Initial Conceptualization

TOC - Breaking Down The Show

The purpose of this phase of the lighting design process is to develop a general set of concepts and themes for your show, and from that to begin to get a general idea of the resources you will need to complete the show. Some of this work will already be done in the process of deciding to work on the show or not, but now that that's decided there should be more freedom and time to contemplate different ideas. A subgoal of this section, depending on where the show is occurring, might also be to prepare for the interview process, where you will be expected to both be able to discuss the conceptual framework for the show (and have that be the same basic framework that the director discusses!) and also to suggest how you are going to accomplish your portion of the implementation of that framework.

There are several important things that should be going on in parallelduring this phase:

• Script Work
• Concept Research
• Design Meetings
• Resource Research
• Interview Preparation (if necessary)

Script Work

The script is your source. All things should come from the script. [For shows that don't have a script, like dance shows, there will be other "sources" such as the music, the choreography (which might be telling a story), etc. Beware of piling too much of a concept on a script; as I've said before, any good show concept will be well supported in the script, as well as in all aspects of design.

You should read the script several times, starting with quick "overview" readings, and then reading closer to try to resolve any major plot developments, character issues, etc etc. The idea is to really start to understand how the script works, what conventions it uses, etc. You also will want to know what's going on just so you don't sound like an idiot when you talk to the director/designers and they mention particular parts of the script.

Part of reading the script will involve a practical aspect of what we'll discuss later, talking with the director. Early on, you'll want to find out if there are any scenes/lines that have been cut (and why), how the director is expecting to cast the show (and why), what space you'll be working in and how it will be arranged (and why), what time period the show will be set in (and why), and sundry other practical details (more on this sort of thing later).

Concept Research

As you read the script, I highly recommend you start to do corollary research as well. This can really be anything — you might look up reviews of the script, commentaries, or dramaturgical info (e.g. information about the time period associated with the script: note that there is a] the time period in which the story is takes place b] the time period in which the script itself was written c] the time period in which your director chooses to place the play, all of which may or may not be different or recognizable). In addition to this type of research, start to look for things that "echo" with the script, in any way, e.g. images, music, poems, literally anything which in some way "reminds" you of the script. Really search through art books, photo books, poetry books, watch movies, etc, looking for materials which provide new insight into your conceptual ideas that are developing about the show. There's no telling at this point how these "sources" will be used during the show, maybe nowhere, but maybe the set designer will include an image into the set, maybe you'll use colors that you find, maybe a poem you found will be read or music will be played. Don't be afraid to cross the boundary into other domains of art; everything will eventually tie into your light design, and it will help your co-designers clue into what you are thinking.

An example might be helpful here. I worked on a show once which took place in London during the black plague (it was sort of an obvious AIDS allusion). The director indicated that he wanted it to be essentially period, but that modern elements that suggested emergencies be included at crucial times, to emphasize the rawness of the action going on. As research for this show, I could easily imagine collecting images from that time period, from construction sites and emergency situations, clips from TV shows like "E.R." or "Cops", sounds like sirens, period music, period literature, images from medical magazines, color samples from old photos, medical mags, etc etc etc. Each item you collect should spark new ideas, images, sounds, but you should always return to the script and make sure you aren't straying too far.

Design Meetings

One of the woefully neglected aspects of Harvard Theater is the Design Meeting. As you gear up for your show, you will (if your producers have any clue at all) have production meetings, at which most of the staff will show up and give brief accounts of what they've been up to. These meetings tend to be a little too clunky to get any real collaborative design work done, so I highly suggest you recommend to your producer/director that they arrange a Design Meeting. This meeting should be attended by those people directly in charge of designing aspects of the show, e.g. direction, set, lights, sound, costumes, props, etc. Other people aren't prohibited from coming, but they shouldn't interfere with the process of the meeting. Suggest that all the designers spend several minutes discussing the current status of their design, both from a practical standpoint (e.g. "this set has a big arch because the soldiers need to march in through an archway") and from an artistic viewpoint (e.g. what inspired aspects of the design). As many sketches, color swatches, images, sounds, items of clothing, et al should be presented as possible. You, obviously, will bring all the products of your background research, and present that.

