V
THE BROAD IDEA

EVERY now and then we see an article in the newspapers about some
new, revolutionary system of stage lighting. As a matter of fact,
there never was and there never will be such a system.
 A story of this sort is usually based on some meager detail of
an effect(1) that the press agent has received from the
electrician. The press agent's vivid imagination gets to work,
and by the time his eulogy is completed the mouse has become an
elephant. Every serious attempt made in stage lighting has a
value; but we can hardly call a device that creates one effect a
new system. Besides, if an effect happens to be good and somewhat
out of the ordinary, its existence is generally short-lived.
Everybody uses it and its novelty soon fades.
 Almost every piece of stage apparatus used to-day is a refined
counterpart of some crude contrivance hastily thrown together for
some effect. The men who evolved these early makeshifts were not
versed in the science of light. They tackled their given problems
from a common sense point of view; and in most cases they
therefore produced the desired results despite their scientific
ignorance.

 (1)The word "effect," in theatrical usage, means virtually any
mechanical device intended to create audience illusion. 


GAS BUNCH LIGHTS OF YESTERDAY
 From two pictures in Harper's Weekly, one June 1, 1889, and the
other April 5, 1899. The cage is, of course, a fire precaution.
The stand in the foreground is probably the true ancestor of the
iron support used to-day for the electric lamp, the trailing hose
from the gas main being replaced by cables from switchboard and
plugging-boxes.

 The first "bunch light" I ever saw was elementary enough. A
dishpan was used; and in the middle of it a number of sockets had
been fastened. The pan was supported by a stand made of three
pieces of angle iron joined with strap iron to make a tripod. A
piece Of pipe through the middle of the tripod held the pan
directly. On the handles of the pan two heavy pieces of wire
served as holders for the color frames. The strip light also was
originally improvised--made by screwing sockets to a wooden
batten. For a reflector, and to keep the light from showing
through the canvas, Pieces of tin were tacked to the batten.
 I saw a water-ripple which was produced by cutting a series of
slits in the drop-curtain. These slits were elliptical in shape
and of different sizes. A piece of canvas, containing a number of
similar slits and with battens tacked to top and bottom to keep,
it taut, was suspended back of the drop on two lines. A gas or
electric bunch light was placed a short distance behind the
second canvas, and when this canvas was pulled back and forth
with a slow motion there was produced in front the same effect as
with the modern stereopticon ripple. In both the basic principle
is the same - movement which cuts the lines of light; and if we
compare them, the old method was just as effective as the new.
 Years ago a single effect in a play was sufficient to put it on
the list of successes. To an extent the same holds true to-day;
but modern audiences are more blas‚. It is not now as easy to
arouse the theatregoers as it was thirty years ago.
Travel has sophisticated them. Moving pictures also are
responsible, for there apparently are no limits to the effects
that may be produced in a picture. Reality in nature's scenic
wonders can be photographed. The films are not restricted by
space, fire laws(2) or sight lines. Moreover, the camera may
trick successfully the things that cannot be done in truth. So
films and the stage are widely separated; one cannot do that
which is easily possible to the other. But on the stage
suggestion compensates for lack of mass, a method requiring more
thought but that is more productive in results.
 To know the different forms of stage apparatus is a simple
matter.(3) A catalogue from any good stage lighting company
contains the facts; and it is usually kept up to date. To obtain
the best results in use of those facts, I believe a person should
have some knowledge and understanding of the basic laws that
govern light. It is always better to know than to depend wholly
upon rules-of-thumb. Those who are interested in theory will find
the chapters on light in Ganot's Physics excellent. It is a very
old book, the edition I have being the fourteenth, published in
1893.(4) Since it deals with principles based on accepted natural
laws, time has not changed their stated value. Some of the

 (2) That is, not restricted by fire laws in performance in the
same sense as an acted play.
 (3) The common forms are described briefly with text and
pictures in another book of the present series, Equipment for
Stage Production, by A. E. Krows, New York, 1928.
 (4) The authorized English translation by E. Atkinson of Ganot's
Elements de Physique, first published at London in 1863 and still
widely used in France, England and the United States as a college
text.

