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Photo Gallery Archive
THEATRICAL
PRODUCTIONS
2008
through
2009
Lighted By
RICHARD BONNER
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(Reverse chronological order is employed so that photos
of the most recent events will be displayed first.)
How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying
Halifax West Players
The Bella Rose Arts Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
May, 2009
The director for this show specified a bright
look for most scenes, so all the main washes
were increased in power to 4,000 watts. Since this
is common to every photo, it won't be mentioned
beyond this reference.
In addition, there is no orchestra pit at the Bella
Rose so in all photos the band is visible just in
front of the stage. The bright spots and reflections
are from the music-stand lights.
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These two photos show the look for the main office.
It is achieved from the front-of-house pipe by
wide-flood PAR 64s with colour-correction orange
filters. The doorways and window are lit with
150mm, 1000-watt fresnels sporting barndoors to
control spill light. The doorways are in a steel blue
to represent fluorescent light coming in from unseen
corridors, while the window is lit in yellow to
represent sunlight coming in from outside.
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The above photo has added side washes in flesh. These
come from four wide-flood PAR 64s and are used to
highlight dance numbers. They too, are barndoored
to control spill. Light on two of the barndoor flaps
may be seen at the upper corners of the image.
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This office scene is front lit solely
from the house by two 1000-watt ellipsoidals
with 26-degree lens systems. The colour
is a straw. As above, back lighting is
from fresnels, one in flesh for Biggley,
and one in yellow for the window.
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The photo below has in addition a door
light, as described earlier, and four
ellipsoidals, two each to light stage
center and the stage left entrance panel.
These are dimmed to better highlight
Biggley's desk area. The stage left
entrance also has fresnels lighting
from behind, one in steel blue
and another from off stage in amber.
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Here is a subdued look of the same set for this number.
A medium blue washes the stage from the front, replacing
all front lighting as seen before except for the downstage
center specials. They have been dimmed for intimacy turning
their straw colour more amber. The entrance lighting and the
corridor light for the stage right door have been extinguished
but the desk and window backlighting remain.
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These next two photos show usage of two sets on the same
stage. One is Biggley's office, the other is the mail room.
When one is the focus, the other is only backlit so it can be
seen that activity continues there. The mail room uses the same
back and entrance lighting as the entrance panel to Biggley's
office. This was described farther back.
Two 37-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidals from the proscenium
pipe light the elevator area in a warm gold. A corridor
in front is created by single PAR 64 medium floods, one
each at a high angle off to each side. They slash down
between a border curtain and the elevator front from
extreme upstage positions. PAR 64 wide floods on the
proscenium pipe in blue colour correction are brought
up a bit to light up either side of the upstage area
from the front.
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To create a stark washroom ambience, PAR 64 wide
floods from the front-of-house and proscenium pipe
wash the down and up stage areas in colour-correction
blue. No back or side lighting is used at all. This
gives a flat, fluorescent look to everything.
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A simple scene is lit by two, 1000-watt, 26-degree
ellipsoidals from the front in a chocolate gel.
This colour was chosen to insinuate the dinginess
of Finch's first office. Back and entrance lighting
is from 150mm, 1000-watt fresnels. The back
is steel blue, while the entrance is in amber.
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The following photos are of Finch's new office. It is basic
lighting done with two 37-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidals from
the proscenium pipe. This time, the colour is flesh so as to
bestow warmth. The sole backlights are on the rear window
in yellow and on each doorway in steel blue. Each is done via
a single, 1000-watt fresnel.
Note the extensive amount of black between each cool doorway
and the warm desk area. That gives a great spaciousness to
the set, worthy of Finch's new, higher position within the
World Wide Wickets company.
Below is another simple lighting look.
Gatch's office is lit by 37-degree ellipsoidals
from the proscenium pipe, but in cool lavender.
The tight, steep-angled focus and cool colour,
along with no window light, show that Gatch has
a smaller, drabber office.
The sole backlight is from a fresnel in steel
blue positioned at upstage left. Its effect is
most visible here on the floor beside the desk.
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The roof garden employs eighteen lights from
various locations to achieve this one look.
From the front-of-house, medium blues cast
a faint hue downstage, and muted ellipsoidals
in straw bring actors' faces out just enough
to be discerned.
From the proscenium pipe, deep blue covers the top
of the white curtain. The moon is spotted by two
35-watt, sealed-beam PAR 36s in an autumn orange,
while 37-degree ellipsoidals with apertures project
star patterns. These particular patterns have fine
detail, so an aperture is required on each light
to eliminate parts of the beam that don't focus
precisely.
