Since ancient times, stage lights have been used to illuminate the stage, actors and action taking place. Developing from torches and candles from many years ago, stage lights today include a wide array of sophisticated instruments that help to create the look and feel of another world onstage.
Just as important, stage lighting also directs the audience's focus through what is illuminated and what is not, hiding the elements that should remain dark while brightening and focusing those that are most important in the scene.
Stage lighting also sets the scene through the play and color of light on the stage. If the play is set on a midsummer day--or night--the stage lighting must realistically recreate that setting for the audience.
Stage lighting must also support and flesh out whatever lighting is viewable by the audience in the scene. For instance, if there are candles or a lamp within a scene, the stage lighting needs to create a realistic look and feel appropriate to those.
Through the use of colored gels and a formal lighting design, stage lighting also brings to life the mood and texture of a play's scene and story. Color is added to most stage lights through the simple addition of a color gel, a sheet of plastic that can be clipped or inserted to color the light, and which comes in a variety of hues.
The thoughtful use of color is vital to lighting any stage production. For instance, the lighting for the classical Shakespearean drama "Hamlet" would be somber and somewhat dark, with high contrasts. The lighting for a musical comedy would probably be light and bright by comparison, utilizing pastels and other cheery color gels.
Stage lighting involves a number of highly technical aspects, from the light plot (the diagram of the light plan) to the placement of the different stage lights and lighting gels, to the notation of light cues in the script and the running of the light board for rehearsal and production.
Stage lights come in a surprising number of varieties, including ellipsoidal and wash lights, LEDs, follow spots and fixtures, top lights and key lights. Learning the correct placement and use of these lights can add immeasurably to the production's artistic impact.
The lighting designer creates the design and effect of the lighting for a production before it begins, analyzing the script and creating a series of lighting plans for the production from scene to scene. The designer notates that plan through a schematic of arranged lighting elements and gel colors in a blueprint called a light plot.
When production begins, stage lighting is generally overseen by the lighting operator (or light board operator), an experienced crew member who runs the light board (or lighting controls) during a production.