Light in eyes bothering performers

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So, in my couple of decades lighting actors on the stage I've heard a few complaints about the light hurting their eyes, but most actors suck it up and move on. Today a performer managed to convince the producer that the lighting changed recently and is "harsher on the eyes" and that I should "address this."

The whole show is lit with conventional ETC fixtures, S4 lekos in front, S4 PAR side & tops, front colors are amber and blue, sides are lavender. I'm frankly at a loss for what to do. The actor is a 30 year vet of the show, so she has a lot of clout and I don't want to treat this like "she's crazy," or "she's old." But I'm at a loss. More light in the eyes means you look better, and frankly, the only thing I've done in the last 6 months was replace lamps, add new gels, tighten the focus, and change some of the fronts from R336 to L38, maybe a 10% transmission difference on 6 of the 80 house lights.

I'd really appreciate any feedback that might help me make a difference for the performer.
 
As a designer, I usually get the "not bright enough" note, but...

It's all about perception. I would put the actor on stage and say "I've lowered the fronts by 10%. Is that more comfortable for you?" (spoiler alert: you've changed nothing). She might then say, "Still too bright," at which point I would cut fronts by 10% (an arguably negligible difference) and then say, "I've cut them by another 15%, but you're starting to appear a little dark. Are you OK with this level?" She'll probably walk away satisfied.

The discomfort was probably situational at the time. You're not throwing anything at her that she hasn't experienced before. I would want to give the impression that her concerns are being addressed, and let the "lighting placebo effect" do the rest. If it only costs you 10% on your fronts to keep her happy, it's a decent return on investment.
 
As a designer, I usually get the "not bright enough" note, but...

It's all about perception. I would put the actor on stage and say "I've lowered the fronts by 10%. Is that more comfortable for you?" (spoiler alert: you've changed nothing).

Heh, I definitely will be doing something of the sort. Once I got a note from a producer that the show was "too bright, too bright." I got to the theater a couple days later trying to address the problem and was greeted by the producer thanking me for fixing the problem and how much better it looked now. I had initially thought this would blow over like that, but the SM made an announcement about the "problem" to the company, and now no matter what I have to change something that I can show them.

My favorite tweak back in the day was to take the levels waaaaay down, then slowly bring the levels back up till the director says OK, invariable, exactly where they started (which was at full, since I was almost always in a small theater with very few lights).
 
I would generally only get the "lights in my eye" complaint when lighting an orchestra. Musicians would look at the conductor for a prompt and catch the front lighting. To lessen this, I would focus the front lighting at a steeper angle. It's not always an option though.
 
So, in my couple of decades lighting actors on the stage I've heard a few complaints about the light hurting their eyes, but most actors suck it up and move on. Today a performer managed to convince the producer that the lighting changed recently and is "harsher on the eyes" and that I should "address this."

The whole show is lit with conventional ETC fixtures, S4 lekos in front, S4 PAR side & tops, front colors are amber and blue, sides are lavender. I'm frankly at a loss for what to do. The actor is a 30 year vet of the show, so she has a lot of clout and I don't want to treat this like "she's crazy," or "she's old." But I'm at a loss. More light in the eyes means you look better, and frankly, the only thing I've done in the last 6 months was replace lamps, add new gels, tighten the focus, and change some of the fronts from R336 to L38, maybe a 10% transmission difference on 6 of the 80 house lights.

I'd really appreciate any feedback that might help me make a difference for the performer.

Possibly a number of unrelated issues causing this. Actor unhappy with her performance, couldn’t see a friend in the audience one night, etc.... etc....

Lots of little changes might have been noticed by an old vet of the theater and the bottom line is the women is out there in front of the audience every day and I’d accommodate her concerns. Plan an hour to get her and the SM on deck and go cue to cue and ask when and what is bothering her, then try to adjust so she’s comfortable.
 
the women is out there in front of the audience every day and I’d accommodate her concerns. Plan an hour to get her and the SM on deck and go cue to cue and ask when and what is bothering her, then try to adjust so she’s comfortable.

