About Bill Larsen
I have spent thirty six years in audiovisual technology and live event production. I design and run AV systems and performance spaces, design lighting, shoot and cut video, and teach people to do the same work.
I write and revise items for the CTS exam as an AVIXA Subject Matter Expert. I hold the CTS myself, along with the CETL from CoSN and the CIT from CEDIA.
My book, Backstage Essentials: Skills for Stagehand Technicians in Live Event Production, has been delivered to Routledge and is scheduled for 2026. It is written for the person who wants this job and needs to know what it asks of them before the first call.
At ISD 197 I maintain the AV in eight buildings. I was the technical point of contact for an auditorium renovation, a $124,000 stage lighting and networked control replacement and a $67,000 sound system modernization. I also built a credit bearing live event production course and the Tech Warriors student crew that staffs our shows. At Laurus College I teach audio and video production for live events, AV installation, and digital video production.
Backstage Essentials LLC is my training business. That is where the book and the course material come from.