Tracy Nunnally

Tracy Nunnally has worked in professional theatre for over thirty years.  His contributions include all aspects of theatre automation, motion control, rigging, pyrotechnics, special effects, scenery construction, and technical design.  He is an active member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA), the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), and a lifetime member of the Illinois Theatre Association (ITA).  He is also a voting member of the ANSI accredited ESTA Technical Standards Program’s Rigging Working Group, which is responsible for developing standards and recommended practices that facilitate the use of new and existing equipment and promote safe working conditions in the entertainment industry.  He was one of the first forty-five professional riggers to be certified by the ESTA Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) in both theatrical and arena rigging. He also is an ETCP recognized trainer, OSHA AWP/Forklift trainer, and an ETCP recognized employer.

Professor Nunnally's special interest is rigging, and he is the owner and president of VertigoTM, a performer flying effects and rigging company.  Through VertigoTM, Professor Nunnally provides flying effects for around three hundred productions per year, including numerous productions of Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Tarzan, Billy Elliot, Seussical, and A Christmas Carol. His most notable professional credits include the Broadway tours of CamelotDr. DolittleTarzan, and 9 to 5, as well as the Broadway productions of Curtains and Medea.  

In addition to his professional work, Professor Nunnally presents an annual master class on performer rigging, known as the TOP Flight Academy.  He can also be seen leading sessions and master classes on a wide variety of topics at national and international conferences such as LDI, USITT, SETC, and URTA, as well as numerous EdTA festivals across the country.

Tracy L. NunnallyTechnical Director/Head of Design and Technology
Education: MFA, Florida State University
Office: SB 224
Phone: 815-753-9342
E-mail: tnunnally@niu.edu
Web: www.getvertigo.com