Backstage Roles Part 2 of 3: Stage Lighting

Theatrical lighting is an aspect of theater I hold near and dear to my heart. Before I got back into acting, I was a lighting operator and designer for several years and still have an active role in it.

Theatrical lighting is different for every show, for example, Still Life With Iris (Which holds the distinction of being my LEAST favorite show ever) is a highly imaginative show that allows the designer to incorporate many unrealistic elements, such as purple light. Now when I designed the lights for a production of Still Life With Iris I was limited to 18 lights. Most of those lights were area lights (Such as fresnels which can't be focused and are general area lights) and several Source 4s (Which come in different degrees which measure how wide the light is at 100 feet) most of which were used as "specials". A "special"  is a light that is focused on one area that is supposed to have the attention draw to it. An example of that was the Still Life which had to be lit up by a Source 4 every time Iris touched a button.

(As I stated Still Life With Iris is my LEAST favorite show, I can't stress that enough, I may dedicate a post to how bad that show is in detail. If you can avoid it, DO NOT SEE THAT SHOW!)

Their are several mottoes, quotes, and jokes withing lighting. Most are at the actors expense but several are inappropriate for this blog.

Q: How many actors does it take to change a light
bulb?


A: None. Complain to the director at notes.

You have now been victim to one of my favorite techie jokes. Lighting is one of the toughest jobs in theater but remember without them you'd be dancing in the dark.