Selected Bibliography of Stage Lighting Literature

• Auerbach, Bruce, editor. Practical Projects for Teaching Lighting Design, A Compendium. New York: USITT. 1990.
  
  Practical lab projects which can be used in a lighting class.

  Bellman, Willard F. Lighting the Stage, Art and Practice, 2nd edition. 1974.
  

  Detailed basic college/university text. Includes units on both the technical and artistic aspects of stage lighting. There are appendixes on projected scenery and lighting the arena and thrust-apron stage.

  Bentham, Frederick. The Art of Stage Lighting, 2nd ed. London: Pitman. 1976
  

  A very good British text.

  Bergman, Gosta Mauri. Lighting in the Theatre. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International. 1977
  

  A survey of the history and development of theatrical lighting.

  Boulanger, Norman and Warren C. Lounsbury. Theatre Lighting from A to Z Seattle: University of Washington Press. 1992.
  

  A dictionary approach to stage lighting.

  Bowman, Wayne. Modern Theatre Lighting. New York: Harper. 1957
  

  A basic college/university text.

  Essig, Linda. Lighting and the Design Idea. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. 1997.

  A college level text, from the lighting professor at the University of Wisconsin, which emphasizes art over equipment.

  Fuchs, Theodore. Stage Lighting. New York: B. Blum. 1963
  

  The first stage lighting text (originally published in 1929); much information still of value. Available in reprint.

  Goffin, Peter. Stage Lighting for Amateurs, 4th ed. London: J. Garnet Miller Ltd. 1955.
  

  British practices used in amateur theatre.

  Hartman, Louis. Theatre Lighting: A Manual of the Stage Switchboard. New York: DBS Publications. 1970 (1930)
  

  Lighting as practiced on the early 20th century productions of David Belasco.

  Hays, David. Light on the Subject, Stage lighting for directors and actors and the rest of us. New York: Lime Light Editions. 1989.
  

  A non-technical introduction to stage lighting for directors and actors. Contains units on lighting instruments, the hook-up, the focus, the light plot, lighting control, areas and angles, levels and cues, the cue sheet and tracking sheet, concept, color, crew, and manners.

  McGrath, Ian. A Process for Lighting the Stage. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 1990.
  

  An advanced college/university text. British practice.

  McCandless, Stanley. A Method of Lighting the Stage, 4th edition. New York: Theatre Arts Books. 1958.
  

  An early, basic college/university text by the father of lighting instruction in the Unived States. Contains units on lighting the acting area, blending and toning, lighting the background, and creating special effects. The technical elements are now some what out-of-date.

  McCandless, Stanley. A Syllabus of Stage Lighting. Self published. 1956.
  

  An advanced lighting text.

  Miller, James Hull. Stage Lighting in the Boondocks. Contemporary Drama Services (Arthur Meriwether Inc. Education Resources). 1981
  

  Theatrical lighting in non-theatre settings using "improvised" equipment.

  Moody, James. Concert Lighting: Techniques, Art, and Business. Boston: Focal Press. 1989.
  

  A very readable manual written by one of the leading lighting designers in the concert field.

  Mumm, Robert C. Photometrics Handbook. Shelter Island, NY: Broadway Press. 1992.
  

  Published photometric data (intensity and beam spread), pulled from manufacturers' spec sheets, for "obscure" lighting equipment.

  Palmer, Richard. The Lighting Art, The Aesthetic of Stage Lighting Design, 2nd edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 1994.
  

  An advanced college/university lighting text.

  Pilbrow, Richard. Stage Lighting, rev. ed. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company. 1979.
  

  The most readable semi-text about the actual working of the business; good illustrations. British practice.

  Pilbrow, Richard. Stage Lighting Design: The Art, the Craft, the Life. Design Press. 1997
  

  A rewrite of Pilbrow's earlier text.

  Reid, Francis. The ABC of Stage Lighting. New York: Drama Book Publishers. 1992
  

  A dictionary approach to British practice.

  Reid, Francis. The Stage Lighting Handbook 3rd edition. New York: Theatre Arts Books/Metheun. 1987
  

  A basic book of British practice from the president of Strand Lighting.

  Rosenthal, Jean and Lael Wertenbaker. The Magic of Light. Boston: Little, Brown and Company in association with Theatre Arts Books. 1972.
  

  Excellent volume with Ms Rosenthal's career and design philosophy plus plots for the original Broadway productions of Plaza Suite and Hello Dolly!.

  Rubin, Joel E. and Leland H. Watson. Theatrical Lighting Practice New York: Theatre Arts Books. 1954
  

  An analysis of American theatrical lighting in the 1950s. Contains chapters on collegiate practices, commercial indoor productions (drama, musicals, dance, opera), arena productions (musical, drama, ice shows), open-air productions, puppetry, and television. Now out of print.

  Sandström, Ulf. Stage Lighting Controls. Oxford: Focal Press. 1997.

  An indepth study of the evolution, design, and operation of an electronic, computer assisted lighting control systems.

  Shelly, Steven Louis. A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting. Boston: Focal Press. 1999.
  

  A "nuts and bolts" examination of some of the tools and methods used by the lighting designer.

  Warfel, William B. and Walter R. Klappert. Color Science for Lighting the Stage. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1981.
  

  Contains color maps and CIE color co-ordinates for Cinegel, Cinemoid, Dura 60, Geletran, GPC, Lee, Roscocolar, Roscolene, and Roscolux.

  Warfel, William B. The New Handbook of Stage Lighting Graphics. New York: Drama Book Publishers. 1990
  

  An indepth study of lighting design documentation: i.e. light plots, hook-up charts, focus sheets.

  Watson, Lee. Lighting Design Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill,Inc. 1990.
  

  An excellent survey of current American lighting practice. Includes units on musical (opera, dance, revues, operetta, musical comedy) and nonmusical (proscenium, arena, thrust stage, dinner theatre, avant-garde) theatre. There are additional units on photographic, concert, architectual, and industrial lighting.

E-mail questions and comments to Larry Wild at wildl@northern.edu.
Revised: January 20, 2003
© 2001 - 2003 by Larry Wild, Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD 57401