Theatre: Lighting Design
This guide provides links to basic theatre research: history, design, acting, production, scripts, videos, and careers.
Lighting Resources in Library Databases
Inspiration for designs can come from works of visual art, architecture, and performances. The databases listed below focus primarily on visual content.
- ARTstorProvides curated collections of more than 2 million images of art, architecture, artifacts, and primary documents, including costume and set renderings, playbills, production photos, etc. Time periods range from ancient to modern and geographic locations from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. (Off-campus? Read "More" information below.)
- AskArtAskART is an online database containing over 35,000 American artists from the early 16th century through the present.
- AP (Associated Press) ImagesElectronic library containing the AP's current photos and a selection of pictures from their 50 million image print and negative library.
- Dance in Video
Features streaming videos of 20th century dance performances and documentaries about choreographers and dance training. Includes ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, experimental, and improvisational dance. - Oxford Art OnlineContains 45,000 articles on every aspect of the visual arts: painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, decorative arts and photography, from prehistory to the present day.
- Theatre in VideoAccess more than 250 definitive performances of the world's leading plays, together with more than 100 film documentaries featuring notable playwrights, actors and directors.
- Underground and Independent Comics, Comix, and Graphic NovelsBeginning with the first underground comix from the 1960’s to the works of modern sequential artists, this collection will contain more than 75,000 pages of comics and graphic novels, along with 25,000 pages of interviews, criticism, and journal articles that document the continual growth and evolution of this artform.
Recommended Lighting-related Websites
Please send recommendations for other Lighting Design-related websites to include on this page to: greg.hatch@utah.edu
- Amber MylarHomepage of lighting designer, Kevin Adams.
- LiveDesign Magazine"Live Design is the must-read creative and technical journal for live entertainment professionals in lighting, sound, staging, and projection. Each issue provides designers, programmers, and technicians with tips and trends, news and reviews of the latest gear, reports from the field, and industry viewpoint and commentary. From concerts to theatre, houses of worship to clubs, theme parks to corporate events, Live Design is your one stop resource for live event production technology. "
Lighting Resources in Books and DVDs
When preparing to design lighting for a show, you take into consideration many factors: the play’s setting location, time period, and characters’ professions, to name a few. The same should be true for doing lighting design research. Go to the main Production & Design page for suggestions on how to do this.
To find lighting design-related books at Marriott Library, go to the Library Catalog's Advanced Search mode, change the drop-down menu option from "Any" to "Subject". Copy your choice from the suggested Subjects below and paste it into the Subject search box. Clik "Search", then narrow the results by clicking on the Subject links in the Refine My Results column on the left-hand side. (Be sure to click on "Show 15 More" at the bottom of the list to see even more Subject refining options.)
- theaters--lighting, stage lighting
- lighting, light in architecture, exterior lighting, interior lighting, "lighting, architectural and decorative", lamps, electric lamps
- light in art, photography--lighting, cinematography--lighting, color in design
- light, brightness perception, reflection (optics), color vision
Recommended Art & Architecture resources
- Art History Resources on the WebIn-depth, hyperlinked lists divided by period and maintained by Chris Witcombe, Professor of Art History at Sweet Briar College, Virginia.
- Digital Images Collection WikiFair-Use digital image collections that are available for anyone to use for personal or educational purposes. Includes a page on general resources as well as subject-specific pages (e.g., Ancient Egypt, Medieval, 19th c. Western, African, Islamic, etc.).
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtA chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated by the Museum's collection.
- SmartHistoryA free and open, not-for-profit, art history textbook that uses multimedia to deliver unscripted conversations between art historians about the history of art.
- College of Architecture + Planning Digital Collection(Note: you will only be able to access the CA+P Public Collection.) This collection was created by the College of Architecture + Planning at the University of Utah to facilitate the study of a wide range of local, national and international architectural styles and histories
- Utah Museum of Fine ArtsThe Utah Museum of Fine Arts engages visitors in discovering meaningful connections with the artistic expressions of the world's cultures. Our collection of over 17,000 objects includes paintings, drawings, etchings, photography, and mixed media materials from acclaimed artists around the world. Conduct a search, browse through our digital collections.
- Book: "Art Past, Art Present"International art history, including images of exemplary works illustrating art movements, genres, and use of color and light. 2005 edition includes a DVD of images.
