Lighting+Design

As indicated in the section on design, painters have routinely provided light sources and emphases on their figures through the use of paint. Velazquez, the Spanish artist, is among the best and most famous. Below are two separate works in which he uses light to emphasize his figures. Note the source of the light, the quality of the light on the figures, the way light helps to define the forms and the way he has used various techniques to define figures in space. The first is of the god of wine Bacchus. The second is the Maids who wait on the royal couple who are being painted by the artist (Velazquez). The royal couple are standing approximately where we are as we view the painting.
 * Stage Lighting Design **



Providing appropriate visibility to actors working on performance areas has probably always been part of the tradition of theatre. However, it became increasingly more significant as theatre moved indoors and plays were performed on proscenium arch stages. A wide variety of instruments lighted the stage areas for many centuries. The flickering light of candles was among the more common means after the age of Shakespeare when performances were routinely presented indoors. There are many stories of how candle wax fell on the heads and clothing of actors and audiences alike. Also candles improperly used caused many fires in early theatre structures.

Gas was also a source for stage lighting, particularly during the 19th century, and also caused many fires in the early days. This made theatre a dangerous place for the public.

Eventually, with the introduction of electricity in the late 19th and early 20th century stage lighting has realized its full potential.

The father of modern stage lighting was Adolphe Appia (1862-1929) the French-Swiss stage designer who introduced an element of magic through his drawings of productions. Appia is quoted as saying, "If the mystic yearns for heaven, the artist yearns for the dream, and his whole productivity bears its influence." Appia was responsible for elevating the thinking of theatre artists of his generation from the pedestrian to a higher realm of consideration. He introduced an element of poetry into the theatre.

Another significant figure was Stanley McCandless who worked in the early part of the 20th century and who taught at Yale. He wrote a major work on stage lighting entitled, //A Method of Lighting the Stage// in 1932 which revolutionized modern methods of stage lighting. McCandless elaborated on the theories of Appia.

McCandless emphasized the importance of area lighting and developed a grid system that allowed lighting instruments to cover different areas of the stage. If you think of the stage as a series of areas, UL, UC, UR, etc. he proposed filling those areas with light. In order to treat the human body in a way that would make it seem fully modeled it was important to provide two front lights and a back light on the figure. McCandless also originated the color theory which said that light should hit the face of the actors at approximately a 45 degree angle and that two colors, one warm and one cool, should be used to help produce light and shadow and consequently add a sense of depth to the human figure.

McCandless proposed that there were four properties of light: 1. intensity -- which is the amount of light energy reflected on stage 2. color -- the hue, saturation, and brightness of objects. This is mostly controlled by color filters 3. form -- defined as the shape of individual pools of light, patterns of light and darkness created by the number of instruments 4. movement -- the actual movement of lights such as spotlights, or cross-dimming or the use of chasers which suggest that light is actually moving from one location to another over time There are actually four additional properties of light that should be considered. They are: 5. direction -- orientation of the apparent source of light 6. diffusion -- the hardness or softness of a beam of light. And the quality of light reflected on a surface 7. frequency -- a feature of motion, frequency is the random or rhythmic quality of light which is part of the dimension of time 8. luminousness -- this is the quality of light, such as the granular property of a laser image, the glowing quality of fluorescent lights, the flatness of carbon arc lamps, and the radiance of incandescent sources

There are four main functions of stage lighting: 1. selective vilibility -- this is accomplished by a manipulation of light and shadow 2. revelation of form (McCandless calls this "naturalism") -- concerns time of day, season, historical period, location, and apparent lighting source 3. composition -- the arrangement of light to create a visual design. This means that all of the other visual elements on stage (scenery, actors, costumes, makeup, etc) may be changed, enhanced, disrupted, or harmonized by light 4. mood -- sometimes described as atmosphere, lightness or seriousness, comic or tragic, and a whole range between these extremes

The following photographs help you to better understand the notions about stage lighting indicated above. The first is a shot of Peter Brook's //A Midsummer Night's Dream//. You can see how he makes excellent use of white walls against which the actors are placed.

The following are more typical examples of designers trying to depict actual places. Anne Frank's hiding place, the platform of a train station in //Inherit the Wind//, and the interior and outside of a house in Brooklyn for //A View from the Bridge//.

Note the strong dramatic sidelighting in this production of Shakespeare's //King Lear//.

Also note the strong backlighting in this German production of the final scene in //Death of a Salesman//. The face of the central character of the mother is lighted so that she is properly emphasized.

Special lighting examples are as follows. First is a forest scene from //A Midsummer Night's Dream// in which different portions of this thrust stage are lighted to symbolize the different characters. The central characters perform at the center of the thrust stage. The forest is represented by the leaf patterns on the floor created by gobos, cut out filters in the lighting instruments focused on the area.

Two different photographs from //Les Belles Soeur// are shown below. The first shows an actress in strong light downstage. Behind is a wash of strong red light serving as a darker background helping to emphasize the young actress. The second is a pool of light on the women around a washing machine. They are set against a wash of blue lights on a cyclorama. Chaser lights outline the frames of the walls of the house. And finally there is the use of a spotlight in two different ways in these scenes from the musical //Hair//.