He is resident lighting designer for Irish Classical Theater Company, Kavinoky Theater, Theater Of Youth and Neglia Ballet. Brian Cavanagh, one of the region’s most respected tech personalities, came to the stage almost by accident.

He grew up in Manhattan—a bus ride from Times Square, mere steps from the heart of off-Broadway in Greenwich Village—but never saw a play until after he returned from Coast Guard.

“I hadn’t even read a play until I was in my 30s,” Cavanagh says. Arriving in Buffalo to be with his then wife, he planned to major in film and communications. He went to the Pfeifer Theater (now Town Ballroom and then a UB facility) to apply for a stagehand job. He got the job, stayed for many more shows and, at least metaphorically, never left.

Cavanagh’s technical skills in the studio translated well to the call booth of the theater. Moreover, he likes working as part of a team. He says he thrives on theater’s collaborative nature. In fact, the prospect of collaboration with friends prompted Brian Cavanagh to take this next step in his theatrical career—and this time a deliberate one.

For the upcoming production of Blithe Spirit at Irish Classical Theatre Company, he will serve as the director. Vincent O’Neill had previously directed this show for ICTC 10 years ago at ICTC’s former home at the Calumet on Chippewa Street. For this production, Cavanagh and O’Neill share staging tasks. By Cavanagh’s description, the tyro and the veteran are equals in directorial decision making.

“Over the years, I have been asked to direct or co-direct before,” he says. “Blithe Spirit is one of my favorite comedies…and I love most of Noël Coward’s stuff. I knew I didn’t have the chops to do this by myself, but having watched Vincent at work when I was a technician, I thought this would be a great opportunity.”

The unexpected guest in this parlor comedy is the spectral incarnation of the host’s deceased first wife. The script was written for a proscenium stage, which provides a certain ease in engineering ghostly entrances, levitation of props and poltergeist damage. Of course, all this is more challenging in a stage in-the-round such as found at the Andrews Theatre.

“With only a 10-foot grid and doors just a few feet away from the audience,” Cavanagh says, “we have to consider safety factors. Even at the Calumet, when we did it the first time, we did some pyrotechnics and other tricks because we had some distance from the audience. We cannot do that this time.

“A lot of sound effects will be used. But being in the round, we rely a lot upon the action and the word. We want to let the actors do their thing.”

Cavanagh believes his imprimatur upon this production will be seen in the casting. He indicates that O’Neill’s instinct was to cast the central roles with older actors for a traditional, standard presentation of this story.

“I thought it would be better to make this a little less stuffy,” he says. “It gives the show a little bit more pep and a bit more speed. I just watched the video of the production from 10 years ago and this is much faster in pace. The previous production was aimed more at the uppity kind of English comedy, and this production is more for all audiences.”

Brian’s son, Chris Cavanagh, is a respected lighting designer in his own right. “Cavanagh” has become a brand name in stage lighting in this region.

“When I got out of the service and ended up in the theater, Chris was with me all the time, and he was only 10,” says Cavanagh. “He did it all with me as a kid…ran the light board, helped me build the sets. It all kind of came to him naturally.”

Having assisted his father, Chris Cavanagh now designs at many of the same theaters where his father has worked. “We’re interchangeable,” Brian laughs. Between father and son, the Cavanaghs have won eight Artie Awards in for lighting design, which is half the awards presented in that category in the 16-year Artie history.

Whatever prospect for directing there might be in his future—and he hopes it might be a comedy—Cavanagh will always be a techie at heart. “I don’t want to give up design. I really love the technical side,” he says. “But there may be a point in the future where a script will come up and I will think, ‘Wow, this is it.’ And I will be much more confident about the challenge.”

Blithe Spirit, by Noël Coward, directed by Vincent O’Neill and Brian Cavanagh for the Irish Classical Theater at Andrews Theatre (625 Main Street), runs April 20 through May 20. For tickets and information, go to irishclassicaltheatre.com or phone 853-4282.