# data[].attributes.body
The original production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was written in the 17th century and set in the 12th Century in Athens, Greece. The production that we are doing will be set in the 1980’s, which is only 40 years before it is being performed. As the director had mentioned, there is more creative opportunity to work with the performance set in the 1980s. As a result of this, it is much more likely that the audience will be more engaged with the performance in this context – as opposed to another play in a contemporary setting – as they will understand and appreciate the nostalgia of the decade.

# data[].attributes.body
According to Mark Cartwright - the four most common systems of the Ancient Greek government were those of democracy, oligarchy, monarchy, and tyranny (Cartwright, 2018).

These standards of the governing bodies in Ancient Greece can be defined by who has the final say in a society. For instance, a democracy was the standard where decisions are made by the people (specifically the men). Alternatively, an oligarchy was the standard where a specific selection of individuals are granted control over the decisions made. By extension, a monarchy was the standard where an individual fell heir to the leadership over the land, by divine right. Finally, the standard of tyranny in Ancient Greece was where an individual gained control over decisions made, without a grant and outside the boundaries of the law.

William Shakespeare's father: John Shakespeare, was a well-established, local politician and merchant within Stratford-upon-Avon. It is likely that this connection had some influence on Shakepeare’s literacy.

In the 1980s, when our production of the play will be set, a significant moment in Greek history is the turn of politics. The rise in power of the Greek conservative party - with Constantine Karamanlis commencing his term as president of Greece in 1980 was shortly interrupted a year later with the election of Andreas Papandreaus, the prime minister at the time. The conflict of ideologies between the two men in power caused a dispute among the civilians of the country, since Papandreaus campaigned to take powers and responsibilities from Karamanlis.

# data[].attributes.body
Nathan Bishop

# data[].attributes.body
As evidenced in the dialogue in the script of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', the social dynamic of the characters within the play contributes towards their very outcomes. It could be argued that Shakespeare understood the power dynamics within the society he grew up in and this had some influence on him while writing the play.

Explained by Sukanta Chaudhuri (Edmondson, 2021) - as seen in the transcript extract above - the social dynamics are depicted in specified forms of character: upper class, artisans and fairies. It could be said that these are comparable with our social classes of upper-class, middle-class and lower-class. One perspective is that Shakespeare wrote each group to oppose, desire for, and forgive each other. This may have reflected how he saw society.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image of a printing press from the 16th Century

# data[].attributes.body
The newest technologies available at the time of Shakespeare were mostly the invention of the printing press, which was brought into the middle-class English society of the Jacobean Era. The significance of this could be that, because printing out the written word was becoming more common as time passed, word of mouth had become much more frequent than before. Furthermore, this meant that, in the papers, Shakespeare’s plays could become recognisable and intrigue a wider audience.

# data[].attributes.body
In the setting of 12th-century Greece, the economy was growing and commonly referred to as the Byzantine Revival. This revival also helped artistic and cultural growth which was seen by the building of lots of Byzantine churches.

The way the economy in Greece during the 17th Century influenced Shakespeare was by depicting the social hierarchies, marital arrangements and authoritative decisions made by those in power. These ideologies at the time would be the developments of the characters. An example of this would be the social difference between the characters Oberon and Lysander. Though mischievous in his quest to bewitch his wife infatuated by the first creature scene, Oberon is seen by the other fairies as a king. The emphasis this brings upon Oberon as a character is that he, not only of royal stature, is a fairy, a supernatural creature of the forest whose abilities in witchcraft is explored throughout the play. The inspiration for Oberon could have been drawn from the reigning monarch at the time, James VI and I.

In hindsight, the way this economic factor influenced my technical decisions for our production was by depicting the regalities of the characters Theseus and Hippolyta, to whom the palace of Athens is a home, not a privilege. Likewise, I wished to show the forest as a place of mystery and chaos. However, when Oberon and Titania were present, I wanted to adapt the look of the forest to further its simplicities, as everything is in order whilst the King and Queen of the Fairies were present. It was only whilst they were away when the chaos ensued, predominantly due to Puck's actions affecting the love and spite between Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius.

