1. A FATE GUIDE TO
STAGE LIGHTING
DESIGN
WHERE TO START
Richard J. Gamble, USAA 829
gamble@fau.edu
Florida Association for Theatre Education - 2008
Reproduction of all or any part
of this book for educational
non-profit use is granted without
further written permission.

2. FATE 2008 - Lighting Design for the Theatre
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LIGHTING DESIGN IN THE THEATRE
In order determine how the lighting designer fits into the overall process of theatre
production, it is first necessary to examine the essentials of the theatre art form. Once
beginning this investigation it soon becomes apparent that a considerable amount of activity
normally associated with theatrical production isn't exactly essential to its existence and one
discovers that one can do theatre without scenery, costumes, directors, and many of the other
details commonly associated with the artform. If we stripped away one by one the things we
could do theatre without, we would find only two elements which are truly essential to
theatre: the actor and the audience. It thus seems reasonable to believe that what happens
between these two elements, the communication which happens between them, or, as Jerzy
Growtowski would say, the communion which comes to exist between them in performance,
is what the theatrical event is all about.
The designer's responsibility, as a contributing artist to a theatre production, is to visually
reinforce that communion which comes to exist between the actor and audience. In other
words, the theatrical designer needs only to create that which is necessary to support the
action of the production. It is wise to avoid adding extraneous elements which do not
directly support the dramatic action and above all to remember that more is not better. While
a good design cannot make an unsatisfactory production better, a bad design can certainly
have a negative effect on a good production.
Being one of many contributing artists in the theatre, the lighting designer does not work
alone. Although he or she may function as a visual artist, the theatre designer is primarily
a theatre artist and needs to first possess a deep understanding of the theatrical art. Theatre
is more than a kit made up of an assemblage of various other art forms. Instead it is an
independent art form which exists as a living entity in performance. Knowing what theatre
is, what the people of the theatre do and how they do it, gives one a much better chance of
completing a successful theatre production than the designer who sets out to merely produce
pretty pictures for one's portfolio. Simply put, a designer who does not design for the theatre
is not a theatre designer.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
Every designer uses different procedures when pursuing their work and will likely use
different procedures depending upon the type of production they are working on. However,
all designers of dramatic productions work in mutual response to the artistic efforts of the
playwright and thus need the ability to examine and analyze a script not as a work of
literature, but as a blueprint upon which a theatrical production can be built. Similarly a
designer of a non-scripted work, such as a dance production, works in response to the music
and movement of the performers and works to support their performance.
First, one reads the script for overall concepts and impressions. Try to mentally visualize the
play as it might be produced and then record your impressions and feelings about the play,
the individual characters, the setting, etc. While visualizing isn't always easy or complete,
sketches and doodles can often demonstrate visual impressions which can be expanded and
built on later. The script is also read as an assessment of the technical requirements such as
scene changes, time changes, costume changes, and various things such as specific properties
or costumes which might be required by the action of the play.

