Professor of Lighting Design David Fillmore was undeniably proud on Oct. 18, when, beating out six other nominees, he won the “Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play” award at the 16th annual Metrolina Theatre Association awards gala. Afterall, it was his eighth MTA trophy, from 17 nominations over the past couple of decades.
But even more fulfilling than this individual recognition, Fillmore said, was the collective triumph for UNC Charlotte’s theatre program.
“The number of theatre alumni and theatre faculty who were nominated was so exciting – 23 nominations this year!”
In addition to Fillmore, six adjunct faculty in the Department of Theatre and seven theatre alumni, from recent graduates to more established professionals, received nominations, with three winning awards. Joining Fillmore in the winners’ circle were alumnus Evan Kinsley ’10 (“Outstanding Sound Design for a Musical”) and Adjunct Lecturer Tod A. Kubo (“Outstanding Choreography”).
Fillmore was recognized for his lighting design for “Wink,” produced by Charlotte Conservatory Theatre, one of several theatre companies that have launched in the Charlotte metro area over the past several years. It’s heartening, he said, to see growth in the theatre community, which then offers opportunities to graduates of UNC Charlotte’s theatre program.
“It is really wonderful to see the amount of work that’s being done. It feels like it is primed and ready to explode.”
Fillmore regularly designs for local companies like Charlotte Conservatory Theatre and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, where his lighting expertise has been honored with past MTA awards, and he has several shows on the horizon: Children’s Theatre’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” over the holiday season and “Disney’s Finding Nemo” in April and CCT’s “Constellation” in February.
“Disney’s Finding Nemo” will be a particular challenge. “The whole show is underwater,” Fillmore said. “That movement of the full stage, of that light coming down on the coral reef – we’re going through the list of effects now and figuring out how we are going to do them.”
Of course, it’s not his first marine gig. In fact, almost 20 years ago, Fillmore brought home an MTA award for “Outstanding Special Technical Effect” for an underwater scene in a Children’s Theatre production of “Go, Dog, Go!”
On the home front, Fillmore typically designs one or two campus productions a year, such as last spring’s musical, “Cabaret,” and this semester’s Fall Dance Concert, which took place Oct. 22-25. Fillmore said he has a particular affinity for dance and enjoys “creating that collaborative relationship” with choreographers, “learning what their artist values are and dreaming up how to create it.”
The Fall Dance Concert presented new opportunities, with an extraordinary LED wall designed and engineered by the College of Arts + Architecture’s production electrician, Senior Lecturer Rick Moll ’94. Fillmore used the wall, which is 40 feet by 18 feet and has 14,110 individual LEDs, for three of the five pieces on the concert. In some cases, such as “PROTOCOL” by new Lecturer in Dance Billy Hawkains (below), the LED wall was more than a backdrop.
“Billy’s piece is about the machine coming to life. The LED wall is the machine.”
See more of Fillmore’s work at his website.
Written by Meg Whalen. Photos of “PROTOCOL,” 2026 Fall Dance Concert, by Kat Lawrence.