We’re thrilled to announce the promotions of four team members in recognition of their contributions to our work and their importance to the future of Theatre Projects! Jim Niesel is now a principal of the firm, and Andrew Hagan, Aaron Wong, and Chris Moore have become associates. Please join us in congratulating them.
Jim originally joined us way back in 2001 as a performance rigging and machinery designer, having previously worked as a stage hand, carpenter, and audiovisual systems designer. He took a seven-year break from Theatre Projects, when (among other things) he carried out on-site project management for Arup in Singapore and helped lead their Australasia theatre group, returning to our team in 2015 as a project manager. Jim has an encyclopedic knowledge of theatres around the world—if you ask him to name a theatre with a specific design feature or equipment system, it doesn’t take long before he can come up with some examples. His own project work includes the Wyly Theatre in Dallas, TX, New World Center in Miami Beach, FL, and the Auditorio Telmex in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Our go-to guy for technical theatre systems, Andrew has a strong background in theatrical production, having previously worked as a technical director and assistant shop manager. He’s also taught AutoCAD to students at Florida State University and guest lectured at Yale School of Drama. He joined us in 2008 and is responsible for drafting design and construction documents, reviewing submittal documents, and the commissioning of rigging and lighting systems—not to mention managing our BIM standards and process. When he’s not designing theatres, he puts his technical skills to work on fun projects in video games—you can find him creating a base as a space engineer or thinking about how to reconstruct the Wyly Theatre in Minecraft! His real-world project experience includes Northern Stage’s Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, VT, Crosstown Theater at Crosstown Concourse in Memphis, TN, and the new Performing Arts Center at Belmont University in Nashville, TN.
With a background in architecture as well as lighting and set design, Aaron is one of our lead designers, working on concept designs, planning and programming, and standard details for venue design. He’s our expert on creating inclusive spaces for the performing arts and was part of a panel discussion at the 2019 AIA National Conference, where he spoke with luminaries such as Betty Siegel and Hansel Bauman about promoting inclusive design for cultural spaces. He joined us in 2012 after having worked in several roles in theatres and organizations providing production services for the performing arts. His project experience includes the Daniel & Gayle D’Aniello Building to support America’s veterans at Syracuse University in upstate NY, the Coca-Cola Stage at the Woodruff Arts Center’s Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA, and the Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.
Leading our technology team in Denver, Chris designs interactive and immersive audiovisual systems that can be seamlessly integrated into new and existing venues. His work is key to helping our clients create a memorable user experience for non-traditional performance spaces such as museums and brand environments. Recently his team has been supporting our clients with new broadcast and web streaming systems. He’s currently working on the Innovative Maker and Learning Complex at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, the Palm Springs Development at College of the Desert in Palm Desert, CA, and the renovation and expansion of the Lawrenceville Performing Arts Center in Lawrenceville, GA. In his time off, he loves playing around with python coding, making music, or escaping technology for the day by hiking in the great outdoors.
