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Site Specific work requires a unique approach to stage lighting. Sites frequently have no electricity, marginal weather protection, and few, if any, existing lighting positions. What do we want the audience to see? What part of the site do we want the audience not to see? Where is the audience? Where is the action? Where are the restrooms? Many things we take for granted in a theater (sightlines, houselights, running water, dry ground) need creative solutions. One site had such extreme winds that the crew wore down parkas (in July) and the clipboards blew off the roof.
Each site, though, has an inherent architectural uniqueness to highlight. The texture of the bricks, the repeated curves of the structure, the sheer vertical scale of the building all call for attention. Add to the structure the human element, the action, and the environment comes alive. A repeated movement phrase with an elongated shadow echoes the machinery inside. Juxtaposing a massively oversized projected face with the form of a dancer against the star lit sky, contrasts with the sounds of grinding machinery. A splash of color transforms the building and highlights the dancer captured on live camera. With so much to look at, the site demands focus. Motion replaces washes of light. Shadow and darkness become old friends.
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