theories of colored light I have sketched in Chapter VIII.
 The scenic artist is first of all an artist, a designer of
scenes, so that when he devises a "set" he visualizes it as
already lighted, giving no thought to practicability of the
means. I have never seen a preconceived plan of lighting that did
not require alteration when the scene was placed on the stage.
 About all we can hope to obtain from the scene model is a
general idea to build on and to develop as rehearsals process. I
have seen some cut-and-dried applications where the lighting had
been mapped out in advance from the manuscript. Pictorially this
method served its purpose in the same degree that a lithograph
does as compared with a good painting. The first is created by a
system that is partly mechanical and shows it; the other is the
outcome of study and patient experiment. Perhaps even a little
soul and feeling are put into it.
 For the lighting of an exterior we know that we will require
border lights and foots, and, if ground rows (5) are used,
suitable strip lights, lens boxes, reflectors, and an adequate
dimmer outfit. The last-named should be large enough to control
the entire electrical equipment. Even if there are no actual
changes of light in the play, dimmers are necessary to procure a
balance of the different circuits.
 Theatre installations vary, so there is no uniformity of usage
in different houses. But when a play is lighted

 (5)That is, low strips of scenery representing hedges, perhaps,
or uneven ground, resting in a vertical plane on the floor of the
stage. and controlled by special equipment devised for the
purpose, the results will always be the same. With Mr. Belasco's
productions every piece of electrical equipment is carried; and
all we ask from the theatre is current.

 Good dimmers are an absolute necessity. I cannot conceive of
trying to light a play without them. In


500-WATT BABY LENS DIMMERS
 The dimmers are fastened to a box made of 20-gauge iron. In the
edge of this box provision is made for slip connectors through
which the dimmers may be joined in circuit. With this device
supplementing the body of large dimmers on the main switchboard,
virtually every light on the scene may be manipulated over a wide
range. In general use they are called "field rheostats."

Mr. Belasco's recent production, "Mima," forty-two were used,
ranging in capacity from one thousand to five thousand watts.
Yet, even with this number of controls, we had to switch dimmers
to other circuits during the action of the play. If they had been
connected to all the circuits permanently, there would not have
been room enough on the stage for the switchboards. As it was,
they took up half of one side of the stage. Three men were kept
busy operating them. The forty-two dimmers I have mentioned were
on the three switchboards, and did not include those on the lamp
stands that were controlled by operators. The light plot for this
play consisted of fifty typewritten pages.
 In lighting an exterior setting, it is well to begin with the
diffused illumination, using the borders, foots and strip lights,
and balancing them with the dimmers to obtain the right force for
each unit. If the colors have been well chosen, with the proper
intensities, there will be perfect concealment of the sources
from which the light emanates. For example, ground rows are
painted to represent foregrounds and the perspective is carried
on to the drop. These foregrounds are lighted by strips laid on
the floor or hung on the ground rows. In nature the light comes
from above. If the illumination by the strip is too bright by
contrast with the other lights, any one may see that the source
is below; and instead of imitating nature we have numerous
blotches of light which destroy illusion.
 When the diffused lighting has been completed the high lights
are placed. These are those coming from concentrated sources,
such as lenses and reflectors. They relieve the flat look by
heightening contrasts. Excessive sun, to denote heat, is
simulated by strong high lights that create sharp, definite
shadows. This effect requires the aid of some rounded objects on
the scene on which the light may be thrown. The high lights may
be quite brilliant, and yet they can be overdone. If we use them
to extremes on painted scenery we outstrip our own endeavor.
After all, scenery is only canvas and paint; and brilliant light
thrown upon it discloses the fact. Scenery is a necessary part of
stage paraphernalia; and it must not be robbed of its illusion.
 To place the sharp high lights in a well-lighted exterior takes
time, thought and patience. If they are projected at such angles
that the actors have to pass through their beams, or to stand in
them, their artificial origin becomes instantly apparent. In the
first act of "The Rose of the Rancho" we used thirty-five lenses
for this kind of work. A number of actors made their entrances
and exits on the scene; but Mr. Belasco always kept them out of
the range of these spots.
 If the action demands a change of light, the concentrated
sources are the first to be dimmed out, these being followed by
color changes in borders and foots. Time is required for this
because the dimmer handles, controlling varying loads in the
separate circuits, are in different positions at various times
during the change. During the different intensities their
relative places must be shifted several times.
 The operating electrician is usually placed where he is unable
to see the stage; and he must rely on cueing each change so that
his handles are in certain positions at given moments coinciding
with points in the dialogue. To get the timing right, the change
has to be rehearsed until the man working it is able to do it
almost automatically.
 The person directing the light crew must have a knowledge of the
mechanical side as well as an eye for color, for he supervises
the working of the dimmers. Dimming is done in easy stages,
taking the lights down

