Appia and Craig were influenced by Symbolism and sought to use lighting and design to hint at deeper meanings rather than directly represent reality. Appia developed a new movable lighting system and worked to use light to sculpt images on stage, while Craig experimented with color lighting and vertical lines to create a sense of grandeur and add depth beyond the physical stage. Both designers worked to transform the theatrical environment into an atmospheric and symbolic space through innovative use of light.

2.  Appia and Craig both were influenced by the
Symbolist Movement.
 Symbolists looked beyond surface reality to
rediscover the more poetic aspects of life
 Truth for them cannot be expressed or
represented directly, only hinted at through a
network of symbols

3.  Appia gained
inspiration for his work
from Wagner’s operas;
tried to create a visual
equivalent of the music
 Appia was the first
designer to work out a
complete theory of
stage lighting as a fluid
and flexible
interpretative medium
 Used light to, in a sense,
sculpt the images on
stage

4.  To achieve this, Appia created an entirely new
system of lighting which replaced traditional
footlights, wing and boarder lights; created the
movable lighting instrument system that is in
use today
 In 1906, he met with Dalcroze, worked with
him at the Eurythmics Institute. Here he was
able to design his most experimental abstract
work for theatre.

5.  Wanted to create a scenic environment that was more
of an atmosphere.
 Experimented with color in lighting
 Shared some of Appia’s ideas of using light to sculpt,
to add three dimensional nature to stage environment
 Craig worked with Stanislavski on his production of
Hamlet
 Craig’s work is more severe, strong use of vertical
lines. This, along with his use of shadow, worked to
carry the eye up beyond the limits of the stage, thus
giving his work a sense of height and grandeur.
 Works such as “The Steps” and “Scene 1907” gave
movement to his designs.