Drama 16 Stage Lighting

4/18/16 – 8:30am – Outside Colonial Square on Path Towards Student Center

The morning sun shines through the temporary black plastic fencing lining the sidewalk. It casts a shadow across the width of the sidewalk making it patterned with oval-ish shapes.

When one stared at the lighting and pathway too much, the shadow and light on the sidewalk had this hypnotic feel. It was mesmerizing and was dizzying to look at it. The lighting that cast this shadow made the path feel like it belonged in Alice in Wonderland since the path looked like it was trying to be an optical illusion. The intensity of the morning light made the shadow dark and the light that shined through to hit the pavement bright; there was a sharp distinction between light and shadow just like the colors had been black and white instead of black and golden lit grey-tan pavement. The lighting moment and mysterious effect on the path would not have been the same without this intensity. The stark contrast created made it seem like this pathway must be leading to some sort of black and white timeless dimension. The shape of the holes in the fence made the spots of bright light on the sidewalk curious ovals. In my mind, the path swirled for some reason due to the pattern cast upon it. It was like a moiré effect. Walking across it was like being on a boat. The mood that the lighting created was surreal.

22 Feb. 2016 – 1:19pm – 2nd story Breslin Hall

The sun shines through a dirty window and also appears to reflect off of the bricks on the exterior of the building some. This shines a textured and patterned light on the interior wall and some grey doors of Breslin Hall. On the slightly peach-colored, off-white wall, the light looks cream, and, on the grey doors, the light looks light greenish with some blue in it.

The lighting is rough and intriguing. It displays a gobo-like pattern on an ordinary surrounding; thus, making the setting endowed with a theatrical magic. No longer are the objects just a wall and some doors; they are gritty like sand and mysterious like ocean waves with splashes of whitish foam and deeper colors. The lighting harkens to the beach with its reflected greenish and cream colors. The wall and doors are foreign objects in a bland classroom building setting with this lighting softly expanding across it. A breath filled with the smell of the ocean and dampness of water can be felt and imagined through this lighting. The lighting is transporting, alluring to the eye, and soothing with its gentle contrast between the light and shapes created by its false gobo.

1) 4/7/14 8:50

2) The sunlight coming in from the window in the classroom.

3) The light that shined from the window hit the panes just right to create a perfect gobo-like paneling on the wall. It looked like the type of gobo that I might use for deathtrap in order to reflect what’s going on outside.  It would be perfect for indicating the moon while in the room.

1.) Thursday Mar. 24th 2011, 12:00 A.M. Spiegel Theatre.

2.) A performer backlit in silhouette by the Alpha Psi gobo.

3.) In between acts during Cabaret the Alpha Psi Omega gobo illuminates the back wall of the Spiegel. After an act finished, the lights blacked out but for some reason the gobo came up immediately. The shift was sudden and very startling. The large Greek letters in white against the black wall were very powerful-looking, and there was enough light to provide the backlight necessary to put the actress still onstage in silhouette. It made her immediately imposing, which was unfortunate, considering the fact that she had just finished performing. It was a visceral experience.

1)   2/23/11- 10:00 pm- My Dorm Room

2)   Long streaks of light on walls being produced by the gaps in between the blinds.

3)   Right before I was about to go to sleep I noticed a lighting moment.  There was a yellowish light that shined in through our window, and the blinds are usually closed during the night so as a result it created uniform lines on our walls.  The light shined in through the gaps in between the blinds and it created a very distinct blind image on our wall.  The reason I liked this moment was because it make me think of a gobo and how it does the same thing.  What is interesting is that if the image on the wall was a little more distinct and had a different color, I could easily mistake it as the actual window and not just the light/ shadow being made by one.  Adding the yellow light did not contribute to it looking authentic because the yellow does not look natural but rather very artificial.  The color made it very hard to attach an emotion, time of day, etc. because it was so fake looking and didn’t really go with a particular feeling or notion.  Either way the pattern and light was interesting from a practical stand point and I will remember it for when I use gobos.