                    "THE ROSE OF THE RANCHO," ACT I
                          EQUIPMENT USED
 On the fly-gallery Right there are hung two light bridges. The   
lower one is 22 feet from the Stage, and the upper one 30 feet
above the stage.                                                  
 On the upper bridge there are ten 25-amp. lenses.                
 On the lower bridge there are eleven 25-amp. lenses.             
 On the Left of stage and suspended from the fly-gallery is a 
light bridge 25 feet from the stage. On this bridge are eleven
25-amp. lenses.
 Under the back of the fountain there are two 250-watt baby
lenses. 
 On a platform, Backstage Right is one 25-amp. lens.              
 Back of wall Left two olivettes to light drop.
 Back of wall Right two olivettes to light drop.
 Back of second foliage border are hung two flaming arcs in a
special housing with color slide. The slide is worked from the
second light bridge Right with an endless line.
 Two baby lenses on stands in the first entrances Right and Left
for chasers.
 4 border lights, three circuits, amber, orange and blue.
 For setting of lenses see diagram.
 For light changes and cues see following light plot:

                           RIGHT BRIDGES
 1 and 2 cover fountain.                                          
 3 and 4 cover area back of fountain.                             
 5 and 6 cover orange tree (full spread).                         
 7 on rose bush (full spread).                                    
 8 and 9 cover floor back of gate (full spread).                  
 10 and 11 strike thickness of wall at gate, throwing shadow of   
gate on thickness piece.                                          
 12, 13 and 14 strike front of arbor, sharp focus to throw shadow
of leaves on floor.                                           
 15 strikes on flowers in center of fountain, sharp focus.
 16 covers vines in front of porch, sharp focus.
 17 and 18 on roses at gate, each lens focused sharp to cover a
single rose.
 19 and 20 on vines over porch, sharp focus.
 21 on vines on top of wall Left, sharp focus.
 22 shoots through back of trellis on porch, to throw shadow of
leaves on Padre's face as he deeps in chair.
 23 and 24 baby lenses set under fountain to strike gate to kill
shadow of foots on faces.

                            LEFT BRIDGES
 (All lenses on the left bridges have frosted gelatines.)         
 1 and 2 on flowers and wall of house Downstage Right.            
  3 and 4 cover area in front of fountain.                        
  5 covers area in front of porch.                                
  6 on orange tree.
 7 covers wall and flowers Left.
 8 and 9 cover area back of gate.
 Chaser babies Right and Left First entrance follow Miss Starr
throughout act.


