Visual Terrain, a leading lighting design firm, is celebrating its recent awards success following the 31st Annual Thea Awards Gala. At the event, held at Universal City in Los Angeles, Visual Terrain received its 17th and 18th Thea Awards.
The company earned recognition for its role in show lighting and programming for the Chimelong Spaceship at Chimelong Resort in Hengqin, Guangdong, China, which was awarded a Thea for Outstanding Achievement.
Visual Terrain was acknowledged as a key contributor for lighting design on the team for the Priddy Family Foundation Freedom Theater at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, which also earned a Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement.
Outstanding achievement
The TEA’s updated policy now recognises outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to project teams. As a result, principal lighting designer Steven Young, associate principal production manager Steeve Vajk, and senior lighting designer Lucius Lee were individually recognised for their efforts in the Priddy Family Foundation Freedom Theater at the National WWII Museum.
Speaking about the recognition, Young says:
“This is so new to me; I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for over 30 years, and my name has never been on a themed entertainment plaque.
“Lisa and David [Lisa & David Passamonte Green, co-owners of Visual Terrain] made sure that I was recognized for my work on these two projects, and I am overjoyed. I’ve always wanted to create great experiences for people, but seeing that other people enjoy and appreciate what we do in the dark, where we try to make art while crouching on boxes surrounded by construction dust, makes it all worthwhile.
“These were radically different kinds of projects: one is fantastical and complete fiction, and the other is an homage to our country’s history and the values of democracy. It’s such an honor to be able to design in a wide variety of project types.”
Lisa Passamonte Green says: “Honestly, it is so great that the TEA has expanded its THEA Award program to allow these plaques to be available to the individual team members who worked on the day-to-day efforts of each project, and not just the overall company who worked on the project.
“We have always known how great our team is, and now they get a more personal recognition for all the hours of creativity and work they put in. “
Trusted clients
Passmonte Green continues: “Each project is important to us because they were done with long-time clients: The Bezark Company & Chimelong Group, and THG Creative & the National World War II Museum, respectively. We appreciate the trust each client and each owner put into our team, and we are so privileged that they each understand our team can do such diverse projects.
“When I first opened my design firm, I did think, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to be recognized for the work we do?’, but I never imagined that we would have 18 Thea awards in the first 30 years. What a pure joy it has been to be a part of the teams and the projects recognized each time. We are truly honored by each recognition and never take it for granted.
“We are so appreciative of the trust and confidence our clients have in our team, and we work hard to keep it. We also look forward to helping future teams realize projects that may also be recognized one day with a Thea!”
See also: Lighting the way: Visual Terrain’s 30 years of creativity & innovation
