Designing Theatre Lighting for New Works Festival 2020

Author

Bridger P. Caicedo, Loyola Marymount UniversityFollow

Date of Completion

4-29-2020

Degree Type

Honors Thesis

Discipline

Theater (THEA)

First Advisor

Rob Hilig

Second Advisor

Diane Benedict

Abstract

Lighting Design encompasses a major part of the theatre experience and this responsibility must not be taken lightly. It requires extensive preparation, expertise, technological expertise, and quite a bit of creativity. I have since experienced most of this process and learned an incredible amount about how to design a show. Over the course of this project, I outlined goals and mile markers to measure my progress until the project was completed and opening night filled the eyes and hearts of the audience. Unfortunately, this progress was harshly and quickly halted by the emergence of the worst global pandemic in almost a century. COVID-19 cancelled all plans I had to design the ten different shows that were associated with the New Works Festival of 2020.

However, it did not stop me from completing several goals I had lined up for this project. I learned about pre-production and what it is like to work with different directors and their unique styles in production meetings. I learned about designing my own plot and hanging every fixture myself, and then circuiting each one of those fixtures to a light board. I learned about the incredibly satisfying feeling of having the fixtures suddenly light up and work after hours of labor. In the end, I might not have accomplished every goal I laid out for myself for this thesis, but it was not all for nothing. These goals and accomplishments are explored in this theatre Undergraduate Thesis.

Recommended Citation

Caicedo, Bridger P., "Designing Theatre Lighting for New Works Festival 2020" (2020). Honors Thesis. 401.
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/honors-thesis/401