Marsha Stern

Lighting Designer, Technologist & Producer – Backlit Productions / MSLDC
Marsha Stern is an award-winning lighting designer, programmer, technician, and production manager whose career spans five decades across music, nightlife, architecture, and live events. Beginning in the vibrant NYC nightclub scene of the late 1970s, Marsha became a key figure in shaping the visual language of the disco and live performance era, bringing artistry and precision to iconic venues like The Saint, Limelight, and the Palladium.
By the mid-1990s, she was pioneering the integration of automated and entertainment lighting technologies into architectural environments — a transition that bridged her love of performance and design. In 1999, she founded Marsha Stern Lighting Design & Consulting (MSLDC), leading innovative projects for retail, hospitality, and live environments around the world before joining Acclaim Lighting, the architectural division of ADJ Group, in 2017.
Today, Marsha continues to channel her passion for storytelling through Backlit Productions, her creative hub dedicated to music culture and preservation. Her current projects include the acclaimed exhibition “Disco: I’m Coming Out” at the Paris Philharmonic Museum (now preparing for an international tour), a forthcoming documentary slated for 2026, two legacy websites, and The Heartbeat of the Dance Floor® podcast — a celebration of the DJs, designers, and dreamers who built the soundtrack and spectacle of the disco generation.
A lifelong advocate for the creative community, Marsha proudly supports Behind the Scenes, the industry’s leading charity supporting entertainment technology professionals in need. Her personal philosophy — “to greet each day with gratitude for being vertical and lucid, followed by a positive attitude seasoned with laughter” — perfectly captures her outlook on life and her enduring contribution to the industry she helped illuminate.