Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachael Honnold.
Hi Rachael, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello, I am Rachael Honnold (Carney) and I am currently working as an freelance lighting designer in the Kansas City area. I design primarily for Theatre, and dance. I’ve worked for many different places such as Blue Valley High School, KCRep, Avila University, the Kauffman Center and many more. On the side, I rent out lighting equipment that is needed for my shows under my company, Fat Cat Lighting LLC.
I got the theatre bug in middle school and I never stopped playing since. High school theatre helped me find my passion and would help me understand that I had a talent for it. From JCCC to UMKC it continued my passion that turned into my career. I am lucky to be paid to bring stories to life. One day I may be helping middle schoolers learn programming for the first time, to watching Local 31 set up lights for me in the Kauffman Center. Lighting can bring you to so many places and its all in who you know. Its taken years to climb the ladder to where I have options. Sometimes it’s taking the ‘crappy’ gigs till you get the good ones. My advice for anyone wanting to freelance as a living is go where the money is good, do a good job, and don’t be a dick. I love the theatre community of Kansas City and I love watching it grow.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
When I graduated from UMKC in 2021 i was still in the era of covid so there was a lot of questioning about whether I could survive on a job like this. I took a lot of Stagehand gigs and worked my way up. I’m glad I stayed and stuck with it.
Some of the biggest struggles of freelancing is of course financially speaking. It’s a struggle to keep a work life balance and also pay the bills. A lot of people hold some kind of part time job in tandem with freelancing. I work as a lighting mentor at a high school in order to stay afloat.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a lighting designer, I create and design what the lighting should look like for the production. In collaboration with the design team and the director, I implement what the design is. The entire production team will meet months or so before the show to discuss the show. Every designer, costumes, set, props, etc. will bring their ideas to the table and we collaborate from there. I will create paperwork that explains where every single light is, and its purpose. It also explains how it is hooked up as well for electricians to understand. There will be time to hang, cable, and then focus lights. Then tech begins. This is where all the design elements collide in conjunction with actors. I find this the fun part but also I’m in the ‘hot seat’. Lighting is all theoretical until you get in the theatre and see what it actually does. My favorite shows have been the ones where a design collaborates together. I feel a show succeeds when everyone is working ‘for’ each other and not against.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Find the thing you love to do and really go for it.
To quote Dolly Parton, “People say, ‘How do you stay looking so young?’ I say well, good lighting, good doctors, and good makeup”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rachaelhonnold.com
- Instagram: @rcarney5
