(Image Left: Drama and Comedy Masks)

Photo Gallery Archive

THEATRICAL
PRODUCTIONS
2008 through 2009

Lighted By
RICHARD BONNER




(Reverse chronological order is employed so that photos
of the most recent events will be displayed first.)




How to Succeed in Business
Without Really Trying

Halifax West Players

The Bella Rose Arts Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
May, 2009

The director for this show specified a bright
look for most scenes, so all the main washes
were increased in power to 4,000 watts. Since this
is common to every photo, it won't be mentioned
beyond this reference.

In addition, there is no orchestra pit at the Bella
Rose so in all photos the band is visible just in
front of the stage. The bright spots and reflections
are from the music-stand lights.


(Image: Secretaries Work as Biggley speaks
  with Finch)

These two photos show the look for the main office. It is achieved from the front-of-house pipe by wide-flood PAR 64s with colour-correction orange filters. The doorways and window are lit with 150mm, 1000-watt fresnels sporting barndoors to control spill light. The doorways are in a steel blue to represent fluorescent light coming in from unseen corridors, while the window is lit in yellow to represent sunlight coming in from outside.

(Image: The Majority of the Cast in the Main
 Office)

The above photo has added side washes in flesh. These come from four wide-flood PAR 64s and are used to highlight dance numbers. They too, are barndoored to control spill. Light on two of the barndoor flaps may be seen at the upper corners of the image.



(Image: Biggley sits Alone at his Desk)
This office scene is front lit solely from the house by two 1000-watt ellipsoidals with 26-degree lens systems. The colour is a straw. As above, back lighting is from fresnels, one in flesh for Biggley, and one in yellow for the window.

The photo below has in addition a door light, as described earlier, and four ellipsoidals, two each to light stage center and the stage left entrance panel. These are dimmed to better highlight Biggley's desk area. The stage left entrance also has fresnels lighting from behind, one in steel blue and another from off stage in amber.

(Image: Hedy enters Biggley's Office)


(Image: Biggley and Hedy have an Intimate Dance)

Here is a subdued look of the same set for this number. A medium blue washes the stage from the front, replacing all front lighting as seen before except for the downstage center specials. They have been dimmed for intimacy turning their straw colour more amber. The entrance lighting and the corridor light for the stage right door have been extinguished but the desk and window backlighting remain.


These next two photos show usage of two sets on the same
stage. One is Biggley's office, the other is the mail room.
When one is the focus, the other is only backlit so it can be
seen that activity continues there. The mail room uses the same
back and entrance lighting as the entrance panel to Biggley's
office. This was described farther back.


(Image: Biggley Reads in his Office while Frump Talks on the Phone
  in the Mail Room)

(Image: Biggley is now Knitting while Frump and Finch Speak
  to the Mail Room's Head Clerk)



(Image: Finch, Rosemary and Smitty sing in front of the
  Elevator Doors)

Two 37-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidals from the proscenium pipe light the elevator area in a warm gold. A corridor in front is created by single PAR 64 medium floods, one each at a high angle off to each side. They slash down between a border curtain and the elevator front from extreme upstage positions. PAR 64 wide floods on the proscenium pipe in blue colour correction are brought up a bit to light up either side of the upstage area from the front.


(Image: Executives Stand behind FInch at a set of Three Washroom
  Sinks)

To create a stark washroom ambience, PAR 64 wide floods from the front-of-house and proscenium pipe wash the down and up stage areas in colour-correction blue. No back or side lighting is used at all. This gives a flat, fluorescent look to everything.


(Image: Finch Dictates to Secretary Hedy)

A simple scene is lit by two, 1000-watt, 26-degree ellipsoidals from the front in a chocolate gel. This colour was chosen to insinuate the dinginess of Finch's first office. Back and entrance lighting is from 150mm, 1000-watt fresnels. The back is steel blue, while the entrance is in amber.


