The Atlantic Theater Company’s production of Brecht’s Threepenny Opera took their audience deep into the shadows of Victorian London with the dark comedy’s equally shadowy cast of characters. In recreating this dark corner of the world, lighting designer Christopher Akerlind used Rosco Miro Cube 4C fixtures in innovative new ways.
Set Designer Robert Israel and Akerlind worked closely together to reproduce the dingy setting. Working with Israel’s scenic treatments Akerlind chose a less than conventional color pallet as an anchor for his design in this world. “The greenish part was as much about the color of the walls and how the cool grey (paint) was turned so” said Akerlind.
With Victorian era lighting being uneven and centered around small individual sources Akerlind took the opportunity to integrate Miro Cube 4C fixtures as footlights into his design – a nod to the original vaudeville era production, but with a new purpose. Rather than the footlights softening the actors features in countering shadows from the overhead lighting, Akerlind reversed the intention and used them to cast stark shadows against the set - with the ability to shift colors and hues at will.
Christopher Akerlind chose the 4C’s because “the footlight shadows were a big part of the vocabulary of the show, and the cleanliness of the fixtures made them almost invisible to the audience. The vaudevillian style of our production allowed us that ubiquitous theatre idea while adding contemporary color changeability.” Stressing the importance of his color pallet Akerlind continued “the colors are so rich and they make good whites, particularly cool white. I’m still amazed by the color mixing; it’s clean without the problematic multi-shadows of RGB(W) that can be tricky with other fixtures."
Make sure you visit the Miro Cube 4C web page to learn more about the features of this impressively bright, clean and compact LED fixture.
Photo Credit: Kevin Thomas Garcia
