Stage and keynote
- Keynote and mainstage readiness
- Green room and speaker suite setup
- Multi-day conference coverage
- Back-to-back session turnovers
- Panel and breakout touch-ups
- Shine control under stage lighting
Public Figures & Speakers
Camera-ready for the whole run, not just one stage.
Keynote speakers, coaches, executives, authors and on-air talent. Stage lighting, HD broadcast, press days, podcasts and back-to-back sessions each demand something different — and none of them look right with event makeup.
What We Cover
Everywhere you are seen.
One appearance or an entire season. We support 100+ elite keynote engagements a year and the logistics behind them, not just the twenty minutes in the chair.
Paula Speaks
From chair to CEO.
Paula Heckenast founded City Lights in 2006 and built it from a single chair into a national agency of 70+ artists across 22+ cities. She speaks to audiences on three topics.
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The Psychology of Confidence
What actually changes when someone sees themselves properly for the first time — and why it moves performance, not just mood.
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From Chair to CEO
Building a national service business out of a craft, and the operational decisions that made it scale.
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Marketing Without Ads
Twenty years of referral, press and reputation compounding — and how to build the same engine deliberately.
How It Works
Plan the season, not the stage.
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01
Tell us the calendar
What is booked, what is likely, and which cities. Even a rough list is enough.
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02
We build the coverage plan
Which appearances need a key artist, which need local bench, and what the green room requires.
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03
Lock the rate
One appearance is quoted on its own. A season is better served by a prepaid block at a preferred rate.
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04
Show up ready
Green room set, turnovers on the clock, touch-ups between sessions, continuity across the tour.
For Repeat Buyers
Book the year, not the day.
Producers, creative directors and agencies who use us more than once can prepay a block of four, six or twelve day rates — or half day rates — and hold a preferred rate across the whole block. Priority on the calendar, one contract, one PO, and no re-quoting every time a project lands.
Questions Speakers and Managers Ask
Answered before you have to ask.
What is different about beauty for a speaker versus a photoshoot?
A speaker is lit from above by a venue, shot by a house camera they do not control, and on stage for 45 minutes under heat. The work is about shine control, colour that holds under stage lighting, and a look that reads correctly from row thirty and on a broadcast cut. It is closer to television than to a portrait session.
Do you travel with us?
Yes, and for a tour or a heavy season that is usually the right structure. A key artist travels to hold the standard and the bench is staffed locally in each city, which keeps the cost sane across 22-plus markets without compromising continuity.
Can you handle green rooms and back-to-back sessions?
That is a core part of the work. We set up the green room or speaker suite, run turnovers on a clock, and keep touch-up coverage between a keynote, a breakout, a press interview and a livestream without anybody holding the stage. At The 3% Conference that meant 30-plus speakers on 15-minute turnovers.
Do you work with men?
Constantly. Grooming, shine control, greying and thinning coverage, brow shaping and skin prep for HD. Most male executives have never had it done properly and are surprised by the difference on the recording.
Is there coaching as well as beauty?
Yes, if you want it. Our roster includes certified brain and confidence coaches and a performance psychology and PQ practice, plus media-readiness coaching. Paula also speaks — on the psychology of confidence, on going from chair to CEO, and on marketing without ads.
What if I have appearances all year?
Then do not book them one at a time. A prepaid block of four, six or twelve day rates — or half day rates for shorter appearances — holds a preferred rate across the whole year and gives you priority on the calendar. One contract, one invoice, no re-quoting every time a booking lands.
Talk About the Year Ahead
Tell us what the calendar looks like.
Who we are booking for, what kind of appearances, and roughly how many this year. We will come back with a coverage plan for the whole run rather than a quote for one stage.
On a tight turnaround? Call (888) 619-0628.