Precision Audio/Visual Support & Multi-Department Stagecraft
Owned and operated by Lead Technician and Multi-Department Stagehand Kevin Nicol. Delivering dependable arena steel & stage deck construction, Audio (A2), Lighting (L2), Video (V2), and Breakout / Backline / Convention / Trade Show (B2) support across Central Ohio and regional Midwest venues.
Issued October 1, 2026 • CareerSafe / Live Entertainment & Stage Safety Compliance
Valid July 2026 – July 2028 • Adult, Child & Infant CPR/AED & Standard First Aid
$1,000,000 Occurrence / $2,000,000 Aggregate • Next Insurance COI Available
Valid Ohio DL • Clean Driving Record • Full ANSI PPE & Reliable Personal Transport
🎛️ 7-Page Console Architecture — Select Any Channel
SINGLE-PAGE HASH ROUTER // ZERO RELOADOur Capabilities & Multi-Department Deck Assist
TechNicol Productions LLC is an Ohio-based technical services company, owned and operated by Lead Technician and Stagehand, Kevin Nicol.
We offer professional audio/visual engineering, live sound mixing, freelance stagehand labor, set and strike capabilities in all departments, RF frequency management, lighting execution, and versatile venue operations of all sorts.
We specialize in contract production services for corporate conferences, conventions, arena shows, and live entertainment venues.
Our mission is to deliver reliable, high-precision technical support, signal flow management, and stage operations for event planners, production agencies, and venues across the Greater Columbus area and beyond.
Live Audio & A2 Assist
Stage cabling, sub-snake and splitter patching, microphone and backline placement, multi-channel wireless RF mic frequency coordination, bodypack fitting, F.O.H. and monitor deck support, clean signal flow management, and D.A.W. multi-track tracking.
Lighting, Electrics & L2 Assist
Automated luminaire prep and bench testing (Martin MAC), multi-cable looming (Socapex / DMX / Edison), 3-phase power distro and 400A Cam-Lok tie-ins, 48-channel high-density dimmer racks, conventional and moving fixture hangs, 12" & 20" box truss pinning/bolting, and DMX/Art-Net universe routing.
Video Systems & V2 Assist
L.E.D. video tile handling and ground support truss assembly, high-bandwidth signal distribution (SDI / HDMI / Fiber), rear and front projection screen staging, commercial display and confidence monitor mounting, and multi-camera field & B-camera operation.
Breakout Rooms, Backline, Conventions & Trade Shows (B2)
Turnkey corporate general session, convention center, expo hall, and breakout room A/V set and strike, backline staging, pyro/laser safety perimeter zoning, Freeman Decorating trade show booth construction, seamless long carpet & padding runs, tension-fabric signage, road case management, 53ft semi-truck pack optimization, and forklift loading/stacking.
Staging, Steel & Venue Conversions
Heavy steel arena stage construction, modular arena and stadium deck assembly, truss legging and bracing, counterweight fly-rail carpentry, custom interlocking springboard dance and competition cheer flooring, regulation ice-rink plexiglass shield installation, and rapid turnaround strikes.
Film & Field Production Logistics
12 years as Key Grip, Lead Location Audio Recordist / Boom Operator, Gaffer, B-Camera Operator, and '3rd in Command' across studio sets, multi-camera classroom series, commercial shoots, and remote international documentary expeditions (Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Fiji).
Career History & Interactive Technical Dispatches
Click any of the 48 numbered dispatch buttons below to inspect technical execution details and real production photos from that era.
The Full Arc: Before the Deck, On the Road, Work-From-Home Fatherhood & Today
KEVIN NICOL — THE MAN BEHIND THE DECK
From Honolulu, Hawaii and turning pro on a skateboard at age 15 in Omaha, to 12 years filming across four continents and building ~100 union arena tours—and why I stepped off the road for nearly a decade to be a work-from-home father before launching TechNicol Productions LLC in Columbus, Ohio.
