Today I went through my technical requirement with one of the LPAC’s technicians. we went through my tech script and assessed the lights and requirements I needed and then changed some; as we later felt that such lighting states might not fit with the piece. Throughout my performance I have three separate areas; a main and central area where nothing is happening and there is no set scenario. This area would be where I would spend the majority of my time speaking to the audience; there may be certain sequences within this area, but it is not set as a specific scene or at any other time than the performance time [in other words, when I am in the central space, everything that is happening is happening at that time and the audience are the first to experience it; it isn’t in the future or the past, as it is happening symbiotically with my performance].
The second ‘space’ is to the left of my and is set in a gym. There will be a small pin spot on that area, as well as a dim wash in that area; to give a fuller image of me and the props I will use in that area. The spotlight will be used to centre the image and give the area a highlighted section, away from the other two acting areas. This also relates to the notion that this area is in the past and is a recollection of a memory that happened. Although this area is a memory that i am allowing the audience to see, i haven’t used any colour in this area; as the memory doesn’t evoke a strong sense of a certain emotion or feeling. [for instance, a red light for anger. A blue light for a sad memory etc.]
The third acting space is much the same as the aforementioned state, however it is set to the right of me. This space is set to the right of the main acting space as it is also a memory from the past, but it is a more recent memory the the one before it [the left hand side space]. I chose to set this scenario to the right hand side of the staging space as when I talk through the memories I move from left to right. This suggests a passing in time as I am moving in an altered but still clockwise direction and therefore signifying that I am still in a different period, but have moved forward in time from the last memory section.
The image below shows my set up for my technical rehearsal;
As you can see, for myself on stage; I am moving from left to right and from scenario to scenario with a flowing transition, as the area was straight and thus allowed me to manoeuvre through scenes easily.
Within this session, I also angled lights into the rig so that a dim wash of light would pick up the mirrored glass suspending from it. When the light hit the glass, it would send off a ray of shattered reflections into both the audience and above. Deciding on this lighting effect took some time for me to be convinced, as the mirrored glass was only coated on one side and i didn’t want to highlight that fact to my audience. However, we found that once the performance light were on also, the directed beams couldn’t be seen but the minor reflections and refractions could. This hopefully had the desired affect for the audience throughout my show, as i wanted them to notice the shattered glass and how that related to the many insecurities that plague our everyday lives. Hence why the glass was shattered and at different sizes; not only to give a better and varied image, but to relate to the fact that our insecurities are all different and all affect us in varied ways.