Standards Technical Association (ESTA), including involvement on working groups that maintain ANSI-accredited industry standards.  He is also a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), and Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).

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Sustainable design is more than a buzz phrase.  It is a real strategy that positively affects the way our built environment can enhance our way of life with minimal impact on our limited earth resources.  In most cases, sustainable strategies that are holistically applied to a project, will result in lower operating and life-cycle costs.  Chris is a LEED Accredited Professional and has participated in many projects that have attained LEED, LEED Silver, and LEED Gold certifications.

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Richard Ingraham brings over 25 years of experience as a sound designer and technician, audiovisual systems designer, consultant, and educator to his projects.  His experience includes work for regional theatres, higher education, cruise ship, and themed entertainment venues and product development and support for software and hardware products tailored to the needs of the entertainment industry. 

 

After attending Cleveland State University, Richard began his professional career at The Cleveland Play House, where he worked his way up after completing his internship in sound to eventually become their resident sound designer and engineer.  In that position he oversaw the audio needs for all company productions, as well as all the audio system infrastructure and equipment.  Richard left his position at The Cleveland Play House in 2001 and began working as a freelance sound designer at several venues within the Cleveland area as well as around the country, which he continues to do to this day.  Shortly after starting his freelance work, Richard was asked to work with Stage Research where he helped with the development of SFX, which was the predominant software used for audio playback and show control in theatre venues at the time.  He also worked on product development and customer support training for Richmond Sound Design, which primarily created audio and show control products for theme parks, attractions, and cruise ship entertainment venues.  This experience with a wide variety of venue types and organizational structures allows Richard to bring vast amounts of industry knowledge and common practices to his system design work. 

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Richard began his system design work as part of his work as a freelance sound designer, overseeing the design and installation of new systems at several of the venues that he worked for as sound designer on a regular basis, including Shanklin Theatre at the University of Evansville.  He began his formal work as a consultant in 2014 as an audiovisual systems designer at Westlake Reed Leskosky (WRL) in Cleveland, where he and Chris Tilton met and worked together.  In 2017 Richard moved to New York City to work in the North American offices of Charcoalblue, a UK based theatre and acoustics design and consulting firm, as an audiovisual systems designer.  While at Charcoalblue, Richard had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of theatre venues from those with modest budgets to very large projects. 

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Richard has taught sound design, show control and related course work at Carnegie Mellon University, The University of Evansville, and Cleveland State University.  He is a long-time member of the United State Institute of Theatre Technology’s Sound Commission (USITT) and has participated in leading several seminars at USITT regional and national conventions.