LOS ANGELES — Cal State LA faculty member Meredith Greenburg and students Leah Cobleigh and Ngan Ho-Lemoine were part of the team behind the Emmy-winning 66th Annual Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration, which was broadcast live on PBS SoCal from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in December 2025.
Greenburg, chair of Cal State LA’s Department of Theatre and Dance in the College of Arts and Letters, served as lead stage manager for the production. Cobleigh and Ho-Lemoine, both theatre design and production majors, worked alongside Greenburg as assistant stage managers while gaining firsthand experience in a major live television and performing arts production.
The Holiday Celebration received a Los Angeles Emmy Award in the Live Special Events – Programming category at the 78th Los Angeles Emmy Awards, presented July 25 at the Skirball Cultural Center. PBS SoCal received a total of eight Emmy Awards.
The 2025 production marked Greenburg’s first year working on the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration, and she has been contracted to return for the 2026 show. For Greenburg, one of the most meaningful aspects of the experience was being able to bring Cal State LA students into professional production with her.
“The team won the award—not just me,” Greenburg said. “The best part of the process was that I was able to bring two of our amazing students to work as assistant stage managers, Leah Cobleigh and Ngan Ho-Lemoine. Without them, the show would not have been the wonderful success that it was.”
The annual Holiday Celebration highlights the breadth of artistic and cultural talent across Los Angeles County, bringing together performers and production professionals for a large-scale live event at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
“The Holiday Celebration showcases the brilliant talent that is Los Angeles,” Greenburg said. “Having our students there to support that brought that all full circle for me. Being an educator and mentor to Cal State LA students has been a highlight of so much of the work I have done over the past 25 years.”
For the past 20 years, Greenburg has served as production stage manager for the Hollywood Bowl’s summer Broadway musicals, regularly creating opportunities for Cal State LA students to work alongside her and gain firsthand experience in major professional productions.
“Introducing them to the Bowl—and now to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion—offers an extraordinary opportunity to experience firsthand the scale, rigor, and artistry of world-class theatrical production, while building relationships and networking with the professionals who make live entertainment happen throughout Los Angeles,” said Greenburg.
The Emmy recognition celebrates the collective work of the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration team while underscoring the value of connecting Cal State LA students with professional opportunities in Los Angeles’ creative and performing arts industries.
Photo: A television screen displaying the credits for the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration, listing Cal State LA Professor Meredith Greenburg as lead stage manager and Cal State LA students Ngan Ho-Lemoine and Leah Cobleigh as assistant stage managers. (Courtesy: Meredith Greenburg/Cal State LA)
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