Stagecraft RETAKE CHAPTERS (1, 2, 5, 7, 8)

LOCK IN LOCK IN LOCK IN

Two ways to light the stage

1) All lights

2) Selective Area

Selective Area lighting

Allows us to create interesting aspects to attract people's attention most 

(more lights in a certain area = more attention)  And in other regions, lights around the rest of the stage are dimmed to highlight a certain area 

Pool

circle or oval of light by shining light onto the stage

Shape of lights

Lights are usually cone shaped

Hotspot

a measure of brightness but is 100% the brightest the light can be. . . typically the center of the pool but not always

Beam Angle

light meter readings, farther from light you get dimmer, near 50% of  brightness of the hotspot lighting

Field Angle

near 10% of the brightness of the hotspot

Overlapping pools

Designers usually map out the pools to overlap the lights so when it lights on the performer, it gives the performer dimension and less shadows

Color theory

Warm (amber) and Cool (blue) lights create a sunny light on the performer and so the performer doesn’t look flat 

Apron

-The apron is the area behind the proscenium arch

 We typically cover the apron in 7 or 5 areas (needs 15 lights) 

Star or Diamond Format

one light directly in the face of the performer and the two side lights and sometimes a light behind the performer

Dance lighting

we use lights on the side to emphasize the shape, gesture, movement and costume of the dancers. . . it seems more appealing 

theatre lighting

 lights are placed on the face so the performer so audience can focus on their talking 

Common system

Your theatre might have a combination of tungsten stage lights and LED fixtures

Fronts/Front lighting

lights that light the performers from the front

Tops/Top lighting

light directly above or behind performers

Backs/Back lighting

light that is above but slightly more behind the top lightings on the performers

Side lighting

usually used for dancings. . . using booms and wings (bottom lines are brightest)

Shins/Shin buster

lights on the bottom of the boom are brightest. . . often hurting dancer’s shins

heads/head highs

lights on a boom that are the same height as one’s head. If we hang lights above the dancer, it illuminates the end dancer and their shadows block other dancers heads. . . usually the lights are hung slightly above the heads 

Mids

Lights between the shins and head lights

High Side

Something that hangs as high as the boom or batten

Pipe end

lights that are hung on the end of the batten

Light plot

a ground plan of the lighting units to see where the lights hang, often in a plan view and lets us know the relationship between the lights and the scenery

List of Mandatory Parts of the Light plot

• Location 

• Instrument type (what hangs) 

• Instrument number/unit number - a reference number to help us identify the things that we can’t see

Two types of horizontal positions

Electric and Beam

Electric

horizontal hanging positions and lights are parallel to the plaster line

Beam

similar to an electric but is on the audience’s side

(before the electric, larger theatres had fake wooden beams that were hollow and serve as detailing. . . so there wasn’t just a white ceiling. . .served as aesthetic and could have light go threw the beam) 

Two types of vertical positions

Booms and box boom

Booms

vertical poles that lie in the beams, but could really be anywhere. Lights could be attached and positions (kind of permanent)

Box Boom

Booms placed into the boom seats

Foot lights

lights right at the edge of the apron

Cove

a type of uplighting that directs light to the ceiling plane from a cove on one or more sides of a room to provide overall diffuse illumination

Legend

allows us to know what type of unit it is

ETC

electronic theatre control (company), was a small lighting company and created a source 4 which reinvented the ERS (great marketing), 36 degrees represents the cross section of that cone and then the measure from one side to the other 

Scroller

a device that allows us to remotely change a lights color without physically doing it

Optional information on a light plot:

-Focus area 

-Color

-Gobo/template/pattern - piece of sheet metal that has parts missing from it as a pattern 

-Iris - changes the diameter without changing the lens 

-Wattage 

-Circuit/Dimmer/Address

-Channel number 

Accessories

• Top hat 

• Half hat  (helps to deal when the audience can see the unit, the light is adjusted to blind them) 

• Barn doors - alternate way of adjusting the light of when it is or isnt seen 

• Side arm - a way to have a short horizontal arm connected to the boom 

Location of the lights/plot:

• We could use the scale rule or there might be a ruler drawn that allows the hanging 

• We have to place the lights 18” from the center line to allow us to give space for the lights

Circuit

 a path of a flow of electricity. . . connected to dimmer

Dimmer

usually a dimmer is connected to a circuit

Address

commands by the light board are seen on these lights

(Circuit, Dimmer, and Address are the same)

Channels

are never the same number so we are allowed to change the numbers based on conveniency (vary from designer to designer) - are the numbers at the lightboard that we reassign to 

Instrument Schedule

 a complete listing of units in production sorted by location and unit number 

Hookup Sheet

a guide to which units are connected to the channel number (efficiency)

Color Count

a visual indicator to the performers that a specific action is supposed to happen at a precise time

Patch Sheet

makes the connection between the channel, wattage, and circuit #, and how we reassign it 

Magic sheet/Cheat sheet

pictorial way of describing the lights and control of the lights for efficiency purpose     

Light Hanging Instruments

Crescent Wrench, Chalk and Tape Measure

1. C - Clamp is hung onto the batten at the chalk line. . . tighten by hand first and then the crescent wrench 

2. Free the power cord and pull the shutter out 

3. Erase the chalk mark 

4. Take a look at the light plot and figure out where the light is positioned (usually pointed straight down) 

5. When the color media stays in, then it is oriented in the right direction

Parts of the Light

1. C clamp for attaching 

2. Bolt for adjustment pan 

3. Connector (the wire thing) 

4. Color frame holder 

5. Yoke 

6. Housing 

7. Side hangle for tilt adjustment

8. Safety cable is needed when hanging on the batten

Permanent Electrics

 electrical raceways, places to plug lights in that are permanently mounted on certain battens, or those battens become permanent electrics (can plug into the electricals every 18 inches) 

