Stage Productions

LEDs: Light Emitting Diodes. They're bright, compact, use very little energy, create very little heat, have a long life, and they're all the rage. LEDs seem to be the ideal lighting product. But...

Hanging a lighting instrument is an essential part of preparing for a show. After the light is hung, it can be focused and added to the lighting panel for use throughout the show. Failure to...

Of all the elements in a theatrical production, lighting may be the most important. While it's possible to do a play without a set or intricate costumes, you will not be able to see your actors...

A black light can be very effective for dramatic, mood-enhancing scenes required by some scripts. Though a generally weak source for illumination when it comes to stage lighting (the average...

Choosing the right colors can make a tremendous impact on the mood and ambiance of a stage area. Through a proper selection of the various "warm" and "cool" gel colors, a lighting designer can...

If you are an avid theatergoer, odds are you have witnessed some amazing scenes that are set with the use of different-colored light. The way that a light designer makes the light a different...

In the theatrical world, technical directors are responsible for creating and designing the sound effects, sets and lighting effects for a production. Lighting, especially special effects...

PAR lights are parabolic aluminum reflector lights. PARs, known as "cans," are an industry standard for live performance theatrical lighting and on film production sets. A permanently focused...

Dramatic lighting is incredibly versatile. The lighting can focus on an individual while keeping the rest of the stage dark, steadily illuminate a scene or provide a soft glow to a silhouette. ...

Any lighting technician will tell you there is a lot more to properly lighting a concert than just setting up a couple of lights and turning them on and off with the music. Lighting sets the...

Good lighting is of primary importance in theater, and one of the elements that most often can make or break stage lighting is the use of color. Even the most seemingly plainly lit scenes use...

Tinkerbell, the impish fairy from the J. M. Barrie play "Peter Pan," is generally not portrayed by an actor in stage productions. Instead, she is a character created by effects of light and sound.

A gobo is a piece of small, flat metal or borosilicate glass with a design cut out of it. When the gobo is inserted into a stage light, the light projects that design onto the stage floor or wall...

Light shows were popular in the mid-1960s and early 1970s. The shows allowed an audience to not only hear the music, but also to "see" the music through the different elements of the light show,...

There are many different ways in which stage lighting can accent an actor's face when used from different angles and directions. These lighting techniques can influence an audience member's...

Stage lighting has four important objectives: visibility, naturalism, composition and mood (atmosphere). Visibility, of course, performs the obvious function of making objects visible on stage....

The theater has always drawn a crowd. And the stage has always needed light for those in the far reaches of the audience to be able to see what's happening. The problem has been solved by...

If you are performing a play in a non-traditional space such as a school gymnasium, cafeteria or classroom, you will find it necessary to cover the windows. This must be done to block out daylight...

Different colors denote different emotions. Red often symbolizes anger or passion, while blue often represents innocence or sadness. In the world of theater, it is crucial to capitalize on the use...

Using a light, loose powder will eliminate the glow on stage. Learn how to apply light powder in this free makeup video about stage makeup techniques.

A gobo is a perforated metal or color-stained glass disc inserted into the gate of a spotlight between the lantern and the lens. The light is projected through the gobo to create highly detailed...

Lightning effects are used to convey a sense of drama and realism to a stage production when a storm is called for by the script. Here's how to create the illusion of lightning for the stage.

A theater scrim is a panel or back drop used in theatrical performances. The scrim allows one scene to be going on in front of the scrim while a silhouette or other scene happens behind the scrim....