Douglas Welch

Douglas Welch Founded Douglas Welch Design Associates Limited and, as president, oversees every project and maintains a high level of involvement from beginning to end.

Douglas has over 25 years experience managing theatre consulting projects that include feasibility studies, theatre and support facilities design, systems design and specification, cost estimates and co-ordination with architects and acoustic, mechanical, structural, and electrical engineers.

Mr. Welch has experience on theatre projects such as the Orpheum Theatre, the Stanley Theatre, and Arts Club Theatres in Vancouver, the Jubilee Auditoria in Edmonton and Calgary, the Vertigo Mystery Theatre in Calgary, the North Vancouver Centennial Theatre, the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam, Capilano College Theatre, Mission Joint Project, the Mount Elizabeth Theatre in Kitimat, the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby, and the Prince Rupert Performing Arts Centre. Audio-Visual System design projects include the Centre for International Councillors in Haifa, Israel and the new Trade & Convention Centre Expansion in Vancouver, BC. Major facility planning studies include the MasterPlan for the Recapitalization of The Jubilee Auditoria, Edmonton Alberta and Calgary Alberta; the Vancouver Civic Theatres Long-Range Planning Study; and The Surrey Arts Centre Expansion, Surrey, BC.

Douglas also specializes in architectural lighting design for live entertainment, museums, world fairs, theme parks, special events, hospitality, commercial, and retail applications. International lighting design projects include the Oltremare Marine Theme Park in Riccione, Italy and the Saudi Science and Technology Centre in Saudi, Arabia. He has been the recipient of numerous International Illumination Design Awards and has designed projects in Canada, USA, Portugal, Japan, Italy and Saudi Arabia.

He has designed scenery and lighting for over 150 professional productions of theatre, dance and opera, and has received awards from the Canada Council, the Vancouver Theatre Alliance, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, The Illuminating Engineering Society, and the Dominion Drama Festival. He has designed and/or managed productions across Canada, the United States and Europe and has worked on Broadway. 

Douglas has a Master of Fine Arts degree in design for the theatre and has received the NCQLP certification as a Lighting Certified (LC) professional. He a member of the American Society of Theatre Consultants, the International Association of Lighting Designers, the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, the Associated Designers of Canada, and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

Robert Hamilton

Theatre consultant and lighting designer, has worked with Douglas Welch Design since 1988. Previous experience includes work as a lighting designer for the Stratford Festival and the New York City Opera. Mr. Hamilton has an MFA in Theatre Design from the University of British Columbia and a Senior Diploma in Theatre Crafts and Design from the Banff Centre. He currently teaches a course entitled "Lighting Design for the Stage" at Douglas College in New Westminster. Mr. Hamilton is an active member of the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology.

Paul Hodson

Paul Hodson works with Douglas Welch Design as a technical systems specialist and theatre consultant. Mr. Hodson's experience includes a number of years with Westsun Vancouver Inc.. where he moved from Rentals Manager responsible for the largest lighting rental shop in Western Canada; to Project Manager responsible for tender, supply, and installation of complete theatrical systems and special events; to Director of Operations responsible for managing the bidding and implementation projects. Prior to that, Mr. Hodson was the Managing Director of Theatre for Douglas College in New Westminster, BC. and was the Supervisor of Technical Services for the Entertainment Department of Expo 86. Mr. Hodson has worked as a Technical Director, Staging Coordinator, Theatre Technician, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer and Computer Systems Designer.

Shaun August

Shaun August has managed, designed and delivered complex exhibit design-build projects across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe. He has recently re-joined Douglas Welch Design Associates after a six years as a lighting designer and producer at Envisioning + Storytelling.

Mr. August’s architectural lighting design projects include Veranda Discovery Center in Turks and Caicos, the Mount Tremblant Discovery Center in Quebec, Virani VIP Offices in Vancouver, BC, the MPO building exterior in Fort Saint John, BC, Red Leaves Discovery Center, Muskoka, Ontario, Crosland Corporate Offices, North Carolina, Silvertip Exploration Center, Canmore, AB, Wild Heron Discovery Center, Laterra Discovery Center and Indigo Discovery Center in Florida, Intrawest Placemaking Corporate offices, Vancouver BC, Snowmass Discovery Center in Aspen Colorado, The Briar Rose StoryCenter in Georgia, Snowshoe Multi-Media theatre in West Virginia, Homestead StoryCenter in Virginia, Kolea Discovery Center and Honua Kai Discovery Center in Hawaii, Las Campanas StoryCenter, New Mexico, Mountain Star Discovery Center, Washington and Stratton Multi-Media Theater, Vermont.

In addition to architectural work, Mr. August has designed lighting for professional theatre productions including, Twelfth Night at the National Theatre School of Canada, A Three Way for the Solo Collective, 4x4play at Studio 58 and Pirates of Penzance for Viva Musica,

As a creative leader and Project Manager, Mr. August has been both an executor, and in recent years, architect of the strategic vision for a wide variety of ‘live environment’ projects, enabling him to interpret and deliver world-class creative work from renowned designers, architects, engineers and builders in a highly collaborative team setting. For the last few years he has lead creative teams  through many digital and physical innovations and continues to seek opportunities to challenge his skills in this area.

Shaun August is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.