Lighting Design - Practical Technical Theater DVD Series

NOW THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED, DEMONSTRATED, ANALYZED,
AND CREATED THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS
OF DESIGNING LIGHTS FOR A SHOW, LET'S DO THIS AGAIN,
BUT IN A LITTLE LARGER THEATER. WE'RE IN MID-TOWN ST. LOUIS
AT THE GRANDEL THEATRE. LET'S GO INSIDE AND TAKE A LOOK.
THE GRANDEL IS A FORMER CHURCH THAT WAS RENOVATED
BY GRAND CENTER INTO A 2-LEVEL, 467-SEAT THEATER
IN 1992. IT'S AN ABSOLUTELY
BEAUTIFUL SPACE AND REALLY MAKES A WONDERFUL
PLACE TO PRODUCE ANY KIND OF SHOW, BUT
PARTICULARLY CLASSIC SHOWS LIKE "RICHARD III," WHICH IS
CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION BY ST. LOUIS SHAKESPEARE.
LET'S WALK THROUGH THE PROCESS I WENT THROUGH
DESIGNING LIGHTS FOR THIS PRODUCTION OF "RICHARD III."
THE FIRST THING I DID WAS MEET WITH ROBIN WEATHERALL,
THE DIRECTOR OF THE PLAY. ROBIN SPENT 17 YEARS WITH THE
ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY AND TOURED AS A DRUMMER
WITH JOE COCKER AND OTHER MUSICAL ACTS
IN THE 1970s.
WE MET SEVERAL TIMES AND TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS
HE SAW IN HIS CONCEPT OF THE SHOW.
I TOOK NOTES ABOUT HOW ROBIN SOMETIMES WANTED SCENES
TO BE DARK AND MOODY, SOMETIMES BRIGHT
AND DECEPTIVELY CHEERFUL. TELL ME, WHAT THEY DESERVE
THAT DO CONSPIRE MY... FOR ANYONE UNFAMILIAR
WITH THE PLAY, RICHARD III
IS ONE OF THE THEATER'S ALL-TIME GREAT VILLAINS.
IN HIS NO-HOLDS-BARRED MARCH TO THE THRONE,
HE KILLS HIS BROTHERS, HIS COUSINS, HIS SISTER-IN-LAW,
HIS FRIENDS, AND EVEN HIS 10- AND 8-YEAR-OLD NEPHEWS.
IN ADDITION TO BEING TRULY EVIL INSIDE,
RICHARD HAS A WITHERED ARM, A HUNCHED BACK,
AND A DEFORMED LEG. I WANTED A SINISTER FEELING
FOR MUCH OF THE SHOW, AND I ALSO TOLD BOB I WANTED
THE ENTIRE PLAY TO HAVE A COLD, WINTER-LIKE
FEEL TO IT. I GAVE BOB A SCENE BREAKDOWN,
WITH WHAT TIME OF DAY I WANTED EACH SCENE TO TAKE PLACE,
THE LOCATION OF EACH SCENE, AND ANY PRELIMINARY IDEAS I HAD
FOR WHAT KIND OF LOOK I SAW FOR EACH OF THE SCENES.
MY FIRST JOB WAS TO READ THE SCRIPT FOR ENJOYMENT,
THEN I WOULD RE-READ THE SCRIPT, MAKING NOTES ABOUT HOW I FELT
DURING THE SECOND READING, THEN MAKING MORE SPECIFIC NOTES
ABOUT IDEAS THAT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT WORK
AS I READ THE PLAY A THIRD AND FOURTH TIME.
I VISITED THE GRANDEL, LOOKED AROUND,
AND GOT A BLANK GROUND PLAN FROM THE GRANDEL
SHOWING LIGHTING POSITIONS AND OUTLETS,
ALONG WITH THE INFO ABOUT HOW MANY DIMMERS,
TYPES OF INSTRUMENTS, AND THE TYPE OF CONTROLLER THEY HAVE.
THE NEXT THING I DID WAS ATTEND REHEARSAL
FOR THE FIRST RUN-THROUGH OF THE PLAY
AND TAKE NOTES ABOUT WHERE ACTION TOOK PLACE,
HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE ON STAGE AT ANY GIVEN TIME,
AND JOT DOWN FURTHER IDEAS I HAD ABOUT LIGHTING THE SHOW.
I MADE 1/4" GROUND PLANS OF THE STAGE AND SET,
MARKED WHEN AND WHERE CHARACTERS MOVED,
AND STARTED FINALIZING HOW I WOULD LIGHT THE SHOW.
I RECHECKED THESE IDEAS AT OTHER RUN-THROUGHS,
AND I FINALLY HAD ENOUGH MATERIAL
TO START MY HANGING PLOT. SINCE I HAD A RENDERING OF THE
SET AND A COSTUME COLOR PALATE, AND NONE OF THE COLORS
WERE UNUSUAL, EVERYTHING WAS GOOD
WITH THE OTHER DESIGNERS.
BOB AND I DECIDED THAT THE STAGE NEEDED TO BE
DIVIDED UP INTO SEVERAL MAJOR AREAS.
FIRST, WE NEEDED THREE AREAS DOWNSTAGE
THAT COULD BE LIT INDIVIDUALLY.
NEXT, WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO LIGHT THE AREA OF THE STAGE
WHERE THE FLAGSTONE FLOOR WAS, AND WE NEEDED TO LIGHT IT
IN A COOL COLOR, A WHITE NO-COLOR, A BLUE BACK LIGHT,
A FLAME BACK LIGHT. THE AREAS FAR OFF TO EITHER SIDE
OF THE STAGE WOULD ONLY BE USED OCCASIONALLY
AND NEEDED TO BE CONTROLLED INDIVIDUALLY.
ALL OTHER AREAS WOULD BE LIT BY SPECIALS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE OPENING OF THE PLAY TAKES PLACE
WITH THE CORONATION OF KING EDWARD IV
AND IS LIT WITH GENERAL ILLUMINATION,
OR G.I. IN THE FLAGSTONE AREA AND THE SIDE AREAS.
AS EVERYONE EXITED, RICHARD IS LEFT ALONE ON STAGE
TO TALK TO THE AUDIENCE IN WHAT IS CALLED A SOLILOQUY.
BOB AND I WANTED THE STAGE TO BE DARK
EXCEPT FOR A SHAFT OF LIGHT WHERE RICHARD WAS SPEAKING.
WE WANTED TO PLACE THE ACTION SO THE AUDIENCE KNEW EXACTLY
WHERE TO LOOK, AND THEY GOT THE FEELING
THAT RICHARD WAS TALKING
DIRECTLY TO THEM. WHAT I DID TO ACCOMPLISH
THE G.I. WAS TO DIVIDE THE STAGE INTO
11 AREAS ON MY HANGING PLOT, WITH TWO TO THREE LIGHTING
INSTRUMENTS COVERING EACH AREA. AREAS "A," "B," AND "C"
WERE COVERED FROM THE FIRST ELECTRIC