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.
Stage Lighting Home Page
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