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Bill
Gorlin, PE, SE

Vice President of Entertainment Engineering

Bill Gorlin, PE, SE, Vice President of McLaren Engineering Group’s Entertainment Division, stands as a driving force in the industry with nearly four decades of expertise spanning thousands of projects worldwide. With a reputation for visionary entertainment engineering and design, Bill revolutionized the audience experience with work on iconic concerts from The Rolling Stones to Taylor Swift, high-flying live performances, entertainment venue design, tv + film, and amusement structures from Orlando to Macau.

In addition to diverse portfolio of never-before-seen engineering marvels, his passion for theater engineering has enabled him to work on over 200 Broadway productions on acclaimed shows such as Chicago, Will Rogers Follies, The Color Purple, The Music Man, King Kong, Merrily We Roll Along, A Bronx Tale, Tina the Musical, The Little Mermaid, Here Lies Love, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Lion King, Billy Elliot, Frozen the Musical, Moulin Rouge, Phantom of the Opera, and Beauty and the Beast. He has also played a pivotal role in the structural renovations of 41 Broadway theaters including restorations of historic venues like the Winter Garden Theater, Majestic Theater and Studio 54, Belasco, Longacre, Schoenfeld, James Earl Jones, and Lyric Theaters.

Bill is also renown author, lecturer, and esteemed member of various professional organizations, including the ESTA Rigging Working Group and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Awards

Featured

Backstage Legends and Masters Award

Broadway Technical Theatre History Project in 2024

Learn More

Engineer of the Year

New York State Society of Professional Engineers in 2018

Distinguished Engineer of the Year

by New York State Society of Professional Engineers, Rockland County Chapter in 2017

Above and Beyond Award – (E1.43 Task Group)

by ESTA, 2016

Frank Stewart Volunteer of the Year Award – (E1.21 Task Group)

PLASA North American Regional Board in 2013

Bill Gorlin's Entertainment
Expert Insights

Enhancing Public Safety in Event Planning

The certification of meaningful changes to the International Building Code for temporary structures represents...

4K LED Wall for MGM Theater

MGM Theater is Asia’s first truly adaptive and dynamic performance venue installed with the world’s largest...

Drive-In Theatre Billboard With a Palm Tree

Pop-Up Drive-Ins and Safety

Is the Drive-In Experience Really Safe? With Covid-19 forcing the entertainment industry to reimagine...

Credentials For
Bill Gorlin, PE, SE

Education

Master of Engineering

Civil Engineering, Cornell University

Bachelor of Science

Civil Engineering, Cornell University

Licenses

Registered Professional Engineer (PE) in 19 States:

Arizona
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Washington
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Registered Professional Structural Engineer (SE) in 7 States:

Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Iowa
Massachusetts
Nevada
Utah

Patents

System and method for automatically altering a theme associated with a room or similar space

Patent numbers: 8475287 and 8025582

Method for automatically altering a theme associated with a room or similar space

Patent number: 9224319

Organizations / Lectures / Knowledge Panels

Bill is a member of the Plasa North America Rigging Working Group, including serving on its Performer Flying and Temporary Structures Task Groups; American Society of Civil Engineers; Cornell Society of Engineers; and Structural Engineers Association of New York. He has published articles in Architecture Week and in Structural Engineering Forum and is a frequent lecturer at various Universities and industry conventions.

Knowledge Panelist

Latest

NATEAC (North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference)

"Case Studies 2 Boston Arts Academy and James Earl Jones Theatre," Panelist, "A Conversation About Accessing Safety in Entertainment Engineering," Speaker, July 14, 2024