# data[].attributes.body
An initial concern of mine, when considering the lighting design, was how to overcome and obstacles linked to the designs and practicalities of the set, and vice versa. I was fully aware of the importance of engaging and communicating with Kai Beckman, our set designer, throughout the project. The most apparent issue for us both was how to go about compensating for the placing of our camo net, which, if not carefully discussed, may have become a significant problem for the both of us.  I had to consider how the lighting would travel through the netting, and if the netting would alter the aesthetics of the planned lighting. Both the Set Designer and I wanted to ensure that the lighting complemented the set and vice versa.

It was also important that I discussed with the director and understood the significance of using two locations for the show. The use of the lecture theatre for the Athens scene at the start meant that I was only able to use a rig with minimal lighting but then had a larger variety of options as the production moved into the in-house theatre. This meant that I had to ensure that the lighting designs were appropriate for both locations. Upon reflection, it was a brilliant concept of using the lecture theatre for the simplistic look of Athens, and the in-house theatre for the forest as it meant that we were able to install set that otherwise wouldn't have been practical to have as part of a scene change.

An upside to this decision I had noticed - without requiring discussion with the director - is that the audience may encounter the performance from a much more immersive point of view. This is because they will be journeying from Athens (the lecture theatre) to the forest (the main theatre) themselves, rather than having the performance change location while the audience remain seated in the main theatre.

# data[].attributes.body
Having discussed the layout of the performance with our director, which will be predominantly in our main theatre, I understood that the audience will be seated around the performance space, which has an area of five meters squared. This means that there isn't a large amount of space to work with for designing, programming, and operating lights.

The space in the Lecture theatre was smaller, and with the audience standing, and no technical booth, the working space was very constrained.

Having mentioned this, I am also aware of the fact that I have the remainder of the space to work with - for the benefit of the audience as they come in from the lecture theatre. Similar to the set concerns, I had conversations with the director and stage manager of our production, to discover ways I can overcome this, and ensure the lighting design was appropriate for each space.

# data[].attributes.body
Upon reflection, I was - initially - a sceptic towards the idea of using a Gantt chart to track my progress in executing my planned activities. However, throughout the process, I have been able to remind myself to keep up to date with marking my Gantt chart, so I can visualise my progress in my previous activities in my role of lighting designer, as well as the activities I am yet to accomplish.

I had approached Gantt charts in the format they appear in Microsoft Excel. It is primarily used for spreadsheet modifications and crafting charts.

In the midst of this project, I have gotten used to formatting an effective Gantt chart and have taken the liberty of gaining more knowledge in the field of plan-building and Gannt charts as a whole. Therefore, in future preparations, I will know that Gantt charts are a viable option for me to accomplish tasks effectively - throughout the process of a project.

I also found that using a Gantt chart was helpful to give me a quick overall view of the order that things needed to be done, and roughly how long each element might take.

# data[].attributes.body
Looking back, I have been less effective in logging evidence than planned. Although I have been photographing evidence for the benefit of my portfolio, I have been keeping on top of uploading these photographs until the fifth week into the project. In spite of this, I have picked up the pace and, therefore, gathered a fair amount more of photographs, to evidence my progress in this project further. Likewise, my Gantt chart has been updated each step of the way on this project, identifying and preparing for the tasks at hand and those which is to be completed.

# data[].attributes.body
When we were first given the script for our production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, I thought up some initial ideas fairly quickly, to enhance both the drama and comedic properties of the performance. My efficacy in proposing these ideas as soon as possible shows good planning, as they may not have all been what the director envisioned, therefore allowing me more time to propose other ideas in development.

Once I learnt about the audience moving from the lecture theatre to our main in-house theatre, I had discarded some of my ideas, as I thought them to be too impractical , and moved on to different ideas, which I had been prepared for, with backup lighting ideas. By the fifth week, I had organised these ideas into a cue sheet and programmed these ideas into the lighting desk, using the iOS software.

# data[].attributes.body
The production team was made up of Student Technicians, covering the roles of Lighting Designer, Programmer and Operator (myself), Sound Designer, Programmer and Operator, a Set Designer and Builder, a Props Manager, A Costume Designer and Fitter and a Stage Manager. For the shows some of the Technicians also became stagehands.

