About.
6 key team members.
Over 200 years of collective experience.
Based in Seattle, Washington.
Serving the Northwest region.
Ready to serve.
PNTA’s team of talented creative experts offer numerous technical products and services relevant to live production, such as rigging, specialized lighting, drapery, sound installations, video and live streaming systems and much more! From small scale theater renovations to large corporate spaces, we craft solutions that satisfy the needs of our clients while delighting their audiences and end-users. We serve clients in the greater Northwest region, including Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
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Our Beginnings
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In 1975, Seattle had no well-stocked theatre supply house. Our founders, Mac Perkins, Greg Falls and Phil Schermer teamed up to change that. Thus, Pacific Northwest Theatre Associates, Inc. (PNTA) was born.
We started as a small ragtag storefront located in downtown Seattle, selling display and stage lighting, but by the 1980s, eventually expanded into the equipment rental business, drapery and stage curtain market, and event services business through event design, set-up, and operation.
Today, PNTA is recognized nationally as one of the leading entertainment and architectural equipment companies in the Northwest and is the major theatre industry player based in Seattle. PNTA’s customers know the company as a leader not only in providing the most-desired products and services in venue, performance and event lighting, audio and drapery, video and live streaming solutions, but also as the place to buy entertainment supplies and consumables.
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Our Systems Integration Division has evolved from our beginnings to provide services for stages, schools, places of worship, event centers, theatres, and many more venues across the Pacific Northwest. Our custom design work has transformed our clients' events in spectacular ways, allowing us to be known as trusted experts in the work we do. We hope to expand our repertoire and continue being a leading custom design solutions team in the region.
Meet Our Team.
Systems Integration Team
Max Pagel
Vice President of Operations
With 10 years of rigging experience, Max Pagel is PNTA’s operations manager and has worked with PNTA in various capacities since 2011. Max’s extensive hands-on experience makes him a valuable voice in the early creative stages of how to approach a rigging challenge and laying out different potential solutions to the unique challenges that each job presents.
Chris Cornelius (He/Him/His)
Project Manager
After seven years as a Software Engineer focused on mobile systems and audio content distribution, Chris returned to his roots backstage as a Project Manager for PNTA. He's been designing and implementing theatrical systems since 2004, with particular expertise in audio, networking, and custom electronics. Chris has also served as technical director in a number of venues, including a nightclub in Minnesota, a found space in California, and a black box studio theatre in Boston.
At PNTA, Chris brings an engineer’s eye to the design of technical systems: lighting, audio, video, rigging, and power control systems all rely on the same basic tenets. Chris’s goal is to create systems that are safe, functional, maintainable, and fully meet customers' needs.
Shannon Saunders (She/Her/Hers)
Senior Project Manager of Drape Shop
Shannon Saunders is the senior Drape department project manager with 6+ years of experience building, designing and rigging draperies and has worked with PNTA for 10 years. Shannon designs the rigging and the softgoods for drape installations. She manages the drape manufacturing process as well to ensue PNTA’s high standards are maintained.
Karl Triebs (He/Him/His)
Technical Onsite Specialist
Karl is PNTA’s creative technical problem-solver in chief. A graduate of Washington State University with a BA in Theatre, Karl has accumulated nearly 40 years’ experience in stage lighting and theatrical lighting control systems. Having worked as a Master Electrician at several local Seattle theatres (including Empty Space Theatre) before joining PNTA full-time, Karl’s hands-on experience with theatre technology over the decades provides him with a solid grounding with which he can solve problems with almost any theatrical system. Whether helping to keep an ancient Strand dimming system functioning or commissioning a new ETC Unison Paradigm Control System, fabricating unique rigging solutions for unconventional spaces, or integrating new lighting and audio equipment into existing systems, Karl’s technical wizardry in unmatched in the Pacific Northwest.
Karl is an ETC Authorized Service Provider and is factory-trained as an ETC Rigging Installer.
Raiden Dolen (He/Him/His)
Technical Commissioning Specialist
Raiden has over sixteen years’ experience in technical theatre, including a BA in Theatre from Nazareth College. Since joining PNTA’s Technical Services team in 2013, Raiden has achieved multiple designations from ETC, including ETC Authorized Service Provider, EOS Family Console trainer (Levels I-III), Colorsource trainer (all levels), and Mosaic programmer.
At PNTA, Raiden specializes in lighting controls, console training, lighting programming & design, and LED fixtures. Raiden also loves to chat about scenic painting & stage management.
Management and Support
Richard Carlson
President & CEO
Asher Vast
Media Specialist
Ryan Grulich
Senior Vice President
James Carter
Social Media Manager
Tommy Kwong
Accountant
Some of our customers are:
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