DALLAS – Edwin L Schmitt II, stage lighting technician at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, died April 9, 2011 due to complications following a heart attack. He was 57. Schmitt played a key role in the Meyerson Symphony Center's theatrical lighting, and also supported its recent architectural lighting renovation and conversion to LED technologies. He was recognized for those efforts with a City of Dallas Environmental Stewardship Award in 2010.
During his 16 years at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Schmitt also got involved in everything from curtain machinery, the venue's large reverberation chamber doors and permanent rigging for the 42-ton canopy over the stage. He also handled many of the purchasing duties and mechanical/plumbing repair work needed to maintain much of the performance equipment for the venue.
Prior to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Schmitt worked for nine years as a production electrician, master electrician and lighting programmer on the staff of the Dallas Theater Center at both the Kalita Humphreys Theater and the Arts District Theater under the leadership of Adrian Hall, Ken Bryant and Richard Hamburger. There, he worked closely with many top lighting designers including Eugene Lee, Natasha Katz, Roger Morgan, Russell Champa, James F. Ingalls and Don Holder, among others. Schmitt's own lighting design credits included many productions for Addison Center Theater, Dallas Theater Center's Big D Festival and Teen Children's Theater, as well as numerous concert events for the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
Schmitt, who was born and raised in Wichita, KS, got an early start in the theater. The son of a dance instructor working with children's theater productions, he started helping out with building and painting scenery at age seven. In his college years, he studied at Wichita State University in Kansas and Richland College in Dallas and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Aside from theatre, Schmitt's interests ranged from gardening, kite-flying, Formula 1 racing, pro baseball, art, literature, music and science. "He had a playful and slightly wicked sense of humor, which made him a fascinating joy to talk to," noted Lamar Livingston, technical director at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. "It was always an adventure to talk to Ed, you never knew where it would take you. Thank you for sharing your adventurous spirit with all of us, Ed. We will miss you."
