Artist Statement
Language is one of the first skills a person learns in life. With speaking comes reading, which most children learn once they are in kindergarten. However, when a full script is handed to a five year old the summer before entering school, language becomes a barrier. How do you go about breaking down this barrier before rehearsals begin? One method is to give the child a crash course in reading, or you could include a CD with the music and lyrics that they need to know and have them learn auditorily. The latter is how I became involved in my first theatre production.
Language is an oral tradition that evolves with each generation. A long-held tradition in my grade school happens towards the end of the school year: the eighth grade play. While in sixth grade, I was dragged everywhere my mom went, which included to school to help paint the scenery for my brother’s eighth grade play. Through this, I was brought on to run projections for his production of Singin’ in the Rain. Projections for that production was simply turning on and off a projector at times to add a recorded scene into the show. When I looked back on the production, I realized that projections was not for me, however, I knew I wanted to continue in technical theatre because it opened a new aspect in theatre where I didn’t have to be on the stage. High school brought lighting into my life. Lighting design has the ability to transport an audience member to another world rather than just adding to a storyline like projections does. Lighting, or even the intentional lack of lighting, is constant throughout an entire production, similar to how language is constant in life. Lighting speaks to me.
The theatre has its own language which can be very confusing because left is right, right is left, down is forward, and up is back. Lighting design has its own language within the language of theatre. A blackout, for example, has an ominous glow to it that is similar to taking the first turn out of a driveway. A dark stage is a blank canvas to create magic to transport an audience to a new world that a playwright has outlined. The words from the script can offer some initial ideas for a design, but the director’s vision and the collaboration with the director is a moment of genesis.
Color can enhance a setting tremendously. A series of LED fixtures can be used to create an entire design. With the addition of conventional fixtures, a scene can appear completely different. If a scene, such as “The Variations of Trotsky” in All in the Timing, has multiple rapid blackouts, a conventional fixture can have a longer fade time than an LED, which may not produce the desired effect. The LEDs, however, can create a gap in visibility, thus: a question of priority. This call can be proposed to the lighting designer, the director, or even an audience member, but the answer should be based on one thing: collaboration. The designer and the director work hand in hand to produce a beautiful show that an audience member can find comedy in. An occasional lapse in visibility is acceptable when a quick snap is vital to the comedic timing of the show was the conclusion the director and I came to after a lengthy conversation about a scene for All in the Timing. Making a bold judgement call is simply part of the creative process.
Asymmetry is uncommon in many aspects of everyday life, but in terms of lighting, it can be very beneficial to hold the focus of an audience. Having half of a stage completely bright, and the other pitch black, pulls emphasis and focus to the lit side of the stage. Pulling focus to one side of a stage reflects how theatre itself pulls focus away from the real world just for a moment and provides a safe escape for an audience to enjoy. Creating this world is my escape.
Any performing art runs like a well-oiled machine after many practices. Technical theatre has an entire week of rehearsals dedicated to it: tech week. Tech week is one of the most stressful times before a show opens, but it is also the time for a lighting designer to shine. The week starts with all the lights hung, patched, focused, and ready to cue. Each cue adds meaning and depth to the show. Every look in a show has the potential to be as interesting as a Picasso painting or as simple as a doodle in a notebook, it just depends on the vision and techniques utilized.
By leveraging the language of lighting, starting with a black canvas, and applying lighting design techniques, I’m able to transport an audience and enrich their experience. While my theater experience started on the stage, I found my passion high above: in the lights.
Language is an oral tradition that evolves with each generation. A long-held tradition in my grade school happens towards the end of the school year: the eighth grade play. While in sixth grade, I was dragged everywhere my mom went, which included to school to help paint the scenery for my brother’s eighth grade play. Through this, I was brought on to run projections for his production of Singin’ in the Rain. Projections for that production was simply turning on and off a projector at times to add a recorded scene into the show. When I looked back on the production, I realized that projections was not for me, however, I knew I wanted to continue in technical theatre because it opened a new aspect in theatre where I didn’t have to be on the stage. High school brought lighting into my life. Lighting design has the ability to transport an audience member to another world rather than just adding to a storyline like projections does. Lighting, or even the intentional lack of lighting, is constant throughout an entire production, similar to how language is constant in life. Lighting speaks to me.
The theatre has its own language which can be very confusing because left is right, right is left, down is forward, and up is back. Lighting design has its own language within the language of theatre. A blackout, for example, has an ominous glow to it that is similar to taking the first turn out of a driveway. A dark stage is a blank canvas to create magic to transport an audience to a new world that a playwright has outlined. The words from the script can offer some initial ideas for a design, but the director’s vision and the collaboration with the director is a moment of genesis.
Color can enhance a setting tremendously. A series of LED fixtures can be used to create an entire design. With the addition of conventional fixtures, a scene can appear completely different. If a scene, such as “The Variations of Trotsky” in All in the Timing, has multiple rapid blackouts, a conventional fixture can have a longer fade time than an LED, which may not produce the desired effect. The LEDs, however, can create a gap in visibility, thus: a question of priority. This call can be proposed to the lighting designer, the director, or even an audience member, but the answer should be based on one thing: collaboration. The designer and the director work hand in hand to produce a beautiful show that an audience member can find comedy in. An occasional lapse in visibility is acceptable when a quick snap is vital to the comedic timing of the show was the conclusion the director and I came to after a lengthy conversation about a scene for All in the Timing. Making a bold judgement call is simply part of the creative process.
Asymmetry is uncommon in many aspects of everyday life, but in terms of lighting, it can be very beneficial to hold the focus of an audience. Having half of a stage completely bright, and the other pitch black, pulls emphasis and focus to the lit side of the stage. Pulling focus to one side of a stage reflects how theatre itself pulls focus away from the real world just for a moment and provides a safe escape for an audience to enjoy. Creating this world is my escape.
Any performing art runs like a well-oiled machine after many practices. Technical theatre has an entire week of rehearsals dedicated to it: tech week. Tech week is one of the most stressful times before a show opens, but it is also the time for a lighting designer to shine. The week starts with all the lights hung, patched, focused, and ready to cue. Each cue adds meaning and depth to the show. Every look in a show has the potential to be as interesting as a Picasso painting or as simple as a doodle in a notebook, it just depends on the vision and techniques utilized.
By leveraging the language of lighting, starting with a black canvas, and applying lighting design techniques, I’m able to transport an audience and enrich their experience. While my theater experience started on the stage, I found my passion high above: in the lights.
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