University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 5-2004 The design of the settings and lighting for "Black Nativity". Mark S. Krause University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Krause, Mark S., "The design of the settings and lighting for "Black Nativity"." (2004). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 775. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/775 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE DESIGN OF THE SETTINGS AND LIGHTING FOR BLACK NATIVITY By Mark S. Krause B.F.A., Boston University, 1966 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts Department of Theatre Arts University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky May 2004 THE DESIGN OF THE SETTINGS AND LIGHTING FOR BLACK NATIVITY By Mark S. Krause B.F.A., Boston University, 1966 A Thesis Approved on April 7, 2004 by the following Thesis Committee: Thesis Director 11 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to Devon H. Query. Nothing in my life can happen without you. 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Faculty and Staff of the University of Louisville Theatre Arts Department for so many things. You welcomed me into your family. You taught me much more than you know. Of course, the knowledge that I gained in your classes and through our interactions will serve me for the rest of my life. In addition, you taught me patience, understanding, courtesy, commitment, a love of learning, and - perhaps most of all - a true respect for the art of teaching. IV THE DESIGN OF THE SETTINGS AND LIGHTING FOR BLACK NATIVITY Mark S. Krause May, 2004 ABSTRACT The process of designing the settings and lighting for a show is an adventure; it's a story that has the normal components of any good story, a beginning, middle and end. There is tension, conflict, climax and resolution. It contains characters who love what they are doing and who have a passion to see the end product be as good as it can possibly be. A thesis, on the other hand, can tell only part of that story. My objective is to create a record of parts of the adventure, so that others may be guided by the lessons I learned during the design process. My designs are different from those of any other designers. My experiences during this process were different also. At the same time there are many points of contact, many things in common in any design activity. Not only designs for theatrical productions; any design. Research, first putting pencil to paper, collaboration and compromise are some of them. I hope my examples of these and the conclusions I draw will be of help to those who read these pages. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ))~J)I~~1rI()~ •••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••iii ~<:~()~~I)(j~~~1r~ •••••••••••••••••••.•••.•••.••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••1" ~1I~1rJl)l<:1r ••.••••.......••..•••...•••••••.•••.•.•••..•.•••.......•...••.••..........•••...•••.." CHAFfER I ~It()I)1J<:1rI()~ ..•••....••••.•.........•••..••.•••.••••••••.•..•..••...••...•••..•• 1 II PREPAJl)lTION •••............•...•........••••..•.•..•......•••••.....••..•....•.•.•8 Information Provided by the Script•••••••••••••••••••••••.••••.•.••••••••••.••••••••••• 8 1rlle 1I1ld~et •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••~ Design Meetings •••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9 Research ••••••••••••••••••.••••••••••.••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••..• 11 Production of Ideas ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••••.•••••••••••..•.••...••••.• 13 III THE DESIGN PROCESS Material Selection ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.•••••• 16 Designing the Set•••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 18 Designing the Lighting••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 25 Changes and Revisions •..••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 28 IV EVALUATION AND CONCLUSIONS Evaluation and Conclusion ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••.••.••••••••.••••.•• .35 vi APPENDIX I Photographs of Black Nativity .................................38 APPENDIX II Research ...........................................................41 APPENDIX III Drawings ..........................................................59 APPENDIX IV Lighting paperwork............................................ 69 REFERENCES ...................................................................... 91 CURRICULUM VITAE ........................................................... 92 Vll CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In 1955 I saw Peter Pan. In 1957 I saw A Visit to a Small Planet. I was hooked; there was no other road for me to take. I loved what I saw on the stage and, perhaps more importantly, I loved what I saw around the stage. My father used to tell a story about noticing the fact that, while sitting in my ( expensive) seat, watching A Visit to a Small Planet I was constantly turning to look at things other than the show in front of me. Dad asked me what I was looking at and I (supposedly) replied that I was "looking at the lights and stufflike that." I had always been interested in theater. I had taken part in school plays, I had gone to concerts at Brooklyn College with a friend and his parents, I'd been to the circus; but this was IT. When it came time to select a college I knew that I was a "city kid" and that small towns would not have what I was looking for: big shows. Boston University was the logical choice. Boston was a "tryout town," so I knew I'd get to see shows for less than it would cost to see them in New York. Little did I know just how much more Boston would have to offer. When I started college I decided that directing would be my major. Acting had never been my strong suit; in fact, to say that I had (and have) very little talent in that 1 area would be an understatement. Design was a possibility as a major but my interest was in theater as a whole and not just a specific part of it; I wanted to be in a place where I would be assured of seeing the entire picture. By the end of my first year in college I was positive that theater was going to be what I did and where I worked forever. I didn't know it then but I was well on my way to forming strong opinions about how and where to get jobs in theater. I was in a bar next to Boston University Theater on Huntington Avenue talking to an Adjunct Professor (with whom I am still in touch) when I happened to mention that I was looking for a summer job. He suggested North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts. It turned out to be my first paying job in theater. Fifty dollars a week to build scenery, work electrics, run shows, spray insect repellant before the audience arrived, anything I was told to do. Halfway into the season I was asked to go to Hyannis, to the Cape Cod Melody Tent, to build scenery for them. No more money, but it was another town; I had always loved to travel. At Hyannis I met a man who was the stage manger for the Charles Playhouse in Boston. Thus came about my second paying job. Then a professor at BU mentioned that his company, The Theatre Company of Boston, needed a Technical Director, Stage Manager, and Lighting Designer. I seemed to fit the bill for all three positions. Jobs seemed to be coming my way "fast and furious." My second year at BU was filled with paying jobs: work at school and money in my pocket. Could it really be this easy? I thought everyone said it was tough to find work in show business. 2 During this sophomore year I learned that if I wanted to be a director, I should look for more work as a stage manager. After all, this was the accepted "stepping-stone" on that path in the early 1960's. I sent out my meager resume and got an interview with the Producer of The Muny Opera in St. Louis. That was my real start for a number of reasons. First, I can easily look back from where I am today and see the "people connections" that have brought me here. Second, I learned that, rather than being a stepping stone to a career, stage managing was my Gibraltar. Third, musicals are fun to do. After college and three seasons at "The Muny" I went to Seattle to stage manage and design lighting for the Seattle Repertory Theater. Then came years on the road with really big touring musicals. Needless to say, I didn't design lights for touring Broadway musicals, but I did adapt the lights to different venues. My design experience was a major factor in getting jobs as a stage manager. Nine months of each ofthe next four years was spent at McCarter Theater at Princeton University; the summers were spent on tour with musicals. When the administration at McCarter changed it was time to go on the road again. This time it was for eighteen years. Show followed show. What a wonderful time. The designers I got to work with were an inspiration: Jules Fisher, Tony Walton, Wila Kim, David Mitchel, Robert Randolph, Doug Schmidt, Robin Wagner, Peggy Eisenhauer, Tharon Musser, Ken Billington, Theoni Aldredge, Peter Fitzgerald, Otts Munderloh, Abe Jacob, Tom Skelton, Cecil Beaton, Peter Larkin, Bill Ritman, Marc Weiss, Santo Loquasto, Richard Pilbrow. I wanted to learn more about how they did what they do. 3 Like all roads, mine has had a couple of turns in it. The big tum that I could see in the distance (back in 1995) was the industrial revolution of commercial theater. Industry was starting to take over show business. Theater was becoming more and more a part of the entertainment industry. ClearChannel, The Pace Organization, SFX, Disney were getting bigger and bigger. The producers I had worked for were getting to be fewer and fewer.