Email: ZSchmitt@fda-online.com
Zachary Schmitt
Consultant
Stage Technology & Rigging Systems Design
M.F.A. Theatre Technology, University of Wisconsin, 2021;
B.S. Physics, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2013
Theatre Planning is not a licensed profession.
Zac is a consultant specializing in rigging and theater technologies. His interests range from relativistic mechanics to theatrical construction. Currently he works on all forms of projects, from the weird and wonderful to the pragmatic and practical, including the renovation of Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, a new home for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the University of Guelph MacKinnon Building, and the Waldorf Astoria Ballroom Renovation.
A circuitous path led him to Fisher Dachs. After graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in physics, he moved to Chicago where he worked as a draftsperson for Studio 222 Architects and carpenter for Steppenwolf Theatre. After a few years living with an intractable theatre passion, Zac returned to school at University of Wisconsin-Madison to study theater arts. His foci there were technical design and theatre rigging, and his thesis concerned the dynamic loads on wire rope for a standard motorized theatrical batten.
Today you can find him in Rockford, IL with his wife Ariel and their son Julian, and their two cats.