Not allowing the pandemic to extinguish theatre’s flame, The Arts Theatre of East London recently hosted two Lighting Design Workshops presented by Michael Taylor-Broderick and put on a production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, albeit to a limited audience, at the Gibson Kente Theatre at Hudson Park School in East London.
The Arts Theatre produces several shows brought to the stage by talented amateur and professional actors, singers, musicians and technical crew. A couple of years ago, the theatrical society sold their theatre building and are currently operating from the new Gibson Kente Theatre. This theatre, named after East London born playwright, Gibson Kente (1932 – 2014) who was known as the father of township drama in South Africa, is an intimate space with raked seating to accommodate 260 people and is equipped with Robin LEDBeam 150s, Robin Parfect 150s, Longman F4Ups and a dot2 for lighting control.
As the award-winning lighting designer, Michael Taylor-Broderick, would be lighting Romeo and Juliet, he was asked by Kerry Hiles of The Arts Theatre to reach out to young people in the industry by presenting a lighting design workshop. Having hosted numerous training courses over the years and always keen to share his love for theatre with like-minded people, Michael was quick to jump on board. The first workshop offered a unique insight into the role and expectation that rest on the shoulders of a lighting designer and the basic principles of design, while the second session took delegates a step further with training on the dot2 software and insight to programming a live show.
“We are starved of professional lighting and lighting technicians in this town,” said Kerry Hiles. “While we have theatres and keen lighting volunteers, the knowledge base is limited. I value the input of the workshops provided as they exposed candidates to new ideas and enlightened people to what is possible.”
The response was great with those in attendance ranging from semi-professionals, film students, lighting novices and even the general public. As a result, there seems to be an interest in keeping this as an annual event on The Arts Theatre of East London’s calendar.
“There is a feeling that lighting is just to illuminate people on the stage, without realising that careful use of colour and effects can really enhance the emotional journey of the audience,” Kerry adds. “The exposure to new lighting ideas and lighting principles and seeing them in action during the production of Romeo and Juliet really brought home the value of the workshop for the candidates. Suddenly, there’s life, not just light.”