by Nick Sheets, Dramaturg
For several months now our production team meets every Wednesday morning at 8 AM to collaborate ideas for Cymbeline. The production team includes: the director, stage managers, dramaturg and production crew (lighting, costumes, hair & make-up, and set design).
Amelia Dunlap, a BYU student, is the lighting designer for Cymbeline. She presented a lot of information in this collaborative process, and I thought it would be neat to hear about her input and process. Here’s some information that I was able to gather:
One reason Amelia chose to pursue lighting design was her desire to paint with light. She told me that lighting techniques may be subtle, unnoticeable even, but light is always present and creates part of the atmosphere, or mood, of the play.
In Cymbeline her job is doubled. She’s in charge of lighting design for both the fairy tale and noir versions! That’s a lot of work, and she admits it’s pretty challenging. But let’s take a look at how she’s doing just that.
NOIR
For noir she’s interested in playing with shadows. Shafts of light and sharp lines are what set noir lighting techniques apart from other genres. Also, have you ever seen the noir lamp-posts? They’re pretty “iconic,” she says. Recreating these types of lighting will be her endeavor as she progresses from rendering to reality. She will also use some color, but not enough to distract from the subtle mood of the black and white noir-styled films. FAIRY TALE
On the flip side of noir comes the fairy tale version. She chose to use bright, saturated colors. Here’s an example of what saturated colors look like:
As you see, the saturated colors have more vibrancy. This helps set a more “mystical and magical” mood. Specifically, she will use lots of red, amber and blue for this world.
This concept stands in stark contrast to the noir version. In reality, it’s the same show, but through the different concepts, like lighting, each show stands by itself.
Dunlap, Amelia. Personal Interview. 13 Nov 2013.
If you have any comments about Amelia’s lighting concept, feel free to leave a comment below!
