Prime Movers

Stage Directions: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Or in the case of theatre: The designer or the manufacturer? Designers and directors are always pushing for new effects, new looks, new possibilities; but would they even know those possibilities existed without manufacturers inventing new tricks? We asked lighting and special effects companies how they’re responding to designers to help them create beautifully subtle looks—or blast the back row into the stratosphere—and what the current “must-have” effect is.