■ PART I — FOUR CHAPTERS OF GRIT, STAGECRAFT & FATHERHOOD
Island Roots, Turning Pro on a Skateboard at 15, Self-Taught Sound & Call-Floor Grit
I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii (Dec 1981), where I lived until I was eight with my parents, Brian and Colleen, and my younger brother, Daniel. After two years in Eugene, Oregon, my dad’s job brought us to Omaha, Nebraska in 1992—the big-town/small-city where I lived for 22 years, graduated from Omaha Central High School (Class of 2000), and cut my teeth.
Whenever something caught my fire, I taught myself how to take it to the next level. At age nine, I taught myself computer basics on an Apple IIe; while I’m no programmer, that early foundation gave me a solid, practical understanding of how computer hardware and software systems generally work. On the field and in the streets, it was first baseball—becoming one of the top Little League pitchers in town—and then skateboarding, where I turned professional at 15 years old. I served as Team Captain & Assistant Manager for Wise Guy Products Skate & Bike Team (1998–2003), Assistant Manager at Worldwize Skate Shop (2003), and Guest Pro Instructor at Lake Owen Skateboard Camp in Cable, Wisconsin (Summers 2001–2003). Taking hard slams on concrete built a physical grit and pain tolerance that later made 16-hour arena load-ins feel like second nature.
At the same time, I was completely self-taught on the guitar and keyboard, honing my ear for arrangements long before diving into digital audio workstation (DAW) production around 2004. I also learned how to talk to anyone under pressure—starting on dinner-hour cold calls for Bank of America / Dial America (1999–2000) and setting an all-time first-month new-hire sales record on a 200-seat call floor at Omaha Steaks (2002–2003), where management pulled me in without warning to teach the next training class of 30 reps how I did it. In 2003, I traded the call floor for live sets—taking my first PA and Grip calls with Oberon Entertainment, Douglas Productions / Steve Douglas Grip & Lighting, Actors Etc., Spirit Marketing, and Lee Tilford Advertising.
Chvala & Company '3rd in Command', I.A.T.S.E. Local 42, T.M.S. Shop Prep & T.S.O.
For over 12 years (April 2003 – August 2015), I lived what I still call "the best job of my life so far" with Chvala & Company Productions in Omaha. On our tight, fast-moving documentary crew, Bill Chvala was Owner & Director, Bill’s brother Ron Chvala served as First Camera & Lighting Director, and I was '3rd in Command'—operating as Key Grip, Lead Location Audio Recordist / Boom Operator, Gaffer, and B-Camera Operator. Our work for Mosaic (documenting their 100-year history from Bethphage Mission), the Aurora Award-winning Boys Town Centennial, Omaha Area Catholic Schools, and Good Samaritan Hospitals caught the attention of The Opportunity Education Foundation (founded by Joe Ricketts). They contracted us as their exclusive global film crew—capturing and documenting curriculum lessons in Omaha classrooms and traveling for weeks at a time across Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, the Congo, and Fiji (with Evangelism Explosion) to document solar water tanks, DVD/TV kits, and preloaded Wi-Fi tablets across 800+ Sister Schools. During this era, I also released my 12-track electronic album My Driving Silence (2006) and composed 6 original broadcast scores for the PBS documentary America’s Marine Aviators.
Whenever I wasn't on a plane or location shoot, I worked for 5 years with the I.A.T.S.E. Local 42 Stagehands Union (May 2008 – August 2013, Participant ID #422654) and Theatrical Media Services (T.M.S.), owned by Dave Matthews. In crews of 4 to 140+, I built and struck ~100 national arena tours—starting with my very first three concerts ever worked, which happened back-to-back in three straight days: Tom Petty on day one, followed immediately by Dave Matthews Band and Neil Diamond. Alongside those arena shows, I worked Broadway tours at the Omaha Orpheum Theatre, two Olympic-sized pools flown in from Italy for the 2008 & 2012 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, and annual multi-week dual-coast arena tour rehearsals for Trans-Siberian Orchestra (T.S.O.) at Mid-America Center.
