“My goal is to make sure that you guys don’t know that I exist and that people remember the acts that are on stage,” said Mr. Jake Gerlikovski, alum and A.V. Productions teacher here at NDA.
Gerlikovski has done the lights for the Academy Awards for 12 years now.
“I started in 2011 as a student doing lighting, and I’ve done the lights ever since,” said Gerlikovski.
“Next to Frau, Jake is probably the most critical person involved with the Academy Awards,” said Mrs. Carolyn Brown, who has been an adviser to the show since its inception.
“You can’t imagine how much work he does, and I tell my freshmen they absolutely have to see the opening, where Jake astounds us year after year with the lights and sounds and the recorded announcement of our big event,” continued Brown. “As long as I live, I’ll never forget everyone screaming when we saw the red nose of Rudolph flying across the auditorium.”
As well as the lighting, Gerlikovski also deals with the production of the show and the design of the show.
“Pre-production meetings start at the end of September. We have four professional techs on site including me, and we start designing two weeks out, ” said Gerlikovski.
Gerlikovski has to physically program the lights depending on the acts.
“We do calculations on how much weight we have to hang on the ceiling and two days before the show we have to unload half a semi and then we start hanging lights. Programming the lights can go from 2 p.m.-2 a.m, but it all depends on the acts. Sometimes you are almost better off not sleeping,” Gerlikovski said.
Gerlikovski loves designing the show and programming the lights even though it is tough work.
“I like designing the stage differently every year, and I like problem solving, and that’s what this show is about,” Gerlikovski said.
“It’s adrenaline and I love it. Seeing that curtain open up and know that there is no going back. It’s cool knowing that with a touch of a button I can change the entire room,” Gerlikovski added.
The theme for this year’s Academy Awards is Winter Wonderland.
“We did a winter theme five or six years ago, and it was so cool, so we are bringing it back bigger, louder and crazier,” Gerlikovski said.
