Texture of light in environmental theatre : Elvis Machine

This thesis explores the varied ways in which texture from light is created through the use of sculpted materials and objects for use in environmental theatre. Shadow, silhouette and reflection are created through the use of both light and object from light but through objects. The objects, made from varied materials, determine not only the quality of light but also the quality of the textures projected. For the performing arts, lighting designers create light to speak a magical language. This language moves to tell the same story as that of the performers and of all other invested collaborators. However, light would not be seen without objects that reflect it. Performers, scenery, and costumes are objects that can tell and support the story and also serve as surfaces and objects ready to accept and reflect lighting texture. It is the materiality of an object that determines the quality of texture. In this case, materials of the medium are going to be storytellers in costume using crafted objects on a stage located in an open-air parking lot under the natural sky. Unlike the methods of lighting for the traditional theatre, I am going to experiment with materials and create the texture of light by using non-theatrical instruments for the collaborative performance of Elvis Machine created by The Duplicates Theatre Company. These non-theatrical instruments, also known as practical lighting, will serve as the primary sources for light and for texture. The purpose of creating the texture with practical lighting for this performance is to explore the way in which we use the texture in environmental theatre. It is common practice for theatrical lighting designers to create texture for the stage through the use of pre-manufactured lighting templates. The basic constructs of environmental theatre, in the case of Elvis Machine located in an open-air lot, makes it difficult if not nearly impossible to employ the use of theatrical instrumentation as the primary source of light and texture. My solution for the production of Elvis Machine is to design and to create all of the necessary lighting fixtures required for the production.