The Effects of Advancements in Lighting on The Theatre Experience

During the first half of the play, I did not really notice the lights except during the scene transitions. The main reason I did not notice them is because their job during the early parts of the play were to establish the location. We were in a standard basement that had one window above the stairs, so most of the light in the room had to be coming from an artificial source, most likely a lightbulb.

When reading the first chapter assigned to the class, chapter 14 in Scene Design and Stage Lighting, I did a double take when the authors (R. Craig Wolf, and Dick Block) introduced gobos as a “blatant” way to create texture (314). Having been around theatre for the majority of my life, I was familiar with gobos, and how they could make patterns or pictures on stage, but never once did I think about the technique or the history behind these lighting contraptions. It turns out, Gobos have been around since the early stages of electrical stage lighting and have become a staple in lighting designs. As lighting has become more advanced, gobos are now available in different materials which offer different uses, as well as benefits, and limitations.

The technological advances of the 19th century played a big role in theatre. Since America was having an Industrial Revolution, many people from the country moved to the expanding cities in the east (“Nineteenth Century Theatre”). This migration made the growth of theatres possible. Theatre seats, balconies, and the basic structural support were made of wood (“Nineteenth Century Theatre”). During the 19th century, theatre lights were “upgraded” three times, the theatre went from candle lighting, to gas lighting,

The scenes and props complimented the attire of the performers, blending together create a magnificent display. The scenery was realistic enough to afford the viewer an escape into depths of the show. The setting was beautiful and the structures almost lifelike, excepting the absence of a front screen door. It seems that almost all plays and television shows I have viewed neglect this detail. The stage lighting played a key role in the show by setting the mood of the performance during soulful, pensive songs. In contrast, the lighting proved to be a detriment by overbearing the performance of the artists, in that one’s attention was drawn to the glare of extreme quantities of makeup rather than the actions of the characters. This was most notable during the final portions of the production.

In creating the world of the play, the collaborates did justice in bringing out the scenery that the piece is set in. However, the collaborators used the stage design, lighting and costumes also to reveal the internal thoughts of the performers. The use of light was huge, it seemed to rely much on templates that created scenes of rain, green pastures and night sky. Though attributing to the play scenery, the use of lighting also brought out the differing emotions Rosemary and Anthony felt. The presence of death and grief were also addressed properly through the use of light, such as when Anthony father went into a bright light, a symbol of the afterlife. It allowed the audience to focus on each performer pivotal lines, which created for further understanding of the

In response to our society’s growing reliance on artificial light, writer Paul Bogard argues that natural darkness should be preserved in his article, “Let there be dark”. He effectively builds this argument by using a personal anecdote, allusions to art and history as well as rhetorical questions.

Such as, when the show began there were a few moments of music with the lights blacked out. When the song was cut, the lights were switched on and the production began. This faint, yet dynamic lightwork left me impressed and wondering about the hours went into making it so precise. Further into the play, I noticed that the lights were fully lit in the centre where all the actors were. But on the sides, upstage left and center stage right, I noticed that it was more dimmed at those areas because it was not our main focus as an audience. For music, she used only two songs for the entire play. Creatively, they used a “radio” and their voices as their music. For sound effects, she used telephone rings, chimes and gunshots. Overall, even though Jacq did not focus too much on lighting and sounds, I find that she did a great job especially because she didn’t try to overdo it with just

"A Philosophy of Theater « " East of Mina. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2011.

Aristotle once said that “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” A quote like this can be correlated to people like Allen Lee Hughes, because without people like him, darkness would surely reign. In simplistic terms, Hughes is one of the worlds most renowned light designers that has ever lived. Hughes has been given numerous Tony nominations for his impressive lighting designs and now teaches the art of light at New York University, Tisch School of Arts. An eminent lighting design is essential in production because the light sets the mood of the play, and helps the audience’s attention focus on the important plot scenes. Using the I AM THEATRE video, this essay will offer a brief overview of light designer, Allen

I am reviewing the University of Colorado’s performance of Karen Zacaria’s play, Legacy of Light, directed by Jennifer Hubbard. I will be focusing on the shifts between time periods and how these convey the overall message of the play, along with analyzing the acting for their overall effect on the performance. The production was complex but I will explore these specific points more closely to understand the overall meaning.

In the words of Gay McAuley, “for an activity to be regarded as a performance, it must involve the live presence of the performers and those witnessing it…” (McAuley, 2009, cited in Schechner, 2013, pp.38). This statement recognises the importance of both the actor and the audience for something to truly function as a performance. In addition, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones highlights the significance of the theatrical space and how it can influence an audience stating that “on entering a theatre of any kind, a spectator walks into a specific space, one that is designed to produce a certain reaction or series of responses” (Llewellyn-Jones, 2002, pp.3). The relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space is no less important today than it was at the time of theatre during the Spanish Golden Age and the creation of Commedia dell’arte in Italy. Despite being very close geographically with theatre thriving for both in the same era, sources that explore the social, cultural and historical context of these countries and the theatre styles will bring to light the similarities and differences. This essay will analyse the staging, the behaviour of the audience as well as the challenges the actors faced, and how this directly influenced the relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space.

The lighting of any production is the most important part in my thought. the lighting puts you in the mood that you have to be in, in order to fully understand that part of the show and to actually live it like they do. For example, when they were in the park and it was raining, they had their umbrellas, and the background effects of rain made it really seem as if it was raining in the theatre. The lighting was always focused on every part of the stage, especially on those who were the main parts in that scene.

As the play is a memory play the lighting is usually quite dim to give

The history of theatre in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries is one of the increasing commercialization of the art, accompanied by technological innovations, the introduction of serious critical review, expansion of the subject matters portrayed to include ordinary people, and an emphasis on more natural forms of acting. Theatre, which had been dominated by the church for centuries, and then by the tastes of monarchs for more than 200 years, became accessible to merchants, industrialists, and the less privileged and then the masses.

Theatre is an art that transcends time and builds a new world for the audience atop the stage. A play is defined as “a dramatic composition” or “the stage representation of an action or story” (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary). This refers to drama being performed live by actors on a stage. Ancient Greece is accredited to inventing theatre and drama. In Greece during that time, at the height of popularity, were the stories of the well known flawed heroes and their journeys.