Major Project - Theatre Lighting - Script suggestions.

[Az Davies]

Hello everyone.

 

I'm starting out a project involving just about everything to do with theatre lighting. The creative and the technical, even choosing the script.

 

To minimise my reliance on other people I am aiming to do a monologue. Something that in around 5 minutes has some really great opportunity to show off with some nice subtle lighting effects. Now these 5 minutes could well be a smaller part of a large script or a specific short script.

 

So to my question. Does anyone have any good ideas for potential scripts? Or any good places to find something?

 

I'm fairly confident in my ability to cue a script and execute it. I just have no idea where to start with script choice.

 

If anyone could make some suggestions I'd really appreciate your experience and input.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Brian]

Go into a bookshop and browse the Drama section for books designed for actors audition pieces. Buy the book that takes your fancy. Job done.

[paulears]

The flaw is that if you are the subject, you cannot light it because you cannot see the effect on you. You need to find at least one actor. I'm guessing, but I suspect there are no grades for the acting element, so finding somebody else to use as the subject makes sense. It's a bit strange that there is so much in it? I'd check what criteria are being used to award grades, because it will be so easy to get side tracked and spend time on unproductive elements. I suspect one area could be making decisions about the lighting - then perhaps making changes? As the subject, you won't be able to see the results - and video will prove that the adjustments were made with a bit of guesswork, or by unsatisfactory trial and error. Lighting people are rarely actors. Learning and performing a monologue is a bit of a waste of your talents when the grades are for lighting?

 

I'd also urge caution as monologues are rarely things that can demonstrate much other than portrait style lighting. All the usual lighting plot points don't usually fit with monologues - which rarely do very much apart from tell a story, or make points, or give insight into a character or plot. I'd also suggest that nice and subtle could mean dull and difficult to assess. A long crossfade that goes unnoticed isn't going to get marks if they didn't notice it - if you get the idea? Mark gaining evidence tends to be very overt, not covert.

[Az Davies]

Brain - Good thought thanks for that.

 

paulears - Thanks for your input here. It wouldn't be me doing the reading and the performance isn't being marked at all so I can get pretty much anybody to do it. Your right in that it is simply to make sure that I have a subject to light. I agree that there is alot to do but at the same time it is a double module so 200 hours is the expected top end work time. I think it's not beyond that in terms of work-time scale. There is so much because the criteria is so diverse. I have a pretty much dedicated space to work in, so I can experiment quite alot over a period of weeks. This will hopefully mean the finished item is well practiced and fairly polished.

 

Your point on the monologue is something that has been on my mind I have to say. That's why I came here for script advice, I was hoping that someone had worked on or had seen a particularly good example that I could look into. One of the other options would be to do something based around music. Music is obviously very emotive and and can clearly pair with lighting in an overt way. The only problem there is lack of subjects. If I had a band that is a massive risk in it'self and increases my work load into the sound side of things too, I won't get as long to prepare etc etc.

 

Finding a balance between oportunity to show off with light and it being simple enough that anyone can do it will be the biggest challenge of the project. As much input as possible will hopefulyl help me find that balance.

Anything more than a monologue all of a sudden I become a director too.

[Brian]

Anything more than a monologue all of a sudden I become a director too.

Not necessarily. I've directed a two-hander where, other than establishing some basics, I left most of it to the actors.

 

 

[E2A]

Oh, and it was Pinter's 'Dumb Waiter'.

[kerry davies]

I never tire of recommending John Alton's book, Painting With Light for the exact reasons Paul suggests, subtlety is not noticeable.

 

Basic, simple effects with lighting building up from a single front source to fairly simple rigs works best and I used to begin lighting courses with a single candle on a darkened stage, then two, then three then lanterns.

 

There go your 5 minutes since that used to take me most of two one hour lessons before we got near colour mixing.

[paulears]

To be honest - if the actual actors are just moving set dressing - why not do something very spectacular. How about the Samoiloff Effect - and maybe 'borrow' some dialogue from a special effects heavy scene from something like Star trek. Do some clever makeup, and then start with a bright background, and no foreground, maybe LEDs that can change colour - some sound effects too can set the scene. The background does a few changes and then the foreground comes up, showing the subject with a strange coloured face with big spots (very star trek alien) then after some dialogue another strange sound effect and the lights change to reveal an alien with no spots. Maybe you could build some kind of 'transporter' cabinet? You could do some interesting things, and maybe even use the box to do some kind of reveal with gauze - maybe in a magician kind of way? Somebody appears in the empty transporter when the behind gauze lights come on. It would be a great way to demonstrate theatrical reveals, and an understanding of colour. If you have the criteria it will be assessed on, we might be able to suggest ways of getting the top grades - your college are a BTEC centre, aren't they?

[Az Davies]

I don't have access to actors, it's pretty much just going to be a reading and possitioning excersize.

 

I've already done a lighting course and cued a script etc etc. So that isn't really an issue. It's a 5 minute display of that learning.

 

paulears- That is far more than can be achieved. I like where your going with it but there are 5 people on my course and the entire college is less than 40 people strong. There isn't any points for set building or anything like that and I would have no help at all. It really is a very small college we have here. I like the idea of getting rid of a script as such and just working with showing off effects. But that leaves me little in the way of research and discussion over creative decisions. Part of the idea is that I will be working to a script and be restricted and make the best I can of it.