For years, LEDs have been increasingly used in video projections on many theatrical productions to dramatic effect, most notably on last year's Seattle-based production of Catch Me If You Can, which incorporated LED walls that flew in and out of the set. But many people envision the next step for LEDs is to be used in area lighting, not just for video projections or background illumination, as has been the case on many larger and flashier Broadway productions. The question remains as to whether the technology has evolved enough to provide the necessary power and color palette. Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000105 EndHTML:0000015566 StartFragment:0000003004 EndFragment:0000015530
LEDs in the Theatre
"I have used LEDs as background illumination for sides and walls," reports Kevin Adams, the Tony Award-winning lighting designer of American Idiot. "I used a huge amount of LEDs in Spring Awakening and Next To Normal and was extremely happy with them. They're great for background surfaces. I also used them as odd little kinds of blinders to point them back at the audience in Passing Strange and American Idiot, and I've been very happy with that."
Adams admits that he had not really employed LEDs as area light until he hung 20 Vari*Lite VLX fixtures in American Idiot. "That was a really interesting experience," he recalls. "I primarily acquired them to point at the audience and to light the theatre, but I hung them in a way that I could use them as area light, and did often. For a pop/rock show like American Idiot I was very satisfied with them. To my eyes, the light that I like to get out of them is unusual. I'm not sure how or if I could use them in a different tone of musical, but they worked well for American Idiot, and I'd gladly use them in similar kind of shows."
When asked about the downside to LEDs, Adams sums it up: "Color. I think it would probably be a little bit tricky to get a variety of colors that look handsome on skin. The units I was using were a little washy. It would be great to have a little bit more control over them, but I was surprised how much control there was. Ultimately, they're just another really good tool to use. I'm going to be sorry when tungsten and incandescent lights are gone, which will be inevitable. It's nice to have a variety of those things." Adams currently uses LEDs more for decorative purposes than as a reliable source of area lighting, and he would be curious to use them on a more traditional kind of show, which he thinks will actually be possible. "They're definitely great for saturated color washes."
Award-winning lighting designer and author Richard Pilbrow has used LEDs on many occasions "as color washes, floodlighting and footlights, but not yet in spotlighting, which is the latest manifestation," he explains. But he does see the potential for them to be used on a larger scale. "The future of LEDs on Broadway is very bright. Actually, it's present already. LEDs are clearly a major part of the lighting industry and will continue to grow in brightness, quality, efficacy and importance. They, with other new sources of light such as plasma, are the future. They are far more efficient, have a longer life and are multi-colored. We must reduce energy consumption." (And, hey, actors won't be so hot underneath stage lights.)
"On the Cusp"
"I believe we are right on the cusp," concurs light designer William Mackwood, who is assistant professor, production and design at the Department of Dance at York University in Toronto. "When you see the amount of interest in producing sustainable theatre in London, New York City and around the world, combined with the ever-accelerating number of new LED products developed, you can safely predict the imminent premiere of LED area lighting."
As a lighting designer, Mackwood is constantly trying to find ways offer his directors/choreographers true "design on demands." In other words, he says, "the ability to modify lighting and projected images in an expeditious and theoretically unlimited manner. The RGBA color mixing capabilities of the (Chroma-Q) Color Block 2 allows for beautiful saturated colors plus the full range of lighter tints needed for modeling and enhancing skin tones. The advance in ‘theatrical grade dimming' combined with the reduction in power consumption, radiant heat output and maintenance costs are significant additional benefits and work well with our company's ‘green' theatre philosophy."
Mackwood says that his drama, dance and opera company Out of the Box Productions is in discussions with an LED manufacturer about their next creation, "a cautionary tale set in a post-mammal world. The design will rely heavily on both digital projections and the full-range color possibilities offered by RGBA LEDs." A recent Out of the Box production, Opera Erotique, offered his team the chance to re-light the show, originally done with traditional lighting, entirely with LEDs. For Mackwood's account of that production, read the article below. It suggests that the future for LED area lighting for staged productions is bright indeed.