The following photos are of Finch's new office. It is basic
lighting done with two 37-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidals from
the proscenium pipe. This time, the colour is flesh so as to
bestow warmth. The sole backlights are on the rear window
in yellow and on each doorway in steel blue. Each is done via
a single, 1000-watt fresnel.

Note the extensive amount of black between each cool doorway
and the warm desk area. That gives a great spaciousness to
the set, worthy of Finch's new, higher position within the
World Wide Wickets company.


(Image: Long Shot of Finch's New Office with Finch at
  his Desk)

(Image: A Closeup of Frump and Finch in the New
  Office)

(Image: A Closeup of Rosemary and Finch in the
  New Office)



Below is another simple lighting look. Gatch's office is lit by 37-degree ellipsoidals from the proscenium pipe, but in cool lavender. The tight, steep-angled focus and cool colour, along with no window light, show that Gatch has a smaller, drabber office.
The sole backlight is from a fresnel in steel blue positioned at upstage left. Its effect is most visible here on the floor beside the desk.


(Image: Gatch waits while his Secretary answers
 the Phone)



(Image: Employees attend the Roof Garden Party)

The roof garden employs eighteen lights from various locations to achieve this one look. From the front-of-house, medium blues cast a faint hue downstage, and muted ellipsoidals in straw bring actors' faces out just enough to be discerned.
From the proscenium pipe, deep blue covers the top of the white curtain. The moon is spotted by two 35-watt, sealed-beam PAR 36s in an autumn orange, while 37-degree ellipsoidals with apertures project star patterns. These particular patterns have fine detail, so an aperture is required on each light to eliminate parts of the beam that don't focus precisely.



(Image: Closeup of the Secretaries at the
  Roof Garden Party)

From the side pipes, lighting (just visible in the previous image) is on very dimly to provide additional, but shadowy, face lighting from an acute angle. This imitates city lights glowing on to the roof from afar.



(Image: Finch Proposes his Advertising Idea to
  the Board)

Lighting above is colour-correction orange from the front with straw-tinted ellipsoidals highlighting Finch and his easel. Backlighting is a single yellow on the window.


(Image: Rosemary Laments that Finch is not Paying
  her enough Attention)

This subtle scene for Rosemary's song is lit in cool from the proscenium while downstage center has a straw from front ellipsoidals to highlight that area. The doorways have their corridor lights on dimly to add depth and expanse to the stage, further accentuating her lonely feeling.



(Image: `Pirate' Dancers Entertain on the
  Game Show)

This brightly-lit scene employs 18,000 watts of wash. Both warm and cool front-of-house and proscenium colours are on full, as are the side flesh and rear curtain yellow. 35-watt, sealed-beam PAR 36s spot the "Wickets" sign above.
At the left, Biggley and two executives are less brightly lit to represent them as being in an office watching the game show on television. (The camera here has exaggerated this to be much darker than in reality.)





The Music Man
Citadel High School at
The Quinpool Education Centre Auditorium
Halifax, Nova Scotia
May, 2009



Full Stage from Afar

(Image: Long Shot of the Stage with
 the Majority of the Cast)

The large size of the QEC stage is evident in this photo. The lights along the top are hung on the front-of-house boom and consist of mainly 200mm, 750-watt ellipsoidals. They light the cast from the front in straw (overexposed here by the camera). The steel blue back light is from 1000-watt, wide-angle PAR 64 lamps in short-throw fixtures. The upstage set is not directly lit here but there are two cloud projections on back curtain. These are done with 1000-watt, 150mm ellipsoidals with 37-degree lens systems.




Full Cast Close Up

(Image: A Closeup of the Full Cast)

The same lighting look is shown except that one 1000-watt, 26-degree ellipsoidal in open white for the downstage center area has been added.




The Piano

(Image: A Young Girl Plays the Piano while
 her Mother and a Friend Listen)

A simple interior set is placed in front of a downstage curtain. It is lit from the house in straw by 750-watt ellipsoidals while the rear curtain has a warm colour from four 1000-watt, wide angle PARs.


