After a decade of working in the industry, it’s safe to say that Lisa Mibus knows a thing or two about creating a captivating lighting design for a theatre production.

As a somewhat seasoned professional, the freelance lighting designer has worked extensively in both independent and main stage theatre in Melbourne – from physical theatre and naturalistic plays to the opera. Last year, Lisa was nominated for a Green Room Award (Melbourne’s premier arts awards) for her design in The Colour of Glass at La Mama theatre in Carlton, described by The Age newspaper as “visually imaginative theatre”.

“For each production I work quite closely with the director and the design team, as there often might be a separate set designer and costume designer. Overall, it’s about working collaboratively to come up with a concept for the production and design of the show,” she explains.

While commercial installers are often brought in to take care of the AV technology in an entertainment venue, the lighting designers are there to make the best use of the subtle and powerful medium of light, creating effects to match the mood of the action on stage. They’re responsible for making a production shine – after all, lighting goes far beyond a bulb and some cables.

“When you think about standing in a dark room, or looking at a photograph, what you see is only because of the light that is there. Lighting has a huge impact on a production because it’s essentially how we see the world that is being created on stage. It’s all through what we’re shown in the lighting.”

At its most basic level, stage lighting aims to make the actors and their environment visible to the audience. It can also be used to evoke the appropriate mood; shift emphasis from one stage area to another; reinforce the style of the production; make objects on stage appear flat or three dimensional; or blend together the visual elements on stage.

“The first thing we do is conceptually look at the images that we want to create through the lighting, whether it’s a particular place or time of the day. Sometimes it’s more non-naturalistic and abstract in terms of the feeling that we want to bring to the piece. From there I take a technical approach and work out how to achieve that by drawing up a plan and implementing it into the theatre space,” Lisa says.

“We generally work with standard theatrical lighting instruments, but increasingly we are using other technologies. LED products are widely used because things are changing quite rapidly in that area and becoming more affordable. “Moving lights are also popular for theatrical productions. They are more efficient and we can do so much more with them – one lamp can do the job of 10 or 20. But it really depends on the where the performance is and what the theatre has in its stock.”

So how does the lighting design for a theatre production differ from other commercial applications?

“In some ways there are things that are similar – you have to create efficient lighting that achieves the task at hand. But it’s quite different in the entertainment world because you’re creating a show that the audience will absorb for an hour or two, rather than a space that has to be lit for 12 to 24 hours a day.”

While it is sometimes challenging to work alongside other technologies in a theatre production, Lisa says that it’s important to collaborate with them in order to ensure the performance is the best that it can be.

“When the light marries into the sound during a performance, it’s really quite satisfying as an audience member. And it should all work together to create an experience that is unified. The design should feel as one, even though one element is light and another is AV for example. The more closely that I can design with the team and under the guidance of a director, the better the experience is for the audience.”

And when it comes to the steadfast rules for lighting design in a theatre production, well, there simply are none.

“It’s interesting to break the rules of what’s normal or what people expect. Certainly, I think every designer has their own way of approaching a piece of work. Different designers will start from a different place, whether it’s a creative space or technically what they’ve got to work with. It’s about deciding what your primary objective is and working around that.”

A CHALLENGING PROFESSION

As is the case with commercial installations, every project is different and each comes with its own set of obstacles that need to be overcome.

“There was a show at the end of last year called Return to Earth which was performed at the Arts Centre in Melbourne. It was a tricky space because it’s quite intimate and the audience is almost on three sides of the space,” Lisa explains.

“I guess with any theatre show, a lot comes back to what the set design is and what difficulties and limitations you have in terms of the positions where you can put the lighting. Sometimes it’s about installing lights within the physical pieces on stage. For example, Return to Earth had quite a high number of lamps in there, particularly when you added up the little lights in the houses that were part of the set.”

Currently Lisa is working on her designs for the upcoming productions of Rat (La Mama/Two Blue Cherries) and The Heretic (Melbourne Theatre Company). She says that working on The Heretic, which for the most part is a relatively naturalistic piece, is very challenging.

“There is a dramatic moment at the end of the play and we’re trying to work out technically how to achieve it. We want to make it look as though it’s really happening on stage even though it isn’t. I don’t want to give too much away in regards to the plot, but that moment is definitely a challenge.”

The good news about lighting design is that it’s a skill never set in stone – it is quite a fluid layout that changes constantly. As soon as the curtain falls after a preview performance, it’s straight back to the lighting board to update the plot.

“Certainly there is a lot of change that keeps going until opening night. Once the show is open there is a bit of tweaking, and I will always come back during the season to watch the performance again,” Lisa says.

“The show changes and the actors change in how they perform and where they stand. The lighting design needs to adapt to that and it’s certainly satisfying if you do have the opportunity to make changes as the show goes along.

“At the end of the day, it’s about fundamentally understanding the work of the performance and having a good rapport with your director and design team. You need to be really clear about what you are trying to do and then work together to achieve it.”

It’s a universal piece of advice for any profession.