When was stage lighting first used

They would build their performance spaces so that the afternoon sun would illuminate the stage and remain behind the audience. This was around BC! Later, the Romans improved upon this concept by adding an awning over the audience to reduce glare from the large light source. For thousands of years, the sun was the primary source of entertainment lighting. In the s, theater began to move indoors and thus the need for a new source of light was required.

Candles were commonly placed on large chandeliers hanging over the audience, as well as in sconces on the walls. In some cases, chandeliers would also be placed above the stage and candles were also placed on the floor footlights and on the sides of the stage on ladders. The dripping wax, smoke, and continual re-lighting and trimming of candles was troublesome, but tolerated. To increase brightness and provide focused illumination, reflectors began to be used with candles in the s. Oil Lamps.

The late s saw the development of a new light source that became known as an oil lamp. It used a wick and vegetable or animal fat oil with the flame enclosed in cylindrical glass. For specialized theatrical effects, colored glass was used. Historians note that the Haymarket Theatre in London used levers to raise and lower tinted glass in front of the oil lamps, thus creating lighting changes on stage.

In our everyday lives, we often forget that even a century ago, amenities such as electric lighting, indoor plumbing, and air-conditioning were new technologies. Many texts on lighting design do not take the past into account. However, when you look at lighting design from a historical perspective, you can gain a greater appreciation of what it has achieved. Texts dealing with ancient Greek and Roman theatre deal very little with the lighting of plays, stating only that it is assumed that they took place during the day.

Since play festivals would have taken place over the course of a whole day, it is thought that torches and shiny pieces of mica were used to redirect the natural light entering the theatre.

This would allow actors and moments to be highlighted for the audience, much as modern lighting attempts to do. Similar practices in lighting continued until the sixteenth century.

At the dawn of the Renaissance, theatre experienced a rebirth. Stage settings became more elaborate and stage machinery became more complex. Some theatres began to move indoors. Gaslighting was first generally used in theatres in and before the end of that year the most important London theatres were completely illuminated by gaslight.

Penzel demonstrates that by the time electricity had come into use, most modem stage lighting devices had been in development for many years, and were only being modified for use with a more powerful light source. Originally published in , this was the first written history of early theatre lighting and contains many valuable technical illustrations.

Increased heat and many fires caused, and had gas smell and green-ish tint. The first practical electric spotlight Savoy Theatre in England - the first completely electric theatre A big push - electric theatre at the exposition in Munich, Germany -- with a saltwater dimmer to control the new power source - went like wildfire As technology develops and advances at a more rapid rate, so did development of more effective lighting equipment Edison - first practical lightbulb Incandescent to tungsten -halogen lamps Lacquer to gels.

Electric lighting went from the marquee to the outer lobby to the inner lobby to the house to the stage Related Links: Early lighting instruments Modern lighting instruments. You can take short study quizzes based on textbook materials by going to the Student Online Learning Center page for our textbook