For each of the production meetings, all members of the production team were called in to discuss their progress throughout the development of the production.

These meetings were conducted on a weekly basis, although the Technical Director had other projects with the other students to prioritise. The result of this was a member of staff in the production arts was brought in to cover the meetings in his absence. During these meetings, we were asked individually to discuss our progress with the group. As a result of one of these meetings, it was brought to my attention that the first-year students had organised a shared online calendar. This proved beneficial for us - likewise - as we could all be updated with each other's plans and how to prioritise activities between us as a collective. In addition, we were provided with rehearsal notes from our stage manager, which described in brief sentences what our next priorities were to be.

# data[].attributes.body
Since I have had previous experience of writing cue sheets before now, I felt as though it has become a second nature to me. I am comfortable with the knowledge of how to format an LX cue sheet, and to fill it in with relevant data, according to whichever role it is I am adopting.

I began by creating a table containing five columns in Microsoft Word with the headings of cue numbers, cue names, page numbers, notes, times in, and times out respectively. After I had done so, I had filled in the cues with my lighting designs and where I intend for them to come in, discussing with the director before finalising them.

The benefit of doing this, helps to clearly understand the sequencing required for the show, and it gives a reference guide for anyone to follow.

# data[].attributes.body
I was tasked with sourcing some lights for the lecture theatre, which I chose to do so using online shopping. After research, I found LED lamps were popular for lighting social areas in the 80s, though strip lights proved to be a financially better option. The benefits of online shopping is that I could easily share details of the product to gain approval before the purchase was made, as well as being able to read the full specification of the product in advance.

Since I was not responsible for placing the order and arranging collection, I was reliant on a staff member to do so.

The risk with online shopping was that there was a possibility that the items may not be delivered within the required timeframe. However, when placing the order, I made sure to check the expected delivery date was well in advance of the date the item was required. I also made sure to remind the staff member in charge of placing the orders of these dates, so he was knowledgeable of them.

# data[].attributes.headline
Lack of understanding in the lecture theatre

# data[].attributes.subject
Lack of understanding in the lecture theatre

# data[].attributes.body
Since the rig in the lecture theatre was bare, it was frustrating to know that there had been a lack of conversation, or solution, from the director of the production, to go about solving this. I therefore ensured that I spoke to the director about this issue, and the solution that came upon us was to have the lighting fitted onto T-bars and light the set in that format.

# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding (the meaning of the content in) the text

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding (the meaning of the content in) the text

# data[].attributes.body
As Shakespeare's plays are written in the spoken word of the 17th Century, it can be difficult for people in the 21st century to translate and fully understand it fluently.

There are resources for benefitting people's understanding of the Shakespearean dialect both in an analogue and a digital format.

I accessed some of these resources to help my own understanding, and I watched a couple of different productions which helped with the overall understanding of the messages within.

# data[].attributes.body
When taking the lighting designs into consideration, I thought it to be good that I assessed the truss and what rigging could be done in both locations. The practicalities of rigging LED fixtures (Par Cans, Movers, etc.) in the Lecture Theatre are far more preferable than rigging generic fixtures, as these would require a dimmer rack. In addition to this the process of programming a lighting state for the lecture theatre, that already has lighting installations is a more efficient and effective use of time. Furthermore, the repercussions of paying attention to the layout of the rig in the lecture theatre were that I could communicate the feasibilities of my designs to the director.

# data[].attributes.headline
Lack of Access to the Performance Spaces

# data[].attributes.subject
Lack of Access to the Performance Spaces

# data[].attributes.body
It was important that both the actors and the technical crew fully understood the size of the performance spaces. This was important for me to ensure that lighting was appropriate for the space being performed in. We didn’t always have access to the performance spaces and sometimes the performance spaces weren’t laid out how the performance would be. Marking out the rehearsal area, in an attempt to simulate the performance space, is a way around the problem of having limited access to the performance space. The influence this had on me, as the student lighting technician on this project, was minimal, though it had made me consider changing the layout of designs.

