A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, 2nd Edition

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A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO STAGE LIGHTING

is directly affected by the contrast between that light

and the surrounding environment. The surroundings

may range from beams of light from other instruments

to the relative color and texture of the objects being

lit. The color of light can change the emotional per-

ception of a scene. It’s been stated that warm colors

are often associated with comedy, while cool colors

are associated with tragedy. It’s also been noted that

desaturated colors are typically perceived as more

realistic, while saturated colors are associated with

more dramatic or stylized stage moments. The form,

angle of origin, and coverage all refer to the distri-

bution of the light. The speed at which any of these

three properties of light changes from one moment to

another is referred to as the movement of the light.

The faster the change occurs, the more likely that it

will be consciously perceived.

Objectives of Light

Most lighting texts also agree that stage lighting is

said to have four objectives. The first is to achieve

visibility. Since the eye is naturally drawn to the

brightest point of a picture, a successful lighting

design provides the proper visual focus for the view-

ing audience. It’s often said that what can’t be seen

can’t be heard, so the visual focus is often directed

to the acoustic source, such as the speaking per-

former. Conversely, the lack of illumination in a

lighting design deflects attention from areas or ele-

ments of the performance that should not concern

the audience.

A single low-angle frontlight source can result in a

flat perception of the stage. Since most of what might

be shadows is “filled in,” all objects often appear to

be flattened against the backdrop, compressed onto

a single visual plane. In contrast, a scene utilizing

numerous sources from a variety of angles provides

a plasticity, or a sense of form and mass, which sets

the performer apart from surrounding scenery. This

illustrates the second objective of lighting, providing

illumination in a three-dimensional form of light

and shadow.

Visually painting the stage with intensity, color,

and distribution of light achieves composition, the

third objective of light. Any number of paintings

created by the great masters demonstrates success-

ful composition. The successful integration of these

objectives creates mood, the fourth objective.

SUMMARY

This concludes a basic review of the various orga-

nizational and conceptual elements that attempt to

complete the basic framework of practical knowl-

edge required for a lighting design to begin to take

place. Coupled with the practical information

outlined in the beginning of this chapter, this review

is now complete. The rest of the text will apply this

combined framework of knowledge towards creating

and constructing the lighting design for an imaginary

production. For our purposes, the name of that show

is Hokey: A Musical Myth.

Before diving in, consider the amount of infor-

mation that needs to be acquired in order to create a

lighting design. In order to create a design, it must be

part of a whole; a lighting design can not be created

out of whole cloth; it’s part of the director’s vision,

and one of the design elements of that production. In

order to produce of that design element, the first step

often taken is to produce two basic lists.

One list is all the information that needs to be

gathered and analyzed to understand everything that

may, in any way, contribute to, or affect the creation

of, the lighting design. The second list includes every

document that communicates what has to happen in

order to create the lighting design. The more often

you do it, the more you understand how many things

need to be included on each list to make it work for

you. And it’s a good bet that the things included on

each list will change for every show.