Eric Hammell

11/14/99

Stage Technology

Play Tech. Analysis

One obvious technology used in the Fever was lighting. In addition to the general purpose of providing illumination (visibility), lighting also played an important part in the feel of the play, the mood. The Fever played on an interesting contrast between the elite hotel party scene and the prison-beating scene. This contrast was not only established through set placement, but in lighting changes.

The overall lighting of the play was rather dim. I believe this reflected the scenes themselves: a party atmosphere and a prison are both traditionally low-lit environments. But, moreover, the lighting reflected the mood of the scenes. The grim prison scene was as dark as ones mood is (or should be!) when observing such a sight. The conversation in the hotels congregating room was on grim subjects, again, reflected in the lighting. When shifting between the two scenes, one gets the sense that the attitudes of these elite people (as shown through the conversation) are somehow related to the bruised and battered state of those in prison.

Lighting was also used to focus or divert our attention. We move (with lighting) from the congregating area to the bathroom, where a man lies on the floor sick not only in his stomach, but with disturbing thoughts about the injustices of society. The man in the bathroom often serves as the "other voice," responding to the ideas brought up in the conversation. Through lighting, he is treated as this other voice, often providing sidebar comments or a different perspective. The lights in the congregating area would go dim, while a spotlight of sorts focused briefly on the man in the bathroom. The congregation room characters might also "freeze." This placed the man in the bathrooms perspective in a visually separated area.

Lighting also diverted our attention from the bathroom or congregating room to the prison scene. Some great technique was used here. The prison area was also lit up using a separate spotlight of sorts at different times during the play. We get a contrast between the words of the elite partygoers and the moans of the beaten man. Sometimes, the spotlight would highlight the man being beaten right in the middle of the dialogue. The play, through the use of timing and lighting, would not let us get away from the man being beaten. We get no mental break from that reality, just as the beaten man gets no break from the prison guard or the cell. We get the sense that these atrocities are going on all the time, regardless of what high society is doing, and maybe because of it.

The way in which characters were illuminated by lighting is also thought provoking. The prisoner was illuminated as a shadow. This was done through positioning him behind a curtain and passing light through the curtain. The scene we get is a shadowy outline. We get the sense that these are the kinds of things that happen in the dark recesses of the prison, the dark recesses of our society. We also see the man as a "faceless" person, the man with no identity. This is perhaps a reflection of the way society chooses to look at prisoners, as dark, unknown individuals. Society can not personalize its tortures. Lighting the prison scene this way was also a clever way to avoid having to make the beating look realistic. No fake blood or stunt moves were necessary. We could also look at the beating more symbolically as shadows.

Another character had a red shadow, created with a red spotlight. The red light here was a clever way of suggesting blood. This added effect to the character's lines. Again, using messy stage blood was unnecessary. The suggestiveness of the red light left something for the imagination, something fake blood could never have done. This gets the audience thinking on a deeper level, gives them an opportunity to make connections in their own mind.

The dim lighting allowed for the cake lights to stand out. Our attention is called to the odd placement of only one person on the cake. The host was this person, and the dim lighting mixed with this prop placement gave us a feeling that we were looking into the dream state of the protagonist.

The lighting worked well with the music to create mood. The music had a surreal feel to it, as did the dim lighting. The combination of the two seemed especially effective in bringing us into the feeling of the prison scene. The music also seemed to remind me OF the prison scene, for although we might be in the presence of the upper class in the congregating area, we get the sense that there is something else going on here. The music doesn’t seem to fit that of a party atmosphere. The darkness still lurks in the corner. Again, we cannot escape the brutality of reality. In a movie, the low lighting and music together cue us to know that the axe murderer is about to jump around the corner. In the Fever, we know the man in the prison will let out another painful scream.

In conclusion, lighting in the Fever worked closely with other elements to create mood. Playing on our expectations of lighting draws us into the play and gets us thinking on another level, one less literal. The performance I saw had a problem with the slides, which is why I was not able to comment on their contribution to the play. All in all, the lighting technology of the Fever was simple, yet effective.