A Lighting Designer's Perspective

I have had the pleasure of working with Zachary M. Brienza (Lighting Designer) on three new play productions. Each time there is a new challenge to work through together, whether it be creating a realistic diner on stage, or figuring out how not to blind the audience with gems and sequins. Discussing costumes with lighting is a very important part of the design process. I asked Zachary to sit down and share some of his insight in to the Costume and Lighting Designers' conversation.

• C: When working on a new production how do you like to start conversations with the Costume Designer? What pieces of the costume design is most important for you to know?
  • Z: To start off the conversation the first thing I like to talk about is the project itself. It is one of the liveliest conversations to have in the process. All the ideas free flowing, some get knocked down quickly while others take time to catch ground. From my experience, I respond to what the Costume Designer wants in their clothing. Especially when it comes to a specific period since color palettes can be specific to the time.
  • Z: The most important pieces to know about are the fabric choices. More specifically the color and texture.
• C: Say I wanted to put a red dress on stage and wanted it to pop and take focus in a scene. How would I go about discussing this with the Lighting Designer? How is one way they would achieve this?
  • Z: I would say just to make sure the intention of choice to make the dress take focus is clearly expressed. This would allow the Lighting Designer to take into account the specific shade of red and plan their plot accordingly.
  • Z: One way to achieve such a task can be done via two follow-spots. One uses a red gel/filter to color correct the white light to red and is then focused on the red dress. The second spot would be and open white to clear the actors skin of the red light and allow the dress to reflect more of the red light.
• C: Do you have any tips that make discussion easier between designers" Are swatches helpful to you (fabric of gels)?
  • Z: Some tips to aid in discussion are just to make sure everything is discussed as early as possible. Provide research and renderings of how you want the costumes to look so that I as the Lighting Designer can put together a color palette that suits the project needs.
  • Z: Personally, swatches of your fabric choices are an important resource. Even just taking the time to meet up and look over your most important items under light is a great help. This gives not only you as a costumer an insight to how it will look onstage as well as give the Lighting Designer a look at what color correction to use.
  • Z: I designed a show where the costume designer brought in some samples of black trousers to match to a black jacket and after looking at them under different light (Color corrected via gel/filter or L.E.D) we discovered that not all black fabric is created equal. Some had different amounts of pigment that would absorb light differently thus altering the color of black you saw on stage. We chose to go with the closest match to the jacket.
• C: What has been your favorite moment to light so far in your career?
  • Z: My favorite moment to light so far would have to be the scene in Julius Caesar where Cassius and Casca discuss the raging storm and lion walking the streets of Rome. In the Rutgers Theater Company production the set was completely bare blonde wood to mimic the shape of The Globe stage as well as front projection. This combination made this scene specifically exciting to see come to life. 

If you want to see some of Zachary's work you can visit his site: zacharymbrienza.com