“Ask the Engineers,” Panelist at virtual New World Rigging Symposium, April 8, 2021.
IATSE Local 1 TET Fund TV guest panelist, June 17, 2020.
“Entertainment Engineering – How to Get Everyone on the Same Page,” Panelist at New World Rigging Symposium, Hyatt Regency, Louisville, KY, March 19, 2019.
Panelist at Event Safety Alliance’s 2018 Summit, Lititz, PA, December 17, 2018.
Panelist at Entertainment and Engineering Summit, to discuss the possibility of a combined theater and engineering curriculum to strengthen the talent pipeline, July 2018
“Structural Engineering. For when guessing just won’t do” Panelist at New World Rigging Symposium, Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 14, 2018.
“Emerging Issues in Entertainment Engineering,” Panelist at United States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference, Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 14, 2018.
“Performer Flying Systems: Discussion and Development of Industry Standards” Panelist at Aerial Performance Rigging Workshop, PRG, Las Vegas, NV, November 16, 2017.
“Key Elements of Safe Structures” Panelist at 2016 Event Safety Summit, Lititz, PA, November 30, 2016.
“Adapting Facilities for use as Performance and Event Spaces,” Panelist at 2016 North American Theater Engineering and Architecture Conference (NATEAC), New York, New York, July 17, 2016.
“Inside Today’s Theaters” Panelist at LDI Convention, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV, November 21, 2014.
“Performer Flying Systems: Discussion and Development of Industry Standards” Panelist at Aerial Performance Rigging Workshop, PRG, Las Vegas, NV, November 20, 2014.
“Alternative Theatre Career Paths: Engineering” Panelist at United States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference, Delta Center, Milwaukee, WI, March 20, 2013.
“Structural Issues in a Motorized World” Panelist at North American Theater Engineering and Architecture Conference, Pace University, New York, New York, July 20, 2008.

Speaker / Lectures

“Old to New: Façade Restoration, Modernization, and New Opportunities for Historic Theatres” NYC Facades+ Conference, Friday, April 5, 2024
“The Art of Temporary Structures” NECSEA 2021 Virtual Conference through Structural Engineers Association of New York, April 7, 2021
“Engineering of Temporary Structures” SEAoNY’s (Structural Engineers Association of New York) annual conference, March 11, 2022
“Engineering of Temporary Event Structures” Northeast Chapter, National Council of Structural Engineers Associations, April 7, 2021
“Indeterminate Structures,” Virtual Sapsis Rigging Inc Event, January 27, 2021
Mastermind by Pivot² guest speaker, November 10, 2019.
“Emerging Issues in Entertainment Engineering” New World Rigging Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 14, 2018
“Entertaining with Steel, from Theatrical Rigging to Concert Touring Structures”, lecturer at The Steel Conference, San Antonia, TX, March 2017.
“Engineering the SeaGlass Carousel at The Battery,” lecturer at National Engineer’s Week, Albany, NY, February 2016.
“An Introduction to the Engineering of Entertainment Structures,” lecturer at National Engineer’s Week, Albany, NY, February 2015; DVSEA Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA, May 2015; NYSSPE Annual Convention, Lake George, NY, June 2015.
“Lightweight Entertainment Structures” Guest Lecturer, Lightweight Structures Class at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, March 27, 2006.
“Entertainment Engineering” lecture presented at the Fall 2003, New York State Engineering Technology Association Conference at New York City College of Technology, November 6, 2003.
“Structural Engineering for Theater,” Guest Lecturer for Theater Technology II, Class at Purchase College, SUNY, Purchase, NY, each April 2001 through 2013.
“Entertainment Engineering” Guest Lecturer, CEE 602 Seminar and Freshman Introductory Seminar, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, October 4, 2001.
“Design of Entertainment Devices and Structures,” Lecture Presented at the Annual National Convention, American Society of Civil Engineers, Student Chapters Session, October 23, 1995.
“Design of Entertainment Devices and Structures,” Lecture Presented at the Annual Meeting, LDS Engineering Department, May 19, 1995.
“Steel Roller Coasters,” Lecture Presented at the Monthly Member Meeting, Structural Engineers Association of Utah, March 16, 1995.
“Reply to Technical Question: Base Plate Design for Wide Flange Subjected to Axial and Bending Forces,” Structural Engineering Forum, March 1995.
“Design of Roller Coasters,” Computer Technology for Structural Engineers EXPO. Structural Engineers Association of Texas, Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter, October 13, 1994.

