Lights Up on Noah Mitz 

Last November's CBS special Adele One Night Only, now streaming on Paramount+, presented the English singer-songwriter outdoors in concert at L.A.'s Griffith Park Observatory. The production was designed to be shot without pause from afternoon to night. But it was not designed to be moved up one day because of a predicted rainstorm on the original date. That move also eliminated any rehearsal time.

"There was no ability to readjust cameras in a break or to run out there and adjust lighting or meter anything with a light meter," says lighting designer Noah Mitz. "We were seeing the sunset and nighttime conditions for the first time as we taped. It was kind of a nerve-racking evening."

But with a happy ending: the show won five Emmy Awards in September, including one for Mitz for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special. It was his first statuette, but by no means his first Emmy recognition: in 2022 alone he was nominated for five variety specials or series, among them the Grammys, America's Got Talent and the Tony Awards special Broadway's Back! Mitz has amassed twenty-four noms as either lighting designer or director, all but two of them since 2017. His other credits include the Oscars and the Friends reunion.

Impressive indeed, and not a surprise: while a student at Carnegie Mellon University, he began interning with lighting designer Robert A. Dickinson, whose own Emmy tally to date is eighteen wins out of sixty-eight nominations. Mitz and his mentor later shared several noms.

As in scripted television, "Our role as lighting designers is to support the narrative of the event," Mitz says. "A lot of our special events do have a throughline that we're presented by production. Adele was this love letter to the city of Los Angeles, in an iconic setting, and the Tonys are Broadway's biggest night." Conversely, America's Got Talent calls for changing the look with each new act, at a breakneck pace; Mitz credits his team of lighting directors and lighting board operators for pulling it off.

He just wrapped Dancing with the Stars, which, in its migration from ABC to Disney+, lost the commercial breaks that used to allow resetting lights and cameras.

Is he an adrenaline junkie away from the variety stage?

"No," replies Mitz, who got married in May and is involved in a home reno. "I enjoy quiet time at home with my wife and my dog, and working on projects around the house."

All those Emmy nomination certificates would certainly make for a striking feature wall.

This article originally appeared in emmy magazine issue #12, 2022, under the title, "Night to Remember."