Technical Director Profile GLEN BRODERSEN // Sight & Sound Productions by Bruce Adolph
When it comes to large-scale live Christian based productions , no one does it better than Sight & Sound , and they have been doing it consistently for decades . Now with two locations and both venues seating 2,000 attendees the production is bigger than ever . [ WM ] thought a conversation with their Technical Director Glen Brodersen was in order .
[ WM ] I would imagine there was a journey along the way to get to being Technical Director for such a large-scale ministry as Sight & Sound Productions . Tell us about that path ?
[ Glen Brodersen ] From a very young age , I ’ ve always had this natural love of building , problem solving , and thinking outside the box . As a drama kid , I grew up with an interest in theater on stage . However , it wasn ’ t until my junior year of high school that I thought “ I wonder what it ’ s like backstage ”. I earned my degree in Mass Communication with an emphasis on Technical Theater . Before coming to Sight & Sound , I found myself working in professional theater as an Audio Engineer , for a local church as a Technical Director , and even found a love of rigging through rock climbing & rope rescue training . I never really saw a clear path to a ministry company like Sight & Sound but it ’ s pretty amazing to look back and see how God took all these various pieces and brought them together in my career here .
[ WM ] In a setting like this with several different theatrical productions each year , two different venues , scores of performances to prepare for , tech teams to employ and then execute the shows , your role must have a lot of responsibilities . Tell us about them and also how many people you lead on those teams ?
[ Glen ] Because of size , the role of Technical Director at Sight & Sound isn ’ t how most theater companies would envision it . As a member of the Design Team , my job is to ensure the artistic vision of the production is being fulfilled from a technical perspective . I like to look at it as an umbrella . Each department I serve ( Rigging , Electronics , Animation , Automation , Set Design , etc .) is an individual spoke in the broader umbrella . My job is to ensure all the spokes stay connected with the “ fabric ” intact through clear communication in order to tell the story and uphold the creative vision .