Visual Terrain’s Lisa Passamonte Green celebrates 30 years of lighting design for themed entertainment
interview by David Green
Lighting design firm Visual Terrain celebrates its 30th anniversary in January 2025. To mark the occasion, long-time InPark contributing writer David Green, who is co-owner of Visual Terrain, interviewed Visual Terrain founder, Lisa Passamonte Green, to whom he is also married.
What’s the predominant feeling you have about reaching 30 years in business?
I recently realized I’ll be 60 in 2025 and will have had the business half my life. It makes me feel proud I have been able to keep it going this long. It’s been such a focus of my life. I feel privileged to have done the projects we have worked on. I still get excited about opening a project, being creative, and doing my craft.
Has there ever been a moment where you wanted to quit?
There have been many moments where I wanted to quit, but I’m pretty stubborn about wanting to succeed. My desire to succeed, to do the projects, and to confirm that this was the right path, always won out over those moments where I wanted to quit.
What’s the best piece of advice anyone has given regarding the business?
The best piece of advice I received early on was to surround myself with advisors who had expertise in accounting, entrepreneurship, and business development, and all the things I didn’t naturally know until I became a business owner, and to really learn from them.
Who have your mentors been?
Early on I had two lawyers, Jeff Pugh and Steven Kramer, who were instrumental in teaching me how to read, understand, and write contracts. I still follow their teachings in how we approach contracts. Gary Hard and Ava Buzzelli, my two original accountants and accounting advisors, really helped me set up the business. They understood that I didn’t necessarily speak accounting, but they grasped the questions I was asking. They taught me how to read accounting reports, to understand the nuances in those reports, and how to forecast what our financial picture was at a given moment and how that informed how we did business. That was key.
What about mentors in lighting or themed entertainment?
Monty Lunde, Rock Hall, Peter Chernack, and Roberta Perry were early cheerleaders and mentors who have never wavered in counseling and supporting me. Cliff Warner also became a champion and a mentor on the business side of things. Pat McKay has been instrumental on the lighting portion of it. She was an inspiration in general, just because she was a woman in business, and everything she had done for the theater community and the live events community. To become a colleague and friend of hers was pretty spectacular.
Lighting designers Paula Dinkel and Dave Taylor, in the early days of my career, straight out of college, were so selfless in helping me to grow as a designer. Leslie Wheel, one of the founding members of the IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers) was a huge mentor to me. She was instrumental in how I became a businesswoman when I originally started my firm.
Have any clients had a role in your longevity?
Let’s name drop! Again, Monty Lunde and Rock Hall and the Bandit team, Joel House, Bob Shreve, Andy Westfall, Merrill Puckett Miller, Dale Mason, Phil Hettema, Cliff Warner, Seth Cover and the entire Mycotoo team, Adam Bezark, Susan Beth Smith, Marcus King and the folks at Legacy, Chip Largman, Paul Cuoco, Susan Bonds, Nancy Seruto, Bob Weis, Chris Lange, George Wade, Chris Conte, David Weiss, James Anderson, Rick Rothschild, Vijay Sehgal, Marc Herring, Wayne Hunt, Jen Bressler, Doug Yellin, Ken Reinhard, David Codiga, John Ahrens, Ruthie Embry, Mark Thomas, Louis Alfieri, John Kasperowicz, Geoff Woodward, Bhavna Mistry, and Chuck Bleck. All of them are people that when they call, we answer, and we go on great adventures together with their projects.
Which employees have had a role in your longevity?
Mike Mahlum and Steven Young have been here for more than half the life of the company. They have seen us in many different iterations and continue to do brilliant lighting design work. What’s great is they have the same attitude that I do: “Yeah, let’s go do it.” And I would say you have had the biggest role in the longevity. I know you’re not an employee, but you have been the biggest supporter… I mean, you came in 28 years ago. Your counsel and your wisdom, and your ability to help me navigate the business…
I can’t put this in the article. It violates journalistic ethics.
