HES Lighting "Speaks" for Off-Broadway's Lucretia

	The Rape of Lucretia

Luther Frank chose High End Systems lighting to accomplish two things: shine a natural light on a diverse group of actors, and allow a large deaf audience to clearly understand the sign language communicated onstage.

The New York scenographer was responsible for lighting design, scenic design, programming and prop elements for the recent Off-Broadway production of The Rape of Lucretia. He selected High End Systems SolaFrame 1000 and SolaFrame 3000 high CRI automated LED fixtures to solve his lighting needs.

"Opera relies on facial expression," says Frank. "There's a demanding standard for face light. For the deaf audience, this high standard is doubly so. If the audience cannot clearly see the movement of both the lips, facial expressions, and hands of the performers, their understanding and connection with the moment can be lost."

New Camerata Opera's production at The Flea Theatre in Manhattan was modernized from its 1946 debut for today's #MeToo movement. This production focused on two things: the voicelessness of a victim and the power of the body.

As the theatre had no elevated FOH position or catwalks for spotlight operators, Frank positioned dual SolaFrame 1000s in the front as face light for almost every scene in the opera. "The smooth operation and subtle color correction allowed for wonderful depth of character in the light," he says.

"The rear SolaFrame 3000s were bright enough to punch through all of the conventional lighting to give richly colored accents on our singers. These fixtures also toned our entire set with texture and color, as most of the set was based in fabric, and took both quite well."

The High CRI aspect was also important. "The high fidelity of the color engine made it easy for me to make subtle changes to the hue and saturation, without sacrificing any of the clarity and brightness. I felt significantly more powerful in the moment to create the perfect color for each performer. We had a diverse cast with skin tones ranging from pale to rich ebony, so I was not limited by a handful of preselected gels in a traditional spotlight. I could then reliably and carefully fade these color choices from scene to scene, carrying the emotions of the characters to wherever they were headed next."

Shutters were also essential. "I needed a precise wash and shape, and the SolaFrames were great for that."

Frank, an alumnus in High End Systems' Hog Collegiate Lighting Programming Competition 2015, is joined by associate scenographer Jocelyn Girigorie, another Hog Factor contestant a few years later. But he's well versed on other consoles as well -- including one from the HES parent company. "I use the ETC Ion almost every time I'm in a theatre setting," he notes.