Multitalented and multi-genre, Hillary Knox has found himself involved in fascinating projects throughout his career. Growing up in Nashville, he thought he would be a musician – but he soon discovered that the lighting department was where he fit. He cut his teeth working at Opryland before attending Carnegie Mellon University. During his last semester, he interned with the great design team of Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, and he’s been on the move ever since.

Hillary was an early adopter and user of the Wholehog II, and that formed the base he built his career on. After a stint at The Obie Company, he made his Broadway debut programming lighting for LD Nigel Levings on Baz Lurhman’s 2002 revival of La Boheme. He was then tapped to program media and projections on Wicked for projection designer Elaine J. McCarthy, an ambitious project in every way. We talked about some fascinating fashion projects he’s been involved with, and the precision and patience required to focus and balance a runway using moving lights.

Today, you’ll find him programming lighting on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, part of a team that includes lighting designer/lighting director Michael Scricca and programmer Constantine Leonardos. Hillary told us how the show worked and what typical daily operations before mid-March, as well as how studio operations have had to adjust to our current situation, from COVID-19 testing twice week to fully socially distanced positions in the studio.

Thanks for listening!