Stage Directions: One of the accepted technical challenges of London’s outdoor theater season are the major productions at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, which run right through the summer. Working within the existing stage infrastructure, Lighting Designer Jon Clark helped interpret director Jamie Lloyd’s stripped back production of Evita, juxtaposing GLP’s new generation LED moving lights with traditional PAR cans.
3 comments:
Lighting outside seems like a huge challenge. Having to light during the way and only have a few hours to cue during the proper time of day seems like you would need to have a pretty concert plan going into the cueing process. It's really interesting to understand how fast productions need to go up (especially for lighting) you have to preplan a lot so that once you get into space you can get things done quickly. I know that CMU has a few lighting fixtures that are designed for outside use, but that has to increase the budget by quite a bit when technology needs to be able to withstand the summer weather. The design for this show is different from other Evita designs I have seen, it is very modern and looks like it is inspired by a rock concert. I like that the lighting designer has chosen a cooler color palette to go along with the Argentinian flag. The designer talks about using PARs and LEDs to contrast each other and also blend together to create different looks. Incandescent and LED fixtures emit different qualities of light so in my opinion I really enjoy when a designer can blend the two to create the overall lighting design (also LEDs can wash out someone's skin tone very easily so incandescent lights always help when lighting people!)
This is quite fascinating. I find both the scenery and the lighting beautifully done and well captured. It isn’t often that this is the case with outdoor venues specifically park venues. Often it feels like the inherent setting of the park and the contrast with the scenery ruins the artistry as well as the environment as aa whole. The environment here being the ability to dispend disbelief. However, I find that the scenery especially in conjunction with the lighting fits quite well into the space, the park. The other side to this is usually budget. It appears that park events such as EVITA are usually on a low budget and so it doesn’t come out as well as one would hope, and this has to do with the park. The fact that you’re in a park either has to play to that setting and/or fit the setting to it somehow. It can be achieved in a number of ways, but it is likely to cost more money. Clearly this production isn’t on as low a budget as I am used to seeing and it turned out beautifully.
Working in an outdoor theatre when it comes to lighting is a pain in the butt, but when done well, it can be really freaking cool. St. Louis, my home city, is home to a popular outdoor theatre that is going into its 102nd season: The Muny. I have had the opportunity to see a couple of productions there in my life, all of which were stunning. Jon Clark, the lighting designer for the Open Air Theatre in London’s production of Evita did not disappoint. This article features many images from the show, all of which are stunning. The images encapsulate the amazing lighting that forms around the actors on stage to create a work of art. I really love the use of lights under the stage stairs as well. Jon Clark has had the opportunity to work at this theatre before, so he was aware of the adventures when it comes to lighting outside. I am interested in seeing more images of his work, particularly his production there of Into The Woods.
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