A Lighting Design With A Chorus Line?

A Chorus Line, a musical by Michael Bennett, was designed by Tharon Musser and originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett. The show featured a computerized electronic lighting board, which was considered revolutionary due to its use of focused lighting. The lighting design was strategically used to underscore emotional moments and highlight individual performers during auditions. Tharon Musser won her first Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in 1972 for Follies, followed by Tonys for A Chorus Line in 1976 and Dreamgirls in 1982. Gordon Pearlman, the president of Rosco/Entertainment Technology, was responsible for designing the original computerized lighting system used on the show.

The lighting design process for A Chorus Line involved drawing drawings, channel layout, hookup, and instrument schedule. The academic schedule required the lighting to be designed using a repertory plot, but this allowed for flexibility and creativity. The lighting designer, Howard Hudson, returned to the Virginia Samford Theatre to light the new production of A Chorus Line, which heavily used GLP LED moving heads. The lighting design process was closely hewed as closely as possible to Tharon Musser’s legendary work. The lighting design for A Chorus Line is a testament to the power of focused lighting and the ability to create memorable performances.

What made A Chorus Line so special?

In 1975, the iconic Broadway musical “A Chorus Line” introduced Broadway dancers to the emotional lives of audiences. The show, known for its energetic dancing, catchy songs, and honest storytelling, gave an unprecedented voice to performers of color, featuring four ethnic characters, including Paul San Marco and Diana Morales. This multi-dimensionality elevated the standard of racial minority depictions in musical theater. In honor of the 15th anniversary of the Broadway revival, several artists, including Broadway veteran Hector Guerrero, shared their experiences with the show.

Guerrero explained that prior to “A Chorus Line”, the only show to significantly feature Hispanic characters was “West Side Story”. The revival of “A Chorus Line” has had a profound impact on the lives and careers of many artists.

What style is A Chorus Line?

A Chorus Line, a musical theater show that premiered in 1975, changed the genre by introducing an ensemble show with no large scenery, costumes, intermission, or star. The show won the Pulitzer Prize and nine Tony Awards®, making it the first reality show to capture such an iconic role in American culture. The idea for the show originated from two Broadway dancers, Michon Peacock and Tony Stevens, who wanted to create a theater troupe of just Broadway dancers due to the struggling Broadway industry in the early 1970s. They approached Michael Bennett, a Tony Award®-winning director and choreographer, who had started as a chorus dancer.

On a snowy Saturday evening in January 1974, they interviewed dancers to share their stories and experiences, encompassing childhood traumas, insecurities, and sexuality. The event lasted twelve hours, but another evening was scheduled and recorded. Bennett pitched his idea to Joseph Papp, founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival, who loved it and allowed him an unprecedented amount of workshop time for the project.

Bennett drew from friends to help shape the piece, including Nicholas Dante, Bob Avian, Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, and James Kirkwood. He was the one who drove the show, ensuring that the show captured its iconic role in American culture.

What is a lighting designer called?

Lighting designers are responsible for creating and managing lighting for various events, including plays, musicals, operas, concerts, tours, television and movie sets, and art installations. They use light to create an inviting mood, evoke specific places or times, and direct floods and spots to illuminate outdoor stages. The work varies depending on the setting, and requires an artist’s sensibility and an engineer’s expertise. Lighting is an ephemeral and abstract design element, and aspiring practitioners need patience and an open, creative mind to master this unique form of communication.

In a staged production, lighting designers collaborate closely with other members of the design and production team, such as the director, stage manager, choreographer, set designer, and costume designer. They use visual aids like renderings, storyboards, and photographs to communicate their ideas. Before drafting a light plot, they must take precise measurements of the space and assess the venue’s power capacity. They then program the lighting for the show, inputting cues for every color, effect, and movement, and overseeing the installation of the lighting rig by lighting technicians.

What skills do lighting designers need?

Lighting technicians are essential professionals in the entertainment industry, responsible for setting up and operating lighting for TV shows, films, and concerts. They work across various programs, either inside studios or outside on location, ensuring the right atmosphere is created to evoke an audience’s response. They typically work in a team, carrying out heavy lifting and working at heights to position lighting correctly. They must also be aware of health and safety requirements while setting up lights, changing them, and running cables. Their skills include attention to detail, creativity, and a strong work ethic.

What are some interesting facts about the Chorus Line?

A Chorus Line, a Broadway musical, was based on interviews with dancers, starting with veteran Broadway dancers Michon Peacock and Tony Stevens in 1974. Director/choreographer Michael Bennett was inspired by the Watergate hearings and the “falsehood and apathy” that gripped the country during that time. He played the interview tapes for Public Theater impresario Joseph Papp, who funded a five-week workshop for a new musical. The show was based on the stories of dancers, sparking an idea for a dance musical about dancers.

