Marionettes, masks and shadows — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Marionettes, masks and shadows
John Stuart Mill · en
Let us now consider the kind of lighting which may be used in the
several kinds of marionette stages. The Punch and Judy stage requires no
lighting when used in daylight. But even this stage requires some
thought for its lighting when it is used in a darkened room. Your set of
Christmas-tree lights may be fastened to the top of the proscenium arch
and an extension light may be used in the same way as is shown in the
illustration. Christmas-tree lights and extension lights are all that
are necessary for the table stage and the soap-box stage. In the chapter
on “Making Your Stage” you will see how these lights are placed.
If you have made the semi-professional stage with overhead lights,
footlights, and strips, you are ready to experiment with your lighting.
Begin by asking yourself whether the scenes of your play take place
indoors or out of doors. What is the time of day and the season of the
year? Is it an out-of-door scene, representing the cold of winter, or
the heat of summer? Does your scene occur in the soft light of early
morning or in the glow of sunset? Is your scene laid in a deep cool wood
or in a warm sunny garden? All of these questions must be considered.
Now, how can you produce these varied effects of sunlight and moonlight,
coldness and warmth, somberness and gaiety? Certain colors such as red,
orange, and yellow are called warm colors, because they give the feeling
of warmth. Other colors such as green, blue, and violet are called cool,
because they give the feeling of coolness. If your scene suggests
warmth, whether indoors or out of doors, begin experimenting with warm
lights, ambers, reds, and yellows. You will find that usually a certain
number of white lights are needed with the colored lights in order to
produce the effects you seek.
[Illustration:
_Marionette Ballet, "Petroushka"_
]
Everyone knows that color produces varied emotions. We are familiar with
the effects of red which are stimulating, exciting, or irritating. The
toreador, recognizing this principle, waves a flaming red mantle before
the bull. Blue has an exactly opposite effect. It quiets and soothes,
and when it runs into violet, it becomes depressing. Experiment with
purple lights and you will find that they give a note of gloom, mystery,
or of impending disaster. Yellow is the color that brings gaiety and
light-heartedness, as you will recall when you contrast your own
feelings on a sunshiny day and on a gray day.