# data[].attributes.body
I took the opportunity to use the time during a rehearsal to finish my cue sheet, as I had not taken into account the epilogue, which I had previously thought to be an alternative ending or an extra scene to explain the plot some more. I then learned that this was not the case. The actors took their direction from Nicky and blocked the epilogue. I drew some ideas from this blocking and wrote them down.

Throughout the rest of the rehearsal, I borrowed a MacBook and went onto the downloaded Eos software to begin programming the cues. What I had not considered was that using this particular software on a MacBook is drastically different from simply using the ETC ion lighting desk. There are many workarounds on the Eos software to fix the problem, but I was not aware of these initially. I learned more about these from another student technician who had dealt with a similar situation on a previous project.

Using these work arounds, I was able to learn how to use the software better and ensure that the programming on the cues were accurate and effective.

# data[].attributes.body
BIS23237943

# data[].attributes.body
I took this picture on 4th April, knowing it would later provide me with useful knowledge of the fixtures' positions on the rig we have in the in-house theatre. Once we return after the Easter Break, I intend to go back into the theatre and assure myself of the fixtures' positions and that they have not been altered by any means before or during the Easter Break. If they have, however, I will not consider this a setback from my goals in programming and operating the states I have planned for in my LX cue sheet.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a screenshot of the lighting (or LX) cue sheet I put together before the Easter Break, specifically showing the page dedicated to the first two scenes of Act One, which both take place in Athens. Though the initial two cues are not within the scope of the play, they hold an important role, for they give the audience a taste of what is yet to come, even before they are in their seats. The immersion that this creates will, in theory, aid with the overall enjoyment the audience will take from this experience. The 'clearance' cue is the state I will progress to once given a verbal signal from either the director or another member of staff, telling me and the other technicians it is time to start the show.

# data[].attributes.body
In this initial week of production, once the assignment had been launched onto Teams, we have been tasked with presenting a proposal for the technical position we want to work on during the progression of - and ultimately itself when the time comes - a final performing arts and production arts play, or the final major project (FMP). As our director has not yet made any ultimate decision on which of the two plays (Hound of the Baskervilles and A Midsummer Night's Dream) to assign to the actors, we have to approach the proposal with the assumption that she has chosen either one of them. Essentially, we have to propose for both.

# data[].attributes.body
By the second week of the project, I have not been able to come up with many ideas of either plays, since we have not been told whether we are going to be putting on an alternative production of the original plays, or whether we are going to be doing the plays outwright how they were written to be produced.

I inquired with the director and we discussed potential ideas, focusing in on one scene at a time. In total, we were able to review three scenes.This approach benefited me, as it allowed me to drill down my ideas into sole outcomes. The scenes we looked over were Act One Scene Two, Act Two Scene One, and Act Four Scene Act Three Scene Two. These scenes in particular were beneficial to me, as they all focused on different characters, and were all in different settings. By the end of the session, I had come up with five ideas of the three I set out to achieve in that session.

During this week, I progressed with my lighting design - through this method of scrutinising scenes for what they are worth and building designs from those - and gathered two more ideas for lighting states.

# data[].attributes.body
By week three, we were told that the decision for our production was A Midsummer Night's Dream. This had been decided on through a vote with the actors.

Shakespeare is well-regarded, and considered to be one of the greatest writers of the English language, and his plays have had impacts for centuries to follow. Shakepeare's works are studied and analysed in almost every theatre around the country. Therefore, one of the benefits for both the actors and technical team is that we all have a greater understanding of who he was, why he wrote plays the way he wrote them, the language he used, and these will be valuable if we continue in the performing arts industry.

With our production roles in place, and the production we were going to be focusing on for the next ten weeks, we were raring to go. My first thoughts after being told this were to look over previous performances of the show, and look over their interpretations. Out of hours, I had watched a National Theatre production of A Midsummer Night's Dream from the Summer of 2019, which gave me a better understanding of the play, and what the characters represent in society. This also helped me to understand the language a little better too.

# data[].attributes.body
By the fourth week into the project, I was keen to incorporate gobo into my designs for the different areas of the forest, since each scene with a differing area than another introduced a new form of chaos, a new reason for drama. I was to show that in the lights, specifically the movers.