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From the side pipes, lighting (just visible
in the previous image) is on very dimly to
provide additional, but shadowy, face
lighting from an acute angle. This imitates
city lights glowing on to the roof from afar.
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Lighting above is colour-correction orange
from the front with straw-tinted ellipsoidals
highlighting Finch and his easel. Backlighting
is a single yellow on the window.
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This subtle scene for Rosemary's song is lit in
cool from the proscenium while downstage center
has a straw from front ellipsoidals to highlight
that area. The doorways have their corridor lights
on dimly to add depth and expanse to the stage,
further accentuating her lonely feeling.
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This brightly-lit scene employs 18,000 watts
of wash. Both warm and cool front-of-house
and proscenium colours are on full, as are
the side flesh and rear curtain yellow.
35-watt, sealed-beam PAR 36s spot the
"Wickets" sign above.
At the left, Biggley and two executives
are less brightly lit to represent them
as being in an office watching the game
show on television. (The camera here
has exaggerated this to be much darker
than in reality.)
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The Music Man
Citadel High School at
The Quinpool Education Centre Auditorium
Halifax, Nova Scotia
May, 2009
Full Stage from Afar
The large size of the QEC stage is evident in this photo.
The lights along the top are hung on the front-of-house
boom and consist of mainly 200mm, 750-watt ellipsoidals.
They light the cast from the front in straw (overexposed
here by the camera). The steel blue back light is from
1000-watt, wide-angle PAR 64 lamps in short-throw fixtures.
The upstage set is not directly lit here but there are
two cloud projections on back curtain. These are done
with 1000-watt, 150mm ellipsoidals with 37-degree lens systems.
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Full Cast Close Up
The same lighting look is shown except that
one 1000-watt, 26-degree ellipsoidal in open
white for the downstage center area has been added.
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The Piano
A simple interior set is placed in front of a
downstage curtain. It is lit from the house in
straw by 750-watt ellipsoidals while the rear
curtain has a warm colour from four 1000-watt,
wide angle PARs.
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The Library
The front-of-house lighting is as above, but
in this closer view, steel blue back lighting
is added.
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The Nymphs
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The above and below looks are done with a medium blue
wash from the proscenium pipe and selected front-of-house
ellipsoidals in straw.
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The Mayor and his Wife
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The House
Two views follow of the house set. Both show a blue wash
from the proscenium. In addition, the first displays the
effect of two 37-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidals in flesh
from the same position. The succeeding photo instead has
the single, 26-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidal from the
front-of-house boom in white.
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The Park at Sunset
These two photos show the park at sunset. Blue wash
lights the downstage traveller curtain while
front-of-house ellipsoidals highlight the park bench
in straw, dimmed here for effect. The orchestra pit
crossing at the left represents a bridge at sunset.
It is lit in yellow/amber by a single, 1000-watt,
19-degree ellipsoidal with a foliage pattern. This
is to represent the last rays of a setting sun through
trees.
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Finale
This is the same lighting as the first photo except that an
additional four thousand watts of lavender emanates from
proscenium tormentor positions. These are vertical pipes
just behind each side of the proscenium. The fixtures are
PAR 64 Medium Floods.
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Petra
(Pet-rah)
The Bella Rose Arts Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
March, 2009
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A shot that shows the full set and scenic
backdrops. The latter are painted canvases
with the center one upstage of the other
two by a metre or so. Lighting here consists
solely of 1000-watt, wide-angle PAR 64s in
short-throw fixtures. Two wash the downstage
area in flesh while four on the proscenium
pipe cover the backdrops in straw. There
is no backlighting for this scene.
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Below is the same look as above but
with the addition of two 1000-watt,
150mm fresnels, one from each side
at high angles near the downstage
backdrops. They are coloured in steel
blue to give a reflected sky appearance.
(Both fixtures are visible in the last
photo of this set.)
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This look is achieved with eight, 600-watt PAR 64
Raylights all from the proscenium pipe. Two
sets of four saturated colours gel the fixtures
and no other lighting is used.
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A simple night scene comes from two
deep-blue PARs and two 25-degree, 1000-watt
ellipsoidals in straw. All are from the
front-of-house pipe.
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The slight pinkish colour is how
the camera saw this particular combination.
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Cast members move about the stage carrying candles.
They are blurred into long streaks by the camera
in this shot.