Publications

Author of “Structural Behavior” chapter in Entertainment Rigging for the 21^st Century, Ed. Bill Sapsis. Focal Press, 2015.
“Envision Staging-A Mighty Wind (Load),” Live Design, Page 26, October 2008.
“Tree Sculpture Engineering,” Architecture Week Online Magazine, Page B1.1, February 13, 2002.

What People Have Said
About Bill Gorlin, PE, SE

“Bill is likely one of the only people who has worked on every Broadway theatre. If you consider just the work Bill has done in every Broadway theatre, not the productions, but the structural engineering part, that alone makes him unique. When you combine that with all the productions he has worked on, the standards for the industry he has helped shape, and countless other ways he has impacted Broadway practices, it’s hard to imagine anyone with a comparable portfolio of work.”

“A primary focus in our work is the interactions of people, including performers and the audience, with the entertainment environment and features. Gorlin is at the forefront of using engineering to promote safety. He is presently actively involved in writing the industry standards for entertainment rigging and amusement rides, and it is our pleasure to name him 2018’s Engineer of the Year.”

“As the driving force leading our flourishing Entertainment Division, Bill is well-deserving of this prestigious award (NYSSPE Engineer of the Year). This award is a testament to the thousands of world-class entertainment projects he has overseen over his 30-year career.”

Bill Gorlin, PE, SE
In The Media

Using Math and Science to Bring Entertainment to Life

StageLync Podcast (August 26, 2024)

Insightful Q&A With Award Winning Entertainment Engineer, Bill Gorlin

Lighting and Sound America (February 22, 2024)

McLaren Engineering Group’s William Gorlin PE, SE, to be Honored with “Backstage Legends and Masters” Award for Outstanding Contributions to Broadway and Entertainment Engineering

USITT – United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc. (February 5, 2023)

McLaren Engineering Group Celebrates 40 Years of Applied Ingenuity

ASCE’s Civil Engineering Magazine (September 30, 2019)

McLaren, Wallendas Engineer Entertainment

ENR New York (July 1, 2019)

McLaren Completes Work on Theater with World’s Largest Indoor LED Screen

Civil & Structural Engineer (April 24, 2019)

NYSSPE Names Mclaren Engineering Group’s William Gorlin Engineer of the Year

Modern Steel Construction (June 27, 2018)

McLaren Engineering Group Celebrates 40 Years of Applied Ingenuity

Civil & Structural Engineer (March 30, 2017)

“Temporary Structures Need Wind-Load Standards” Engineering News-Record, October 23, 2008.
“Tree Sculpture Engineering,” Architecture Week Online Magazine, Page B1.1, February 13, 2002.

Projects Bill Gorlin, PE, SE
Has Been A Part Of

Through his career, he has engineered and overseen thousands of projects involving show action equipment, stage sets, theatrical rigging, entertainment venues, roller coasters and other amusements, and architectural theming. Among these are:

Cirque Du Soleil’s KA - World’s Largest Custom Theatrical Machinery

The complex heavy stage equipment for Cirque du Soleil’s “KA”, “Zumanity”, “Viva Elvis”, Zarkana”, “Dralion”, and many others
The engineering and design of the 80’ tall Sentosa Dancing Cranes in Singapore
The engineering and design of the mechanized Kinetic Atrium at the Wynn Casino in Macau
Superbowl 35, 38 and 39 Halftime Shows stage designs in Tampa, Houston and Jacksonville
David Blaine – Electrified at Pier 54 in New York
Electric Zoo 2012
Tiffany Blue Book 2013 Structure in Rockefeller Center
Performer flying tours for Beyonce’s 2013 tour, Taylor Swift’s 2013 tour, Nickelback’s 2012 tour, and Phish’s New Year’s 2012 with 14-person performer flying; and, most recently, design, review and engineering support for Bon Jovi, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and U2 tour stages.

Bill
Gorlin, PE, SE

Vice President of Entertainment Engineering