# data[].attributes.body
During this week, we held our first rehearsal. The production team's focus was on the costume ideas and set ideas more so than the lighting.

During the first rehearsal, there were no comments made specifically about the lighting, beyond what had been discussed before, since it would have been - and was - further beneficial at this point in the process further beneficial to know what costume would be needed for the actors involved and what the set is going to look like. Programmed lighting cues did not need to be ordered from an external source, so it was not so much of a priority.

During the second rehearsal, there was a suggestion that it might be beneficial to make use of a touring rig. It was agreed between both myself, the director and the stage manager to discuss this further next week.

The director had communicated her initial ideas, generally about the production, which were relayed by the stage manager in an email. However, this did not include any specific ideas about lighting, so I assumed full creative freedom by the end of this week. Upon reflection, I could have gone to the rehearsal, and checked in with the director to ensure what I was doing was aligned with my designs, as well as her vision of the show's aesthetic and how to accomplish that.

# data[].attributes.body
At the start of this week, we had conversations about the potential to use the touring rig for lighting the performance space within the lecture theatre. This was ultimately assumed as the most beneficial and efficient way of lighting the space, after other options were brought up, such as rigging intelligent and generic fixtures onto the truss in the lecture theatre.

There were two rehearsals this week, and - from each of these rehearsals - there were no particular comments or requests communicated to adjust lighting or new lighting ideas. This was the result of my forgetting to address my current ideas and designs to the director. If I had done so at this point in the production process, I believe that, though successful in immersing the audience, it would have made the impact of this immersion much more significant. Despite this, I made good use of my time, ensuring that I had communicated with the set designer how each of our signs of progress were, and how we could help each other in making the most of our respective fields when the show came to pass.

It is helpful to see how the rehearsals progress as it helps me understand what lighting requirements might be needed, where the actors may be positioned and how some of the props would be used, which could impact my lighting designs.

# data[].attributes.body
Over the course of this week, I found it difficult and had not motivated myself to do much practical work, though I made use of my time by conducting research, utilising paperback sources with Shakespearean material from the college library, signing them out and reading through them out of hours.

I found the information from these sources easier the comprehend and to retain whilst programming lights and alterations to my lighting states on the Eos software, available on the MacBooks.

# data[].attributes.body
Throughout this week of the project, I have programmed thirty cues onto the Eos software, using a MacBook, since I had not been able to gain access to the ETC desk in the tech booth. The repercussions of this were that I had to learn to use Eos on a Macbook, which is dramatically different to using Eos on the lighting desk. This is due to the fact that the controls are all accessible on the lighting desk, just as they are on a MacBook. The difference being that the functions available on the desk are controlled on a MacBook using the QWERTY keyboard, the traditionally styled laptop format. Our props manager, Robin, had previously used Eos on the MacBook, and had offered to help me learn and understand the operation of the controls on a MacBook. With little knowledge of it, myself, I graciously accepted his offered and he e-mailed me basic instructions of what to do, in order to control certain functions, which would normally come to me with ease. With this information, I was then able to progress with the programming, and I have learnt a little more about using Eos on a Macbook.

On Friday, I opened a Macbook, hoping to access my Eos file and update it with new cues. Unfortunately, I was only able to open the Eos software on the MacBook I had loaned. After realising this, I was relieved to find out that I had photographed the code number, in preparation for such a case. I then went to the office to retrieve the MacBook I had needed, and there was no staff available to sign it out from the office, so it dawned upon me that I needed to wait for ten minutes or so, without being able to do anything other than noting down the specific setbacks of the week, for writing up into the portfolio at the end of the week. After such time, I went back to the office, and retrieved the MacBook, handing the other one back in substitution. To ensure this did not happen again, I saved the file onto the memory stick, and labelled the memory stick, so I could identify it from the others.

# data[].attributes.body
Over the ninth week of the final major project, I was able to take out the MacBook to review cues, and they were all as they should have been, and there were no reasons to suspect any malfunctions as a result of QLab or Eos.

