Meet Our Staff at Thern Stage
No matter how challenging or unique a theatrical rigging project is, the main goal of Thern Stage is to find the perfect lifting and rigging solutions. An integral part of finding the solution is the sales team at Thern Stage. We invite you to meet our staff via their introductions below. If a customer has a lifting problem in the entertainment industry, they can rely on these sales representatives for the solution. A big reason why the Thern Stage team is so successful is because they have all continued to stay connected to the entertainment industry in their various ways.
Meet Our Staff: Paul, Dave & Austin
Meet Paul
Business Development Manager Paul Brunner has held this position for almost three years. He serves as the national market manager, ensuring positive relationships with all of Thern Stage’s theater dealers.
Paul became fascinated with theatrical rigging at a very young age that continued all the way into adulthood. Before working for Thern, Paul was a technical director and manager of theater for over 165 shows with budgets ranging from $250 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. He’s worked in academic and professional theaters, summer stock, and has produced theater, musicals, dance, opera, ballet, and more! He has continued to stay involved in the theatrical industry outside of his work at Thern Stage, and USITT recently announced Paul Brunner as one of the newest Fellows of the Institute.
Meet Dave
For the past decade, Technical Sales Representative Dave Maxwell has held this important role at Thern Stage. He helps customers daily by recommending and providing rigging solutions to a variety of rigging problems. With his 10 years of service, Dave has been at Thern during the development of the entire product line. He knows how to support our customers in the field.
Dave was initially interested in a position at Thern Stage because he had always been involved in the theater and wanted to continue working in the entertainment industry. For 15 years, Dave performed in a touring show that traveled and performed around the Midwest. They were even invited to perform internationally, twice! Dave also leads a singing group called the Oktoberfest Singers that perform at festivals throughout the summer and fall months. Dave has firsthand experience being on stage, which he is able to share with anyone trying to design a theatrical space.
Meet Austin
Joining only three months ago, Theatrical Technical Sales Representative Austin Utley is Thern Stage’s newest addition. Austin is an ETCP-certified Rigger for Theatre and has extensive experience installing and providing field service.
Before he joined Thern Stage, Austin worked as an installer of a wide variety of theatrical products. In his experience, he found that Thern Stage Equipment was top quality when compared to the other equipment he was installing. In fact, he appreciated Thern Stage’s products so much that it was a goal of his to work for Thern one day. As a seasoned installer of rigging equipment, Austin is the perfect person to assist our customers in selecting the best rigging system for their space.
Why Our Team is Successful
The Thern Stage team is experienced and dedicated. Because they lean on their shared experiences in the world of rigging, they can provide the very best and most reliable stage rigging products with unmatched customer service. They find fun and satisfaction in the work and are constantly looking for ways to make it easier to integrate Thern Stage rigging into projects.
Vice President and Head of Sales John Lund states, “A great thing about the Thern Stage team is that while their “day job” is supporting our customers with world-class products and service, their passion for the industry goes so much further than that. Each of our team members has a connection to the industry outside of work. Whether serving on the USITT Board or participating in local productions, our employees are not only knowledgeable, but they work and play in the very market they serve.”
Thern Stage Equipment’s team is dedicated to their teammates, their products, and their dealer partners. If you were to meet our staff, you would see that they love what they do, they have fun doing it, and they enjoy the challenges the customers bring to them. They have great products, great team members, and an outstanding national network of dealer partners, so it’s easy to be dedicated to shared success.
