Meeting August 2021

The Abstract

“Even though the postdramatic turn in the performing arts has radically reshuffled the dramaturgical hierarchy of different signifying entities that are at stake in a work of art, light as an essential signifier and agent in performative situations and, as a consequence, the practice of lighting design has until now been underappreciated (1). Setting aside some specific practices, light is in general less recognized, analyzed and understood as a fundamental part in the dramaturgy of contemporary performing arts practices, nor does it find its way into the artistic curriculum of performing arts educational programs in general. Lighting design has been evolving greatly though, both as an autonomous and an interdependent artform, however much of that work gets lost in translation when it comes to the dialogue with directors, theatre makers, dramaturges, performers… (2) How to speak about light? How to create from the perspective of lighting (design)? How to make light a full and equal signifier within a contemporary dramaturgy? (3)"

(1)  But what is causing things? Is light too much considered as a normality – something like: 'there’s always light'. Or is it because of a lack of lexicon? Are we not able to talk on light?

(2)  The materialisation of light: it turns away from being a performer and becomes a something you can regulate in terms of ‘more/less’.

(3)  Can we start a discourse leaving of from questiong the basic lexicon of more and less. More or less what?

Short discussion on light as signifier.

If stagework is a communication between different elements that create meaning - how come light was never questioned in that respect? Is there a sense of normality regarding light? Or is a lack of lexicon blocking all discourse on light?

Remark: the practice of nowadays lighting design was formed in what is called the postdramatic era, where light became the agent - par excellence - to replace the idea of a set, provoking an aesthetics of the empty space. (ref. Grotowski/Brecht - and the fear for illusion). This turns light away from being a vivid layer, from being a performer towards something materialised - a recording, purely functional: the aesthetics of neutral/working light.

Excercise: to start developing a lexicon from the sparse one from uninformed dialogues in our praxis; like using 'less and more' but give depth to what different attributes can be quantified in that way

Tomi: Kask and Giessen differnt ways of elaborating on working multimedia

De-construction: minimalism becomes a limitation for material-use

JanM: solo is expected to use less lamps, more sparse plot- wrong angle

At Kask:

B: research for us, practice with the school

H: create sensitivity in the students, measure level of knowledge by making students talk about what they see

G: to understand light (Ezra is referred to, as in how to create discourse ability)

B: what is the smallest lexicon we cane share by? The exercises aim this direction

Preliminary light design discourse:

JanM: this might generate expectations that are not met (not matching vocabulary- mismatch of expectations)

Mutual vocabulary – lexicon is a tool and not a result

Geert: Lexicon and discourse differentiation. Lexicon is enabling a conversation

discoursive practice in itself doesnt make sense

Not only practical workshop of light

H: images are abstract, fast lost in translation

arrive to semiological

the notion of technicality, not the presence of it

t: how to learn to see?

Witnessing while doing

angle change is the change of the look

‚I didnt watch the lights‘- where to focus, pulling out focus

T: recognized areas that are blurred can be useful too

G: what are we talking about when we talk about light?

Bram: Minna Grind Jefte- light as the signifier, Jefte the agent

similarly Jan working with Mana Depauw similarly

T: it is not a competition. Mutual aim, presence with light, playing together

G:at what point lighting design can join a performance? Everything will have to adapt to the media joining earlier

Light dramaturgy- dramaturgy of the piece

Tomi: different distribution of tasks and professionalization