“feel” of an environment is extremely powerful while being very subtle. The lighting designer has an
incredible tool at his disposal to enhance any project he works on.
There are three things that draw me to lighting design. The first is my interest in telling a story. The
style of modern playwriting (namely the cinematic nature of many new scripts) often sacrifices the clarity
of the story in lieu of the method in which it is told. The ability to impose a visual structure on a play
gives me great power to guide the audience through the story. I can indicate time and location with
simple strokes that allow those watching to focus on the important details. During the design process of
any show I am strong-headed in sticking to the conventions of story telling that we have established and
picking the right time to deviate from them when necessary.
The second aspect of designing light that intrigues me is its infinite variety. In my opinion it is the most
dynamic medium an artist could hope to work in. The unlimited qualities that lighting provides can allow
the same set to look bright, sunny and happy one minute and shadowy, dank and foreboding the next.
Whether trying to convey time and place or subtleties of mood, light is an incredibly flexible and
powerful tool. Its power is further enhanced by the fact that the audience is often unaware of the
changes in the lighting, feeling instead of seeing them.
The third thing that compels me to be a lighting designer is the opportunity to collaborate with other
artists. When involved in successful collaboration my work is better than I alone could make it, and so
is that of the other designers. The flow and exchange of ideas in such a situation can be fascinating; you
never know where a solution will come from. Watching a body of ideas grow and evolve beyond the
expectations of the group is one of the great joys of working in theater.
These three things make me think that I have the best job out there. Every day is a challenge, and most
days it is a pleasure to do what I do. To use the my skills to lead an audience through the story of a
play, hopefully making them feel something unique along the way, is an extremely satisfying endeavor.
Getting to make pretty pictures as well is an added bonus.
