Chris "Chalky" Chalk

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Chris ‘Chalky’ Chalk developed a love for production lighting in high school, working on his first live theatre show at age 15, a production of ‘Cabaret’. He continued to study theatrical lighting in his formal education, completing an Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts (Lighting) from the W.A. Academy of Performing Art in 2000, which included an internship at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR. During this time and for several years after, Chris worked with production lighting in a variety of ways, developing skills as a programmer for live theatrical, concert, and corporate events, and as a systems and repair technician. In 2003 Chris moved to the USA to take a position as a lighting technician at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He had the good luck in 2005 to stumble across a film shooting in Ashland, made some inquiries and found himself with an opportunity to explore the world of film lighting. He has been enthusiastically developing his career in film lighting ever since. He joined IATSE Local 488 in 2006 and worked in the PNW until joining Local 728 in 2015. Over the years he has worked on many series, feature, and commercial productions, notably including WandaVision (2021), Perry Mason (2020), and Twin Peaks (2017). Chris’s background in theatrical lighting has given him a unique perspective on systems design and programming techniques, which he has utilized to inspire some creative solutions on set.