2003 EDDY Awards to Be Presented on Friday, June 27, 2003

New dates have been announced for the 2003 Broadway Lighting Master Classes (BLMC) and the inaugural Broadway Sound Master Classes (BSMC), a two-part professional training program in Broadway sound and lighting design sponsored by Entertainment Design and Lighting Dimensions magazines. The ninth edition of the BLMC and the inaugural BSMC will be held at John Jay College Theatre (899 10th Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets) in New York City on June 26-29, 2003, with Entertainment Design magazine's prestigious EDDY Awards presented on Friday evening, June 27, 2003.

Tony Award-winning lighting designer Jules Fisher continues to serve as creative consultant for the BLMC, and will head a distinguished faculty of Broadway lighting designers. Creative consultant for the launch of the BSMC is acclaimed sound designer Abe Jacob, who will help pull together a faculty of leading sound designers. Both the BLMC and BSMC focus on the creative and artistic side of the design disciplines. A manufacturers showcase will allow attendees to try out exciting new technologies.

All attendees to the BLMC and BSMC will attend a new Broadway musical on Thursday evening, June 26, followed by a post-show discussion and in-depth design analysis. Attendees will also be invited to the 2003 EDDY Awards on Friday, June 27, as Entertainment Design honors a group of individuals and design teams for excellence in design, and presents outstanding product awards for new products in both the sound and lighting fields. "We are very pleased to announce the new June dates," says Jacqueline Tien, publisher of Entertainment Design and Lighting Dimensions. "We will be able to develop thought-provoking programs for both the BLMC and BSMC and look forward to this exciting two-part Broadway season." For more information, please contact Deanna Andrews, dandrews@primediabusiness.com; 212-229-2965, x816.

About the BLMC/BSMC creative consultants:
Jules Fisher
Creative consultant for the BLMC since its debut nine years ago, Tony Award-winning lighting designer Jules Fisher has lit over 150 Broadway and Off Broadway shows, as well as film, ballet, opera, TV, and rock-and-roll concert tours. He has received 16 Tony nominations and won seven Tony awards for lighting design, a record in this category: for Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, 1996; Jelly's Last Jam, 1992; The Will Rogers Follies, 1991; Grand Hotel, 1990; Dancin', 1978; Ulysses in Nighttown,1973; and Pippin, 1972. He received Drama Desk Awards for Frankenstein, Grand Hotel, Jelly's Last Jam, and Noise/Funk. His other recent theatre credits include Jane Eyre, The Wild Party, Marie Christine, and Ragtime. His credits as a producer include The Rink, the award-winning Lenny, Bob Fosse's Dancin', Rock N' Roll! The First 5,000 Years, Elvis: An American Musical, and Dangerous Games. He designed the lighting for Kevin Kline's production of Hamlet for WNET-TV, and lit productions of Porgy and Bess and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the New York City Opera. Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer are partners in Third Eye Ltd., Entertainment Lighting.

Abe Jacob
Sound designer Abe Jacob, considered by many to be the "godfather" of contemporary sound design, will serve as creative consultant to the Broadway Sound Master Classes. He got his start in San Francisco mixing sound for such 60s rock stars as Jimi Hendrix, the Mamas and the Papas, and Peter, Paul, and Mary, and designed the sound system for the Monterey Pop Festival. A legendary sound designer for theatre and opera, a tireless champion of union representation for his fellow artisans, and a 2000 EDDY Award winner, Jacob designed the sound for such seminal Broadway shows as Jesus Christ Superstar, A Chorus Line, Pippin, Chicago, Cats, and Evita, virtually creating the position of sound designer in the process. In the past 15 years, Jacob has helped secure a charter for sound designers within IATSE (Local 922); and in 1993 he helped the Local achieve its first collective bargaining agreement with the League of American Theatres and Producers. In 1999, he helped merge the sound designers with IATSE Local One.