Lighting Design in Asia

Recently received an e-mail from a person I met through Samurai 7.0 about lighting design in Asia.  Wrote a very long response, thought it might be worth posting...  There`s some important info re: me down at the bottom.

 

Hi Kuuipo,

 

I definitely remembered you, once I opened your e-mail.  For a moment your name looked kind of like one of those random names that show up in spam, but I figured google`s spam detector is usually pretty good...  Anyway...

 

Congratulations!  That sounds really cool.  Unfortunately, I`m not sure how much I can help you.  I may end up making some gross generalizations based on my own pretty limited experiences, but I`ll give it a shot:

 

>I wanted to talk to you anyway about your experience with the whole style of theatre there--do they have "Lighting designers"?

 

-Yes, they definitely have lighting designers.  On the other hand, the level of competency of lighting designers varies considerably, and from what I`ve heard anecdotally, the title is no assurance of ability.  And from what I`ve seen here in Korea (though this is limited, I don`t have a huge tolerance for watching shows I can`t understand), even the good lighting designers (or at least the ones working for big companies) aren`t that good, certainly not spectacular. 

 

Stage managers are less common, at least in Korea, as far as I can tell.  In fact, I don`t know that I`ve seen any listed in programs...  In our case I usually double as lighting operator and master electrician, although other companies with larger budgets and/or memberships usually separate the three roles.  I think.  But it does seem that the concept of a stage manager who knows the show and coordinates everything is not really appreciated, or even understood, in most companies.  Each tech kind of operates autonomously, and has to know the show for him/herself.

 

I`m not so sure about other countries...  I`m pretty sure Singapore and Tokyo (and probably Japan more broadly) understand and utilize the different roles effectively.  I really liked working at the Esplanade in Singapore, they knew what they were doing and spoke English too...  I`d imagine that Hong Kong, probably Macau, perhaps Shanghai, maybe Beijing are also well-developed, especially with the larger theaters and companies.  However, I can almost guarantee that most places in the rest of China have significantly less knowledge of how to run a theater or a show.

 

As for the rest of Asia, you may find a few well-run, well-equipped, well-maintained theaters, and a few companies with experience working in such theaters, using good designers.  But I think they`d be few and far between.  There are lots of people with good ideas, not so many with the ability to implement them.

 

 

>Is there a tradition and method of lighting design that is markably different from western lighting design?

-Not as far as I can tell.  At least, not in a good way (skip to the 4th paragraph if you don`t want to read my complaints).  For example, about a year ago we toured to a large, well-equipped regional theater here.  At first they were pretty surprised by the number of lights I wanted to refocus, and that I wanted colors beyond a few basic blues, greens, ambers, and magentas.  I don`t think they stocked more than 20 colors, probably less.  After the show, the young tech, who had been really helpful, said that he really liked what he`d seen, "You used the light to show mood!"  I valiantly resisted the urge to respond sarcastically.  Actually, no.  I was just totally non-plussed that this was a new concept to him.

 

Or another example: the first show I worked here was a festival.  It was set up outside, and they supplied only red, blue, and green gels,  Except for a few movers, all the lights were Pars, 64 and 46.  Tech of course could only happen at night, from about 9-2, not all night, and we only had one night to focus, cue and tech a new show.  And the equipment was crappy, old, and beat up.  Mistakenly thinking that a play competing for a substantial prize in a theater festival should look really good, I seriously over-designed, which meant I never actually saw what I`d be doing before the show happened.  It was all very stressful.  Thank goodness our next shows were in France...

 

Yeah, especially in smaller theaters, equipment here is not well-maintained, often the staff is not that familiar with it, and the equipment lists are not up to date.  I`ve zapped myself several times on exposed wires while focusing Pars, which sucks when you`re way up a ladder, along with other small, avoidable injuries.  Also, many theaters, including some of the relatively good ones, are actually converted basements, or a few stories of a conventionally designed building, so you have no wing space and limited hanging positions.  Commonly they just stick a grid of pipes on the ceiling of whatever room they`ve selected to use and that`s the end of it.  And enough complaining.

 

There have been a number of comments (compliments?) on my lighting design for being different, or unique.  I`m not sure why, exactly, but I think I tend to use more side light and a different palette than most Korean designers.  In sum, I think it`s fair to say that Korean design tends to be more utilitarian than artistic, though there are exceptions.  (This applies to most aspects of life in Korea: e.g., the vast majority of the architecture is rather dull, concrete, monolithic, repetitive, not fun.  But there are older areas of town that are fairly diverse, some of the castles are pretty nice, and there are a few really cool-looking buildings.)

 

This is likely not the case in other countries.  I think the breakdown in design ability is quite similar to the previous breakdown of production competence.  Japan, Singapore, and the largest, most cosmopolitan Chinese cities have good designers, and there are probably some differences in design aesthetics in each place.  One thing I did notice at a show I saw in Japan was Source4s focused straight down with square shutter cuts, edges lined up.  These covered the stage and were used to delineate the size and location of whichever room the characters were in.  I doubt this is a specifically Japanese innovation, but it was new to me, and since then I`ve noticed it in a show or two I`ve seen in Korea, and possibly in something I saw last year in Avignon or Edinburgh...?

 

One thing that you might not be aware if you haven`t worked outside North America is PCs, plano-convex lensed instruments.  These are pretty much the same as fresnels, except they have a smooth, clear lens and consequently a harder beam edge and more even distribution.  In most theaters I`ve designed for, in both Korea and Europe, these are a major component of a theater`s equipment, often outnumbering their stock of ellipsoidals.

 

Likewise, I`ve found that Par46s (the little DJ ones) are surprisingly popular, usually wired in groups of 8 or 9.  Most theaters I`ve worked in in Korea have a few sets...  There`re some coolish images you can make with them, but I`d usually rather spend the money on something else...  Pars in general tend to be overused, but what to do.  Equipment in Japan that I`ve seen generally looks much nicer.

 

That`s about it, that I can think of.  Oh, and of course the plugs and voltages and stuff are all different everywhere, and brand names are sometimes unfamiliar.  Avoid Chinese knock-offs of good brands...

 

 

Also: who are the AMAZING companies?
-This I definitely don`t know much about.  I tend to stay plenty busy in my own little corner of a small section of the small world of Korean small theater.  But I`ll ask some friends to think about it.  Do you have any particular countries/regions you`d like to look into?  I may be more useful as a travel advisor...

 

 

Also, I was wondering if I could ask you for some advice.  At this point I`ve been here more than a year and a half and, for a number of reasons, I`m getting ready to move on.  I`m not at all sure what I might do yet, but one strong option is continuing as a designer, possibly also as TD or PM.  Probably focusing on lighting, but I`d like to learn about other types of theater design and art too.  I`m planning on leaving the company at the end of November, so there`s some time to think about this.  But I was wondering if you might have any ideas, either of good schools to think about or where I might look to find jobs where I could learn without being in charge of everything too?  I`ve learned a lot doing this on my own, but at this point I think I`d grow a lot more with some guidance and structure.  On the one hand I need to get a better handle on how to organize time and projects as both a designer and a production manager while on the other I really need to improve my visual communication skills, e.g. drawing.  Long-term I might be looking into doing independent performance/theater art installation things, not so much shows as experiences, if that affects the advice you have...  Are there any other options I should look into?  What about international programs?