Cue3Go!

Issue 43

Techie Tip of the Week

MCCANDLESS

Part 1 of a 4-part series on STAGE LIGHTING, which will be posted every other week.

(Tip:  Even if you don’t have an extensive stage lighting system in your theatre, your vocational students will probably work with them in college or in the real world, so teaching these enlightening tips is always a good idea!)

IN 1932 Stanley McCandless published a book titled “A Method of Lighting the Stage”.  Notice he didn’t say “the”, but just “a”.  However, for many decades this has actually been “the” standard method taught in schools and used in the industry, and is still “the” best starting point for learning about stage lighting.  

McCandless determined that there are four properties of light that can be manipulated to create mood and location, or to draw the audience’s attention.  The Four Properties of Light are:

Intensity – how bright the light is.

Color – rudimentary examples include blue or lavender for nighttime, green for a forest.

Distribution – the angle the light comes from, and also whether the focus is diffused or sharp.

Movement – this originally referred to “cuing”, which is when the intensity changes either up or down, or the other three properties change from one look to another.  This has also begun to refer to actual movement, because “recently” (meaning the past three decades) we now have actual moving lights.  

In order to achieve optimal manipulation of these four properties McCandless developed a layout we call the Light Plot.  A Light Plot can be designed from scratch for a specific show, or a Rep Plot can be designed to accommodate multiple types of events.  In the high school theatre setting, there is usually very little time – or money – to completely re-design (and re-hang, re-focus, and re-cue) a Light Plot from scratch for each event, so a Rep Plot makes much more sense as it can be easily adjusted to provide lighting for any event from class meetings, speeches, variety shows, band and choir concerts to plays, musicals and dance recitals.

Following is a very basic diagram and explanation of the McCandless layout...

This editorial is the express opinion of Beth Rand, and is not intended for substitution for professional advice regarding your specific situation or circumstances.

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Dear Techie,

We’re trying to persuade our district to provide CTE education for our tech theatre students, but they don’t think it’s necessary.  I’m teaching tech theatre, and I want to make sure I don’t do anything wrong.

CTE-Wannabe in OH

Dear CTE-Wannabe,

Any district that resists making their tech theatre classes into bona fide CTE classes, is asking for a lawsuit, if you ask me.

The Dept. of L&I says that any minor doing the type of labor we do in tech theatre (working at heights, working with ‘hoisting equipment’, using power tools, and so on) may only do so in a bona fide vocational program, ie: a CTE class, and therefore everyone working with minors in tech theatre must be under the CTE umbrella.  

Of course not all districts – and sometimes whole states - have come to recognize that, and some that have make up excuses to get around it.  For instance, in one school district in Washington State the admin was adamant that if the tech theatre class or club was after school, then the “requirement that the instructor be CTE certified doesn’t apply”, which makes no sense.  The Dept of L&I is saying the rule is that minors working in a scene shop (for instance) must be in a CTE course, but the state and the district are saying: because the minors aren’t in a CTE course, the rule doesn’t apply and they can work in the scene shop without a CTE instructor. What!? 

Regardless, I urge any teacher who is teaching tech theatre, to also get CTE certified – to CYA, if nothing else. It’s usually  not as extensive as obtaining other endorsements on your certificate. In Washington State, for example, as soon as you’ve taken the Intro to CTE course (which you can take from a community college online) then you are qualified to get your Provisional certification for two years while you take the other courses.  You can even get a two year extension after that. There are some Saturday classes, and I believe in the past they may have helped people in other states, so check with them, or look for a similar course in your state.  http://www.southseattle.edu/programs/continuing-education/cte/    

Good luck, and Kudos to you for moving in the right direction!

Submit your Dear Techie questions to [email protected].  

Every time I go to use the light board, 
they’ve moved the keys around again!

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It is PRESETT's mission to provide information to assist in endeavors for safe and functional operations of school theatres. However, PRESETT is not a safety consultant or professional, and any information provided or advocated is not intended to supplement, not supersede, industry safety training. Always consult a theatre safety specialist about your specific situation or circumstances.