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The true miracle of theatrical creativity lies in the collaborative relationship a designer helps
create and enters into with the director and other designers since it is out of this action that
the artform flourishes. Conferences, appropriately informal, are held with the director and
other designers on the production in order to coordinate and exchange concepts and ideas
which will result in determining the visual approach the lighting will take. In order to better
express his or her visual ideas, the designer generally uses rough sketches, thumbnail
sketches, or whatever else might be necessary to put conceptual ideas into a more tangible
form. It is wise to go into these conferences with an open mind and with a minimum of
preset ideas so as not to unduly inhibit your collaborative creativity with your fellow artists.
At some point before construction on the production begins, final drawings are done.
Lighting designers complete a light plot including floorplans and schedules and sometimes
sketches and renderings.
Depending upon the production organization, the designer generally plays an active role in
the supervision of building and assembling the designed product. Within the week before
opening, technical and dress rehearsals are held. These rehearsals give the actor the
opportunity to work with the finished scenery, lighting and costumes, and just as important
they give the designers a chance to see their work in a finished form and allow opportunity
for fine tuning the visual aspects of the production. In addition, technical rehearsals also
allow the technicians adequate practice in handling the technical units and in running the
production.
WHAT YOU WANT
A commonly followed process of design can be summed up in the formula: What you want
X What you have = What you get. While this formula seems rather simplistic it is really
quite universal in that it applies to all sorts of things in life from shopping for a used car to
finding a suitable marriage partner. We will, however, only examine its application to
theatrical design.
Although it may seem more rational for a designer to begin by first considering the resources
which are already available, it is far wiser to first consider "what you want" as an outcome
of your lighting design. Of course, even the same person will "want" different things from
one production to the next, but essentially those wants can be classified into a few major
categories.
When creating a design, a designer thinks primarily of creating not merely a backdrop for the
action of the play, but an environment within which the action of the play occurs, and one
which also supports that action. The audience as well as the performer share in this created
atmosphere.
Remember that every visual choice that a designer might conceive will make a visual
statement. The path to effective design is to ensure that the statement you are making is the
same as the one you intended. Because the lighting designer is a visual artist, you will be
dealing with the same principles of design such as line, form, color, mass, and rules of
composition as do all other visual artists. Often a designer can create bold visual statements
on the action of a play but equally important are the subtle visual statements made through
simple choices of texture, color, line, etc., which can and do effect the way the audience
perceives a character, the action, and the environment of the production.

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Coordination of the production's visual statements is particularly important so that if conflicts
are to occur between various elements of the production, they are done intentionally and in
support of the overall dramatic action. Ensuring coordination or unity of design entails
closely working with the director of the production from the very beginning in order to
establish the conceptual direction of the production's design. Once establishing a visual
concept for the design, the designer need only to make decisions based upon the relationship
each element needs to have with the directed overall concept of the production. A
production which exhibits a visual unity of design, unity within the design, with the other
designers, and with the action and environment of the production as a whole, projects a clear,
meaningful and supportive image which lends maximum support to the communion between
the actor and the audience.
WHAT YOU HAVE
Once "what you want" in the design is established, the next task of the designer is to assess
the physical realities of theatre production by investigating "what you have". Only by taking
into account that which is possible to accomplish can the theatre designer be ultimately
successful. Designers who have mental access to the wealth of techniques utilized in the
technical production of scenery, lighting, costumes, and properties are much better equipped
to work themselves out of design problems, to create new design solutions and in general to
make themselves more marketable. A brilliant but unfinished or unworkable design just does
not make good theatre.
One aspect of working in the theatre which is different from the other visual arts is the
opportunity to work creatively with other artists, collaborating and cooperating with one
another in order to produce a finished single artistic product. The designer who masters the
art of working with other artists has become accomplished at the most difficult and most
rewarding portion of the theatre business. The skill one needs to succeed in this venture is
simply the ability to trust and to inspire trust in one's fellow artists. Artistic trust is given to
the extent that once the production is completed, the quality of one's work will not be
compromised. When artists are unable to trust one another, they will also be unable to share
creatively, to inspire one another, and to truly work together.
The second thing a designer needs to consider is the physical realities of the space he or she
is designing for. Every theatre has certain advantages and certain disadvantages which
should be taken into account when designing. Proscenium theatre, characterized as a picture
frame stage where the action of the play is observed through a transparent "fourth wall", is
the most traditional form in contemporary theatre. While the proscenium stage provides the
greatest separation between the actor and audience physically and psychologically, all
audience members receive nearly the same visual picture. Thrust staging has audience on
three sides and in arena the audience surrounds the acting area. In both these forms scenic
elements are limited to small pieces, furnishings, and the floor while audience and actors
work much more closely together than in proscenium. However, audience members on
opposite sides of a thrust or arena performance space will inevitably experience the
performers and the environment of that space differently.
A design which exploits the advantages of a particular performance space usually results in
a more satisfactory product, both artistically and financially. Even if a designer sets out to
make significant alterations to the theatre in order to realize the originally conceived design,
as happens in a flexible or "black box" theatre, consideration needs to be given to how the

