FRIENDS
Lighting Designer
Friends is easily the show that gave me the most technical challenges I have ever faced. The director (Dr. David Jortner) had a concept that involved heavy usage of shadows with themes of loneliness, isolation, danger, and being trapped. He was especially intrigued by shoji screens, a common type of translucent wall used in Japanese interior architecture and design. Running with this, not only did Dr. Jortner want a full shoji drop that could be backlit in order to reveal shadows onto it, but he also wanted every wall within the set to have the ability for actors to perform behind them and be seen by the audience as cast shadows. Intrigued, excited, and also terrified, I had many meetings with the scenic designer to determine exactly what combination of material and lighting instrument we would use to create clear, crisp, and visible shadows. For the main set unit, I ended up having to install booms behind each wall and used spike tape to indicate to the actors and crew members where they were / were not allowed to walk during transitions backstage. For the large shoji drop, I worked with the lead electrician (Josh Wilson) to create moveable stands with Par Cans attached on top that were moved on and off stage by stagehands who moved in time with the flying of the shoji screen in order to light the actors from behind while the drop was in place, and then to very quickly remove those instruments from the stage as the drop cleared.
