Light Design Godspell

Stage Lighting

I enjoy nearly every aspect of the theatrical process and have discovered a love for light design. I have designed the lights exclusively for Centralia's Evergreen Playhouse since 2015 and helped bring in a new lighting system and LEDs over that next year to the facility. I have also worked with the local high school in balancing their aging fixtures to help tell the story the students are sharing as well as Centralia College and working in their black box space. Although I have no formal education in theatrical lighting, I have many years of experience both onstage and behind the scenes and credit others wiser than myself for teaching me everything I know about light design. I enjoy small, intimate spaces, and supplementing the story being told onstage with colors and light - I love to find the "magic" in every production and look for ways to bring it to the next level.

 The following posts are a selection of some of my favorite lighting designs. For a full list of all of the shows I have designed, check out my lighting resume.

Drama, Musical Danielle Kays Drama, Musical Danielle Kays

Singing for Scrooge

This theatrical company did the exact same show, Scrooge, the musical the Christmas prior, and one of the challenges was lighting it differently from before. The set was completely different with a revolving “clock”, and LED bars were installed underneath that were lit every time a ghost appeared or “magic” was happening. Fog was also utilized to accentuate the atmosphere.

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Musical, Drama Danielle Kays Musical, Drama Danielle Kays

Creating Magic in the Secret Garden

This musical retelling of the classic children’s story utilized a lot of zoning, as well as specific spotlights as seen here. “Hallways” were created using light as Mary and Archibald wandered the Manor, just missing each other as they passed in the darkness.

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Musical, Comedy Danielle Kays Musical, Comedy Danielle Kays

Gambling with Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls features several different locations and different times of day. This scene pictured takes place in early morning, so the stage was bathed with soft pinks and yellows. The iconic sewer scene (where the song, “Luck Be a Lady” is sung), was created using a projection light to simulate water dancing on the wall, as well as lights shining through a manhole.

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Drama, Musical Danielle Kays Drama, Musical Danielle Kays

Growing the Garden in Children of Eden

Children of Eden had a large cast and the director utilized the entire stage as well as into the house. Because the show featured several different locations, the director chose to convey the mood and location of the setting via lights and we projected 6 LEDs behind a wire scrim. Pinlights, held by actors, became stars and a special was aimed into the back of the house to spotlight Father. 

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Musical, Drama Danielle Kays Musical, Drama Danielle Kays

A Steampunk Godspell

The request from the director was to have Godspell be "moody, with purples and blues and no whites until the end". Using only gels, we created a very moody play and one of the most ambitious to date. Shadows were our friend, and the colors helped tell the mood of the ensemble. Several chases during some of the more upbeat songs were also incorporated.

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Musical Danielle Kays Musical Danielle Kays

Grease and Lightning

Grease had a color scheme as well as zones. The director requested bright, fun colors - no whites. Each zone then had 6 separate colors honed in on it; purple, pink, green, blue, red, yellow. When the Pink Ladies were alone on stage, their space was lit with the pinks, reds, and purples, and the Greasers had the yellows, greens, and blue.

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Play, Drama Danielle Kays Play, Drama Danielle Kays

A Wild Prairie with Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Voice of the Prairie was a fast-paced telling of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and with simple roll-away sets, we again had to use light to convey location and time of day. Blues were used during the snow storm and moody lighting for the times inside the cabin.

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 Photo Credits on the Stage Lighting Posts: Pete Caster, Aran Graham, Rebecca Lund, Danielle Kays, Carrina Stanton, Jared Wenzelburger