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What others are saying
When I started using Vectorworks some 16 years ago I was fortunate to come across the Field Template SoftSymbol range not long after. They are the absolute benchmark for high quality, detailed and most of all clearly drawn symbols. They are the first ones I reach for when starting a new design and as a side by side comparison with the stock supplied VW symbols…well there is no comparison.
Max Conwell
Lighting Designer, Naked Eye Lighting Ltd., www.nakedeyelighting.com
Some [lighting designers] have always drawn their own symbols. If that’s the path you choose, that’s fine. For everyone else, there’s Steve Shelley and his SoftSymbols™. The range of products covered is remarkable. The price, given the amount of work that must be involved, remarkably low. Which is perhaps why they’re so widely used, particularly by lighting designers and their associates in America - a country that really does care about beautiful light plots. If you do too, check them out: this is a working classic, still in use daily...
Rob Halliday
Lighting Designer and Author for Light and Sound International, February 2020
What makes SoftSymbols so useful is that they are thoroughly researched, well made and above all, stick to some rigorous drafting standards that are maintained across the whole catalog.
Mark Doubleday
Lighting Designer, UK
Soft Symbols are my Vectorworks symbol library of choice, and have been since my tenure as Hubbard Street’s Lighting Director. Steve has created a product that is incredibly thorough, thoughtful, and well-organized. It looks great at any scale, is appropriate for every type of lighting gig, and could only have come from someone with his level of experience and attention to detail. It is an invaluable resource to me and will continue to be my go to library for the foreseeable future.
Matt Miller, Freelance Lighting Designer/Director
Chicago, IL
SoftSymbols are the symbol library of choice for the Lincoln Center Festival, and for all my other professional activities. They are cleanly built, graphically sophisticated, and the libraries are by far the most complete. There’s no other choice as far as I’m concerned.
Aaron Copp, Lighting Coordinator, Lincoln Center Festival, and freelance lighting designer
New York, NY
I did the Lab Rep Plot revisions with SoftSymbols. LOVE IT! So does the crew and the union House Elec. We also think the twenty-or-so production teams coming into the Lab this spring (who’ll receive print copies of this drawing) will love it too. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have SoftSymbols™ - I trust my layouts again, since your symbols are the same size as the objects they represent (DUH!), and my drawings look more like my drawings again. Woo hoo!
Martha Mountain, Freelance Lighting Designer
Washington DC

A Practical Guide to Starting a Career in Techncial Theatre Back Cover

ISBN-13: xxx-xxxxxxxxxx
ISBN-10: xxxxxxxxxx

What does it really take to turn a passion for theatre into a career behind the scenes?

This book is your backstage pass.

Whether you're drawn to lighting, sound, scenery, stage management or all of the above,

A Practical Guide to Starting a Career in Technical Theatre

breaks down the path into clear, practical steps you can actually follow. No vague advice. No gatekeeping. Just a straightforward guide to getting started—and moving forward—with confidence.

Inside, you’ll learn about:

  • Identifying your strengths and define your career goals
  • Building a marketing package that represents you
  • Define potential jobs, cost of living, and support systems
  • Start and sustain effective job searches
  • Navigate before, during, and after-interview tactics
  • Handle success or rejection - and keep moving forward

This book's plan is presented as tactical "Toolkits":

  • The Preparation Toolkit: Basic decisions at the start
  • The Marketing Toolkit: Résumés and portfolios
  • The Find a Base of Operations Toolkit
  • The Job Search Toolkit: Systematically find the jobs
  • The Aftermath Toolkit: Contracts, stay employed, taxes
  • The Resource Toolkit: Links to curated web sites
Written for students, beginners, and anyone curious about life behind the curtain, this book treats technical theatre not as a mystery—but as a craft you can learn, step by step.

If you’ve ever looked at a stage and wondered, “How do I get there?”—this is where your journey begins.

About the Author

STEVEN LOUIS SHELLEY is a United Scenic Artists 829 lighting designer, production manager, author, and graphic designer. He has worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and theatre, opera, and dance companies around the world. Steve is the author of A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting (3rd Edition), the inventor of the Field Template™ line of plastic drafting stencils, and the designer of Vectorworks® SoftSymbols™, available at fieldtemplate.com.

Visit the book’s website here: A Practical Guide to Starting a Career in Technical Theatre, published by Field Template Press.

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