Lights, Camera, Action

Lighting

Since we no longer practice theater like the ancient Greeks by beginning our shows at sunrise (at least this isn't the norm), light has become a major component of theater. Thanks to technology, we can use light to create the "focus" "atmosphere" "mood" "3D rendering" and "reinforcement." From this the audience can make visual associations that help them better understand the performance.

The one use of light that we used during our monodramas was used for John's performance. We had no fancy lighting. There was the only the light used to provide the whole room with light. We manipulated the lighting when I heard his cue, the last line of the first part of his speech, and cut off all of the lights to create a blackout. Then he used this darkness to change his costume. Again the lights (should have been) were cut off at the end of the performance to give the audience that feeling of sudden change because his character had disappeared.

I'm curious now how the lighting is set up so that it hits the actors where it's supposed to. Are the actors asked to stand in certain places for this purpose? And does someone manually change the lights during the whole show? I understand that "changes can be timed automatically." So does this mean that during rehearsals they put into the computer the timing of the lights? Or something else? I think I'd have to see it done.