Established in 1988, the Cumberland is western Maryland’s only professional theatre, which produces an annual season of eight in-house productions. The theatre moved to its current location, a 200-seat converted church building, in 1991 and has become a staple of the local arts scene. Led by co-Creative Directors Kimberli Rowley and Rhett Wolford since 2016, the theatre produces a wide variety of shows, including both musicals and straight plays. Every production is developed in-house, with Rhett taking the lead on scenic design as well as technical aspects such as lighting.

When he took on the role of co-Creative Director, Rhett found himself working in a theatre that had an antiquated lighting setup that had not been upgraded since the building opened in the early ‘90s. Over the past five years he has led a program of technical renovations, as budgets have allowed, to introduce DMX control and LED light sources throughout the theatre. The latest phase of this upgrade process was to add in moving head luminaires that would provide added flexibility and creative potential, both for the productions – such as Ring of Fire – when Rhett serves as Lighting Designer himself and for those when outside LDs are brought in to add their creative flair to a show.