Chanelle Dau Pino has found her niche in theater technology. A 2018 graduate from John Hardin High School, Dau Pino said during her junior year, she got “rigged into being a spotlight operator for Hardin County Youth Theatre’s production of ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie.’ ”
“It was awesome to hear the stage manager call cues and see how many elements have to work together backstage to make a show go off without a hitch,” Dau Pino said.
Accustomed to being on stage as a singer, the backstage workings intrigued Dau Pino.
“My senior year, I became a (Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center) aide, which allowed me to work on productions throughout the year as well as learn about theatre maintenance and technical aspects,” Dau Pino said. “I got experience in scenic building, sound design, and lighting design. I even got to sew a dress together. Programming on the light board was always the most fun for me. I would always jump at the opportunity to operate the light board, even if it was just to test if a light worked.”
Aaron Taylor, Technical Director at the Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center, said, “Chanelle came to us her senior year as a PAC Aide. I knew of her, having seen her in numerous JHHS productions and choir concerts. I knew she was a gifted actor, and had an amazing voice, but what I didn’t expect was how much tech theatre and Chanelle were made for each other. She came in with a fierce appetite to learn everything she could.”
With plans to become a choir director, Dau Pino said she had already been accepted at Northern Kentucky University as a music education major and had originally planned on pursuing theatre as a minor.
“Two weeks before I graduated high school, I made the decision to swap the two degrees, making theatre my major and music my minor,” Dau Pino said. “While I knew almost nothing about theatrical lighting, I stuck with my decision and graduated knowing I made the right decision.”
“I was so proud when she told me she wanted to pursue a degree in technical theatre once she graduated,” Taylor said. “I love watching where her choices have taken her; across the country to work on shows, movie sets with famous actors, running her own programs in high schools now. She’s amazing. My mother-in-law always said of her kids, ‘You have to give them roots and wings.’ That’s my Chanelle. She is so grounded and gracious, yet she’s flying high because of her tenacity and know-how.”
Dau Pino said she first worked “The Nutcracker” at the Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center as a sound board operator in 2017 and has been helping ever since.
“If there was a job to be done, a set piece to be built, electrics to rewire, props to invent, she was there, first in line,” Taylor said. “For example, we were teching a production of ‘Nutcracker’ a couple years ago, and one of the tracks had a bad hiss on it. Chanelle offered to work on it to try and eliminate it. I emailed her the track, and by the time I got home from that rehearsal, she had already edited it and emailed it back to me.”
“Now I call the light cues for the show,” Dau Pino said. “It’s always fun to see how ‘The Nutcracker’ evolves throughout the years. With new students and new elements, “The Nutcracker” always brings something new each year.”
Dau Pino currently lives in the greater Cincinnati area and works as a freelance lighting designer and technician.
“I recently traveled to Columbus, Ohio as head electrician for a production of ‘White Christmas’ at Short North Stage,” Dau Pino said. “I’ve also worked with high schools in the area as a designer and head electrician. In the spring, I will be returning as a guest designer at NKU for ‘A Grand Night for Singing.’ ”
Dau Pino has started branching into film work as well.
“I just spent a few weeks as a rigging electrician for a movie in Cincinnati,” Dau Pino said. “It’s been crazy to see the scale that movies work with. For example, the lights in theatre typically max out at 2,000 watts; however, the lights in film reach 20,000 watts.”
Dau Pino said that most of her work comes from referrals and recommendations from previous projects. COVID-19 forced massive shutdowns in theatre, and because many technicians didn’t return to their jobs, new opportunities are available for those with the skills Dau Pino has acquired.
“The thing I find most interesting about lighting in theatre is the collaboration aspect of it,” Dau Pino said. “We are always working with different departments to translate the grand ideas of the director for the stage. It begins as an idea from one person and gets affected by everyone on the production team to create a fully realized show. The show you start with is never the same show you end with.”
Dau Pino said the satisfaction of overcoming challenges without the audience having knowledge of what’s going on behind the scenes is most rewarding.
“The most challenging thing about theatre is the problem-solving required to put up a show,” Dau Pino said. “It often feels like more time is spent problem-solving than putting up the show; however, it all feels worth it when the problem is solved without the audience ever knowing. There’s a lot of satisfaction in knowing how much work went into a show regardless of how long it runs.”
Gloss