The beneficial repercussions of this were that I could continue with the rest of my work without concerning myself over the potential that my work would be produced for nothing.

The setbacks/downsides of this week were that they were not altered to be timely and precise to when they should have happened. I made time this week to get this done.

I planned to discuss the programmed lighting states with the director and get as much feedback from them as I can. This way, if the director wanted any changes to be made, I could have altered the programming for the cues ahead of time and carried on with the next priorities.

I ended up discussing with the director in her session, and we discussed the blocking and how it would impact the lights I had planned thereafter.

Upon reflection, I was very effective and efficient in achieving my goals for the week, as I had done so, and in good time.

# data[].attributes.body
Within the duration of this past week, I have been able to go over my cues, ensuring that they are all function in all their own rights of way. Throughout this process, I had figured that most of the cues were both functional and effective in achieving their individual purposes.

One problem that I did come across whilst doing this was seeing an out of place strobe from an LED par can. I had not remembered programming into Eos a strobe effect on any of the lights, let alone a sole LED par can at the end of the rig. Assuming it may be the fixture itself not functioning properly, I went through the rest of the cues and carefully examined whether or not there were any more of these mishaps within the show file. I came across it in one other changeover, though it did not happen again after this second time. I had the idea to go to the "effects" tab on Eos and check that there were no effects active on the lights, and, sure enough, there were not. The reason why these strobes had occurred was that...

# data[].attributes.body
In the penultimate week of the process, I had fixed the LED strip lights to the flats, and was able to control remotely them, using the relevant application. This meant that, while I would be operating the LED par cans from the QLab file I put together, someone else could be controlling the strip lights in time to the cues. I would have controlled them myself, although I believed it would be too difficult to connect the strip lights as a separate fixture onto QLab, so I decided against it. I also managed to realise the lights from the grounds of the theatre, and see what it would look like from the theatre floor, as I had not seen them in their final aesthetic from the perspective of the audience. In hindsight, I could have accomplished this last week, although I did not give myself the allocated time. Nor did I think it necessary, if I already had the director and people on the grounds to assume that opinion for me. In the future, I intend to see the lighting states I design from all angles, not just the booth in which I will be operating the lights from.

# data[].attributes.body
In the final week of production, I had not been able to come in for the dress rehearsals on the Monday or Tuesday, therefore needed to catch up on the happenings of those on the morning of show day. It was fairly simple for me to be updated, since there were not many changes, nor many additions, made to the production format from where we left it off last week. On Wednesday, I was told about the changes made to the QLab file for the first act of the production, which were that another technician was tasked with programming an entirely new and separate file to the one I had originally programmed. It came upon me a few weeks prior that we were not going to be using the touring rig as I had once thought, since it was a requirement for the Level 2 technicians' show.

In total, we had three runs of the show on Wednesday. One, to get me used to the new QLab file for the lecture theatre;another, as a matinee performance for other performing arts students; and an evening performance, for which friends and family of the cast and crew came to see. Over the course of these three runs, there were little to no mistakes made, technically. In the final performance, there were no mistakes made by the technicians working on the show.

# data[].attributes.body
Whilst ensuring that the cues I had - previous to this transition loop - were effective in achieving the individual programming they were assigned, I was advised by one of the staff members to create a transition piece, so as to merge the end of the last scene with the audience's own transition from their seats in the lecture theatre to their seats in the main in-house theatre space. Assuming the vision of this transitional state, I pictured the LED par cans on the two T-bars to crossover two distinctive colours warm white and circle back to their original positions.

To accomplish this chase sequence, I needed to programme the states of the LEDs as individual cues and - essentially make a stop-motion-type movement into a loop group.

In further detail, the two distinctive colours are magenta and green, which are in themselves contrasting, in at least two ways. Firstly, green is a primary colour of light, whereas magenta is a secondary colour of light. Additionally, I noticed that green and magenta are polar opposites on the colour wheel, which makes them complimentary to one another.

# data[].attributes.body
I took this video of the LED par cans on the T-bars on 1st May. This is a six-second video of a transitional chase which I intend to use as the audience move from our lecture theatre to the main in-house theatre.