Walking Away from Two Dream Careers to Be Present for My Kids in Ohio
People sometimes look at my resume and ask why a guy who was flying to East Africa on a documentary film crew and building arena tours for Metallica and Billy Joel & Elton John suddenly pivoted to remote work in Ohio in 2015. The answer is simple: fatherhood.
When my firstborn son, Alex, moved with his mom to Northeast Ohio, I made the tough decision to give up the idea of being a long-distance dad living out of Pelican cases and off of tour buses and semi-trailers. In August 2015, I packed up my life in Omaha, resigned from Chvala & Company and the Local 42 stagehand circuit, and moved to Reynoldsburg / Greater Columbus, Ohio to be close to Alex—and later welcomed my younger children, Elle and Evin.
For nearly a decade, I intentionally traded the arena floor for a quiet basement home office so I could be a work-from-home father. And just like pitching, skateboarding, and stagecraft, I threw myself into remote communication and excelled: at Enterprise Holdings (2017–2018), I consistently ranked in the Top 100 monthly and hit #7 out of over 2,200 sales reps company-wide in June 2017; at Squaremouth / Tin Leg Travel Insurance (2019–2020), I earned my Ohio Resident Travel Insurance license and handled multi-channel brokerage calls and simultaneous live chats until the March 2020 COVID-19 travel shutdown; and at LiveOps (2022–2025), I ran 1099 remote customer support for major accounts including Nike Athletics while keeping my kids at the center of my schedule.
Returning to Live Stagecraft in Central Ohio & Launching TechNicol Productions LLC
With my kids growing older, the pull of live production, heavy stage steel, and clean signal flow brought me right back to where I belong. In early 2025, I stepped back onto the Columbus venue deck with Rhino Staging (Feb–July 2025)—building the heavy steel stage frame for Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA World Tour at The Schottenstein Center, aligning regulation ice-rink plexiglass shielding outdoors at Ohio Stadium for the 2025 NHL Stadium Series (featuring Twenty One Pilots), and assembling springboard dance and competition cheer floors at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
On July 23, 2026, I formally incorporated TechNicol Productions LLC (State of Ohio Entity #5651932—a play on my last name, Nicol), backed by active $1M/$2M Commercial General Liability Insurance, fresh OSHA 10 General Industry certification (#CS-0006366590), and American BLS CPR/AED & First Aid (#78022). Today, alongside contract calls with AKAV LLC (including a 3,000+ attendee medical convention at the GCCC in August 2026) and ON Services, I bring 15+ years of multi-department stagecraft (A2/L2/V2/B2)—uniting the relentless physical grit of a teen pro skateboarder, the global adaptability of a four-continent documentary film crew, the heavy-steel precision of ~100 union arena tours, and the calm, disciplined reliability forged during nearly a decade as a dedicated work-from-home father—to every single call in Central Ohio and beyond.
■ PART II — MULTI-SCALE VENUE, ACT & ENVIRONMENT VERSATILITY MATRIX
Proven adaptability across every venue footprint, crew size (3 to 140+ hands), musical/theatrical genre, and power/signal architecture.
Major Indoor Arenas & Outdoor Stadiums
Venues: Ohio Stadium, The Schottenstein Center, Qwest/CenturyLink Center Omaha, Mid-America Center, Pershing Auditorium, Tyson Events Center.
Acts & Builds: ~100 national tours across Rock/Metal (Metallica, AC/DC, KISS, Foo Fighters, Slipknot), Pop (Taylor Swift, Celine Dion, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber), Classic Legends (Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Eagles, Billy Joel & Elton John, Dave Matthews Band), Country/Hip-Hop (Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Lil Wayne, Tyler, The Creator), 2025 NHL Stadium Series ice conversion, and 2008/2012 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials pool builds.
Touring Shop Prep & Multi-Week Production Builds
Facilities: Theatrical Media Services (T.M.S. Omaha warehouse) & Mid-America Center arena floor.
