Late one evening, Sophomore Jonathan Schneider sat tensely in the tech booth of the Travis auditorium. He hears clapping, and waits for the grand drapes to open. As soon as they do, he makes several deft movements, and the lights begin to flash, and the audience is immediately entranced.
 
Creating the show itself was no easy task. "I spent about 42 hours working on the show," said Schneider, "I thought that was interesting, because I guess that makes lighting the meaning of my life."
 
Theatrical lighting has always been a large part of Jonathan's life.

"I started working with lights back in Middle School tech theatre. I just started doing it, and it appealed to me the most, so I kept doing it," Schneider said. "I've worked with lighting so much, I can't feel heat on my hands any more."

 But why would he spend countless hours in the auditorium working for just one show? The answer is simpler than you might think: he enjoys working with lights, and he had the time.

" The most fun part was seeing the end product and seeing all my hard work pay off. Even though this show was a lot of work, I plan on doing a couple more next year."

 The show is about three minutes long, and is set to the song "Beethoven" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. For the lighting, he used 24 PARs, 14 6" Fresnels, three Studio Color 250s, two Studio Spot 250s, and one Eliminator e136.

 Jonathan has lit every mainstage show in the Travis auditorium, and he has no plans on stopping his work with lights.

"People actually think I'm married to the lightboard" he said, "because they never see me."
 
Schneider's show can be viewed on YouTube, or on the attached video.