Lighting serves three main purposes on stage: to ensure visibility for actors and audiences, to establish mood through different colors and intensities, and to establish the time of day or era through simulated light levels. Visibility is important so audiences can see what happens on stage, while varying colors like orange, red, and blue can convey feelings like warmth, love, anger, and tiredness. Lighting designers also manipulate intensities and colors to simulate times like dusk, daytime, and nighttime to signify changes in scenes or time periods within a performance.
2. Lighting
The basic purpose of lighting
on stage is to give the actor or
performer meaning to his
surroundings and to provide
and atmosphere in which he
could logically interpret his
role.
As such, there are many
reasons why lighting could be
important on the stage.
3. Lighting
Visibility – to ensure that
actors and audiences can see
what is done on stage. Varying
intensities of light ranging from
0% - 100% helps “to see what
should be seen”. Even in
blackout, light is provided for
actors to move on and off the
stage.
4. Lighting
Establishing Mood – Various
colours, depending on its strength,
help to establish the feelings of the
actors and that of setting.
Orange – warmth light red – love
Deep red – anger blue – tiredness
5. Lighting
Establishing time (day/era) –
Lighting designers may use
intensities of light and colour to
establish time of day.
60% - dusk/ dawn
90% - daytime
10 % - (blue) night
Lights go out/ dim to show change
in time/ scene on stage.
