the berkeley rep magazine - Berkeley Repertory Theatre

eport
A brief history of light
by Cari turley
if you’re ever in the mood to start a fight, walk into a theatre and ask
whose job is most important. Is it the actors? (They might tell you so.) After all, without
them, not much happens on stage. Or maybe it’s the writer, without whom the
actors have nothing to say. Is it the wardrobe department, who clothes them? The
set designer, who creates context? It’s a tough call. (The real answer is that they’re
all invaluable, of course.) But I’d put my money on the lighting department. Without
lights, you’re just sitting in the dark.
Of course, modern lighting design is about much more than being able to see—
it’s about what you’re directed to see, and when, and how. But to fully appreciate the
subtlety of modern theatrical lighting, we should start at its humble beginnings.
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2012–13 · ISSUE 2 · the berkeley rep magazine · 9