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space is to be treated in order to accommodate the production. The lighting designer will
most often discover that a great number of artistic decisions have already been made by the
relationship of the acting areas to the placement of the theatre's lighting positions, the number
of lighting instruments available, the type and condition of the lighting control system and
layout of the building's stage circuitry and the capacity of available electrical service.
Resources are the third item to be considered in the assessment of things you might have as
a designer. Of course, the first resource which comes to mind is financial in that what you
lack in equipment can always be rented. Another resource not to be overlooked in design is
that of available skills, particularly the skills of those who are doing the execution of the
completed design, as well as your own skills and ability to find solutions to design problems.
WHAT YOU GET
The final result to this equation is "what you get". Being able to honestly evaluate your own
work in terms of what goals you have set for yourself as an artist, what you know you are
capable of, and what you perceive theatrical design at its best can be, is also the way to allow
and to encourage your own growth as a theatre artist.

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A GUIDE TO STAGE LIGHTING
This is a guide to the process which a designer might follow in designing stage lighting for
a theatre production.
1. The first thing a designer does is to read and analyze the script. This can be for a number
of times and a for a number of reasons. First, the script is read for overall concepts
and impressions and visualized as it might be produced. The script is also read as an
assessment of what you want and what you have. Analysis is made of various
technical requirements such as time of day, scene changes, time changes, etc. and
various things which might be required by the action of the play such as curtains,
doors, practicals, and other things.
2. Obtain a floorplan of the set which includes its exact location relative to the structure of
the theatre building and with center and proscenium lines clearly indicated. Also
obtain a floorplan and section of the theatre showing the location of all permanent
lighting positions and an indication of things such as free line sets where additional
lights might be hung. Check with the designer and technical director on the
anticipated location of masking borders, flown units, and other scenic elements so
that you can eliminate those line sets as potential light hanging positions. The plan
should also show location and numbering of all available circuits. On a section of
the set, check ceiling slot/beam positions, balcony rail and side slot/box boom
positions relative to the set. On this drawing you can also plot location and trim of
lighting positions relative to the onstage masking.
3. Confer with the director and other designers on the production in order to coordinate and
exchange concepts and ideas and to determine what direction the visual approach will
take. Discuss the general concepts of the show with the director and note any special
effects or special moments he or she might have in mind. Consult with the scenic
designer on any aspects of the setting which are either not clear on the floorplan or
which you feel might pose problems to lighting such as ceilings, maskings or
backings. Also confer with the scenic and costume designers on matters of color,
textures, etc. Note any aspects of design which might influence your lighting. Talk
to the makeup designer about the relationship between the makeup and lights.
4. Try to see some early blocking rehearsals of the show or at least obtain from the stage
manager or director a pretty solid indication of how the blocking is arranged. A
series of small scale floorplans will be of help here in order to note blocking by unit
or by scene.
5. On a floorplan of the set, roughly indicate the lighting areas you feel you will require.
Decide on these areas with the following points in mind:
a) areas dictated by furniture grouping, entrances, major scenic elements, etc.
b) areas dictated by platform configuration.
c) areas needed to ensure compositional control over the performance space.
Keep in mind that you are lighting mainly the actor's upper body and face, not his or
her feet or knees. However, check to see whether scenes will be played on the floor
or in odd places that would not normally receive much light.

