The Functions & Qualities of Stage Lighting

 Selective Visibility (Focus)  Plausibility, Realism, Script Exposition  Revelation of Form  Create Mood

 Tell the audience where to look & when  Give the audience information about the story  Show or distort the shapes of objects and people on the stage  Create a mood for the play

 Telling the audience where to look  Telling the audience who to look at  The eye naturally goes towards the light  Selecting what areas of the stage should be in the dark and/or hidden and what areas should be lit  Controlling the size of the acting space

 Lighting design needs to meet the needs of the realities in the script such as:  Time of day  Weather  Temperature  Special effects required within a script such as explosions, fireworks, etc.  Any other exposition

 Lighting can change the shapes of things  Lighting can reveal people and props in unexpected ways

 Lighting can create the mood of an individual scene or overall play  Lighting can help to build suspense, create energy or happiness, or accentuate tragedy.  We can use lighting to move the emotions of the audience by creating the mood for the play.

 By using the tools (or qualities) of stage lighting!

 Intensity  Color  Direction  Cueing (Timing/Movement)  Instrumentation

 How bright or dim the light is  Brighter light will always draw focus

 Color media:  Gels  LED instruments Color helps to create mood & realistic or non-realistic scenes

 Instruments are hung at a variety of locations and at a variety of angles  Direction and angles can create shadows  Direction and angles of light reveal the shapes of things and people in interesting ways

 Lighting designers choose when in the script a cue takes place  Lighting designers choose how long the cue lasts  Lighting designers choose how often cues take place  Timing affects the mood of a piece  Timing can help create realistic or non-realistic

 Lighting designers have a wide variety of instruments to choose from  Different instruments give a different quality of light  Fresnels – soft  Ellipsodals – sharper  Parcan – wide spread  Scrolling/moving lights – soft or sharp, depending…