                LIGHT DIAGRAM, "THE ROSE OF THE RANCHO," ACT I
  The setting represents a California mission garden. At Right is
the Padre's house with a vine-covered porch.
The back drop shows the mission with its bell tower. It is a hot
day and the scene is flooded with sunshine.

about a quarter of the way and then balancing them up to this
point. The respective positions of the dimmer handles are now
marked. This process described for


LIGHT HOOD AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE

 Through an opening in the footlight trough, similar to the
prompter's hood, the master electrician, guided by his light plot
on the rack before him, watches the scene as he moves a wheel
that controls all the interlocking dimmers on the main
switchboard.

the quarter, is repeated at the half, three-quarter and the down
position. In this way the lights are in perfect balance at four
positions duly marked; and by practice each relative position
between these points is maintained. If the electrician might be
in a position 


CONTROL BOARD AT THE CHICAGO CIVIC OPERA HOUSE
 Part of a system devised by engineers of the General Electric
Company and installed in 1929 in the new temple of music. The
sketch shows the chief electrician's control board governing
lights throughout the house, including 141 circuits for the stage
alone. The usual switchboard has been dispensed with and the
space given over to the stagehands, this accomplished through the
use of a "grand master" panel which the chief electrician
operates from a position near the orchestra leader and prompter.
This magic panel bears a small number of knobs that when turned
induce other revolving parts, far distant, to turn with them and
to precisely the same degree. In this way many separate units may
be interlocked and governed in groups, their action all pre-set.
The saturated core reactor, which is an important part of this
new system, has been used before in stage lighting, but not to
the extent now made possible through the development of talking
pictures in the production of which self-synchronous motors are
highly essential.

where he could see the stage, these changes could be worked in a
shorter time as he would not be obliged to rely on marks and he
could then see directly if the lights did not balance.
 There have been efforts to overcome this handicap. Switchboards
have been placed under the stage and a hood, similar to the old
prompter's hood, placed in the middle of the apron; but this hood
is an obstruction. Whereas in a large theatre it is not so
noticeable, in a small house it is conspicuously out of place.
The striking commentary is that installations of this sort have
not proved more successful than those where the switchboard is on
the stage. Most such experiments, to be sure, belong to an
earlier day. The board then was large, and the man with his head
up in the hood had to direct others who were doing the actual
work. The general idea was good, but at the time electrical
equipment for theatres was not practical for such purpose.
Nevertheless, the front of the stage is certainly where the
switchboard should be. And to-day it can be better done. The
front switchboard would have to be of the remote control type.
The whole arrangement would not have to be any larger than an
organ console; and it might be operated from any part of the
theatre.
 Dimmers constitute that part of the switchboard that takes up
the most room. To provide motor control for them has not proved
satisfactory. Many things in addition to gradual control of light
have to be done with them; and all of these purposes do not lend
themselves to motor control. The reactor type of dimmer is well
suited to theatre work. Its control occupies little space and
works on the same principle, as far as operation is concerned, as
the large type. The system uses both direct and alternating
current, consuming but a small amount of the former that may be
furnished by a motor generator set.
As a whole, the reactor dimmer consists of a magnetic


PORTABLE DIMMERS
 In compact cases mounted on casters that they may be moved close
to that part of the scene where the operator wishes to see
precisely what he is doing while he is doing it.

element and a control resistance in the form of a dimmer plate.
The magnetic element is installed under the stage in a suitable
room; and the control dimmer is situated where the lights are to
be regulated. In this instrument the permeability of the iron
core is varied by means of changes in direct current excitation.
With this system the regular switchboard may be installed on the
stage, and an auxiliary board put into the orchestra pit, or used
on the stage if necessary. By means of a throw-over switch the
current may be transferred instantly from one board to the other.
 In many plays the light is fixed and it is not necessary for the
electrician to see the stage; but where quick changes occur, such
as lamps on the scene being lighted or extinguished, the operator
in the front position may see what is taking place. In some of
Mr. Belasco's productions I have had to construct small dimmer
outfits that could be rolled up to the scene where the operators
could watch the action through peep-holes. In these outfits I
connected the portable dimmers by means of stage cable to the
terminals of the dimmers on the main switchboard, cutting in all
the resistance of the dimmers there, but shifting the actual
control to the portable board. As the dimmers were of the proper
capacity to take the lights down and out, I had no need for
switches on the portable outfit; and the electrician "on" the
board simply pulled his switches at the end of the act.
 With remote control this can be improved upon as the actuating
switches are small, and quite a number of them may be placed on
the auxiliary board.