Minneapolis–St. Paul · Los Angeles · Nationwide
Jay
Escobar
I turn a client's vision into a production plan and then into a room people walk into and react to. Twenty-plus years across corporate events, sports, entertainment and music, from pushing cases at festival load-outs to running general sessions, galas and championship floors.
Built for the show
I'm a live event producer and audiovisual professional who thrives on turning ideas into experiences people remember. My work lives at the intersection of creativity and connection: the production plan that holds up on show day, the technical design that disappears behind the moment, and the team that enjoys getting it right together.
I'm known as a problem solver with energy and vision, building teams that work smarter and leading with positivity. I believe in excellence and I believe in joy. Work should be rewarding, people should feel valued, and the process should leave room for laughter along the way.
Where the work is
Live Event Project Manager
Planning and executing complex live events as the central liaison between clients, creative teams and technical departments: translating vision into clear production plans, keeping everyone aligned, and delivering from pre-production through onsite.
Senior Lighting Designer
Competition-ready lighting for a national cheer circuit: hundreds of cues per event built around scoring, pacing and athlete visibility, plus repeatable systems and mentoring for their in-house production team.
Four disciplines, one show
Production management
Run-of-show, technical scopes, labor plans, budgets and the onsite call. General sessions, galas, conferences, hybrid and multi-day programs.
Lighting design
Looks built for the moment: division floors, awards, keynotes. Programmed, cued and operated with clean transitions and broadcast-level consistency.
AV integration
System design, deployment and troubleshooting across audio, video, staging, scenic and rigging, including Crestron, Extron, Allen & Heath and QSC platforms.
Music & content
Original scores and songs for key moments, plus video, graphics and marketing content that make an event feel like one idea.
- Control: Crestron, Extron, QSC
- Audio: Allen & Heath, Shure, premium PA
- Lighting: DMX programming, moving lights, fixture placement
- Video: multi-camera switching, LED walls, IMAG
- Crews from small specialty teams to 40+ staff and contractors
- SOPs, training materials and skill-building programs
- Evaluations, clear expectations, a culture of accountability
- Bridging creative, technical and client-service teams
- Consultative AV packages that meet creative and budget goals
- Proposals and quoting in Salesforce, HubSpot and AVStar
- Multi-million-dollar budgets managed for profitability
- Asana, Trello and Cvent to keep projects on time
Career, in running order
present
Live Event Project Manager
Central liaison for complex live events, from production plan to onsite delivery.
Dec 2025
Senior Production Manager
End-to-end production for corporate, nonprofit and experiential events: schedules, run-of-show, technical scopes, labor and crew leadership, vendor logistics, and real-time problem solving across audio, lighting, video, staging, scenic and rigging.
present
Lighting Designer, then Senior Lighting Designer
Hundreds of cues per competition, tailored to scoring and show flow; scalable lighting systems and workflow consulting for the in-house production team.
Mar 2025
Director of Event Production
Led event production and AV operations in a luxury resort: daily operations, standards and SOPs, team training and reviews, and senior technical guidance for meetings, galas, weddings and social events.
Apr 2025
Event Producer
Full-scope production for trade shows, corporate meetings, premieres, fundraisers and trainings.
- Built custom lead-capture and reporting tools integrated with client CRM and ERP platforms.
- Produced fundraising experiences that lifted both one-time gifts and recurring donors.
- 96% engagement and experience scores from client and attendee feedback.
Feb 2024
Project Manager
Sales consultation and RFP/RFQ point of contact; hands-on A1, V1 and L1 roles as needed.
- Quote conversion rate of 56% after shortening prospect-to-quote time.
- Increased profitability 18% through budget and cost monitoring.
Jan 2021
Director of Operations
Operations lead for a digital marketing agency focused on live events, content and experiential design.
- Year-over-year growth above 30% in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
- Hired and trained AV technicians, designers and administrative staff; managed 25 employees and 15 contractors.
Apr 2013
Operations Manager
Medical device and assistive technology sales and operations: video marketing, trade show booth design, PR, and B2B and B2G initiatives that grew 80% over three years.
present
Recording Artist and Producer
Producer, songwriter and artist across R&B, hip-hop, rock and country. Releases include Shape of Our Heart (2019) and 5745 (2025).
Music & side projects
Songwriter and producer
Original tracks across R&B, hip-hop, rock and country, including the 2025 EP 5475. Also available for custom scores and songs for key event moments.
Listen on Spotify →Tessaven
A medieval dice-war strategy game I designed and built for the browser. Free to play, online or on one screen.
Play Tessaven →Let's build a show
Production management, lighting design, AV consulting, or original music for a key moment. Based in Minneapolis–St. Paul with a second home base in Los Angeles, producing events across the country.