For lighting students in the School of Theatre and Dance, this week has been one of the most important of their academic lives.

Recently, the department formed an alliance with Upstaging Inc., one of the largest suppliers of digital lighting equipment in the United States. With this alliance, Upstaging has loaned some of its most advanced digital lighting consoles and lighting equipment to the department – at no charge.

“We now have access to equipment that we don’t have to invest in,” said Benny Gomes, director of lighting design for the School of Theatre and Dance. “Students now have access to learn on this brand new advanced equipment that will be constantly updated as technology changes.”

Upstaging rents equipment to some of the most noteworthy productions worldwide. This week, representatives from Upstaging set up the equipment in the O’Connell Theatre and ran a workshop teaching the graduate students “how-to” tricks for its operation. One of the three Maxxyz consoles being used for student orientation was used to light the 2004 MTV Music Video Awards.

“This really increases our artistic training in preparation for the real world,” graduate lighting student Jason Anderson said. “Just a seminar with this equipment could cost up to $1,200 for each of us. This is hands on – and it costs the university nothing.”

Steve Wojda, a lighting designer for Upstaging, was on hand to explain the high-tech Maxxyz lighting boards and the technology behind them. Whereas the O’Connell’s old system was very static and stationary, this system enables these lights to move anywhere at any time. But this technology doesn’t come cheap – the consoles are valued at $55,000.

The school’s alliance with Upstaging occurred recently, no doubt due to the company’s planned relocation from suburban Mundelein to Sycamore. They are building a lighting warehouse and prep area, and by May the company will be fully operational in Sycamore.

“Our alliance with these guys really helps us get our name out there,” Wojda said.

An alliance with a university is something that executives at Upstaging have had in the works for some time. The question was when the alliance would occur and which university would be chosen. With the relocation to Sycamore and the worldwide recognition the NIU School of Theatre and Dance has received, the choice was simple. Plus, there was another perk.

“Maybe we’ll be able to hire some of these kids one day,” Wojda said.

Such a partnership not only strengthens the educational value of the program, but it also helps dramatically with recruiting.

“It really places the department in a great new place,” Gomes said. “Such a partnership is something that every school in the country would be envious of.”