This document outlines a lighting design plan for the play "Bus Stop" by Paolo Geronimo and lighting design team. It discusses setting the play in a small town diner in 1955 with objectives of providing visibility, revealing shapes and forms, providing focus, and establishing mood. Low intensity lighting using soft-edged spotlights will illuminate the dim setting. Lighting will focus on characters to promote the gloomy mood, with brighter lighting used in uplifting scenes. Movement of lighting will be slow overall with increases in intensity and movement used in tense scenes.

1. LIGHT DESIGN FOR
BUS STOP
PAOLO GERONIMO
GROUP 10
OTHER MEMBERS: CHRISTY CECIL, NICK HERMANN, DEMI TRAN

2. OBJECTIVES AS LIGHT DESIGNER
• Provide visibility.
• Reveal shapes and forms.
• Provide a focus onstage and create visual compositions.
• Assist in creating mood and reinforcing style.
• Help establish time and place.
• Establish a rhythm of visual movement.
• Reinforce the central visual image, establish visual information, or
both.

3. TIME AND PLACE
• 1 AM on an early March night, 1955
• Street corner restaurant in a small Kansas town, 30 miles West of Kansas City.
• Snow storm occurring during Acts I and II
• The play is set early in the morning in a dimly lit diner with only “two badly shaded light
bulbs”. (The two light bulbs are not sufficient for illumination so they are props that use
minimum light).
• Act III is set in 5 in the morning. The change in time can be represented by a slow-shifting
automatic camera
• Outside light will only be present in Act III.

4. VISIBILITY
• Visibility is the most important aspect of any play and should be prioritized.
• The McCandless method will be used to illuminate the stage.
• Bus Stop is dim with some dark themes so low intensity and low illumination will be used.

5. VISIBILITY CONT.
• The spotlights that will be used are soft-edged Fresnel spotlights (direct source).
• These will be used because of their ability to create soft-edged beams of lights and to focus the light on
certain areas.
• These features are good for the play because the play is generally dim and focuses on the interactions
between characters.

6. SHAPE AND FORM
• The characters and certain objects (in the world of the play) are the main focus of the play and will be
focused on more.
• Lighting will come from multiple angles to create and emphasize plasticity and dimension (refer to
McCandless method)

7. MOOD AND STYLE
• Bus Stop is a dramedy with a dark setting, dark themes, and dark moments.
• This is why low illumination, low intensity, low brightness and dark colors will be used (as well
as a realistic lighting style).
• (Visibility will not be sacrificed for mood and style)
• However, there are happy and uplifting moments throughout the play such as the “show”
that Virgil, Cherie, Elma, and Dr. Lyman participate in and the ending.
• In these scenes, brighter light with higher value will be used.

8. FOCUS AND COMPOSITION
• Focus of light will be aimed at the characters and nothing else (to promote the gloomy mood pervasive
throughout a good amount of the play).
• Scenes with 2 or less people (such as beginning scene and the Romeo and Juliet scene) will have cues to
create a more isolated, smaller composition (by focusing light on the characters).

9. RHYTHM
• Throughout most of the play few rapid movements will be used (with slow
fades used instead).
• Higher light intensity and abrupt movement will be used in higher tension
scenes (such as when Bo physically picks up Cherie and moves to the door).
• An overall slow shift of light (from one side to the other) with increasing value
and brightness will be used to represent the sun rising throughout the play.
• The goal of this is to be unperceivable to the audience and create an uplifting
emotion.

10. CENTRAL IMAGE
• Potential central images include the snow storm and the rising sun.
• The snow storm represents the chaotic natures of love and lust throughout the play and the rising sun
represents the revelation of true love.
• The rising sun is represented by the automated light and the snow storm can be represented by
numerous flashing lights in the beginning of the play (such as when Will, Cherie, Dr. Lyman, etc. enter)

11. PROPERTIES OF LIGHTING
• Intensity
• Color
• Distribution
• Movement

12. INTENSITY (AKA BRIGHTNESS)
• Dimmers will be also used to keep most of the play in low
brightness (with exceptions of uplifting or tense scenes).

13. COLOR
• Realistic lighting will be used so white light will be
predominately used throughout the play.
• A lower value of white light with a high chroma will be
used to make the play darker.

14. DISTRIBUTION
• The McCandless method will be used so light strike the
performers from 45⁰ angles and a spotlight will be directly
above them.
• Soft-edged beams of light will be used.

15. MOVEMENT
• Few amounts of rapid movement will be used (only in
scenes with high amounts of action).
• Slow shift of light to represent the sun.