Lighting Design

As a Theatre Company, we are focussed on producing visual theatre. The lighting design is therefore an essential part to creating our interpretation of The Cagebirds. Margie Griffin Hillebrech explains the importance of lighting when it comes to theatre:

“Unlike a book, a play cannot rely on the audience’s imagination to put forth a story. It requires it to unfold on the stage utilizing actors, stage scenery, costumes and much more to bring it to life. Lighting is just another element, but no less important. The addition or subtraction of lighting can change the feel of the production.” (Hillebrech, M,G 2013)

I started my design my researching into the costume design that Woody had created for each character. Each character that was on stage had been designated a specific coloured vest. This was so that each character was linked somehow, yet their colours made them individual. So from this, I decided that it would be visually effective to focus on each individual characters colour when it came to the lighting design. The colours were:

 

After this had been decided that each character would have their own coloured light, I wanted to be able to express the changes in each characters mood through the lighting as well as through the body, making the performance more visual for the audience. During a number of meetings with the technical members of our Theatre Company and the Director, we came to the decision that when a character had a monologue during the performance, every other character’s light would slowly dim down as the character who still had their light on would be the one delivering the monologue.

As discussed in the Set Design for The Cagebirds, each character had their own designated spot on stage. This was where they felt safe, with each characters props being in their spot throughout the performance. This was where each coloured spot would be focussed on. This was to show that yes the birds were all in the cage together, yet they were still individuals.

During the performance, there was times where all the birds would be speaking at the same time. This was usually when the birds were becoming flustered and anxious, experiencing a change in their mood. To portray this to the audience, I wanted each characters individual light to have a pulsing effect to it, like a heartbeat, to signify that the birds were getting more alive.

Work Cited:

Hillebrech, M,G . (2013). The Importance of Stage Lighting for a Play. Available: http://www.ehow.com/about_6309512_importance-stage-lighting-play.html. Last accessed 24th May 2013