WE BELIEVE IN MAGIC.

Hey there!

Thank you for checking out Muse Lighting Design's website.

My name is Patrick Thompson and I own and operate Muse Lighting Design - a Dallas-based special event and production lighting company.  I'm going to share a bit about myself and my background in hopes of not only earning your business, but earning your trust as well.

I became interested in lighting at an early age.  My Dad was a lighting guy too. We worked together on shows at church and school - as he taught me the subtle nuances of good lighting.  We even wired together a... "light board" with switches and dimmers.

Fast forward several years, and I'm at the University of North Texas studying musical theater and music composition.  I auditioned for the song\dance shows at Six Flags Over Texas and was cast for several seasons.  In between shows at the Southern Palace Theater (where, coincidentally, my Dad had run the lighting in previous years), I'd go up to the tech booth and bug the techs into letting me play with the lights.  It was a blast!

I took a college internship with Walt Disney World - and returned to Dallas afterward.  I eventually bugged the lighting director of Six Flags with enough enthusiasm and questions that he hired me as his assistant.  After a while, the director moved on, and I was promoted to his place.  It was a massive undertaking to direct and install lighting for six venues for three distinct seasons each year... but I loved every second.

Walt Disney World, however, was still in my heart.  I joined their entertainment department - performing in shows and parades.  For a while, the "magic" of it all was intoxicating.  I scoped out the technology they use for their productions, and was in awe.  Because everything with entertainment at Disney is so scripted and defined, I needed to move on to a place where I could have a creative outlet.

I returned to Texas to my old lighting director position at Six Flags for a few months.  It was good to be home - with the bonus of the Disney experience.  It taught me to dream bigger and push the status quo of what we had been doing at Six Flags.

Let's skip ahead a bit -- as I had gotten burned out on the red tape and bureaucracy that comes with working for a large corporation.  I took this time to jump back into music.

I studied music composition and earned a Masters certification for orchestration for TV\Film from Berklee College of Music.  (This comes into play soon... Stay tuned).  I've composed music that has been played on nearly 400 different TV episodes of various types - including Saturday Night Live.

A few years later, a friend who co-owned a production company brought me in to do lighting for a rather sizable event in South Dakota.  I'll admit that I was rusty - but I had a grand ol' time getting back behind a lighting console.   The same company hired me again for an event in Florida.

At this event, the rented lighting console crashed in the middle of the show. I slyly rebooted during a break, and nothing but a small blip was noticeable.  That very moment, I decided to purchase my own personal lighting console.  I would know it would be well taken care of - and it would always work.

Then, I thought, "If I have a lighting console, I've obviously got to get some lights!"

And so, Muse Lighting Design was born.

The name "Muse" is a two-toned term for me.   It speaks to the inspiring Muses of Greek mythology... but it also subtly suggests the word "music."

You see, good lighting and good film scores are very similar in their purpose.  Both are expertly crafted to support the emotional energy of the event or film... while never being the point of focus for the audience.  Muse Lighting Design has been the perfect collision of art, music, creativity, technology, and inspiration for me.

It takes many many beautiful colors and textures to create a stellar lighting design.  I think life is the same way.  I believe in diversity.  I believe in inclusion and loving my neighbor.  I believe that I have a chronic case of "Peter Pan Syndrome" - in that I tend to look at things with this goofy, childish sense of wonder.  I believe that there are more heroes in the world than there are villains.  I believe that the best thing anyone can be is "kind".  And so does Muse Lighting Design.

I know this has been a long read.  It's important to know who you're working with.  I hope to learn more about you as well.  If you've made it this far, tell me the code word "Boomer" and I'll give you 5% off your first booking with Muse.

Please let me know if you have any questions!  I look forward to creating something "magical" with you!

Patrick