CJ Jessie: "A Passion Illuminated"
CJ Jessie came to Virginia Tech to study film and cinematography, and her love of theatre led her to the Moss, where she joined the production team as a student worker when she was a sophomore. While Jessie had little technical theatre experience, she was eager to learn, offering help whenever or wherever she could.
"At the very least, it was giving me legitimate professional experiences. I was given the opportunity to exist with working people and learn different techniques and different ways of building things and thinking about things. It was really cool to be able to learn theory as a student and then come apply it, the same day or the next day."
As her responsibilities grew at Moss, she found her place on the lighting team.
"I was both drawn to and always ready to fill the needs when lighting was happening. I just sort of fell in love with lighting while working on my degree in film, and then I realized right around graduation time that I prefer lighting and I want to do that instead. I did finish my film degree and then decided that I was going to learn everything I can about lighting."
That opportunity came right after graduation when she was offered a full-time job at Moss that would allow her to focus on lighting design. She took it and hit the ground running.
Doing lighting work for professional shows, Jessie explains, is similar to computer programming — a technician choreographs the lighting sequence, inputting those sequences into a computer to be executed at exact times during a performance. There are many different approaches to this process, so the more professionals Jessie can engage with, the more techniques she learns about.
"I was actually lighting programming many of the shows that were that were coming into the building right out of graduation. I was working even more closely with professionals and picking up tips and tricks from them right out of school. It was great to dive right in. And the great thing about what we do is that we get so many different artists here, and I could pick their brain on what works for them and ask them about their careers.."
Since graduating in 2017 and becoming a full-time Moss staff member, Jessie has been promoted to senior lighting technician and recently decided to pursue a graduate degree in lighting design. Her Moss experiences have also helped her explore possible future career directions.
"This job has helped me figu e out what parts of theatre entertainment I like better, who in the industry I prefer working with, and what types of shows I love. I really like expression — just forms of emotional expression and theatrical design. If I ever choose to move on from my position, I think I would probably start working with either dance troupes or music groups. Whenever we have those shows, I am excited ... and put all of my energy into them. Music groups, they’re usually just like, ‘Can you match our vibe?’ I get more creative freedom as the programmer for music groups, and I have found that I have a passion for creating and trying to build an atmosphere that goes with the music group and fits with their sound."