A closer look: lighting design for Pangs of the Messiah
By Rebecca A. Barrett, Lighting Designer
Today I am drafting the light plot. Some people prefer to draft on the computer, I prefer to draft by hand – at least for the rough plot. There’s something satisfying about the feel of the pencil on paper that resonates with me, awakening images and drawing me to the settlements of Israel. So, as I am gazing out of my window at the city skyline in this predawn light I am also in Samaria, golden motes of sunlight spilling onto the dining room table of the Berger family. Their world is so drastically different from mine, with its guns and bombings and yet so heartbreakingly the same. My heart aches for those people.
There are some images that have been inspirational to the lighting design of Pangs. These images by other talented artists and photographers have helped draw me into the world of this play.
The first images represent where this play begins: a Mediterranean homestead, the Israeli Promised Land.
As the play progresses, we will be using flashlights and other moving light sources to underscore the growing tension and unease. In so much of the video research I have seen, there is someone caught in a spotlight and in the background, truck headlights scan the streets and flashlights illuminate the dark with their narrow beams.
Throughout the play we will highlight these characters in their everyday lives as they struggle to cling to the land they love and protect each other from harm.
And in the last scene…
Well, I don’t want to give away the end. You’ll just have to come see for yourself. Anyways, I should get back to drafting…