AQA GCSE Drama Student Book: Revised Edition

SET PLAY 3: Things I Know to be True by Andrew Bovell 3 Lighting design When creating your lighting design, you might consider how to present: time of day and season mood or atmosphere the setting, action and characters of a scene (such as a follow spot to focus the audience on a character’s journey or backlighting to make them appear mysterious) a focus on a particular moment. Some of your lighting tools are: colours angles and intensity light from onstage sources (candles, outdoor lanterns, indoor lamps) use of shadow and silhouette special effects transitions, blackouts or fades. Lighting was very important in the original production. Geoff Cobham, who designed the set and lighting, used lighting to heighten the play’s action and make it appear more ‘surreal’. He used coloured gels to create atmosphere and hung 131 light bulbs above the set, which he said represented the ‘bubble that Bob the father lives in’. ( Things I Know to be True Comprehensive Guide ) There are many other ways, however, that lighting could be used. The action of the play covers four seasons over a year, with scenes inside and outdoors. The lighting could be naturalistic to represent these locations as closely as possible. The angle of lights might suggest certain times of day, or colours could represent different seasons. On the other hand, lighting could be more stylised, with certain colours representing memories or spotlights used to follow a character. Con ict between characters could be indicated with special effects such as strobes, backlighting or sudden blackouts. Your lighting might also change to re ect the differences between more naturalistic scenes and more stylised ones. TASK 30 Some sample lighting effects a student might want to create are given below. Consider: where in the play they might be suitable how they could be accomplished technically. A I want my lighting to suggest the romantic feelings that Bob and Fran still have for each other. B My lighting, through the use of focused spotlights and coloured gels, will show how lonely Rosie feels in Berlin. C To depict the changing seasons, I will use high-angled lights with gobos suggesting light filtering through leaves. D At this point, I will have some of the family members backlit so that we only see their outlines. E I want the lighting to suggest that each character is in their own world. F To create an emotional response from the audience, I want the lighting to seem magical and otherworldly. TASK 31 Choose two contrasting scenes from the play. Write down your ideas of how lighting could help to convey the actions of these scenes and the necessary mood. 93 SECTION B STUDY OF A SET PLAY