10 Tips to Consider When Working with a Lighting Designer
2019 Stage Lighting Tech Fellows For several years Black Choreographers Festival, Dance Mission, and Afro Urban Society have been working to expand opportu- nities for womxn and people of color in stage production. The Stage Lighting Tech Fellowship emerged from this work. The two- month fellowship is committed to creating accessible, profes- sional, and relevant skill sets for the fellows. They are mentored by Dance Mission Theater’s Technical Director Harry Rubeck in introductory and intermediate basics of stage lighting. In its second year the number of participants doubled and the new cohort of fellows are:
by ALLEN WILLNER
1 Communicating About Lighting for Dance Lighting can be hard to com- municate about since it’s such an abstract element. A great way to communicate about your light- ing design needs with a potential lighting designer is through pho- tos, abstract images and descrip- tive words. Words like warm, cool, colorful, moody and stark are simple examples. 2 Get money and time out of the way Be upfront about budget, scale of production, timeline/ dates and the amount of time you’d like the lighting designer to be in rehearsals with you. Lighting designers tend to be flexible and will usually try to work within your budget, but it’s important to address the details early in the project rather than later. In the case that a designer is unable to work on the project they can also be a great resource for recommending other design- ers who might fit your project. 3 A First Meeting If you’re working with a lighting designer for the first time, plan a phone or face to face meeting to talk about per- spectives on light and to develop a language to communicate about light. 4 The Whole Picture Include your lighting designer in conversations regarding set, visual design and projections. All of these ele- ments will have an effect on the lighting design, and the light- ing designer will probably have helpful thoughts as related to lighting/time/venue etc. 5 Plan for a Design Run Set aside time for the light- ing designer to view a run through of the work(s) they will be lighting. This is an important time for the designer to pre- pare their plot and cues for your show. Try to have as many ele- ments present, represented for
10 Let your Designer Design Having a good idea about what you want in a lighting design or even details around specific cues is great, but you should also allow the lighting designer some space to create. If you’re investing in a lighting design, it’s a good idea to let them do what you hired them for. Be mindful that they aren’t just a board operator or a technician. ALLEN WILLNER I s a lighting designer for Theater, Dance and Opera. He has lived and worked in San Francisco and New York as a Lighting Designer for 20 years. Locally he has designed for many Bay Area Dance compa- nies including Erika Chong Shuch Performance Project, inkBoat, Garrett Moulton Productions, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Katie Faulkner’s Little Seismic Dance Company, Kristin Dam- row and Company, ABD Productions, Moving Ground and Epifany Dance Theater. Regional designs include The Arizona Theater Company, The Guthrie Theater, The Chicago MOMA, REDCAT, The Cleveland Public Theater, 59E59th Street Theater, Playmakers Repertory Co, Brown University and The Philadel- phia Theater Company. International designs include Dock 11, Potsdam Fabrique, Pfefferberg Berlin, Goyang Opera House, Seoul Korea, and Berkeley Street Theater, Toronto, ON. Awards and nominations include: San Francisco TBA Award Lighting Design Awards: We Player’s Beowulf , Shotgun Players Eurydice, Theater of Yugen’s This Lingering Life , SF Playhouse The Obligation . Bay Area Critics Circle Lighting Design Nominations for The Shotgun Players Eurydice and God’s Ear , Broadway World Lighting and Set Design Nomination for Symmetry The- ater’s Patience Worth . Isadora Duncan Dance Awards for the lighting design of inkBoat’s Line Between , Heaven’s Radio and Deborah Slater Dance The- ater’s Private Life .
the run. This can include sets/ props, sound design, musicians, video and costumes (a sample of costumes is fine). 6 Rehearsals and Sound Design If you’d like your designer to come to rehearsals make sure that the sound design is accu- rate. It isn’t really useful to have a lighting designer see a run with no audio if there is audio or with a different audio than the one you intend. Changes in sound design will likely impact/change the light- ing designer’s design and plan. 7 TECH In planning your techni- cal rehearsals assume that the lighting designer will need to have time for the following (all of these will vary depending on venue and scale of show): • lighting hang • focus • a pre-record of cues • cueing The Lighting Designer can help with scheduling how time is allotted and what time is needed for your show. 8 Lighting Materials Budget Plan a materials bud- get for lighting. This can range from $100 for gels to upwards of a few thousand dol- lars for rented instruments. The lighting designer can also help with planning financial projec- tions in advance. 9 A Touring Package Let your lighting designer know ahead of time if you have plans to tour the show. This will require a touring pack- age which the designer can pro- vide. A touring package usually comes with an added fee and would include the following: • A lighting plot • Cues • A board recording of the lighting cues from the show. • A tech rider of lighting requirements
Tyler Musgrave is a futurist and activist who believes that all that is beautiful in this world is illuminated.
Saoirse Weaver is a 23 year old from San Francisco with a background in Art and Design. In her spare time she likes to read & make jewelry.
Tracy Baxter is an Oakland-based writer who will sing, dance, or act at the drop of a hat. She's performed with Theater of Others and Ninjaz of Drama in San Francisco. A new playwright whose very first work, KUDZU 2012, was a 2016 Bay Area Playwrights Foundation festival semi- finalist, she's now exploring the worlds of stage directing and lighting design.
Oakland based drummer, dancer and performance artist. Niki Brown loves to explore rhythm through many avenues of creativity and exploration . Shaunnah Ray is an Oakland native who is committed to applying her passion for the performing arts and expression to perpetuate activism in her communities. As a means to nurture her own creative outlets Shaunnah has found and is pursuing a growing interest
interest in lighting design, a craft that she has been exploring at EastSide Cultural Center through EastSide’s Live Arts and Resistance Theater programming.
Kimberly Harvey-Scott’s passion for eclectic dance began at age eight. Her career started and excelled with Diamano Coura West African Dance Company in 2006. With this, she has been able to spread her message and
volunteers her time and talent to Berkeley High students since 2008, as Stage Manager, counselor, and teaching movement and choreography.
Tanika Baptiste is a producer, actor, vocalist and entrepreneur. “The stage is my happy place.”
Destiny Evans is a black, non-binary androg- ynous, femme. Their work is rooted in telling the stories and prioritizing the work/healing of queer and trans black folks.
Located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area, Mills College offers BA, MA, and MFA degrees in dance. Expand every dimension of your art through: • Choreography • Theory • Pedagogy • Technology • Performance GRADUATE FACULTY Kara Davis Robert Moses Sonya Delwaide Ann Murphy Molissa Fenley Sheldon Smith Cicely Hart, DPT Victor Talmadge thinking bodies moving minds
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In Dance | May 2014 | dancersgroup.org
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