Kerala   

The art of stage lighting

Gopinath Kozhikode

“There is not even a single well-equipped building with perfect lighting and acoustics in our State to stage a drama,” observes Gopinath Kozhikode, winner of the prestigious Chaman Lal Memorial Award for stage lighting this year.

“It is true that there are a few buildings available for theatre. Some have sufficient stage space also. But these do not have adequate provision for lighting installation,” he adds. Gopinath Kozhikode had made a name for himself in the field of stage lighting in the State even before he won the coveted Chaman Lal award.

(Chaman Lal, besides being a pioneer in lighting design, is also founder of ‘Modern Stage Service,’ a major manufacturer of lighting systems.)

Gopinath retired as a faculty member at the School of Drama and Fine Arts of University of Calicut but continues to teach stage lighting techniques in universities across the country. He also won junior and senior fellowships of the Ministry of Culture before he bagged the Chaman Lal award.

Gopinath believes that more attention should be paid to teaching the art of stage lighting in drama schools, as it has been recognised as an inevitable ingredient in any successful theatre production.

He points out that execution of a well designed lighting system is possible only in a well equipped theatre where lighting equipment have been installed scientifically.

“Though lighting has become a major area in the syllabus of dramatics and theatre science, except in the National School of Drama in Delhi no proper theatre facility is provided for its practical study,” he says.

“Drama departments in most universities in our country do not have sufficient infrastructure for teaching stage lighting techniques. Teachers are also in short supply. Since this work requires technical skills and gets less fame, artistes rarely take up stage lighting as a career,” he says.

Gopinath is happy that in spite of these problems professional drama troupes in our State show a high degree of awareness and expertise in lighting and even troupes that conduct shows in different places at short intervals manage to light up the stage and sometimes create special effects.

In his view, the purpose of well-designed lighting is to create a completely unified, three-dimensional world on stage — a stage in which every frame or composition of the actors and properties is revealed as a mobile and meaningful painting.

Gopinath , a topper in MA (theatre arts), is confident that stage lighting would continue to be a critical factor in stage shows and would get more importance in drama schools.

He points out that reality shows that enjoy high viewership ratings these days are also making good use of special effects.

R. Madhavan Nair

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