Drop boxes

small little electrical boxes that allow us to plug in a few lights anywhere we can put one of the drop boxes (alot of cable work needs to be done) usually 12 inches apart 

Safety Cables

Used to make sure that if a C-Clamp fails, and to make sure the lighting unit doesn’t land on anyone

Source

where the electricity comes from (ex: Battery)

Load

the thing that draws electricity from the source (ex: light bulb)

Circuit

the path of the flow of electrical current

Volt

a quantity of electricity, the difference between the two points of a circuit (E or V)

Amp

the rate or how fast the current goes through a circuit (A or I ) 

Watt

amount of power used by the device ( P or W)

Ohm

the resistance to the flow of electric current

W = VA

• W = Watts - amount of power

• V = Volts 

• A = Amps

A = V/R

• W = Watts (power)

• V = Volts (amount)

• A = Amps (speed)

• R = Resistance in Ohms 

Three types of connectors

1. Pin connector  (2P & G) 

2. Twist- Lock connector (it’s what we use in gordon) 

3. Edison Connector

Two fer or three fer

allows use to plug in two or more cables into a outlet (be careful because it it possible to overload a circuit)

History of lighting

• 1800s: outdoor theatres

• Indoor theatres - had candles and wits 

• Most common location for candles and wits - edge of the apron 

• Incorporation of electricity - efficiency in lighting and later lenses are added 

Sphererical Reflector

Common reflectors

Ellipsoidal reflector

 has the 3 dimensional shape of the oval. . . light sources are illuminated at the focal points

Plano

one side of the lens is flat and the other is rounded. When light is pointed, the light is pointed out parallel. . . .to bend the light, you need more curve

Fresnel lens

relatively flat but inner rings helps diffuse the light

Ellipsoidal reflector Spotlight  (ERS)

has an ellipsoidal reflector, different lens trains, and is a very bright light used at greater distances 

Source Four

 only used by ETC but is a ERS

Source four Zoom

 an ERS that has adjustable lens by sliding back and forth 

Shutters

helps reshape the pool.

Fresnel Spotlight

spherical reflector and are less bright. . . light is softer 

instruments for lighting

Gel frame, Gobo, Iris, top hat  and half hat (that hats help cover the light pool) 

Flood focus

smooth wash of light (basically the edge of the light is unclear?)

Spot focus

very narrow and obvious central hot spot (edges are very obvious)

Follow Spot

 an ERS but is designed to be put farther away and is used by a operator. . . MUCH brighter. . . and operator can change brightness/color 

Blind aiming device

helps the operator aim at the spotlight to know where the light is going to be pointed 

Cyc Light

has a unique reflector (asymetrical and does not have a lens). These lights have a soft and diffused light (must be hung really high towards the ceiling or very below) . . . you usually need more than 1 to light the background 

Trunion

a floor mount light

Necessities of Stagecraft: 

• Scenery must be lightweight 

• Scenery must be compact 

• Scenery must be simple to construct 

• Scenery construction techniques must be adaptable

Skene

a Greek word that means “hut” or “tent” or a scene building. Generally considered to have been roofed structures with one or more doors or entryways set into a wall or colonnade 

Orchestra

part of the Skene, it may have been no more than a set of steps leading from the Skene down to the performance area 

Pinakas

 the use of painted panels attached to the skene that were exchanged for other panels as required by changes of scene during the play

flat

ordinarily a wooden frame covered with a fabric which is painted to represent a scene or portion of a scenic locale 

Periaktoi

a type of scenery used to shift scenery. This was constructed of three painted panels which formed a triangle in plan view and was revolved to reveal a new side whenever the scene changed 

Ekkyklema

a mechanism used for revealing a tableau. May have been a platform, or wagon that was rolled through the doors in the Skene 

Machina

a crane like apparatus was used to portray people in flight or hovering over the earth

Deus ex machina

 “god machine” was usually employed to resolve the plot of the play through the intervention of the gods. . . today that term is used to refer to the unexpected appearance of a character who resolves the plot of the play 

Proskenion

in the hellenistic period, beginning with the reign of Alexander the Great in 336 B.C, a number of important changes took place. An eight to thirteen foot high stage was customary. A facade supported the front edge of this stage. . 

Episkenion

early versions of the prosknion appeared to be constructed of a series of columns that were notched to hold pinakas. At the rear of the raised stage was another facade. 

Scaena

 the roman’s word for stage house

Scaena frons

the roman’s word for facade of the stage house. . . served as the basic scenic background and like the skene of the greeks, was architecturally detailed and included a series of doors that were used to represent different houses or a palace 

Mansions

the middle age scenery. The setting often consisted of a series of mansions arranged along the stage, around the performance space or, in some countries, incorporated into pageant wagons. Each mansion defined a specific location: as the actors moved from one mansion to the next, the scene changed. 

Wing and drop system

an early sixteenth century device used to develop or take advantage of new perspective techniques 

drop

 an unframed piece of fabric that is suspended from the stage rigging of the theater. 

borders

gave the illusion of a sky or ceiling. These were hung overhead between the wing panels and were painted to continue the scene depicted on the other panels 

back shutters

 were an adaptation of the drop that enabled changes of scene