Theatre Design & Technology - May 1965 - 22

potential for spontaneous alteration of the lighting distribution which is necessary in the theatre.
The degree of flexibi lity required depends in
part on the magnitude of light changes believed
to have an effect on an audience. Production
theorists from Appia's day to the present have
proclaimed the tremendous power of lighting to
determine the reactions of audiences by controlling the appearance of a production, but few
systematic investigations have been made to
determine the potential refinement of light as a
tool or the extent to which appearance affects
our reactions to the drama. We must be wary of
the premise that the complexity exhibited by
contemporary light plots is an adequate guide to
the complexity which will be required by producers of the future. It may well be that already
our Iighting is unnecessarily complicated by an
unjustified belief that the minute differences in
appearance provided by the lighting designer have
a positive effect on an audience; it may equally
be true that even greater refinement of lighting
control wi II resu It in a greater and more predictable impact. Unti I researchers can speak with
more assurance on the effects of light, we must
rely on the belief that more dimmers and controllers give us the means for more precise control of audience reaction.
If stage lighting is to be potentially more effective, the lighting designer must be freed from
the limitations of his equipment. An early step
was the development of remote control systems
which made it possible toremove the control system from the bu Ik and no i se of the dimmers and
place it in the auditorium where the performance
is visible alike to audience and operator. The
separation of the control system and the dimmers
may be, however, only the first of several desirable steps in releasing the control of lighting
from the restrictions of hardware. 3 Many theatres
already provide a partial console by which light
may be controlled from more favorable viewpoints
during lighting rehearsals. Receptacles are often
installed which permitthe connection of consoles
at various points in the auditorium and back
stage. The ultimate freedom for the operator
might come with some form of radio connection
between the control s wh ich the operator keeps
with him and the permanently installed dimmers
in a remote part of the bui Iding.

THE OPERATOR
The control sy stem operator is the Iink between
the lighting designer and an audience. It is the
operotor's task to "perform" the lighting as it

control

systems become more complex with

presets

and cord handling equipment, we are again approaching

has been designed, and indeed an analogy may be
drawn between the operator and a performer on a
musical instru~ent. Both present a composition,
the form of which has been determined by someone else. In both cases the work may be performed precisely with careful attention to the
notati~ns which have been set down for the performer s gUidance and, in spite of its accuracy
be life les sand du II. On the other hand as th~
performer is able to add personal inter~retation
and expression to the mechan ical reproduction,
great performances are possible. The control
system must provide for this sort of interpretive
vari ati on.
In our search for more effective production we
have posited the desirability of a single operator
on the basis that only when there is a single intelligent being in charge of lighting can he react
sensibly to the actors' performances. The time
has come to re-examine the assumption that
limiting systems to a single operator is necessary or even desirable. Even the most complex
effects may be brought about using a simple manual control board, provided that there are enough
well di sciplined operators, but the problem of
coordinating their efforts with one another and
with the performance on stage has lead us to
accept a single operator as ideal. The single
operator, however, is limited to those simultaneous operations which one person may carry
out using his hands and feet4. When one considers the degree of coordination exhibited by a
symphony orchestra, one wonders whether we
may not have allowed our dissatisfaction with
lighting control as exercised on the monstrous
back-stage resistance boards to affect our judgment when more compact control systems became
possible. If the system is to be operated by a
single person, the primary controls used to
effect a lighting change must be as simple as
possible to use. If, at the same time, the system
is to remain flexible and provide for precise,
subtle variations in light, a control which is
simple in use becomes an extremely complex
electro-mechanical mechanism with attendant
unreliability. Perhaps a better solution might be
multiple control stations, splitting the control of
light ing among operators each having res pon s ibility for particular groups of instruments, particular areas of the stage or the illumination of
one or more actors. Provision for master dimming
and/or switching from remote locations can make
possible operation of portions of the system by
actors on stage to bring about closer synchronization of action and lighting.
The training and motivation of the intended
vperators should be reflected in the design of a
control system. A highly trained and motivated
operator, just as an organist, should be able to

a condition where the equipment is too large and noisy
for installotion in the most desirable positions in the
auditorium and it may he necessary not only to separate
the dimmers from the control system, but to subdivide

and physically separate portions of the control system
itself.

Very

few American control

systems hove been mode to

exploit the operator's full capability by using his feet.

IOSITT

THEATRE DESIGN AND TEGHNOLOOY

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