I know, but I will just say to you that I know I wouldn’t be here without that counsel.
What strategic partners have had a role in your longevity?
The most important strategic partner is Concept Lumiere which is owned by Jeff De Lamotte. Jeff has been with us for years and has been instrumental to us doing projects and supplementing our team for bigger projects in Europe and the Middle East. We also have supplemented his team when he needs additional people.
Bruce Sachs from Mid-West Wholesale Lighting was critical in helping me re-navigate our approach to projects 17 years ago and developing ways to realize our lighting designs in a more cost-effective manner.
Bandit Lites out of Tennessee is a core strategic partner and amazing system integration company. We do so many projects with them every year and appreciate all that Chris Barbee, John Jenkinson and the rest of the Bandit team do.
Has having breast cancer affected your perspective on the business?
That’s a good question. I think the way it’s affected my perspective on the business is this: Prior to the breast cancer, I never minded working long weeks or long hours. It just was part of the thrill of being a lighting designer and doing the types of projects we did. Then, I had a very frank conversation with one of my doctors, who very plainly told me that breast cancer loves stress, and I had to cut back my hours and reduce stress for my own health. I asked her if my body knew whether I was doing something I loved, and did that somehow negate the stress, because the thought of cutting back was really terrifying to me. The doctor’s response was, “Stress is stress whether it occurs doing something you love or not.” So, I really had to think about the time I was spending, what I was spending that time on, and how I was participating in the business, differently than I did prior to the breast cancer.
What’s the role of charitable work at Visual Terrain?
In the early days, we didn’t always have time to do pro bono work. We just opened Mayor Clayton’s WonderLab at Give Kids the World Village, which is a great example of a pro bono client who really appreciates the partnership and our expertise. They allow us to be creative with their project and help them realize beautiful lighting for the kids there. We’re also working on a great project for Make-A-Wish with Susan Bonds and her team at Animal Repair Shop.
Maybe it’s a result of the breast cancer, where I just want to do projects that speak to my soul and the company’s soul. If we can’t get fully compensated, then we weigh that option and make sure it’s worth it.
You’ve worked on well over 1,200 projects and won many awards. What has the recognition you’ve received meant to you?
It’s great to have the recognition and the validation that we are doing good work, and that the projects are well-received and the lighting matters. But I’ve had other moments where clients have been so grateful about something we’ve done in their project or delightfully surprised by our lighting, that matter as much, if not more, than any award. Those moments are so meaningful to me.
What guiding principles over the last 30 years have gotten you to this point?
Be curious! Be respectful of our clients’ time, budgets, and schedules. Try hard to understand what is going to happen to the design after opening day, and how the client is going to be able to maintain it. If we say the lighting is going to do X, Y, and Z, it does X, Y, and Z. Find moments of surprise and delight in a design. Every project has a story that the lighting can tell. Our clients and their projects benefit from our creativity and the diligence it takes to do great lighting design.
So, the guiding principle is to reach high and big, but also really understand the project and the client. And that is what allows you to do great design.
Where do you see the next 10 years going?
I see the next 10 years being exciting for Visual Terrain. I see us putting a succession plan in place. It’s super exciting to me, because, again, I used to think I was going to do this until I died or was very old. While I still want to do this for a lot longer,
I would also like to go spend some time with my husband traveling and seeing more of the world than just the airports and the project sites that I’ve worked on.
What inspires you day to day?
My team gives me inspiration each day. Client reactions when we open a project give me inspiration. The biggest inspiration comes from the fact that I just don’t feel done. There’s still so much lighting design to be done. I like developing lighting solutions. I like trying to figure out how we’re going to tell the story with light. That gives me inspiration. Your constant support and making me laugh in the moments where I’m uninspired, and I want to give up, also gives me inspiration. Just the fact that you believe in me so completely. It is inspirational. •
