Children’s Play: The Alien Abduction Case
In June 2021, I was invited to complete the lighting design for this production, and I received the first draft of the script. After reading the script, I understood that the production was a heartwarming stage play depicting campus stories and scenes. I collaborated with colleagues responsible for stage design to develop the design for this performance. Considering that the audience consisted mostly of elementary school students, we opted for a more cartoon-like design overall.
Once I received the design sketches from the set designer, I began the lighting design. Prior to designing, I attended multiple rehearsals to understand the actors’ positioning on stage and script revisions.
Due to budget constraints, we selected 10 moving head profile fixtures for the primary lighting design, with six fixtures positioned for front light and the remaining four for stage effects. To create distinct scenes and portray “Chinese hero” characters effectively, we added 10 moving head beam fixtures with haze capabilities for scene effect lighting. For overall coloring and backlight in the main scene, we used 26 computer-controlled LED color fixtures. Computer simulations ensured even and soft coloring across the stage.
Considering the numerous extraterrestrial scenes in the production, we included eight-eye laser matrix fixtures and two air columns in the lighting and stage equipment selection. In May, I completed the construction drawings and computer lighting simulations.
In the overall stage lighting design, we also had to make some concessions to accommodate the fact that the children’s play was part of the school’s Children’s Day celebration event, which included a variety of performing arts.