The idea here is not to come up with a concept for the show as a whole, but instead to present each designer's current concept. You don't want to present things as finished ideas or as absolutely necessary for the show, but just as "this was something that I came across that for some reason made me think about the show". This exchange will hopefully spur discussion about what the other designers think works, doesn't work, new ideas, new concepts.

Just one other note about this type of meeting. Discussion should focus around the effects of the design concepts, not on their absolute attributes. For instance, saying that the lighting will be "red" has a lot less informational content than "the lighting will be angry, scary, red". If the director or a designer starts to talk in absolute terms, especially about lighting, you might even want to sort of stake your claim to your domain and say something like "Well what do you mean by that? Do you mean blue as in a sad, still blue, or an active, free, sky blue? Because if you tell me what your trying to achieve, I can maybe come up with better ways to do it rather than just using blue."

If you have the time, have several of these design meetings, and later in the process when things are more finished, have a design review, where each designer presents formally his or her design. In all likelihood, however, you will need to cobble design discussions onto the end of production meetings, or have smaller meetings with specific designers. You should not stint in your efforts, however, to put together an ongoing discussion of the concepts, ideas, and themes underlying the show, because you will discover that by sharing these ideas as much as possible, the cohesiveness of the eventual product will be incredible.

Resource Research

As you go through this process, developing your own conceptions of the show and hearing about others' concepts, you will inevitably start to think about some of the resources you will need to pull the show off. These will be the big-ticket items, things that will be essential but that will require some arranging to set up. For instance, if you need to rent any special equipment, from special kinds of lights to fog machines to video projectors, you might need to price those things out and see if your budget can cover them (if not, maybe you need to come up with a new concept!). Maybe you need followspots, which means you need to find followspots and people to run them (or at least tell the producer to find them). How much crew will you need to set up and run the show? Do you need to special order any effects like gobos, special materials?

As things like this come up, you should start to look into the possibilities. Obviously, you wont hit everything, and you may find that some things are impossible to get. But by getting started soon, you leave yourself time to find other ways to get what you need if it's too expensive, or alternatively ways to achieve your concept without the specific resource you originally had in mind.

Interview Preparation

Depending on the application process for the space you are planning to hold your show in, you may need at some point in this process to prepare for an interview and/or write up a design statement. You shouldn't stress about this; the interviewers or application readers are perfectly aware of the time pressures that face designers, and know that the process is really just beginning. You should focus on communicating two basic things:

• Your concept as it exists so far for the show. In particular, it should be clear that you've discussed it extensively with the director and other designers, although of course nothing needs to be set in stone. The point is that you need to show that you are thinking about it, and that the communication lines are open with the rest of the staff.
• That you can, in practical terms, pull off the show. Of course, this depends somewhat on your experience level. If you have a couple big shows on your resumé, then you probably don't need to discuss the details of your show, just focus on the special needs of your show, like specific equipment or staffing needs you need to fill, and how you plan to do so. If you have less experience, you should talk about how you are planning to get the information you need about the space and about implementing a design; the people you are planning to talk to, the way you are planning to design the show, the way you are planning to load-in the show.

You'll probably want to have at least one or two meetings with the staff of your show in order to discuss the conceptual framework for the show, and just make sure you aren't going to say anything contradictory. You might also run anything you are particularly planning to stress past the rest of the staff, to get their reactions. If you have the time, figure out a couple ways to handle some of the biggest conceptual hurdles you'll face, and mention your solutions. For example, let's say your show calls for ghosts to appear (as a show I'm working on now does), sort of wandering around the periphery of the set as the show goes on. You might think about ways to make it clear that these are ghosts, perhaps by using particular colors, or particular types of spots, or by lighting them with highly patterned light, and then just mention these solutions. You might end up doing something completely different, but the point is that you've thought about it and you have started to come up with solutions.

TOC - Breaking Down The Show