Lighting Design at Harvard

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to light design at Harvard. The intent of this set of documents is two-fold: first, to provide a concise introduction to the theory and practice of lighting design; and second, to provide references and resources for practical use and further study. These pages were written by David Corlette, based heavily on materials provided by Alan Symonds, and with editting help from Ryan McGee.

• If you are a beginning designer, and just want to know how to set up a simple set of lights for a small production, read the Quick Summary.
• If you have technical questions about lighting instruments or electrical concerns, read the Master Electrician set of docs.
• If you want to see useful links and reference data, go to the Resource page.
• If you are working on a large production, or want to approach your design seriously, keep reading!

Lighting Design

If you'd like to skip the introduction, you can jump directly to the Table of Contents, or go forward a page to Approaching A Design .

There are lots of reasons why people are drawn to lighting design. It's an artistic form that is unique in its ephemeral quality, in that one works with no physical substance, but instead with light alone. Lighting designs are also dynamic, and not static like many other works of art. Alternatively, some designers start as electricians, and become fascinated by what can be done with the tools they've been setting up for other designers. Regardless, lighting design, when done successfully, can be extremely rewarding and lots of fun, particularly when done with friends and colleagues in Harvard theater.

That last point is essential, and is a feature that marks theater art more so than most other art forms; the collaborative nature of the work. When done right, the collaborative theatrical production is far greater than the sum of the work the individual designers and directors bring to it. To me, at least, this is what brings me the most satisfaction from lighting design; to see a complex, multi-faceted production come together, all the pieces working to create an experience for the audience that they'll never forget. Lighting is essential for that experience — it can make the difference between an interesting production and a dramatic, powerful, and memorable one.

So, how to get into this fascinating field? There are, of course, as many ways as there are people. My own background is that I started working as an electrician and designer (not that I had any clue, back then) back in high school, and was identified at a pre-frosh theater meeting and asked to work on a show even before I came to Harvard. I then worked on several shows a semester, ALDing a couple but doing mostly design right off the bat. Mostly I worked with directors that became friends as well as colleagues, although anybody that had an interesting project and approached me I would work with. I've done about seven mainstages, worked in the Ex many times, in the Ag, and in several house spaces. I've done some professional work in Boston and in Philadelphia, and have done designs ranging from straight simple dramas to complex abstract multimedia presentations.

Your own path will vary, but I do recommend that you start by reading through this guide to get an overview of what design is like. You may disagree with me, and I'm certainly open to suggestions about how to improve this guide, but hopefully at least the section on resources will be useful to you and will continue for several years to help you with your designs. There's a lot to learn, I mean really really a lot, but that doesn't mean that you can't put together a simple, rewarding production next week with some forethought and a lot of elbow-grease.

TOC - Approaching A Design