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PL & P
LOOKING
By Kevin Young
Back
Back
Since Professional Lighting & Production published its inaugural issue in 1997 , the Canadian stage , event , and architectural lighting industries have experienced significant shifts as part of an ongoing and everaccelerating evolution .
To celebrate our 20 th year of publishing , we ’ re exploring some of the major trends and developments that have impacted lighting designers , manufacturers , and the industry overall in the past two decades through the eyes of a diverse and experienced panel .
Lighting and SFX have become increasingly complex over time , but the driving forces in their development remain focused on serving audiences and performers alike , enhancing rather than detracting from their intended experiences .
There have been hiccups . Early on in Europe , theninnovative chandeliers holding candles were found to be impractical given they tended to drip wax and grease on both patrons and performers and interfered with sightlines .
Farther down the line , as noted by Steve Knopper in a 2014 Washington Post piece entitled , “ In the Beginning , There Was Alice Cooper ,” one of the artist ’ s early FX technicians , Ron Volz , smoked out an entire club with his homemade smoke bombs .
Contrasting with our current landscape , the regulations governing what could and couldn ’ t be used to excite a performance back then were limited , or , in some cases , simply non-existent . That has in no way , however , diminished the ability of LDs , technicians , and manufacturers to continually up their games .
LOOKING BACK …
PL & P ’ S 15 TH ANNIVERSARY
Fall 2012
Five years ago , to commemorate our last significant milestone , we looked back at “ 15 Years of Illumination & Insight ” with an impressive panel of lighting pros from various disciplines . It was fun to think back to some of the more popular lighting tools from 1997 , including the first iteration of MA Lighting ’ s grandMA console , Martin ’ s MAC 500 and 600 moving heads , Vari-Lite ’ s VL7 , and High End Systems ’ Studio Beam and Technobeam , among many others . Oh , and we had our special 15 th anniversary logo put onto a cool tour jacket that appeared on the cover , which we later raffled off for a good cause .
SHARED PERSPECTIVES
BONNIE BEECHER
Freelance Theatrical LD Toronto , ON
Started Out : Working in various capacities in theatre productions at UBC . Studied Stage Electrics at the Banff School . Since , Beecher has designed the lighting for over 350 theatre , opera , and dance productions , including productions for the Shaw and Stratford Festivals , The Canadian Opera Company , Soulpepper Theatre , the National Arts Centre , National Ballet of Canada , The Dutch National Ballet , American Ballet Theatre , The Versailles Royal Opera , Pacific Northwest Ballet , The Royal Shakespeare Company , and many others . Beecher is a multiple Dora Award nominee and recipient .
“ I got started at age 20 … in theatre at UBC . I quickly got hooked , left UBC , and went to the Banff School . I got my first job as head electrician at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax and while working there with various LDs , began to think I wanted to design . I moved back to Ontario and spent four years as an assistant at Shaw , Stratford , and on big shows with the Mirvishes . After deciding to only design my own shows , I began designing for opera , dance , and theatre .”