Today we’d like to introduce you to Maya Jones.
Hi Maya, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After coming across a trailer for EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) New York 2014, I knew I had to be a part of this industry somehow, someway. I fell in love with EDM & music festival culture and decided to go to school in hopes of studying music production to become a DJ/Producer. Upon starting school, I realized what I was trying to learn was pretty difficult and switched majors to Show Production. In that degree program, I learned a little bit of everything that has to do with Live Entertainment and putting on shows. I really gravitated toward the lighting aspect of shows and have since dedicated my life to becoming a Lighting Designer/Operator for Raves and Edm Festivals. I currently am a stagehand for music festivals all over the country and will be going on my first tour as a lighting technician next month!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No, it definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road. Starting college, especially one with such a fast-paced curriculum like Full Sail, my alma mater, I realized I seriously wasn’t prepared for the workload and was often super stressed out about my ability to learn new things and take in so much information. It took me quite a long time to get adjusted which kept me insecure for a while.
Not to mention I graduated during the Covid-19 lockdown which was terrible for the live industry. I remember being worried about what I was going to do & how I was going to be able to break out into an industry that had been shut down for who knew how long.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
So, I am a stagehand and a Lighting Technician. I’m there before a show hits a venue, and I’m there after it’s long gone. Setting up everything from the ground up from laying power cables to hanging lights on truss and hanging video wall panels. I specialize in lighting so when I’m on the road with a specific artist, I put together their lighting package. I make sure all the lights are placed according to the designer’s discretion and make sure they all work & if they don’t, I fix it. I get to run the lighting console that controls the lighting for opening acts and learn cool things about programming and creating a super dope show. I’m most proud of my work ethic, everyone who knows me knows I work my butt off. I’m very passionate about this work and this lifestyle, and I bring an energy to the team that makes long and hard days a bit more bare able. You can always count on me to put my all into a job and get it done as efficiently as possible. I love that.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I definitely believe in the saying “the greater the risk the greater the reward”.
My biggest example of this was during the pandemic I obviously wasn’t able to do shows for a while, so I began working at checkers. It absolutely sucked, and I had to ride my bike like 45 minutes to get there. I was miserable. I took the risk of quitting that job with no solid backup plan and applied to a couple labor companies hoping to land some festival work. That ended up working out well, and I hopped on with this company James Thomas Productions, and did Sunset Music Festival with them, and have worked 25 music festivals with them ever since. 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.marvelouslighting.club/
- Instagram: marvelousmaya_
Image Credits
Maya Jones
