Light Cue 23

I have this theory about live performance and lighting design. Basically it comes down to the fact that any sufficiently strong performance can hold its own under worklight and in rehearsal clothes. This is not to say that design is unimportant, I think it is central to the theatrical experience, but the performance must be able to divorce itself from the rest of the play and remain strong and powerful.

Often elements of design are used to mask poor performances. I have heard more than my share of “Can we do something with the lighting, he’s really not holding the stage there.” Usually this occurs a few days before opening and so the reasonable response of “fire the actor” does not work. Thus something is done with the lighting to mask, or creatively augment, a poor performance. This does not point to the power of the lighting designer, rather it points to a poorly managed rehearsal process or a miscast actor.

From seeing this situation many times as well as having seen some truly amazing performances under bright fluorescent lighting I am strongly of the opinion that any true performance can and should hold its own under those kind of unforgiving lighting conditions. Even beautifully and darkly lit, a bad performance is still a bad performance.

I went back to The Last Word last night to check on it as I have not seen it since the final dress rehearsal. Plus, my friend Zay was coming to see the play. We went out for drinks after the show and got to talking about the lighting. He mentioned that he liked the subtle changes in the lighting and I responded that there was only one lighting cue.

In the world of the play, the room is lit with an overhead fluorescent light. The stage lights had to mimic this feel as faithfully and truthfully as possible such that the stage appears lit by fluorescent lighting yet is dramatically compelling enough to work as a play. The result was one carefully crafted lighting cue with enough texture and layering to allow for the shifting moods and currents of the play.

There is an interesting balance in the lighting of this piece. The overall level of brightness and shadowlessness is such that the performances have nowhere to hide. A poor performance will be seen right through. The lighting in this regard is unforgiving. On the other hand, it is a carefully crafted cue designed to hold and transform with the shifting dramatic currents. In this way it can, and I feel does, enhance a solid and true performance.

Lighting like this is interesting in its own way. It shares qualities of the performance under worklight conditions and the many beneficial aspects of dramatic lighting design. On one level all the lights could be characterized as “white light” and yet every lighting angle had a unique and distinct color that blend to create the overall effect. It is an exercise in subtlety and must be carefully crafted in order to maintain the illusion of realism. It takes quite a few spotlights of various colors and angles all mixing to recreate the feel of a room lit with fluorescent lighting.

Naturalism is not easy. But it must look easy. It only works when it is effortless. When the complexity behind the scenes makes for a visible product that one does not give a second thought to. Ones work must hide in plain sight. It must be invisible, out there in the open.