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Lighting consists of a moonlight blue on
the scenery from two PARs in proscenium
positions. The lower parts of the scenery
have defocused breakups projected on to
them in a dark steel colour. This is done with
two 1000-watt ellipsoidals with patterns, also
from the proscenium pipe. They add more form
to the "rocks" and another dimension to that
of the blue areas.
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A central red pool highlights some cast
members as the rest continue the search.
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The lighting here is the same as above but
in addition is high side light from two
fresnels (as described earlier), and
deep blue with a central red pool. Both
these are from the front; the latter
is from two 1000-watt ellipsoidals.
The pink here results from where the
front reds and blues combine. It is
most evident where the red drops off
in intensity.
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Once Upon a Mattress
Keating Hall Theatre
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
March, 2009
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These first two photos show most of the cast in
full-stage shots. The initial one is zoomed out
to show the proscenium curtaining and some of
the front-of-house lighting fixtures. The far
stage left and right areas are used for multiple
purposes which will be described in detail farther on.
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Note the violinist at the lower right. There
is no orchestra pit in Keating Hall, so the
band was placed next to the stage at far house
right. Some of its members may just be glimpsed
in other photos below.
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The general lighting in the above photos is achieved
from short-throw, PAR 64 fixtures with 1000-watt, wide angle
lamps. They are in a flesh colour. Backlighting is from two
500-watt fresnels with lavender gel. The rear scene is lit
from an on-stage pipe by two 500-watt fresnels. Barndoors
on these two fixtures are used to mask the light to fit just
that scenery with no spill on to the back wall. (The other
stage areas will be described in succeeding photos.)
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The Royal Throne
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The Wizard's Laboratory
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The area seen in the above two photos serves two purposes.
However, budget constrains meant that the lighting had to
be the same for both. The actors are lit in straw from the
front-of-house by two 500-watt fresnels, while a single
500-watt, PAR 64 Medium Flood provides a steel blue
backlight. That can be seen projecting on the steps and in
the pool on the stage in front. The contrast provided by
these two lighting angles and colours is best seen on the
faces of the Jester and Minstrel.
Side light slips its way between the rear of the left pillar
and the back wall to provide a regal purple cast. That is
done using one 500-watt, PAR 56 Medium Flood.
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The next photos show that again, an area is used for multiple
purposes. First as a Royal Court entrance, seen in the opening
two photos back farther, and below as the bedroom for the
princess, and then as an entrance into a garden. As with the
other multi-purpose area, budget dictates that the lighting
be the same for each purpose. Two front-of-house 500-watt
fresnels provide facial light in straw, while a single 500-watt,
PAR 64 Medium Flood provides a steel blue backlight.
Side light shines between the rear of the right pillar
and the back wall to provide a sunshine yellow cast. That is
done using one 500-watt, PAR 56 Medium Flood with a warm
yellow gel.
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The Princess' Bedroom
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The Bedroom and Nightingale
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The Garden Entrance
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Changing the light levels for each scene above suggests
to the audience that this area represents something different
as required. In particular, a lower level for the garden
presents a subtle look that differs enough from that of the
court and two bedroom looks to provide separate feelings
for the audience for each area. The straw and yellow become
much more amber when dimmed. In addition, providing a blue tint
from the front wash during the garden scene alters the existing
colours slightly. That differentiates this scene even more from
the others despite it using the same initial fixtures and colours.
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The Garden
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Here are two looks for the garden itself. The first is
lit in gold from two front-of-house, 500-watt, 200mm
ellipsoidals. They provide a warm, late afternoon feel.
The rear scene is lit in straw by 500-watt fresnels as
was described earlier with the full stage shots.
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Contrasting the first look is the night version. It uses a deep blue
wash from the front, a lavender from behind. (These wash fixtures were
identified in earlier photos.) In addition though, are two ellipsoidals,
one each at extreme side positions. One has a 1000-watt lamp, the other
a 500. Both have foliage patterns and dark, steel blue gel to simulate
moonlight through trees. You can see that this provides a shadowy effect
on the trees and actors in the center.
Note in the second night photo that a smidgen of the straw
scenery light provides a late-dusk sky by illuminating the clouds very
slightly. The light is so dim it appears to make those clouds reflect the
colour red. This, and the previous set of photos, show the importance and
usefulness of selecting proper light levels to fit a given mood.
Thanks to photographers Colin Conrad, Sandy Chase, and Rick Walker
of the Halifax-Dartmouth, Nova Scotia area for usage of their photos.
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