What are the basics of lighting design?

Lighting design criteria involve determining the intensity, form, color, direction, and movement of light to create a mood in a space. Intensity can be controlled through fixtures like dimmers or adjustable lamps. Colors range from warm to cool, with warm being preferred in homes and bedrooms and cool in offices or warehouses. The direction and movement of light depend on its position, with the angle of light changing with lampshade or spotlight. Lighting areas can be focused or dispersed to create a cohesive and effective lighting experience.

What makes a chorus catchy?

A catchy chorus is a memorable and repeated part of a song that captures the listener’s attention and is crucial for a song’s success. Hit songwriters focus on melody, repetition, hooks, simplicity, and aligning with the song’s theme to create a memorable and impactful chorus. When strategically placed, a chorus creates a memorable hook that resonates with the audience, reinforcing the central theme or message. Artists often use the chorus as a climactic moment, building up to it throughout the verses before delivering the powerful refrain.

What is the concept of A Chorus Line?

A chorus line is a group of dancers performing synchronized routines in musical theatre, often with singing. Synchronized dancing was popular during the first half of the 20th century, but modern theatre uses the terms “ensemble” and “chorus” to refer to all supporting players. In the mid-1800s, synchronized dancing can-can “girls” began to emerge in Paris, followed by the United States and England, with Tiller Girls and Gaiety Girls. Chorus lines dominated stages in Western Europe and the United States during the early 20th century.

Slang terms for chorus line dancers included ponies, gypsies, and twirlies. In the 1920s and 30s, the life and possibilities of a “chorus girl” became sensationalized in fiction, newspapers, and film, capturing the imaginations of young women seeking independence, adventure, and a happily ever after. Real-life examples of the Cinderella narrative include Lilian Russel and Billie Dove, both chorus girls who married into wealth.

What is meant by lighting design?

Lighting design in architecture and interior design involves studying the light of each space, its application, and its interaction with other elements. It is based on adapting lighting to users’ needs and well-being, generating an emotional response. To achieve this, detailed planning and understanding the needs of the people occupying the facilities is crucial. This approach combines wellbeing, luminosity, and harmony, requiring a thorough understanding of the project and its requirements.

What is the setting of A Chorus Line?

A Chorus Line is a Broadway musical that follows seventeen dancers auditioning for roles on a chorus line. The show, directed by Michael Bennett and co-choreographed by Bennett and Bob Avian, opened on Broadway in 1975. The show received twelve Tony Award nominations and nine, and won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The original Broadway production lasted for 6, 137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history until 1997.

The show also became the longest-running Broadway musical in the US until 2011 when Chicago was revived. A Chorus Line’s success has led to numerous successful productions worldwide, including a West End run in 1976, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical. It was revived on Broadway in 2006 and in the West End in 2013.

What is the role of a Lighting Designer?

The Lighting Designer is responsible for designing, installing, and operating lighting and special electrical effects in a production. They must produce a light plot specifying the placement and configuration of all instruments used in the production, along with providing associated paperwork such as hook-ups, schedules, cut lists, and a cue synopsis.

Expectations include reading the script multiple times, determining research and dramaturgical needs, consulting the departmental production calendar, attending design and production meetings, obtaining a current section and groundplan of the theater from your mentor or the technical director, scheduling conversations about the play with the director and your mentor, reviewing the script, attending regular rehearsals, developing a preliminary concept statement, meeting with the director and your mentor, and obtaining approval for the plot.

The Lighting Designer must also meet with the scenic designer, costume designer, and your mentor to discuss color, masking, flying, shifting scenery, and wired practicals. They must complete a cue synopsis detailing all lighting shifts and changes, coordinate hang, focus, dark time, and pre-tape catwalks and grid when possible to assist the hang process.

The Lighting Designer must check in with the technical director daily to monitor progress during the hang period, direct the focus and dropping of color and templates, inspect electric areas, set up board, load patch, subs, groups, and submasters, build cues, presets, set levels, special lighting, and effects, and arrange a “Paper Tech” meeting with the director, stage manager, and other production team members to go through the show cue by cue prior to the first tech rehearsal.

The Lighting Designer must attend all tech and dress rehearsals and evaluate, plan, and rework all light cues as necessary. They should continue polishing and improving cues and lightplot until the final rehearsal.

Another important aspect of the role is attending photo calls to get photographs of their design and submit a short list of specific full stage shots to the stage management team. The Lighting Designer must also discuss strikes with the technical director and mentor, ensuring that any practicals or other instruments on stage are cleared to allow carpenters to complete their strike quickly and efficiently.