Whether it’s a dance show, a musical theatre production, a few singers one night or a full stage play, one of the main aspects of stage production is making sure that you have the right lighting. Stage lighting is very important for the performers, the audience and to make sure that the overall production goes exactly as planned.
First of all, you should get to know the venue, especially if you’re just hiring it for the production or you don’t normally use that venue. Whoever is in charge of the stage lighting should be very familiar with everything and how it works. It’s very important not to leave everything until the day of the performance, or even the day before. Make sure everything has been explained and understood, and prepare well in advance in case you need to purchase any equipment or bring some from another venue.
Next, you need to think about how to use the lighting and at which parts it will be used in your event . For solo performances, a single spotlight may be needed, whereas, if a whole group of people are performing on the stage, then the whole stage must be bright enough for everybody to see clearly. Make sure that the person in charge of the lighting knows which lights to use and at which points in the performance they need to be changed.
When deciding on stage lighting, colours are very important too. Using different colours will help you to get the effects you need. If it is a play and you need night time scenes, morning sunshine and other effects, using different colours will help. If you use bright colours, you may not need the stage lighting to be as bright, and if you’re trying to get the effect of the night time, you may need to dim the lights.
Finally, don’t forget to check over everything shortly before the performance. Any rehearsals should be conducted with the lighting exactly as it will be for the final show, in order to make sure everybody knows exactly how it will be on the night.