Scope: Pulling, bench-testing, and truck-packing Martin MAC moving lights, 48-ch dimmer racks, 400A Cam-Lok distros, CM Lodestar hoists, and Socapex looms against touring P.O.s; assembling full-scale dual East & West Coast winter tour rigs (moving trusses, over-audience catwalks, 30+ stage elevators, pyro/laser safety perimeters) for Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Historic Broadway Theaters & Performing Arts
Venue: Historic Omaha Orpheum Theatre & Touring Performing Arts Houses.
Productions & Craft: Semi-truck dock unload, modular rake deck carpentry, backstage counterweight arbor & pin-rail rigging, overhead electrics hangs, F.O.H. audio multicore snake runs, and rapid Sunday-night strikes for Wicked, Jersey Boys, Avenue Q, Beauty & The Beast, White Christmas, and Tyler Perry Live.
Conventions, General Sessions & Trade Show Expos
Venues: Greater Columbus Convention Center (Battelle Grand & Halls A/B) & CenturyLink Expo Halls.
Execution: Turnkey general session LX/rear-projection staging and 3,000+ attendee medical convention A/V (AKAV LLC, ON Services); interlocking springboard dance & cheer decks (StarQuest, Varsity CHEER X); Freeman Decorating trade show booths, seamless carpet/padding runs, and specialty exhibits (Batmobile Tumbler, Top Fuel dragsters, STRATCOM defense symposiums).
Commercial Broadcast, Healthcare & Classroom Studios
Locations: Omaha soundstages, regional school science labs, hospitals, and corporate HQs (FL, CO, AZ, NE).
Execution: 3 consecutive years lighting and shooting multi-camera educational DVD/tablet lessons on wooden tripods with boom softboxes; commercial grip/lighting/sound for Huber Chevrolet, Nebraska State Bank, Fun-Plex, Good Samaritan Hospitals, Boys Town Centennial, and Mosaic.
International Documentary & Remote Field Logistics
Regions: Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Viti Levu, Fiji.
Execution: Carnet customs & Pelican flight-case logistics; running 400W/200W K5600 Joker-Bug HMIs on 240V-to-120V step-down transformers and solar/battery rigs; Sennheiser MKH-416 boom & Lectrosonics UHF wireless audio from presidential state meetings in Dar Es Salaam to rural village classrooms.
My Portfolio — 8 Categories & 32 Subgrids
Powered by assets/portfolio/portfolio-manifest.json • 408 WebP Photos (-87.15% optimized) • 4 Opportunity Education MP4 Documentaries • Original Music Streaming Hub.
1-a Wide Arena Floors
Click any thumbnail to open the 1920px WebP Lightbox with full technical metadata.
Resumes & Stagehand One-Sheet Hub
Select any of your 3 official documents below to inspect on screen, print as an 8.5" × 11" sheet with scannable QR code, or download the pre-formatted PDF from assets/docs/.
Stagehand & Deck Technician One-Sheet
Rapid 1-page Call Steward & Labor Coordinator dispatch summary featuring your A2/L2/V2/B2 matrix, safety credentials, and verified venue history.
2-Page Condensed Stagecraft & A/V Resume
Front-and-back 2-page stagehand and multi-department deck assist resume tailored for quick desk review by production managers.
4-Page Master Stagecraft & Production Resume
Comprehensive 4-page master archive detailing ~100 national arena tours, Broadway road shows, T.S.O., T.M.S., and Chvala & Company expeditions.
Company Details & Booking / Availability
Contract technical production labor, multi-department stagehand support (A2 / L2 / V2 / B2), and full deck set/strike execution across Central Ohio and the Midwest.
Direct Production Dispatch
Available for short-notice over-hire calls, multi-day corporate conventions, trade show expos, arena concert load-ins/strikes, and film/documentary grip & location audio calls.
- • Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC): General sessions, Halls A/B, Battelle Ballroom, B2 breakouts
- • The Schottenstein Center & Nationwide Arena: Heavy arena steel, touring rigging/LX/audio/video assist
- • Ohio Stadium & Kemba Live!: Outdoor stadium builds, festivals, and live concert turnarounds
- • Full PPE & Tool Readiness: ANSI Z89.1 hard hat, EH boots, high-vis vest, gloves, wrenches, testers