A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, 2nd Edition

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A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO STAGE LIGHTING

•Spikemarksindicatingtheeventualcenteraxis

of each beam of straight frontlight have been

placed along the apron, or on the seating in the

house, or webbings have been taped down.

•Thedownstageedgeoftheperformancesurface

has been defined. Or, if the performance surface

isn’t installed before the focus session begins,

spike marks have been placed to indicate the

future downstage edge.

Shelley’s

Note s

Shelley’s Notes:

Where’s the Downstage Edge?

Sometimes the frontlight gets focused before the per-

formance surface can get installed. If the downstage

edge of the frontlight will require a cut, the planned

location of the downstage edge of the performance sur-

face may become important to the lighting designer.

Why? If the performance surface is black but

doesn’t cover the light-colored apron, the frontlight

may make the exposed apron glow like neon. Or the

shadows from the backlight, otherwise undetected,

may be seen on the apron, and might steal stage focus

from the performers. The typical solution for this sit-

uation is to cover the surface of the exposed apron

with velour or material matching the color of the per-

formance surface. If the downstage edge of the per-

formance surface ends up nowhere near the location

agreed upon, on the other hand, alternate choices

may have to be made. In most cases, efforts to mask

the exposed apron will be faster and better for the

show than changing the focus of the backlight. Better

yet, if the downstage edge location can be determined

prior to the focus, the appropriate cuts can be made,

and the additional effort can be avoided altogether.

Whenever possible, avoid situations in which the

entire electrics department is on hold, waiting for the

downstage edge to be determined by being physi-

cally installed. I have memories of focusing electri-

cians, sitting on ladders, surrounded by folks ready

to move them, waiting at the edges of the stage, while

I’m haggling with the production carpenter about the

placement of the downstage edge. A conversation

that should have taken place long before that partic-

ular moment. I remember that, and when it happens

again, I now instead make a conservative estimate

based on my best judgment, and move on. Stop wait-

ing for the downstage edge.

In a larger sense, it’s just as wise to define the

location of the downstage edge of the stage prior to

the focus session. Many theatres are equipped with

hydraulic pit lifts, which can be lowered to increase

the size of the orchestra pit, or raised to increase the

size of the apron. If the decision is made to keep the

pit lift in the “up” position for the show, then the

frontlight can extend downstage onto the apron.

This additional light may be useful to illuminate per-

formers who cross downstage of the light line during

the bows. If the pit lift’s position is lowered after the

focus, however, the frontlight focus should be imme-

diately checked. The bottom beam edges may now

be splashing onto the front edge of the stage, gaining

much more visual attention than desired.

Straight Frontlight Focus

The Hokey light plot has two straight frontlight

washes on the FOH truss, colored in Roscolux 33

and Lee 161. Instruments hung on the first and sec-

ond overhead electrics provide the upstage zones for

both washes.

Figure 12.3 shows channels 1 > 5, the instru-

ments highlighted inside rectangles on the FOH truss.

Colored in Roscolux 33, they’ll be focused as the first

zone in the pink straight frontlight system for Hokey.

The apron spike marks, along with the front zone 1

centerline spike mark, provide the triangulation for

the focus points. The same focus will be duplicated

for channels 11 > 15, the Lee 161 blue frontlight

wash. The first instrument that will be focused is unit

#6, which will be focused on centerline.

Figure 12.4 is an abbreviated focus chart. The num-

ber in the small circle, located in the upper left-hand

corner, is the channel number. The text under the circle

is the position and the unit number. The large circle

in the middle of the drawing represents the unshaped

beam of light (seen as if the viewer were standing behind

the instrument). The text inside the circle indicates the

X and Y coordinates of the focus point. Lines running

through the circle indicate shutter or barndoor cuts.

The small rectangles on the right side show the barrel

softness of the instrument (Soft, Medium, or Sharp).

In this case, truss unit #6 is controlled by chan-

nel 3. The focus point is on centerline, 3′-0″ upstage

of plaster line. The barrel will be moved to provide a

medium soft beam edge. The upstage shutter cut will

be 20′-0″ upstage of plaster line or at the #3 leg line.

The downstage cut will be out of the orchestra pit or

to the edge of the performance surface.

Figure 12.5 shows channels 1 > 5, after the five

instruments have been pointed. Channels 1 and 5 will

require side cuts to keep light off the black masking

legs. All five channels will require top cuts off of the

scenic stack (or the #3 leg line), and bottom cuts to

the edge of the performance surface.

Figure 12.6 shows channels 1 > 5 after the shut-

ter cuts have been executed. To achieve side-to-side

blending, all of the barrels are medium soft. Though

these diagrams show all of the instruments pointed,