Renowned lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe recently held a workshop on lighting at the Teatro Ibérico in Lisbon. Patrick is one of the world’s most celebrated lighting designers. For many years, he has artistically illuminated the most famous artists and stars in the entertainment industry on concert stages, in theatres and in television studios.
In the tenth edition of the seminar ‘Lighting The Stars’, Patrick Woodroffe, who has designed the lighting for the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, the London Olympic Games and numerous other events of international significance, shared his most notable and thrilling experiences, including a touching tribute to Michael Jackson, with whom he was preparing a tour mere days prior to Michael’s early demise.
He then proceeded with a unique live practical exercise, in which he created a lighting design for a musical piece chosen without his knowledge, revealing some of the secrets of his art and technique.
The event was organized by SLS, Claypaky’s distributor for Portugal, with the support of Claypaky itself, which was present with an extensive technical and sales team. An audience of 140 people, consisting mainly of lighting designers, entertainment industry professionals, rental company representatives and professional academy students, were entertained throughout the day, with lunch provided by SLS.
Daniele Gamba, Claypaky’s Area Manager for Portugal, said: “Claypaky has served the Portuguese market for many years. We chose Lisbon as the venue for this event to showcase Patrick Woodroffe’s inspiring story — a blend of tradition and the relentless pursuit of innovation, in line with our mission to constantly create new tools that fuel the creativity of lighting designers. During Woodroffe’s workshop, together with our Portuguese distributor, we unveiled our latest and most innovative product lineup, captivating the large audience in the splendid theatre. I thank Rui Nunes and all the SLS staff for their impeccable organization of the day.”
Rui Nunes, President of SLS, said: “We are the first in our industry to host a workshop of this importance in Portugal. Professionals from all over the country attended and saw this meeting as a big event, which I am sure will be talked about for a very long time to come.”
Patrick Woodroffe said: “I very much enjoyed my two days in Lisbon as a guest of Claypaky and SLS and was pleased to have the opportunity to meet colleagues from various parts of the Portuguese lighting community. The Teatro Iberico was the perfect venue for my workshop in that it reflected the deep culture of the country but with the contemporary reconstruction pointing the way to the future! As I shared the journey of my own career and explored more generally the future of lighting creativity and technology, I felt a real sense of energy and purpose from the audience who were generous and engaged. So thank you to everyone involved in this nice interlude for their welcome, their professionalism and the hospitality they offered. I will be back!