Client Spotlight – Technical Productions

A Labor of Love: The Story Behind Technical Productions, Inc.

For Elizabeth O’Keefe, a treasured Chivari client, the journey into the live event production business was an unexpected one that started with her husband Michael’s insatiable curiosity and drive to innovate.

Michael founded Technical Productions, Inc. in 1989, with a vision of elevating lighting design and engineering to new heights. An innovator at heart, he loved to tinker and constantly asked himself “How can I make things look and work better?” What started in the lighting and rigging realm soon expanded into audio and staging. Elizabeth joined him in 1998, bringing her background in motion graphics, video, scenic and production design.

“I sketch things out and he figures out how to make them come to life,” says Elizabeth. “It’s very much a combined effort between the two of us.”

That collaborative spirit is what has allowed Technical Productions to trailblaze creative productions for major artists like Toby Keith and Carrie Underwood over the years. However, it was their corporate event work that really put them on the map for their unparalleled attention to detail.

“We’ve spent over 30 years on the road producing business meetings for corporate clients all over the country. Sometimes there are only 5 people in the audience and sometimes it’s a National Convention for 50,000 employees spanning the space of 3 consecutive football fields. Shows like that roll out in more trucks than a major headlining concert tour and require years of design, management and logistical detail. But no matter the size of the show, the client relationship and partnership are what is most important to us. Trust is earned over years and can be broken in a second. We are always trying to make our best better,” says O’Keefe.

With clients giving them full creative license, Technical Productions has designed mind blowing spectacles like 100-foot walls of highly orchestrated video projected over cascading water. Their inspiration comes from anywhere – a compelling commercial, the natural world, or even an interesting object reimagined in a new context.

“We want to completely outdo ourselves every time,” Elizabeth states. “Beauty is everywhere if you keep your eyes open to it.”

The company’s capabilities in live event production have expanded over the decades to include permanent installation and equipment sales, lighting and dimming systems rigging and theatrical design, custom scenic solutions, and audio-visual installations, – all rendered in-house to manage solutions from concept to reality.

This entrepreneurial spirit prompted Elizabeth to purchase a majority ownership of TPI to become certified woman owned in 2019 – a milestone year that was quickly disrupted by the global pandemic. With live events halted, Technical Productions proudly avoided layoffs by pivoting and repurposing their team. “My husband, daughter, 155-pound Newfoundland, Murphy, and I drove the countryside in a 50-mile radius. We traveled from church to church with masks and gloves on, helping pastors do parking lot worship and upgrading their streaming services to help keep their congregations together.”

They visited 375 houses of worship in the summer of 2020, promising that if they survived they would refocus on inspirational work that truly matters. They not only survived, they thrived, transforming a setback into greater heights of success, exhibiting the epitome of true grit so essential in an ever-evolving business world.

Emerging from the Covid lockdowns with a renewed purpose reinforced by a culture of integrity, trust and gratitude, Technical Productions is indeed undergoing its next chapter “inspiring lives, one audience at a time.”

Other amazing company highlights include relighting the Gateway Arch, a true American icon. Each night, 30 minutes after sunset, the lights animate on in a sequence  going up each side and joining in the center at the top of the monument. It has become a symbol of people coming together in unity over the city each night and people gather to watch the ritual. Technical Productions has since expanded into the high-end wedding market, bringing their tremendous talents to revolutionize custom lighting and scenic solutions to embellish those unique experiences that last people a lifetime. Partnership with wedding planners like Jill Perez Events has opened up the opportunity to use Chivari’s affordably luxurious furniture as a backdrop to their custom scenic solutions and technical wizardry in those exquisite visions.

As Elizabeth proudly concludes, “I can hardly wait to see what’s next on the horizon!”, and neither can we. At Chivari, we embrace the exceptional indomitable spirit of our clients. As a family founded business ourselves, we truly appreciate the hard work and dedication behind the entrepreneurial journey. We celebrate Technical Productions, Inc. and all of our valued clients, prepared to do whatever it takes to help YOU produce impressionable events, galas and ceremonies your guests and clients will never forget.