Based on the popularity of Live Design's 31 Days Of Plots in December each year, we have decided to present Plot Of The Week, with a light plot (or plots) per week until December 2023, when the next 31 Days Of Plots begins.
Lighting designer David Finn shares his plots for Yasushi Inoue's The Hunting Gun, adapted for the stage by Serge Lamothe and directed by François Girard. Starring Miki Nakatani and Mikhail Baryshnikov, the production runs through April 15, 2023 at Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City. Previous productions took place in Canada in 2011 and in Japan in 2016.
"It was important that we maintain a very simple and Zen approach to this piece," says Finn. "Each fixture has a very distinct use for a very specific part of the play, except for the shins and head-highs on the booms. Color is extremely simple - NC, 202, 201.There are a few lamps in a deep green to provide shadow over the lily pads in the first scene. There are three letters read during the piece by one actress playing three roles.
Each letter has a distinct atmosphere as the first is read in water, the second standing on smooth dark stones and the third over wood. The action is simple and we needed a very distinct and simple look to each section. Source Four’s were the natural approach as they we wanted the warmth, we wanted shaping and we wanted it to be simple and quiet.
Light plots: Click To Expand
"The cueing is very specific and detailed to the movement of the actress downstage. Levels rarely get above 30% as the space is small and the intention is intimacy. The second letter, on the stones, is played in 12 rectangles which dissipate over the course of the scene… the rectangles feel like tatami mats or shadows through a Japanese blind. The actress walks from rectangle to rectangle and it enhances the movement and offers destination. In the third letter, the actress spends the scene dressing herself in a white death kimono. In the text she talks about the flowers on the kimono and we project these on her with light. Other than that each fixture is specific from the booms as we separate her head from her body as she both kneels and stands. And we come from a diagonal front and from the side. At the end she walks slowly forward to her death, simply lit by 12 NSP white Pars. The challenge in a small space is balancing the spill light on the sides to what we see onstage. This is true with any piece in a small space and it is ALL about balance. We spend a lot of time finessing masking, adjusting shutter cuts and applying half hats and blackwrap to try and bring the audience’s focus to the stage and not the space around.
"This is probably one of my most favorite pieces that I have had the opportunity to design," Finn adds. "We won the Yomiuri Award for Best Lighting Design in Tokyo (and many other awards in other disciplines)."
Lighting Gear List:
4 ETC Source Four 19 Degree
24 ETC Source Four 26 Degree
42 ETC Source Four 36 Degree
20 ETC Source Four 50 Degree
14 ETC Source Four 19 Degree 750w
1 ETC Source Four 26 Degree 750w
2 ETC Source Four Zoom 15-30 Degree 750w
8 Robert Juliat Lutin 306 LF
1 ARRI ST2 Fresnel 2000w
12 ETC Source Four PAR NSP
12 -ETC ColorSource CYC
8 ETC Source Four SEACHANGER 36 Degree 750w
4 Robe Robin T2 Profile
Lighting Crew List:
Chris Gilmore - Assistant Lighting Designer
Jesse Campbell - Head Electrician
Creative Team:
Director: Francois Girard
Translation by Serge Lamothe
Scenic Design by Francois Seguin
Costume Design by Renee April
Lighting Design by David Finn
Sound Design and Composition by Alexander McSween
Creative Producers David Finn and Francois Girard
Produced by Cath Brittan
Presented by Emanuela Barilla
See more Live Design 2023 Lighting Plots