High School Theatre Lighting For Architects: Designing Backwards

By Elizabeth Rand

These days many high schools are being built or re-modeled with a state-of-the-art theatre on campus. Architects who normally specialize in educational facilities find themselves appointed to design theatres and their stage lighting systems. If you personally don't have a practical working knowledge specifically in theatrical lighting, it's nearly impossible to anticipate what today's end user may need in terms of functionality. There's no better way to understand stage lighting than to go and work on a show at your local high school or community theatre. Unfortunately that's not an option for many busy architects. So this book will 'virtually' put you in the mind of a theatrical lighting designer, so that you can learn how the lighting is designed and then in turn design the lighting system to fulfill the functions needed. In short, we will start in the theatre and end at your CAD file. In other words, Designing Backwards.We must Design Backwards because the type of equipment installed directly affects building functionality, student learning and faculty retention. Too many high school theatre stage lighting systems go to complete waste and are not used to their full potential because the design was not suitable to the end users' abilities or budget. This book will help determine the initial design decisions you make in order to prevent this from happening. You'll learn where to place electrics and how many circuits to provide, what lighting instruments to spec, what type of light board the situation requires, and lots more. More importantly this book will show you the "why". Why do catwalks need to be placed at 45 degrees to the acting area zone? Why do I need to spec this number of these instruments? Why is state-of-the-art not always the best choice? When you know the why, then you will know the what, and you'll be Designing Backwards.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1511616032
• ISBN13: 9781511616034
• Release Date: June 2015
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"