Writing Light Cues

My forte' is lighting design. Frankly, that was also the concentration of my college degree and most of the 55 plays I did in high school, (I attended two schools at once). So I really look forward to this part of the process.

I used my Stagecraft students as stand-ins for the actors while Mrs. Tutterow and I programmed some "finesse cues" into the computer dimmer board. These are the cues in the show with lots of rich color and a variety of stark angles. These are the lighting effects that look "plum sexy", as Austin Powers would say!

Here is my vantage point from the light booth. Our old ETC Express dimmer console is in the foreground...(it still uses the old floppy discs!) You can click on the photos to enlarge them some.


Kerne and the rest of the Stagecraft class have a good chance to chat with each other as they stand in for the actors. Notice the dark red effect on the cyclorama. That is because during Act One I'm using our black scrim in front of the cyc. This gives a much more dramatic look. (In Act Two I remove the scrim so that we can get more vivid primary colors on the white cyc).


Moises is one of my die-hard crew members, but he is also in the cast. Below he is wearing his military uniform on Eva's balcony. Notice how the lighting changes the color of my blue gaffer's tape to red or yellow!


Here the class poses on the stage-left scaffolding. You can see the up-lights shining up through the platforms here. It's what I call, "an artsy-fartsy effect".