See it. Change it. Explain it.
Lighting Lab
Learn what theatre lanterns actually do, see how position and focus change a stage, then make and explain your own lighting choices before applying them to set-text scenes.
Choose a Lighting Lab route
01Work through lanterns, position, angle, colour, intensity, focus, gobos and cues on a live stage.
Make a scene feel uneasy, isolate a performer, create status, direct focus and explain the technical choices.
Take the same lighting decisions into the plays you study. The first interactive scene presets are being prepared here.
The idea behind the Lab
Lighting is more than colour
Students can change one variable at a time and see the result: lantern type, rig position, angle, beam width, intensity, focus, colour and transition. The aim is precise theatrical thinking rather than a list of mood-colour shortcuts.
Lighting fundamentals
A complete introductory sequence
The tutorial is deliberately cumulative. Students meet the equipment first, then learn how designers combine choices into a state and turn that state into exam language.
- 01What lighting doesvisibility, focus, space and change
- 02Meet the lanternsProfile, Fresnel, PAR, Birdie and more
- 03Position & anglefront, side, back, top and low light
- 04Focus & beamwashes, specials and visual hierarchy
- 05Colour & intensitymixing, saturation and contrast
- 06Texture & cuesgobos, snaps, fades and transitions
- 07Build a statemake several choices work together
- 08Explain the designtechnical detail, intention and audience effect