About

Luke is an Automation Designer + Integrator that is inspired to promote the convergence of live entertainment and engineering. Luke is currently a student at Yale School of Drama pursing an MFA in Technical Design & Production. In his coursework Luke is eager to learn as much as he can about automation design and show control.

In his last summer before graduating YSD, Luke spent the summer working for the Metropolitan Opera in the Automation Department. There he gained experience hands on experience in commissioning machinery, running shows, and troubleshooting.

In the summer of 2022 Luke worked at ShowMotion Inc as an automation technician helping to manage the winch shop and prep motors for rental. He also worked for the Guthrie Theatre as an automation overhire helping to design and commission the automation system for Vietgone.

He has worked for Texas Scenic Company - NE (formerly PDO) as a Controls Technician. At TSC he assisted the Lead Control Engineer in drafting, building, and testing control panels for automation in theaters. Luke worked across the country installing, commissioning, and inspecting controls systems, most notably at Klarman Hall at Harvard Business School, SoHo Towers, Colorado State University, and the Choate School.

Prior to Yale, Luke studied Technical Theatre and Computer Science at the University at Buffalo. At UB, Luke was the Technical Director for three of the theater departments musicals and has also been a member of the Prague Quadrennial Build team. While in Prague he found a passion for working abroad and hopes to use his dual citizenship with Poland to open doors into new jobs and projects across the world.

He hopes his deep connection with both fields will give him insight into what is required to build the next generation of high performance theatrical control systems.

Please email Luke at ltarnowb@gmail.com for more information.