The Library

(Image: Library Patrons Hide their Faces
 with Books while the Music Man pursues the Librarian)

The front-of-house lighting is as above, but in this closer view, steel blue back lighting is added.


The Nymphs

(Image: Nymphs Dance for the Townspeople)


The above and below looks are done with a medium blue wash from the proscenium pipe and selected front-of-house ellipsoidals in straw.



The Mayor and his Wife

(Image: The Music Man speaks with the Mayor
 and his Wife)




The House

Two views follow of the house set. Both show a blue wash from the proscenium. In addition, the first displays the effect of two 37-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidals in flesh from the same position. The succeeding photo instead has the single, 26-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidal from the front-of-house boom in white.



(Image: Mother and Daughter listen to the
  Music Man)


(Image: Mother listens from the Porch
 while her Daughter sings.)




The Park at Sunset

These two photos show the park at sunset. Blue wash lights the downstage traveller curtain while front-of-house ellipsoidals highlight the park bench in straw, dimmed here for effect. The orchestra pit crossing at the left represents a bridge at sunset. It is lit in yellow/amber by a single, 1000-watt, 19-degree ellipsoidal with a foliage pattern. This is to represent the last rays of a setting sun through trees.



(Image: The Librarian waits while the Music
  Man confers with an Accomplice)


(Image: The Librarian and the Music Man
  on the Bridge)




Finale

(Image: The Youth gets its Band Uniforms)

This is the same lighting as the first photo except that an additional four thousand watts of lavender emanates from proscenium tormentor positions. These are vertical pipes just behind each side of the proscenium. The fixtures are PAR 64 Medium Floods.





Petra
(Pet-rah)
The Bella Rose Arts Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
March, 2009

(Image: Full View of the Stage and Backdrops)

A shot that shows the full set and scenic backdrops. The latter are painted canvases with the center one upstage of the other two by a metre or so. Lighting here consists solely of 1000-watt, wide-angle PAR 64s in short-throw fixtures. Two wash the downstage area in flesh while four on the proscenium pipe cover the backdrops in straw. There is no backlighting for this scene.



Below is the same look as above but with the addition of two 1000-watt, 150mm fresnels, one from each side at high angles near the downstage backdrops. They are coloured in steel blue to give a reflected sky appearance. (Both fixtures are visible in the last photo of this set.)
(Image: Closer View of the Full Stage)



(Image: The Search for the Kidnapped Petra)
This look is achieved with eight, 600-watt PAR 64 Raylights all from the proscenium pipe. Two sets of four saturated colours gel the fixtures and no other lighting is used.



A simple night scene comes from two deep-blue PARs and two 25-degree, 1000-watt ellipsoidals in straw. All are from the front-of-house pipe.

(Image: A Sole Cast Member in Straw Surrounded by Blue)
  The slight pinkish colour is how the camera saw this particular combination.



(Image: The Search for Petra Drags into the Night
  and Requires Candlelight)

Cast members move about the stage carrying candles. They are blurred into long streaks by the camera in this shot.
Lighting consists of a moonlight blue on the scenery from two PARs in proscenium positions. The lower parts of the scenery have defocused breakups projected on to them in a dark steel colour. This is done with two 1000-watt ellipsoidals with patterns, also from the proscenium pipe. They add more form to the "rocks" and another dimension to that of the blue areas.

 


A central red pool highlights some cast members as the rest continue the search.

(Image: Red Spots the Central Stage Area with Blue Surrounding)

  The lighting here is the same as above but in addition is high side light from two fresnels (as described earlier), and deep blue with a central red pool. Both these are from the front; the latter is from two 1000-watt ellipsoidals. The pink here results from where the front reds and blues combine. It is most evident where the red drops off in intensity.




Once Upon a Mattress
Keating Hall Theatre
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
March, 2009

These first two photos show most of the cast in full-stage shots. The initial one is zoomed out to show the proscenium curtaining and some of the front-of-house lighting fixtures. The far stage left and right areas are used for multiple purposes which will be described in detail farther on.