I have used two distinct colours in this particular chase: purple and green. The reason for my decision in their distinctive colours is that these particular colours are complimentary colours, meaning that they oppose each other on the colour wheel.

It was my intention to use green within this chase, as it is often associated with nature and life outside of urban grounds. The impact this will have on the audience is that I am hoping they will notice and make the connection that they will be going in the direction of the woods.

Furthermore, I knew - from consistent and repetitive revision of the colour wheel - that purple and pink were the two colours polar opposite to green, and will be aesthetically pleasing with one another, not to mention the regal connotation of the colour purple - since it once was a particularly rare dye to come about, royalty were one of the few standards within the hierarchy who had the wealth and power to ascertain it.

The ultimate goal of this chase is to transition the audience's immersion from the Athenian Palace to the mystery and chaos that the Woods setting will bring thereafter.

# data[].attributes.body
Points of conflict are never ideal during a collaborative project. However, they are more than likely to arise at some point. When they do, it is important for all of us in the production team to deal with them until we reach an accord.

One example of a point of conflict happened early on during this project, when not all the actors were happy with the possibility of performing a Shakespearean play. To make the situation easier, the director assumed a vote between everyone involved, so as to make the outcome a fair one. As a result of this, the voted concluded with a vast majority in favour of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The vote affected my decisions in lighting design, as I needed to lose half of my design ideas, as these would no longer be relevant for this show.

However, once a clear decision had been made, it ensured my design idea could now be shaped around this specific show, making good use of my time.

# data[].attributes.body
On the first of May, I ran through the cues I had programmed onto the Eos software with the Technical Director, and I came across the problem of patching lighting fixtures. I was asked to patch face light from stage left and right. Having not done this process for a while; I was a little uncertain of how to carry this out. As a result of this, I had asked for one of the staff members, a qualified technician - who was in the booth with me - to help me with patching. I didn’t find this process easy, in spite of the technician showing me an example of this. I found it helpful that he was in the booth with me, as it meant I was able to ask questions and check things with him easily. Had he have been located in the performance space it would have been difficult to communicate as effectively. I remember feeling unsure of how to patch the fixtures that the Technical Director was referring to, as they were not on the rig. As a result, this was beneficial for me, as I was able to meet the requirements of the Technical Director, learn, and revise the process of patching lighting fixtures.

# data[].attributes.body
During the final performance of the show, we encountered several mishaps, one of which was an actor forgetting the order of his lines, therefore unintentionally forcing us to see where in the script he had skipped to. Thankfully, we had not missed any cues or needed to go back to any previous states, as he had not skipped too far into the scene, so there was little to change.

Moreover, there was a moment in the final performance when one of the actors had caught a roller-skating boot in the camouflage netting onstage and subsequently fell over. The repercussions of this were that the actor removed the boot and left it at the side of the stage, though still visible. To progress from this, we needed to send somebody to cut it out of the netting, and tuck away the loose camo netting so it would not be any more of a trip hazard for the foreseeable scenes of the play.

A suggestion that had been brought up by our costume designer was to put in a blue out cue by the end of the scene, so the audience would know that it had come to an end, and so whoever was going to go down to the performance space would have a window of time to get it sorted. This was quickly disregarded, as a staff member explained that this suggestion might seem out of place and confuse the actors, therefore, potentially introducing more problems for them, as it would distract them from their cues.

In the end, the Technical Director made it out of the tech booth and cut the roller skate out of the netting as discretely as possible. An audience member commented afterwards that the incident had not impacted their enjoyment of the performance.

# data[].attributes.body
During the matinee and the evening performances, we had some issues with the connections of one of the headsets meaning that the communications could not be heard from the costume designer, who was also available as a stagehand for the duration of the matinee and the evening performances.

This forced myself and the sound technician to focus on the stage and each other to get visual cues, so we could make an educated guess regarding when to proceed to the next cue. This was because it meant that the "clearance" cue we needed to hear from the costume designer was being communicated through a faulty means, and we could not register it as a clearance cue.

As a result of this, we made sure to inform any others on comms that we couldn’t get any communication from the costume designer.

