The Belasco Theatre: Pushing Past 80, Gracefully

David Flad of Q1 Designs recently teamed with 4Wall Los Angeles to light the interior of downtown LA's Belasco Theatre. The lighting design and implementation was one of the final stages of the three-year renovation of the 80-year-old venue. Set in a central location not far from Staples Center, the Belasco was renovated so that it could host variety of entertainment events. The challenge for Flad and his team was in making sure the lighting was versatile enough to support a variety of needs.

On one night in February, at the L.A. Staples Center, what happened on the court was more than mere basketball. And here's a clue: If the word "Star" is in the event title – as in NBA All-Star 2011 – the stakes are going to be high. For the 60th time the celebration has been staged, the producers turned to All Access Staging and Productions for an assist.

"IATSE Local One is the oldest entertainment union in the U.S.," declares Robert Score, the organization's recording-corresponding secretary. Founded in 1886, members that year held a torchlight procession down Broadway to Union Square with 25,000 others demanding an eight-hour day and the end of the child labor. Meanwhile, the best-paid stage employees of that era worked for 50 cents a day, and men employed typically put in up to 100 hours per week.

Shea Stadium is so deeply woven into the fabric of New York City's social history that even tearing it down didn't make it go away. New York's equal part loving/maddening relationship with the Mets baseball team is augmented by its profound rock ‘n' roll history. It is, after all, where the Beatles played in 1965.