[Feature Story] Reading the Light: How Stage Lighting Tells the Story

   On stage, lighting goes far beyond merely illuminating the actors. It serves as the audience’s first guide, subtly directing attention and shaping emotional perception. The fact that first-time theatergoers are often told, “Just follow the light,” is not accidental. Without uttering a single word, lighting conveys shifts in mood, reveals a character’s inner world, and signals transitions in time and space. This summer’s major productions, “Wicked” and “The Great Gatsby,” offer compelling examples of how lighting can define the entire atmosphere of a show. Each production demonstrates, in its own way, how lighting not only enhances the visual aesthetic but also drives the narrative and leads the audience through the story.

Lighting as narrative guide 

   Lighting plays a central role in advancing the story. One of its most prominent functions is in shifting space and time. Even in scenes with rapid changes in setting or chronology, lighting alone can signal the transition. There is no need to drop the curtain or change the set; a simple adjustment in the color, intensity, or direction of the light is often enough for the audience to intuitively understand that the story has moved to a different time or place.

   Lighting also plays a crucial role in guiding emotional responses. Warm tones are often used during moments of reflection or nostalgia, while cool lighting accompanies tension and conflict. This is not just a tool for setting the mood. It is a precise mechanism that subtly aligns the audience’s emotions with those of the characters on stage.

   One of the most direct functions of lighting is guiding the audience’s gaze. Even without a line of dialogue, when the light falls on a particular actor, the audience instinctively focuses on that figure. In darkness, the eye naturally seeks out the illuminated point, which becomes the focal center of the performance. This gives directors full control over where the audience looks. Lighting designers, too, shape how that gaze is guided. 

   This principle of visual focus is rooted in the foundational structure of lighting design. The most prominent light in a scene is called the key light. When two light sources are used, the brighter and more dominant one is referred to as the dominant light, while the dimmer one is called the secondary light. This hierarchy plays a fundamental role in directing attention. Since lighting is deliberately structured using terms like “key,” “dominant,” and “secondary,” it is almost instinctive for the audience to follow the brightest light on stage. That is no accident — the brightest beam often reveals what the director most wants to be seen. It is not just a matter of visibility; it is a silent cue, a form of visual storytelling that guides perception without a single word. 

   Lighting also shapes the rhythm of a performance. It contributes not only to the direct rhythm created by repeated sounds or movements but also to the internal rhythm established through structured visual cues. Changes in scene, character movement, or shifts in mood are all tied to the sense of rhythm that lighting helps to establish. Variations in the speed, intensity, and pattern of light serve as a hidden conductor, working alongside the music to control the overall tempo of the performance.

When light reveals emotional expression

   When the lighting focuses not on the stage, but on a single character, it often marks a moment of confession or transformation. A spotlight encircling one actor invites the audience to witness the most intimate layers of that character. At such times, lighting becomes more than just a matter of brightness, it becomes a tool for expressing psychological depth.

   The movement, flicker, and color of the light all serve to convey emotional nuance. For instance, in “Frida,” the protagonist’s pain is portrayed through unstable, flickering lights and intense red hues. In “Jekyll and Hyde,” stark contrasts between light and shadow visually express the duality of the character’s identity. These lighting choices allow the audience to intuitively grasp a character’s inner state, independent of the actor’s performance. In some moments, the emotional truth conveyed by the lighting speaks even louder than the dialogue itself.

Lighting as the foundation of stagecraft

   In large-scale musicals, lighting functions as an increasingly sophisticated narrative device. It does far more than adjust brightness; it builds atmosphere, defines structure, and even establishes the world in which the story takes place. This demonstrates just how essential lighting is in contemporary stagecraft.

   In “Wicked,” lighting masterfully constructs the illusion of magic. Through striking contrasts in color and character-focused lighting, the production creates a fantastical atmosphere. The interplay between green and gold visually reflects the complexities of the protagonist, Elphaba. Every moment of magic is accompanied by lighting that blurs the boundary between reality and illusion, guiding the audience into another world. This visual enchantment is currently on full display at the Blue Square Shinhan Card Hall, where the international tour of “Wicked” is now being performed.

   In “The Great Gatsby,” the lighting assigns symbolic meaning through sharp contrasts between light and darkness, and through the pervasive use of gold. The party scenes are lit in a way that emphasizes symbols over characters. The glittering gold suggests the material abundance of the 1920s, while the shadows lurking behind it evoke the emptiness of the era. Lighting here acts almost like a character itself, embodying the work’s central themes. This intricate design can be seen firsthand at the GS Art Hall, where the show is currently running as part of an international tour.

   Watching a performance involves more than simply focusing on the actors; it also requires attention to where the light falls. Subtle shifts in lighting often carry deeper meaning, especially for seasoned theatergoers who are attuned to such transitions. There are moments when light alone communicates something no words can express. Noticing these moments offers a more complete understanding of the stage. In many cases, light conveys emotion even before the actors begin to speak, setting the emotional tone before the story unfolds. After a performance, it is worth considering how the lighting changed, what colors appeared, when the brightness rose or dimmed, and how those elements shaped the emotional response. Stage lighting, after all, often speaks the first line of the story. Its language deserves to be understood.