Bridget K. Doyle is a Boston-based lighting designer for theatre, dance, and live events. Her recent design for Babson College’s production of Kingdom City required specific lighting cues that were nearly impossible to achieve using the rep plot inside The Empty Space Theater (TEST) where it was staged. Knowing that she had a number of acting areas to illuminate with limited budget and resources, Bridget turned to Rosco’s I-Cue™ Intelligent Mirror and DMX Iris to get the job done.
According to Bridget, the play’s script, as well as the director’s blocking, required her to create a fair amount of isolation in her lighting design. At times, Bridget needed to capture one to two actors on their own, essentially putting a spotlight on them without actually putting a spotlight on them. Restricted to the rep plot inside the theater, she had to find a way to create these isolated acting areas on stage using the lights available to her.
A rep plot can be extremely limiting because the lights in the rig are set up to be used over and over – no matter what production enters the space. By using an I-Cue and a DMX Iris together, Bridget was able to reposition and adjust the beam of light from a fixed lighting fixture to highlight the secluded moments in the show. This gave her more flexibility to place the light where she needed it and ensured that she could capture those isolated moments – wherever the director placed them.
The I-Cue features a motorized mirror that quietly moves to redirect the light from its original path to virtually anywhere it's needed on stage. Using the I-Cue, Bridget was able to have the beam in one area in one cue, then move the mirror while the light was off so that it could illuminate another area in a future cue. As the beam moves, however, it also changes size. This is where the DMX Iris comes in because it can control the size of the beam as the I-Cue moves the light from one position to another.
Bridget noted how much flexibility the I-Cue + DMX Iris combo can provide. Installing one of each accessory into just one ellipsoidal front light proved incredibly useful because the director used areas of the space that the rep plot didn’t easily cover. Thanks to these two versatile lighting accessories, she was able to illuminate those areas – enabling her to provide a successful lighting design for Kingdom City.
If you’d like to learn more about Lighting Designer Bridget K. Doyle and see examples of her work, you can visit her website: bridgetkdoyle.com. For more information about Rosco’s I-Cue Intelligent Mirror and DMX Iris, please visit the Beam Control page on the Rosco website.
Brittney Pecor February 22, 2024 Questions?
Prior to joining Rosco in 2018, Brittney worked as a lighting technician and light board operator in a variety of theatrical and concert venues. In her prior role as a Project Manager for our Rosco Architectural division, Brittney gained extensive knowledge of our architectural products as she built relationships with our customers. Her background in Live Entertainment and her experience with Rosco’s architectural products make Brittney a valuable resource for technicians and designers around the world.