Exactly what I expect to have to do. This is good advice. I was just hoping to have a few god ideas when we sit down to re-tech this instead of a lot of shrugging. I really do appreciate this feedback, though.
 
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Possibly a number of unrelated issues causing this. Actor unhappy with her performance, couldn’t see a friend in the audience one night, etc.... etc....

Lots of little changes might have been noticed by an old vet of the theater and the bottom line is the women is out there in front of the audience every day and I’d accommodate her concerns. Plan an hour to get her and the SM on deck and go cue to cue and ask when and what is bothering her, then try to adjust so she’s comfortable.

This. It is so easy to let our ego convince us that we are right and the performer is wrong, but at the end of the day we are there to help make the show a success, and losing 5-10% intensity is not going to ruin your lighting design.
 
I did a fundraising show a few years back with two afternoon tv stars doing some poetry and other works on stage and during sound check he asked if that was all of the lights we had ... I was running at about 65%..He asked what I was saving the rest for, he wanted all of the lights at 100%all night. Done easy show.
Another corporate gig had two standup acts for warm up so we are doing sound check and I have the follow spot operators (as pre the rider) tests the lights and follow the comedian on stage and as soon as the light hits him, he starts screaming to turn off the light what were we trying to do blind him... So off when the light and the two spot operators got a 4 hour call.
 
This is a constant complaint in churches. The preachers want to see the crowd and really relate to them. Not all actors want that but many do.

One of the keys to reducing discomfort is to have front lighting be more to the sides. Many small theaters and churches go for a straight in front light and often at lower than 45d for simplicity and costs. Steeper vertical angles will deepen the racoon effect, but flatter horizontal angles means they aren't looking at the lights, well not when facing out.

She might have just noticed the pain. Once you notice a new issue, (it could have come from just having a headache that day) you can't un-learn about it. It sounds to me as though you made many small changes, tracking down the worst offenders will be hard, but necessary.
 
I wonder how often she has an eye exam? There are many possible issues, maybe it isn't the changes in the lights as the only contributing factor.
 
I will add my 2 cents, but I'm not a designer so it won't be from a designers point of view. From an electrician/board ops point of view, I have a hard time agreeing with those that are saying drop the intensity down. From where I sit, the designer recorded those cues for a reason. 5-10% might not seem like a big deal to an actor or producer, but if it wasn't a big deal why didn't the designer initially record those levels 5-10% lower? It's a design choice, and as a board op that isn't my place to change.

This situation is different because it seems like you are the designer. If that is the case and you are willing to compromise with the actor, my advice would be to be careful of having a situation where every other night you are going back and changing levels for different actors' wants. Where do you draw the line?
 
Another corporate gig had two standup acts for warm up so we are doing sound check and I have the follow spot operators (as pre the rider) tests the lights and follow the comedian on stage and as soon as the light hits him, he starts screaming to turn off the light what were we trying to do blind him... So off when the light and the two spot operators got a 4 hour call.

I've had a few shows like that. It's usually rock shows. By the end of the 1st or 2nd song they'll let it be known that they don't like the light and that spot op is done for the night.
 
Without knowing; Beach Blanket Babylon has been running since '74. Think Capital Steps ('81) without being restricted to politics, and much more complete productions.
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5-10% might not seem like a big deal to an actor or producer, but if it wasn't a big deal why didn't the designer initially record those levels 5-10% lower? It's a design choice, and as a board op that isn't my place to change.
I get what you're saying, but I've done a lot of designing and honestly 5% isn't that big of a deal. Yeah I chose a level I liked, but at the same time within a range, its arbitrary. A little less, a little more, all almost the same, 10% yeah then it makes more of a difference. I have to wonder if the actor didnt just happen to find the right point in the hot spot for a specific light. You can get some pretty harsh stuff in a roughly 6 inch circle with certain degrees of barrel where you catch all of a lamp full on and if you just shift an inch to one side you're out of it and its much more tolerable.
 

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