Theatre Lighting Basics: How to Design Light and Color for a Small Production

In a performance theater, a lighting setup will basically have theater lighting connected to a light board by a system of DMX cables. The light board controls all of the lights in the theater, including the house lights. Professional theater venues are equipped with light boards by manufacturers such as Wholehog and ETC which are designed to play back programmed lighting arrangements, called "looks". These lighting controllers can also be used to dim and flash lights at prescribed intervals of time.

After a lighting designer gets a completed lighting plan to the venue's master electrician, the master electrician hangs the lights based on the CAD schematics the lighting designer has provided. The master electrician makes sure that all lights are securely hung and tethered and wired so that they are safe and cannot electrocute the lighting crew or fall on an actor. Depending on the venue's safety policies, at this time, the master electrician will also put lighting accessories such as GOBOs and gels in place.

GOBO stands for GOes Before Optical. A gobo is usually a device which shapes and stencils the light. GOBOs come in many shapes, and may be used to make false doors, windows, or other fixtures appear to be onstage. A gel is a sheet of colored film that is used to give the light color, hue, or to soften and blend the light. It is called a gel because the sheets used to be made out of gelatin, which was much less durable than the gels used today.

After the master electrician has hung the lights based on the plan given to her by the lighting designer, the light board operator and the lighting designer confer with the director to set looks for each scene. This type of rehearsal is known as a dry tech rehearsal. After the desired looks are set, the looks are tested with the actors set in their places in costume. This is called the dress rehearsal.

Dress Rehearsing

During the first part of the dress rehearsal, the lighting designer checks the timing on the programmed lighting looks, as well as their effect on the look of the performers, set, and costumes. If last minute changes need to be made to the lighting, the changes are made either by the master electrician or a lighting crew. Reasons for last minute changes to lights include equipment malfunctions, dark places onstage, or a costume color clash. The lighting designer and light board operator work with the stage manager to direct the actors during the rehearsal.

After the lighting looks are set and tested, the actors run through the play in full costume until the performance is smoothly executed with full costumes, set, lights, and sound. At this point, a lighting designer, light board operator and stage manager will make multiple copies of the stage lighting sequence to backup the plan in case of any equipment malfunctions or data losses.

Tips For Designing With Light

Choose colors that enhance skin color and costuming. Using different colors in the side lights can create more defined depth, which can give better facial definition to the actors when viewed from the audience. Lighting designers often choose side colors on a hot and cold basis, meaning they would choose a warm-toned color, such as a sunny orange, for one side, and use a cool color, such as light blue, for the other side. This effect should be subtle, so you need to pick gels which give the light a slight tone, and not dark gels which would deeply color the light.

Unless you are creating a swampy scene in which the characters are becoming ill, you should steer away from green lighting, unless it is meant as an effect light. Green darkens the features of people who are dark-skinned, gives a sickly tone to people with lighter skin, and can make costume colors, especially red, seem dark or drab.

To get a full lighting look, light from above, from the side, and from the front, one at a time. To adjust lighting for your subject, insert the gel colors you intend to use, then light the actor with lights which come from the top. After you have chosen your level of shoulder lighting, light from both sides, then use front lighting to fill in and blend the lighting.

Use light for isolation. If you are working with a small stage and your characters are supposed to be far away from each other, you can use light to make them seem far away from each other. Place the actors and set on opposite ends of the stage. You can place the actors diagonally opposite for an even more distant effect. Light each of the actors in a directed spotlight that highlights their location, and do minimal to no lighting on the rest of the stage. The darkness between the actors will create an illusion of distance.