Mike Lindauer is always looking for something new to learn. His career has been spent pursuing one expertise after another: lighting as a first love, then building show-stopping scenic elements with Showtech, rigging with J.R. Clancy, sound engineering in LA, and cultivating audiovisual experiences while with Nautilus Entertainment Design—all of this on top of a background in boating and mechanical engineering. Now with Theatre Projects in project management and design, he loves being part of an environment where there is always more to take in. “It’s humbling after all this time to get to take a step back, and in some ways, start over.”
Mike came to the stage early. “It was a theatre family. My dad was in the lighting industry when I was growing up, so I was seeing shows and falling in love with entertainment from an early age.” His passion for lighting drew him to design in college and later, as a freelancer, even though he majored in engineering. This unique skill set made him invaluable in the world of stagecraft, where “engineering fundamentals are put into play. It’s such a clear, real-world application of physics.”
Mike followed a range of professional opportunities across the United States, out to Germany, and eventually to the high seas, where he brought his theatrical know-how to stages on cruise ships. “You’re working on a 1,000-seat house that has to go 18 miles an hour through rough seas. I got very good at dealing with corrosive environments, spatial dynamics, vibrations, and so on.”
What he looks forward to most in his time at Theatre Projects is the diversity of projects and the opportunity to never stop learning. “I like a challenge. We got a small motorboat for the family, but I never got used to it. You just point and go. I much prefer the skill of sailing, the rigging and thinking, and the freedom that allows.”
