lighttechie5948
Active Member
I'm designing Sweeney Todd next March!
Any Ideas?
Any Ideas?
I'm well aware of R00's transparency.
And, I believe there was a thread on here that mentioned another use for R00.
Before we tell you ideas, what ideas do you have? I am all for telling people HOW to do something on the technical side, on the design side though, its more of a steering thing then a how to thing.
Basically, Charc's right. It's all about getting to know the script and the show better until you have a basic idea of what kinds of lighting you're gonna need. Every show, and even every production of every show, can and should differ. Start by reading the script once or twice as Charc said, then start to draw very general ideas about what you'll need to do. Such as, is this in general a happy show with lots of saturated bright colors, or a more depressed show taking advantage of shadow and darker colors? Then you just go on from there, gradually becoming more and more specific over the next couple months. Spend as much time as you can watching rehearsals, especially later ones once the actors are out of book. Listening to an actor say a line will help you figure out the meaning behind that line and the significance that it plays in the show. After a while, certain themes and ideas will start to jump out at you, and when they do, take advantage of them! if you do, then the audience will also start to feel these ideas subconsiously, which will make the show more meaningful for them as well as help to connect it together. When you walk out of a major broadway musical or something, what feeling sticks with you? Is it a lesson or an idea that the show was trying to convey? While you may not even realize it consiously, there's usually some kind of a message that the show attempted to pass along. When these ideas that are put forth by the actors are reinforced by lighting, it makes it so much stronger, because getting the ideas from the actors relies primarily on interpreting what you hear, while lighting provides those same ideas visually.
This is just the way I like to design however. It's by no means the only way, and there's probably at least one person who will say why NOT to do it this way. However, it works pretty well for me. Read the script until you are absolutely sick of seeing it, and then read it some more. Spend as much time at rehearsals as your schedule will allow. Buy a copy of the original cast recording and listen to that too, and eventually certain things in the score will start to give you ideas about how you want to approach lighting. Remember, the idea of lighting is to reinforce what the director is doing - so spend time watching how the director uses the actors on stage, and that will give you a good idea of where he's going with the show.
Short version: The first step to lighting a show is understanding a show, and the first step to understanding a show is becoming familiar with a show. Have fun!
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.