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6. Make a list of any special lights or lighting effects you will need to keep in mind when
plotting your instrument layout such as the sun, moon, fireplaces, table lamps,
window patterns, etc.
Motivating sources are things such as lamps, fireplaces, or windows from
which the lighting in a scene is supposed to be coming. If a light source
really operates, if it is practical, it should be kept relatively dim or it may
become distracting.
Motivated lights are instruments which provide the actual light that appears
to be furnished by motivating sources. Try to position such lighting
instruments so as not to throw the shadow of the apparent source, keeping in
mind the directions in which the motivating sources would radiate light, and
position the motivated lights accordingly.
7. Begin drawing your lighting floorplan by transferring to it the outline of set. Indicate in
some way the location of lighting areas you have decided on. Often Roman numerals
are used in order to avoid confusion with circuit numbers, instrument numbers and
other graphic symbols.
8. Decide on the general lighting pattern you want to use. For example, for a certain area
you might use two front lights plus a back light; or one front light, a diagonal plus
two side lights. Give some thought to motivated lights such as light from a window
which may require more lighting from one side than another in a specific area, and
how one area might relate to an adjacent area. The general lighting pattern you adopt
will be determined by several factors:
a) the specific requirements of the show and the design concepts with which
you are working,
b) the physical layout of the theatre with regard to hanging positions,
c) location of the set relative to the center line and proscenium line.
9. If you are working with a box set, keep in mind the problem of too much light piling up
on the walls, and the problems of hard lines of light appearing from ellipsoidals.
a) For areas immediately against walls, keeping the vertical angles fairly
steep will reflect less light directly back into the audience.
b) As much as possible, arrange lights to throw parallel to the walls rather
than directing them head-on into the walls.
c) Use fresnels from on stage positions to light against walls since they will
tend to blend and not produce sharp cutoffs of light.
10. If you are working with a multi-level setting, keep in mind the following:
a) A given level or platform frequently may function as an isolated playing
space, therefore plot areas with close attention to levels.
b) In trying to anticipate the hanging positions of the instruments for a given
platform, consider where the light will go after it has lit the actor on
the platform. Try to hang instruments so that the spill will not prove
distracting.

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11. Work out the gelling pattern you feel will best realize your design concept. A rough
sketch using arrows to show the direction of a wash of warm or cool light will often
help you work out the general color scheme you want to use. When deciding on gel
colors, keep in mind that the more saturated the gel color, the less intense will be the
light. In choosing colors for specials or back light, keep in mind the amount of light
you want from these sources as well as the color. An overall shift of color from
perhaps a warm to a cool tone can best be achieved by using a series of lights
specifically designed to give a wash of color. These could be border lights, a group
of flood lights, or a series of fresnels or ellipsoidals. When choosing these wash
colors, keep in mind the effect of additive mixing of color. Enter gel numbers on the
instrument schedule when you have worked out your gelling pattern.
12. Begin plotting the location of the instruments for each area. Work lightly in pencil until
you are sure that the locations will work. Start with the front lighting. Draw the
symbols for the lighting instruments you want to use. You might want to note the
focus at the front of the instrument. As you work, make sure that each instrument
can be plugged into a nearby circuit. You might make a working list of circuits down
one side of the plot and jot down the probable instrument that will go into each
circuit. You may choose to gang two or more instruments into a single circuit using
a twofer or threefer but as you do so make sure you are not overloading circuits or
cables. After you have worked through the front lighting, plot the location of specials
you have listed as required for the show. If you are using the cyc, show location of
cyc overhead and floor lighting units. As you proceed, decide on the lighting
positions you will require in addition to those already offered in the theatre. These
positions include additional onstage electrical pipes, ladders, booms, trees, etc. Mark
these on your floorplan in the appropriate locations.
13. After you have drawn the symbols for all the lighting instruments you intend to use,
number them with reference numbers. Use some consistent numbering pattern
throughout the entire plot, such as top to bottom or stage left to stage right. Place the
reference number either inside the instrument symbol or just beside it.
14. On the light plot be sure to include an information block in one corner. In this block
show:
a) play title
b) theatre or producer name
c) label as "light plot"
d) scale of plan such as - 0' 1/2" = 1' 0"
e) date of plot
f) your name as lighting designer
Also include any special coded information such as the symbol for a pattern holder
or iris type instrument. You might include a key to the various lighting symbols and
instrument reference numbers used on the plot. If you are using gobos in the show,
make a small scaled down drawing for each gobo pattern and assign it a reference
letter or number. These references can appear on your instrument schedule under
"remarks".

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15. Assign all lights to circuits and controllers. Check your circuit and dimmer capacity so
that you are sure not to create overloads. Assign controllers on the basis of control
flexibility, potential grouping of lights, and ease of operation. It is usually best to
have each area under separate control and each special under separate control, but
color washes can usually be ganged together.