Bio
BEN PEOPLES
Consultant
Ben has spent nearly 10 years working in professional theatre with jobs ranging from deck hand to technical director. In 2002, he earned a BFA in technical direction and lighting design from the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama in Pittsburgh, PA.
Aside from his duties at The Shalleck Collaborative, Ben also works frequently in Bay Area theatres, such as Marin Theatre Company, the Conservatory at ACT, the Magic Theatre, Palo Alto Players, and PH Productions. Ben spent two years as Assistant Technical Director at California Shakespeare Theater with Dave Nowakowski. Notable highlights of Ben’s career include lighting designer for Passion at Starlight Productions in Pittsburgh, and Honk! The Ugly Duckling Musical at the Ray of Light Theatre in San Francisco. He was master electrician for Mano A Mano at the Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, as well as numerous one-off productions throughout the Pittsburgh area. As a rigger, Ben flew performers nightly as the chief rigger at Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Imaginique, was flyman for a production of Into the Woods in a 100-year-old hemp house, and worked the 2000 GM Fashion Week in Bryant Park. Ben is also the creator and webmaster for goodtheatre.org, a nationwide job listing service for technical theatre professionals.
Ben spent two years working for Auerbach Pollock Friedlander as a drafter, designer, and project manager. Aside from a number of middle and high school theatres, his past projects include:
- Sacred Heart, Atherton, CA.
- Clackamas College, Oregon City, OR.
- New York New York Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV.
- Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA.
- CalPoly Harman Hall, San Luis Obispo, CA.
- Stern Grove Ampitheater, San Francisco, CA.
Since joining The Shalleck Collaborative in 2004, he has worked on the following projects as systems designer and drafter:
- Fuller Theological Seminary Worship Center, Pasadena, CA.
- American River College, Sacramento, CA.
- Mt. Pleasant High School Theatre, San Jose, CA.
- Crocker Middle School Performing Arts Center, Hillsborough, CA.
- Irvine Valley College Performing Arts Center, Irvine, CA.
Ben’s understanding of theatrical systems, combined with his frequent work in live theatre allows him to quickly develop solutions to complex problems, both in rigging and lighting systems design. Ben’s additional skills in networking technologies allow him to be ahead of the curve as theatrical systems increasingly become data-centric.
References are available upon request.