Photo Gallery Archive THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS 2014 through 2015 Lighted By RICHARD BONNER

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

The Game's Afoot
Dartmouth Players
2015, June

(All lights are 500 watts except as noted.
All fresnels have barndoors.)

This look shows one of the times when bad weather has taken out some of the lights in the house. There is a warm wash done with Colour Correction Orange (CCO) from 150mm fresnels, and breakups projected in a Cold Blue colour to simulate outside light coming into the semi-darkened house. These can be seen at the extreme lower left, and also on the door and wall at the right. Fixtures used are 115mm ellipsoidals. Backlighting on the table uses Colour Correction Blue (CCB), while the bookcase highlight is a lighter CCO. All use 80mm fresnels. The blue light outside the door is from a 150mm fresnel. Later on, tree projections will be added.

The tree projections can be seen here during a rehearsal. This is before that look was perfected via better focusing and the addition of real tree branches. The front wash is a CCO, while the wall and column fixturess use a lighter CCO and a lavender, respectively. Each employs an 80mm fresnel.

In this "Seance" scene from a middle rehearsal, the set has not yet been dressed, but most of the basic room lighting is in place. A single 150mm fresnel pointed straight down at the table's white cloth bounces light up to the actors' faces so as to provide a sureal, under-the-chin effect. One fresnel each at the extreme downstage corners projects a cone of deep blue across the floor. Each is barndoored to limit light to the waist on down. These fixtures will later be masked from the audience. Ghostly patterns in Cold Blue are seen on the downstage walls from 115mm ellipsoidals. The effect is done by severely defocusing breakup patterns and projecting them at extreme angles so they keystone, and thus smear along the surface. Wall downlights and doorway lights in CCO are evident, as is the outside blue and tree projection -- all still in their early stages.

In this closer view of the above, the effect of the single downlight is very evident. The audience sees the downstage actors in silhouette while the rest are well illuminated facially. The blue floor lights add the contrast to heighten the facial expressions for the audience.

Here one can see the spot on the table. It is slightly off centre at this point because the table's position has not yet been formally spiked (marked). One of the floor fresnels is visible here projecting its blue swath across the stage. On the facing table cloth the sharp cutoff from the other fresnel shows how the light is kept below standing waist level. Upstage are visible one of the wall downlights, and a doorway light being projected from off stage.

An earlier shot before all the final chairs have been made ready. This shows how a perfectly centred down light evenly lights the faces through indirect lighting.

Before the set has been dressed, the initial look for the full lights-out is tried. All front fixtures project breakups from 115mm ellipsoidals in Cold Blue. The outside here has not yet seen the tree branch projection, nor has any of the wall and bookcase lighting been added to this look.

By this point, the "polish" elements are in place: The wall and column modeling, the outside tree, and the bookcase. More will be added as the set becomes fully dressed. In addition, the warm rectangles seen on the tree pattern will be eliminated by careful masking.

Here is the set as it looks in an almost finished state. Most of the elements already discussed are seen here. Speciality lighting is now on the Christmas tree/Radio, the bookcase, the columns and the shield. The latter will eventually hold a variety of antique weapons. To be added is polish lighting for the suit of armor and three busts yet to be placed on the top of the bookcase. A final focus will see spill light removed and the column lighting perfected.

Man of La Mancha
Halifax West Players
2015, March

(All lights are 1000 watts except as noted.
All fresnels are 150mm and have barndoors.
All Ellipsoidals are 150mm.)

The general look of the prison is formed by pattern washes from the Front of House (FOH) using three, 37-degree Ellipsoidals with breakups and Chocolate gel; and pattern washes from the Centre Stage Catwalk using two 26-degree Ellipsoidals with the same patterns, but with a Cold Blue gel. The former wash the actors; the latter wash the Upstage prison walls. To bring actors' faces out of the gloom, two FOH 37-degree Ellipsoidals with no colour are brought up dimly. High-angle back lighting comes from four Fresnels on the stage catwalk with dark Steel Blue gel.

The only lighting here is the Steel Blue back wash and a single, 19-degree Ellipsoidal from FOH with no colour. To your right is the prison firepit. It is a wooden creation made to look like bricks on the outside. Inside, hidden from the audience, is crumpled newspaper. This reflects the light from two 19-degree Ellipsoidals on the stage catwalk shining almost straight down into the pit. One has a Primary Red gel, the other a Yellow. The latter is allowed to spill a bit on to the wall next to the pit (not visible here). These lights are programmed in the lighting board to brighten, dim, and flicker in a realistic, fire-like way.

The prison is lighted as in the first photo. A 26-degree Ellipsoidal with a "Bars" pattern and no colour shines from off stage on to the upstage prison wall. Its programmed flickers simulate turning windmill blades.

A Colour-Correction Orange (CCO) wash from FOH Wide Flood PAR 64s provides a warm wash to the tavern. The two FOH 37-degree Ellipsoidals with no colour give brightness to the seating area. Three fresnels from the stage catwalk in a medium Orange add warm backlight colour.

