How Stage Lighting Impacts the Audience

     Stage lighting is a necessity. Without it, the performer wouldn’t be able to see and neither would the audience! But when it comes down to it, stage lighting plays an even more important role than just simply lighting up the stage. Here, we’ve outlined 3 different ways stage lighting impacts the audience.

     #1 Mood
     The color, brightness, and position of the lighting help set the mood for the performance.

When attending a concert for a modern day popstar, you’ll probably be welcomed with bright, flashing lights of every color. Whereas if you’re attending a concert performed by a traditional country singer, the lights might be more warm and mellow. Dimming the lights might create some suspense among the audience, bright flashing lights create excitement, red lights can evoke feelings of anger, and blue lights may make the audience feel sad. All these lighting components set the mood and tone all throughout the performance, making the show even more entertaining.

     #2 Attention

     The direction the light shines shows the audience where to direct their attention towards. A single spotlight might follow the performer on stage, automatically drawing the eye towards it. If a certain part of the stage isn’t well lit, the audience knows not to direct their attention towards it. Same goes to when a section of the stage is lit. If there’s lights, then there’s attention!

     #3 Enhancement

     Another great thing stage lighting does is enhance the entire performance. When watching a play and the performers want to portray a thunderstorm, they not only can use sound to imitate thunder, but they can also join this sound together with the flashing of light to convey a lighting strike to the audience. This same thing goes with concerts. A lot of the time the lightingwill be in sync with the music, pulsing with the rhythm of the song. This adds another layer of entertainment for the crowd.

     So, next time you attend a concert or play, or any other performance on a stage, take note of the stage lighting. I’m sure you’ll see how much of an impact it has on the show and you!