Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2009 - 36

support as it does to obstruct the work of the actor. Add in haze
and you have an effective recipe for distraction and distortion of
the performed moment. Automated fixtures solve many budget,
effect, stylistic, and spectacle problems but they cannot replace
a well designed and artistically utilized fixed system of lighting.
They can add splash and sizzle but we too often rely on them
for substance and meaning. That's just not what they do in the
limited numbers available on most instructional projects.

Things to do
So what are the specific steps we can take to set our work back
on the path of quality design? Here are some suggestions:
Teachers: Teach kids better. If you run a space that works
with young designers, educate yourself on the vocabulary.
Most technical production textbooks have adopted some
variation of the "functions and qualities" approach to
vocabulary. Learn that and use it. Encourage your kids to
try out different solutions-put up the lights, look at the
options, and encourage experimentation. Finally, speak to
kids in a language they understand-computers. Invest in
one of the inexpensive light rendering/virtual lab software
packages and let them play around with the angles, colors,
textures, and intensities. Let them practice the process
before they do the process and don't be afraid to learn
along with them.
Theatre Managers/Theatre Directors: Be an effective
end-user if you are involved in the planning for a new or
renovated facility. You don't have to be a trained production
person to google theatres in your area and go visit them.
Avoid the temptation to stand in the audience and admire
the carpets, trim, and lambrican. Stand on the stage and
look up. First see for yourself the options available and
then ask the people running the productions in the space
what they like and what they wish were different. Then go
visit the spaces your architect has designed before and do
the same thing. Then go visit some more. Then revisit the
ones you have already seen and ask better questions. If
your architect has not done a theatre before, replace or
supplement them. Sincere local person does not always
equal adequate professional. Be firm on that-you can
bet the local hospital wasn't built by the friend of a board
member. Theatres can be as expensive per square foot
and have more specific end user needs than most hospital
areas. Get competent help, meet with a variety of vendors,
try to get a theatre consultant, and be active.
Architects: Control the process. Step up to the challenge of
developing programs for use. Build it into your fees
and take control. Once you have a program, you need
to develop within it the acoustical and lighting elements
needed to support the various performing arts likely to
be produced by your client. Just as the acoustical needs
change-say from chorus to public speaking-so do the
lighting needs. Next, work out the basic schematic design,

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just like you do for acoustics, that demonstrates the lighting
options. If your end user has been ineffective, do the work
yourself to understand the myriad issues (just like you
did with ADA guidelines and color theory). Then you can
do the initial cost estimates. Design the aesthetic usage
of the lighting like you do the acoustics, the adjacencies,
and the lobby. Designing lighting positions and specifying
equipment is not like buying office furniture or laying out
a kitchen. You can't just cut items to meet a target and buy
them later-conceptually, treat the design of the lighting
solutions in the same manner you do the acoustics.
Manufacturer's Reps: Fairly evaluate your skill set and
present your abilities truthfully to your engineering and
architectural clients. Admit that you may have a superior
product, but chances are there are better lighting
designers out there. If you are forced to hand-hold the
electrical engineers for layout, do your homework. Pull
in the local college designer, avoid the local volunteer
lighting guy, and go tour as many venues as you can. If your
boss doesn't support paying you to learn, you are looking
at a fundamental contributor to the problem of poor
design. Actually read the program and respond in writing
how your layout conforms to its needs. Ultimately, the
lighting manufacturing industry has suffered, continuing
to devalue the art of lighting can only continue the trend of
value-engineered lighting projects. As you, the architects,
and the end users advocate for a return to quality angle
choices to complement the plethora of color, movement,
texture, and intensity choices, the art of lighting will grow
and the demand for your products will increase. Your
specification has led directly to lighting being just another
part of the easily raided FFE budget. Change that.
A fair argument with the idea of following the acoustic
model of design development for lighting positions is that audiences don't react to lighting as they do acoustics. Audience
members will complain bitterly or even walk out if the room
is damaging the sound experience of an event. Lighting, on
the other hand, is usually included in the perception of "the
show." Over the thirty years I've been doing shows, my family
has seen more than a few of mine. They still struggle to comment on what I do separate from the scenery, costuming and
staging. They either like the show or they don't-I don't think
I have ever heard anyone say "I really liked the lighting but the
scenery looked awful." The audience perceives problems with
acoustics to be a room problem while they see problems with
lighting to be a show problem. For acoustics this is true, but
with lighting it is more complicated.
The architecture of a room influences the costuming
design for a show at most in small ways. The geometry of the
room influences the ground plan but the range of choices available to a scenic designer outside the context of the architecture
is significant. But lighting is different. Every aspect of the lighting solution for a production is influenced by the architecture
of the space. The limitations on the designers working in that
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2009
