Lighting for Little Shop of Horrors

[jkluch95]

Hello All,

My high school is putting up Little Shop of Horrors this year and I was wondering if anybody had any tips/tricks as to different/unique ways to light the show. My director wants everything extravagant and different (she even is making the plant more 'sexy and seductive' as she says).

The show doesn't seem that bad to light, just a lot of dim/dull lighting in Skid Row and Mushnik's shop and then when it gets renovated, just up the lighting for the shop, but I want something more.

Thanks!

 

[JD]

You'll always find some reluctance for people in the industry to talk about how something should be lit. After all, it is considered a creative process, and each designer should try not to simply duplicate what a previous designer has done. "Little Shop" has been a popular play and has been done thousands of times on a local level. So much so that the whole costume set is available for rental! Still, I'll point out some of my favorite approaches in the broadest terms. (Just my own thoughts.)

There is a distinct split between the "normal" scenes and the scenes where the plant is in play. Obviously, there should be contrast between those, with normal scenes intentionally drab with very boring lighting and the active plant scenes, where you can kind of go crazy. One of my favorite effects comes from the movie version (1986), where the plant is convincing Seymour to kill. There is a neon sign in the window, and as he looks through window, it casts a red satanic glow on his face!

On a recent visit to a high school doing the play, I was impressed by the creative use of X-ray lighting during some of the scenes. Basically footlights. Because this lighting comes from the ground up, it casts reverse shadows on the actor's faces, which is an old trick but still very effective.

Above all, just let you mind indulge and have some fun with it!