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ABSTRACT
The creative role of stage lighting is increasingly appreciated in contemporary theatre practice. However, aesthetic sensibility seems harder to teach than technology. This essay focuses on lighting design students and a learning journey inspired by Konstantin Stanislavsky. According to Scott Palmer, “[Stanislavsky’s] use of light at the Moscow Art Theatre made a fundamental contribution to the evolution of his acting method.” The connection between Stanislavsky’s work with light and the methods used by pioneers in the field of lighting design including Adolphe Appia, Edward Gordon Craig, Stanley McCandless, and Jean Rosenthal is examined. Beyond purely practical considerations, such as visibility and smooth transitions between the scenes, this essay sheds light on how Stanislavsky’s method can be used to help young aspiring lighting designers conceive the dramaturgical role of light. A proposal for a teaching approach is presented, using Stanislavsky’s basic techniques as an example. From the analysis of the text and the given circumstances to the magic “if,” which takes the actor into the world of the play, Stanislavsky’s approach can easily be applied to the creative process of a contemporary lighting designer. The interpretation of Stanislavsky’s work from a lighting designer’s perspective also leads to useful conclusions about the art of collaboration in the performing arts.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Abulafia, The Art of Light on Stage, 119.
2. Jones, The Dramatic Imagination, 37.
3. Constable, Storytelling with Light, 188.
4. Carter, Narratives, 74.
5. Rosenthal and Wertenbaker, The Magic of Light, 61.
6. The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, directed by Jonathan Kent at the Royal National Theatre, London (2016). Set design by Tom Pye, costume design by Emma Ryot, and lighting design by Mark Henderson.
7. The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, produced by Zero Point Theatre Company at Attis New Space (2023). Directed by Savvas Stroumbos, set and costume design by Katerina Papageorgiou, and lighting design by Kostas Bethanis.
8. Tsouchlou and Baharian, Scenography, 61.
9. Benedetti, An Introduction, 17.
10. See Stanislavsky, My Life in Art, 505.
11. Bablet, Adolphe Appia, 58.
12. Palmer, S. Light, 100. Originally in Edward Gordon Craig, The Mask VII (2)
May, 1915, pp. 159–60.
13. See Stanislavsky, My life in Art, 511.
14. Palmer, S. Light, 101.
15. Palmer, R. The Lighting Art, 1.
16. Palmer, S. Light, 120–22. See also Balukhaty, The Seagull produced by Stanislavsky.
17. Stanislavsky, My Life in Art, 426.
18. Senelick, The Chekhov Theatre, 46.
19. Bablet, Adolphe Appia, 43.
20. Palmer, R. The Lighting Art, xv.
21. Stanislavski, Building a Character, 5.
22. Constable, Storytelling with Light, 184.
23. Stanislavski, An Actor’s Work on a Role, 94.
24. Palmer, R. The Lighting Art, 1.
25. See Graham, Active roles of light, 74.
26. McCandless, A Syllabus, 4.
27. Rosenthal and Wertenbaker, The Magic of Light, 16.
28. McCandless, A Syllabus, 98.
29. Stanislavski, Building a Character, 287.
30. See Bresler, “Cultivation of a Researcher Self.”
31. Whyman, Stanislavski, 62.
32. See Palmer, R. The Lighting Art, 30.
33. Moran, The Right Light, 110.
34. Whyman, Stanislavski, 51.
35. Brecht, Notes on Stanislavski, 159.
36. Stanislavski, Building a Character, 5.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Valentina Tamiolaki
Valentina Tamiolaki is a lighting designer with a background in music. She holds a Master of Arts in Advanced Theatre Practice from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London). Her credits include the lighting design for many theatre, dance, opera, site-specific, and puppet theatre performances, music concerts, and art installations in Greece and abroad. She is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Theatre Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.