A single 26-degree Ellipsoidal in CCO from the proscenium pipe lights the steps and Aldonza. The upstage walls have their Cold Blue pattern wash as described in the first photo. On the back wall of the stage are two stretched `Explosion' patterns in Orange. One each of a 26-degree Ellipsoidal is way up in the flyspace on either side of the wall. This causes each pattern to keystone into long, narrow light & shadow images.

The back fresnels again provide back/top light in dark Steel Blue. Directly over the stairs is a single Wide Flood PAR 64 with a Pale Violet gel. It has barndoors to shape the light exactly to the stairs and their immediate area.

The lighting is the same as above except that the Cold Blue wall breakups are on dimly, and also two 300-watt, PAR 56 Medium Flood fixtures on floor bases light the actor wearing the red cloak. They are positioned right behind the wall, one to either side of the rear stairs and use a CCO gel. This adds a sinister feel to his entrance.

The Confessional is lit from the proscenium pipe by a single 26-degree Ellipsoidal in CCO. The set is dimily lit from the procenium PARS and overhead Fresnels in Steel Blues. A large church window looms overhead on the rear stage wall, projected from a single 37-degree Ellipsoidal with no colour.

The only lighting here is the single Ellipsoidal as used for the Confessional. Four Medium Flood PAR 64s, two each from the upstage corners under the stage catwalk, slash Deep Blue across the rear stage wall.

A Medium Blue washes the scene from two Wide Flood PAR 64s, one on each side of the proscenium pipe. Two more on each side of, and above, the acting area use Steel Blues. These side angles add dimension, as do the two Medium Flood PARs high up on each side of the flyspace. They slash down the rear stage wall in Chocolate. To give the impression of moonlight through trees, two 37-degree Ellipsoidals on the proscenium pipe project Foliage in a Light Blue on to the extreme Upstage Right and Left sets.

Only white front lighting was used here so as to achieve maximum reflection from the mirrors and mirrored clothing. A selection of Ellipsoidals on the proscenium pipe and from the FOH provide the direct beams needed.

An FOH CCO wash and the side Steel Blues give base light, along with a hint of the Cold Blue breakups on the stone walls. A 37-degree Ellipsoidal from each FOH alcove position illuminates the dancers in breakup patterns. One is coloured Yellow while the other is Pink. The flyspace Medium Flood PARs slash down the rear stage wall in Chocolate.

A single 37-degree ellipsoidal with no colour shines directly down upon the bed. The actors close by are illuminated with reflected light. All other lighting is as was for the general prison look except that the FOH pattern washes have been dimmed considerably to suit the sombre mood.

Blithe Spirit
Dartmouth Players
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
2015, February

(All lights are 500 watts except as noted.
All fresnels have barndoors.)

The front wash is done with six 150mm fresnels in a colour-correction (CC) orange gel to give a sepia-tone look to this scene. Top lighting on the actors is a lighter CC orange from two 80mm, 250-watt fresnels. These same fixtures light the blue curtains in a light blue. Through the garden doors shines a daylight blue to represent sky light. The outside painted scene is lit in straw. Each uses a single 150mm fresnel.

The garden lighting is as above, but front lighting here is from two 150mm fresnels in a straw colour. These are positioned above and well to either side of the table.

This is another morning look. The garden lighting is again as above. Here, you can see the daylight casting shadows of the doors on the floor at the right. Front lighting this time is from steeper side angles and has a light chocolate gel to achieve a duller look whenever the ghost is on stage. There are two 150mm fresnels on each side for this. On the back and side walls is a foliage projection in a sunshine yellow. One 115mm ellipsoidal positioned above the garden doors handles this.

This shows the set with more decoration as the rehearsals progress. Front lighting is the six fresnels in CC Orange and top lighting is from 80mm fresnels in a lighter CC orange, as previously described. Added to this are more 80mm fresnels that look down on to various pictures, furniture and objects. This adds variety to otherwise too-evenly-lit walls. Their colour is a light CC Orange. Outside is a blue on the scene in the garden, and indoors is foliage projected along the hall wall to represent moonlight behind trees shining through an upstairs window.

A single 150mm fresnel shines straight down in a light chocolate colour to dimly light those at the table. Through the garden doors a ghosts stands. The actress there is wearing a fluorescent-white chiffon robe with a matching hood. Her face and hands appear black against her robe. This is done with a single, 15-watt, filtered ultraviolet tube above the door in a horizontal orientation.

The front light comes from the side fresnels in light chocolate. The top lighting is as before, as is the garden daytime lighting and inside blue curtains. Seen better here though, is the hall lighting which is done with 80mm fresnels shining straight down and with a single window projection representing daylight through a window above the unseen outside entrance door. Again, a 115mm ellipsoidal does this in daylight blue.

The only lighting here is the warm top light on the couch and chair and the seance table top light. New is the dark blue that shines through the garden doors from outside. The latter is done with one 150mm fresnel on a floor base, and above it just higher than head height is a second. These cast shadows across the stage right floor and wall as the ghosts leave this world.