Note the violinist at the lower right. There is no orchestra pit in Keating Hall, so the band was placed next to the stage at far house right. Some of its members may just be glimpsed in other photos below.

(Image: Full View of the Stage)



(Image: Closer View of the Full Stage)


The general lighting in the above photos is achieved from short-throw, PAR 64 fixtures with 1000-watt, wide angle lamps. They are in a flesh colour. Backlighting is from two 500-watt fresnels with lavender gel. The rear scene is lit from an on-stage pipe by two 500-watt fresnels. Barndoors on these two fixtures are used to mask the light to fit just that scenery with no spill on to the back wall. (The other stage areas will be described in succeeding photos.)




(Image: The Queen and Prince in the Throne
Room)

The Royal Throne



The Wizard's Laboratory

(Image: The Wizard Speaks to the Jester and Minstrel)

The area seen in the above two photos serves two purposes. However, budget constrains meant that the lighting had to be the same for both. The actors are lit in straw from the front-of-house by two 500-watt fresnels, while a single 500-watt, PAR 64 Medium Flood provides a steel blue backlight. That can be seen projecting on the steps and in the pool on the stage in front. The contrast provided by these two lighting angles and colours is best seen on the faces of the Jester and Minstrel.
Side light slips its way between the rear of the left pillar and the back wall to provide a regal purple cast. That is done using one 500-watt, PAR 56 Medium Flood.



The next photos show that again, an area is used for multiple purposes. First as a Royal Court entrance, seen in the opening two photos back farther, and below as the bedroom for the princess, and then as an entrance into a garden. As with the other multi-purpose area, budget dictates that the lighting be the same for each purpose. Two front-of-house 500-watt fresnels provide facial light in straw, while a single 500-watt, PAR 64 Medium Flood provides a steel blue backlight.
Side light shines between the rear of the right pillar and the back wall to provide a sunshine yellow cast. That is done using one 500-watt, PAR 56 Medium Flood with a warm yellow gel.

(Image: The Prince and Princess in her Room
  with Attendants)

The Princess' Bedroom



The Bedroom and Nightingale

(Image: The Princess tries to Sleep while Nightingale
Sings)


(Image: Sir Harry and Lady Larken Hold Hands)

The Garden Entrance

Changing the light levels for each scene above suggests to the audience that this area represents something different as required. In particular, a lower level for the garden presents a subtle look that differs enough from that of the court and two bedroom looks to provide separate feelings for the audience for each area. The straw and yellow become much more amber when dimmed. In addition, providing a blue tint from the front wash during the garden scene alters the existing colours slightly. That differentiates this scene even more from the others despite it using the same initial fixtures and colours.




  The Garden

Here are two looks for the garden itself. The first is lit in gold from two front-of-house, 500-watt, 200mm ellipsoidals. They provide a warm, late afternoon feel. The rear scene is lit in straw by 500-watt fresnels as was described earlier with the full stage shots.

(Image: Sir Harry and Lady Larken in the Garden)



(Image: The Garden at Night)



(Image: The Garden at Night with Actors)


Contrasting the first look is the night version. It uses a deep blue wash from the front, a lavender from behind. (These wash fixtures were identified in earlier photos.) In addition though, are two ellipsoidals, one each at extreme side positions. One has a 1000-watt lamp, the other a 500. Both have foliage patterns and dark, steel blue gel to simulate moonlight through trees. You can see that this provides a shadowy effect on the trees and actors in the center.
Note in the second night photo that a smidgen of the straw scenery light provides a late-dusk sky by illuminating the clouds very slightly. The light is so dim it appears to make those clouds reflect the colour red. This, and the previous set of photos, show the importance and usefulness of selecting proper light levels to fit a given mood.



    Thanks to photographers Colin Conrad, Sandy Chase, and Rick Walker of the Halifax-Dartmouth, Nova Scotia area for usage of their photos.




Return to the
Theatre Photo Archive
Table of Contents

Return to the
Photo Gallery Archive
Table of Contents

Go to the
Photo Gallery Lobby


AIEL Main Page