What We Do
Design Assist
Hudson partners with clients and creative teams early in the process to turn evolving ideas into clear, buildable paths forward. We help define scope, align budgets, evaluate feasibility, and explore materials, methods, and assembly strategies while there is still time to make meaningful decisions.
By bringing real-world technical design and fabrication expertise into the design process, Hudson helps reduce risk, improve efficiency, and keep creative intent, technical execution, and project requirements aligned from the outset.
Our Capabilities
What we make matters. So does how we make it.
When creative teams bring us their most challenging ideas, our responsibility is not simply to build them, but to build them exceptionally well.
For more than four decades, Hudson Scenic Studios has partnered with designers, producers, and creators to technically design, fabricate, automate, electrify, paint, and deliver some of the industry's most innovative live productions, attractions, and immersive experiences.
Project Management
Every Hudson project is led by a dedicated project manager who owns it end to end, from budgeting and estimating through fabrication, finishing, and on-site installation. They work across all our departments to align teams, manage risk, and ensure that design intent, schedule, and budget meet client needs throughout the life of the project. Your project manager will provide hands-on guidance and constant communication, so you'll know that your project is on track every step of the way.
Technical Design
Hudson's technical designers work closely with creative teams to transform artistic vision into practical, buildable solutions that are safe, efficient, and faithful to the original design intent. Before the first shop drawing, our technical designers and fabricators determine how a project will be built together, solving the complex challenges on paper early, instead of later on site. That means fewer surprises, a cleaner install, and work that comes together right the first time.
Fabrication
Hudson's integrated fabrication teams bring together carpentry, metal fabrication, machining, automation, and technical design expertise to transform complex designs into durable, buildable realities. Master carpenters, artisan furniture makers, framing carpenters, upholsterers, and finish workers engage shoulder to shoulder with our technical designers and project managers to solve every build and artistic challenge. Sophisticated CNC capability pairs their craftsmanship with speed and precision.
Our metal fabrication and machining shop specializes in carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum. Each year we move more than 160 tons of steel and 250,000 linear feet of aluminum, with CNC machining and lathe work holding the incredibly tight tolerances. Our welders are qualified under AWS B2.1/B2.1M:2014 and build to AWS Structural Welding Codes D1.1, D1.2, D1.3, and D1.6, with a full-time AWS Certified Welding Inspector on staff.
Automation & Motion Control
For nearly 30 years, Hudson has designed, fabricated, and commissioned automated systems for some of the industry's most demanding projects, including Broadway productions, themed attractions, kinetic architecture, public art installations, and the iconic Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Drop.
At the center of these systems is Hudson Motion Control (HMC), our proprietary control platform built on the EtherCAT protocol. Designed for flexibility, reliability, and scalability, HMC can manage anything from a single automated element to complex systems with dozens of synchronized axes - all through a unified control interface.
Our technical design team designs and integrates a wide range of electro-mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems, including winches, deck tracks, wagons, turntables, lifts, hatches, and motorized curtain tracks. Each system is designed with safety, precision, and long-term operability in mind, incorporating advanced feedback and control systems while integrating seamlessly with lighting, audio, video, show control, and building management systems.
From concept development and technical design through fabrication, commissioning, and field support, Hudson delivers complete automation solutions that bring movement, interactivity, and reliability to complex environments and live experiences.
Lighting & Electrification
Hudson's electrics department specializes in the design, fabrication, integration, and installation of custom power, lighting, and control systems for entertainment, architectural, and experiential applications.
Our technicians work with a wide range of technologies, including incandescent, fluorescent, neon, LED, pixel-mapped lighting, smart foil, and specialty fixtures, transforming commercially available products into unique custom solutions.
Beyond lighting, the department designs and builds custom power distribution systems, control panels, automation racks, LED processing systems, and electrical infrastructure that support complex scenic and motion-controlled installations. Working closely with our technical design, automation, and fabrication teams, Hudson's electrics department ensures that lighting, power, controls, and motion systems function as a seamless whole - whether powering a Broadway production, themed attraction, museum exhibit, or a permanent installation.
Scenic Drops, Finishes, & Custom Coatings
Hudson's capabilities span the full spectrum of scenic and architectural finishing, including faux wood, stone, metal, concrete, patinas, aging, distressing, decorative painting, and specialty textures. Whether replicating historic materials, creating entirely new visual languages, or matching existing environments, our team delivers finishes that hold up under close inspection and perform at scale.
Beyond scenic artistry, Hudson applies high-performance coatings engineered for demanding environments, including themed attractions, museums, cruise ships, live productions, and experiential activations. Building on decades of theatrical tradition, Hudson also produces full-stage backdrops, cycloramas, translucencies, and large-format scenic paintings, alongside sculpted and textured scenic elements that bring environments to life.
From subtle architectural finishes to highly immersive scenic environments, Hudson combines artistry, durability, and technical precision to create surfaces that enhance storytelling and elevate the audience experience.
Assembly, Integration, & Testing
Hudson can fully assemble, commission, and trial-run your project in-house, whether it's going on tour, to a pop-up activation, or to a permanent installation. We keep two staging spaces for exactly that: one at 12,500 square feet with 30-foot clear height, and a taller one at 17,500 square feet that clears 40 feet, with a 10-ton gantry crane and six truck-height docks for moving and shipping even the heaviest pieces. There's room to construct your project at full scale, test the automation, and rig and light it under conditions that mirror the finished environment, so you can walk it with us and see everything work in Yonkers. That way, when it leaves our shop, you'll know it's good to go.
Rigging, Rentals, & Installation
Hudson runs a robust rigging and staging inventory in-house. Steel deck and our proprietary Speed Deck systems are available to rent or buy, alongside more than 500 chain hoists, a full inventory of rigging equipment, and an extensive stock of 12-inch and 20.5-inch truss in standard lengths, with custom truss fabricated to spec. Our riggers, including ETCP-certified crew, design and install temporary rigging for live events at a major scale.
Permanent Installations & Infrastructure
Hudson designs, fabricates, and installs permanent infrastructure for entertainment, cultural, commercial, and public spaces. Our work includes theater renovations, catwalks, access platforms, fly systems, rigging infrastructure, custom stages, architectural features, landmark signage, and specialty structures.
Whether upgrading an existing venue or supporting new construction, Hudson provides turnkey solutions from design development and engineering through fabrication, installation, and commissioning. Working across engineering, fabrication, automation, finishing, and installation disciplines, we deliver infrastructure that is safe, durable, and built to perform for years to come.
Production Management & Technical Supervision
Hudson Theatrical Associates (HTA) extends Hudson's capabilities beyond fabrication, providing the production management and technical leadership required to deliver complex projects onsite, on time and on budget.
HTA oversees all aspects of physical production, including technical supervision, budgeting, scheduling, procurement, labor management, logistics, permitting, and site operations providing you with a seamless project delivery experience and a single source of accountability from design through execution.
Whether supporting a Broadway production, an experiential activation, or a global live event, HTA helps transform creative vision into successful reality.
Our Clients
From award-winning Broadway productions and broadcasts to tentpole attractions and iconic experiences, we've been privileged to do this work for an extraordinary roster of partners.