If you’re an avid theatre goer or love watching plays, then you’ll know that lighting is a crucial part of any production. A well-designed lighting theme can enhance the audience experience and shape the overall mood and atmosphere - but how exactly do they achieve this?
In this blog, we will run you through all the types of lighting in theatre, telling you all you need to know about their functions and benefits. Remember, Vision Lighting is the stop for all your LED sign light needs, whether that’s to illuminate the stage door or attract audience members to the theatre.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
What is the Goal of Stage Lighting?
Before telling you about the different types of lighting used in theatres, we thought it might be helpful to understand what the actual goal of stage lighting is. Ultimately, lighting designers want to enhance the theatrical experience by manipulating light and shadow to achieve special effects.
As well as adding to the set and creating a new scene, the right lighting can also create a desired mood or atmosphere, ranging from joy and excitement to suspense and building tension. Stage lighting is a powerful tool that transforms a stage into a captivating world, helping to elevate the performance and captivate us as audience members.
To find out more about atmospheric lighting, check out our blog: The Best Ways to Create a ‘Mood’!
The Types of Lighting in Theatres
So, what are the types of lighting in theatre? If you’re a theatre novice, it might be hard to understand that there are many different types of lighting in theatre, with each one serving its own unique purpose.
While many theatres are switching to LED stage lighting, using ordinary 50W LED flood lights, they can also use special types of lighting that add to the theatre experience, such as strobes and gobos.
The most common types of lighting in theaters include:
Let’s explore these in a bit more detail…
Spot Lights
One of the most well-known lighting fixtures used in theatre, spotlights help to highlight a particular character or area and can be paired with coloured filters. When a spotlight is illuminating a character, focus is drawn solely to them, separating them from the backdrop or crowd.
Spotlights are a great lighting feature to use when a character is performing a monologue or important dialogue that expresses their emotions, actions, or expressions. Although they do exactly what they say on the tin, it’s a great way to get the audience to connect with a character.
Strobe Lights
In comparison, strobe lights are used for more special effects and making movements look erratic. They’re a great option for injecting drama and excitement, helping to create a sense of tension or chaos depending on the context of the play!
Remember, while strobe lights help to make the stage look alive, they aren’t recommended for long periods of use as they can be dangerous for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Many productions use strobe lights to stimulate special effects such as lightning or gunfire, adding suspense and helping to build tension.
Flood Lights
Flood lights are another popular choice among theatre lighting, producing a clear, wide-angled beam, being able to brighten up any stage. They can be paired with coloured gels to instantly set the mood and atmosphere, or on their own to create a general wash.
At Vision Lighting, our range of LED flood lights start from 30W and go all the way up to 100W. While 30W LED flood lights aren’t as strong or bright as larger ones, like 100W LED flood lights, they can still be used in smaller theatres or venues to achieve a general wash of light across the stage.
Have a read of our blog Benefits of LED Lighting for more information!
Fresnel Lights
For less of a harsh, bright, light, a fresnel light creates more of a soft-edged beam of light. They’re used in a wide variety of theatrical productions either for spotlights or wash lights, making them extremely versatile. A soft edge creates a natural-looking and flattering light on an actor’s face, making it easier for an audience to connect with the character.
Fresnel’s are also commonly used for backlighting or top lighting (more about lighting positions later!), and can be paired with coloured gels that help to add more drama and detail to the stage.
The Lighting Positions Used on Stage
As well as the types of lighting in theatre, another essential stage lighting concept to grasp is lighting positions. You might not know it, but lighting positions play a crucial role in shaping the overall atmosphere, guiding the audience’s attention, and enhancing storytelling!
The key lighting positions that designers include in their setup include:
Front lights - the main source of lighting for a performance. These lights are positioned directly in front of the stage and provide the primary illumination for actors.
Backlights - these lights add more dimension by being placed behind the actors, separating them from the background.
Downlights - similarly, downlights are another way to add dimension to the stage. They can differ in intensity and be placed either above or on foot level so that the beams are directed at a certain angle.
Side and high side lights - high side lights are placed on the side of the stage at a high position so that the light casts onto the head and shoulders of the performers. They help to make the facial expressions of actors more prominent.
LED floodlights are commonly used in theatre productions because of their efficiency, longevity, and the fact that they produce very little heat. At Vision Lighting, we sell LED floodlights that are suitable for sign lighting or other commercial lighting applications.
So, if you’re ready to say ‘lights, camera, action’, we’ve got lighting solutions that are cost-effective and sure to last you a number of years!
Indulge in Your Lighting Needs with Vision Lighting!
Hopefully, this blog has taught you all you need to know about the types of lighting in theatre. As we’ve seen, there are lots of different ways that designers can create captivating and immersive productions for audience members, hooking them in from the first flash!
Here at Vision Lighting, we guarantee quality every time because we are an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 UKAS-certified company, meaning that we’re committed to quality, the environment, and the continuous improvement of our processes.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Or, give us a call on +44 (0) 1132 799745. A member of our team will be more than happy to get back to you!