Lighting has the ability to create an engrossing atmosphere, to add that final emphasis to a scene’s emotion or the audience’s sensations. Before speaking to Finlay Wyer, the current BATS technical director, I had an idea of the involvement and importance of lighting designers and technical directors but was naïve to the multitasking, extent and involvement of these roles.

Wyer tells me that his current show The Healing Room by Madeline Whitmore is quite a unique production. Whilst you could do a show with ‘a general purpose rig’ and not change the rigging too much for The Healing Room, Wyer has gone all out. I was lucky enough to attend their technical rehearsal where I got to see the creative process behind the lighting. I watched as he kept track of four screens, flicking backwards and forward between two different lighting states, automatically moving spotlights, mixing coloured lights, and programming it all to run seamlessly on the night.

“I was lucky enough to attend their technical rehearsal where I got to see the creative process behind the lighting”

Whitmore and Wyer were constantly in communication, adjusting for the time it took the actors to get off stage, planning a more intricate ‘stunt’ (you’ll have to watch to see!), and discussing which sound effects were necessary when. Wyer’s job did not just have him sitting behind the lighting desk; he was fully involved, not only controlling the lights but sound, projection, and effects, all the time matching this to the direction of Whitmore.

However, according to Wyer, this is not the norm for all theatre productions. Not only is he a very experienced “techie,” but Wyer tells me that on some projects it can be difficult for lighting directors to fully immerse into a crew. In some theatres the tech box can be separated from the stage, Wyer states that this can sometimes make the technical crew’s role an “isolated” one. Moreover, technical crew is “often brought on later, after the table read” sometimes “about a week before a show when all the rest of the cast have already met and know each other”.

That’s why, at BATS, Wyer encourages the involvement of lighting and sound designers from the offset. Wyer says that if, like his experience with the The Healing Room, techies can be at the table read this will hopefully mean they feel more involved and connected to the show, which Wyer believes is also how you get the “best work” from people. Wyer also tells me that he came up with many of his ideas for lighting The Healing Room at the table read and that this is an important part of the creative process. It can often be hard to understand a show from the script alone, and being at a table read can often bring clarity and a deeper understanding of a show.

Wyer and I also discuss how aspiring lighting directors can get involved with shows. “There’s about 20, maybe 25 lighting designers” currently in Camdram –so they’re in demand. Wyer says that it is often a case of being “head-hunted” or sometimes a director or producer will know a technician from another show who they will ask to be on their new project. Wyer is currently working on training up a few freshers at BATS as it seems like new and passionate technical talent is what Camdram needs.

I was also naively surprised to learn that there “is about a 50/50 split” in technical directing between students who do STEM or Humanities and Arts degrees. Wyer stresses that you definitely “don’t need to know the physics of how stage lights work” to get involved. Doing a show’s lighting and sound is a way to not only learn a new skill, the programming of sounds and lights, how to move rigging, and balancing a haze but also a way to merge creative passion with technical ability. Wyer states that this is how techies should be seen, “as creatives”.

“sometimes he would make a small switch and there would be a flurry of ‘yes’es”

Wyer’s work and lighting choices create an atmosphere which brings Whitmore’s writing, and the cast’s acting, to life; sometimes he would make a small switch and there would be a flurry of ‘yes’es and “OMG that looks great!” from across the room. Good lighting perhaps isn’t always as obvious to an audience as a strong acting performance, but it is no less crucial to making or breaking a show.

Throughout our conversation Wyer often mentioned how excited he is about the lighting of The Healing Room; after talking to director and writer Madeline Whitmore it seems like there’s a lot to be excited about. Whitmore tells me, “The play was inspired by a series of conversations I had […] during my first year of university.” The play explores grief, emergence into adulthood, and the “love shared between the two female leads”. We also discussed the positive and creative atmosphere on set, something I got to see for myself. She states that “everyone has been so receptive and open to playing with dialogue and meaning”.

When asked about her favourite scene Whitmore mentioned both the finale, for which “everything has been carefully choreographed and rehearsed,” but also one “about halfway through that we’ve never managed to get through in rehearsal without laughing, so watch out for that!”. This duplicity seems to capture what Whitmore wants for The Healing Room. A play with many intimate, difficult and emotional moments and ideas, but which also reflects the joy of growing with people you love.

The Healing Room is on at Queen’s Fitzpatrick Hall from Thursday 13 March until Saturday 15 March at 8.00 pm.

Want to share your thoughts on this article? Send us a letter to letters@varsity.co.uk or by using this form.