The lighting cues were successful and this headset failure didn't significantly impact the performace.

# data[].attributes.body
As evidenced in the previous tab, I have been able to effectively program a series of lighting states into QLab and Eos files, both in an orderly and numerical fashion.

My previous knowledge was good on how to programme directly on the lighting desk, but as part of this project I have now also learnt how to do this using a Macbook. This will be a valuable skill for the future.

# data[].attributes.body
During this production I was able to fourth add to my rigging skills and knowledge. In particular I learnt how to do a Clove Hitch knot. This knot is useful to secure accessories to the truss on the rig. In particular we used a camo net, that was secured in all four corners and down the centre fold.

# data[].attributes.body
This is the Gantt Chart that I used in order to keep a track of my progress. It also helped me to understand the logical order of the activities that needed to be done.

# data[].attributes.body
Level 3 Extended Diploma in Performing and Production Arts (Technical Theatre)

# data[].attributes.body
Final Major Production Project Unit 12/Unit 12 Extended Project

A Midsummer Night's Dream

# data[].attributes.body
I, Nathan Bishop, certify that to the best of my knowledge, the contents of this document are my own work and that any use of AI tools has been done responsibly and ethically, in accordance with college policy.

# data[].attributes.body
This is an example of the notes I sent on the 6th May, to the Set Designer and Builder, following one of the production meetings to ensure that they were informed and up to date with decisions and conversations that were made at the meeting.

# data[].attributes.body
The final performance was recorded. This is a link to part 1 of the Matinee performance, performed on 21st May 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsVzip5TLqU

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Midsummer Nights Dream - Part 1 Matinee 21st May 25

# data[].attributes.body
One of the resources I chose to use in researching more about this play was one of the National Theatre's online resources - specifically their performance of the play from 2019. I found it useful to watch, initially, as it helped inspire some ideas for our play as well as helping my understanding of the play.

From this performance, I learnt the friendship between Puck and Oberon was constantly changing. One moment, Puck is compliant with Oberon. The next, Oberon is scolding Puck for conducting such chaos and orders him to reverse the spells. The knowledge of this influenced my lighting, as I tried to make the lighting states for Puck and Oberon's scenes similar to one another, yet not exactly the same. I wanted to visually conceptualise the journey that Puck and Oberon go on.

Whilst I was inspired by the National Theatre production, I was careful not to simply copy what they had done. I used this to influence my own creative designs.

# data[].attributes.body
This resouce gave me an insight into how characters spoke in Shakespeare's play and what that meant for the structure and pace of the scene.

It surprised me to learn that characters with different social status used different language forms, i.e. royalty used free verse whilst supernatural characters like witches and fairies used rhyming verse.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Language in Shakespeare’s plays - about Shakespeare - KS3 English - BBC Bitesize - BBC Bitesize

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Shakespeare plays included Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. Shakespeare helped transform the English language. Find out more with Bitesize. For students between the ages of 11 and 14.

# data[].attributes.body
This is an example of one of the YouTube videos I watched in order to help my understanding of the Shakepearian language.

This video was not specific for A Midsummer Night's Dream, but gave me good strategies that I could use for any of Shakespeare's plays.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Read Shakespeare: Five Easy to Use Strategies

# data[].attributes.body
One of the most vital resources I have had access to since the beginning was the script for the play. My reading of the script has strengthened my understanding the most, and therefore influenced my decisions in lighting design and programming. The script we used for our production was a reduced version of the original, since we needed to cut down on time, and keep it to an hour, or as close to an hour as possible, and have it still make sense. I had scored my script with cue references, to keep track of when cues had gone, and when the next one was due. Scripts - when working in theatre - are staples for following the progress of the performance.

# data[].attributes.body
As part of my learning and research, I was given a copy of this guide, which enabled me to further understand the functions and how to use Eos on a MacBook. This is a copy of the PowerPoint guide I referred to.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a colour wheel that I researched to further understand how different colours work with each other.

This gave me the ability to understand colours in lighting, and a reference point for which colours they were.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In love with colors, since 2002. A designer tool for creating color combinations that work together well. Formerly known as Color Scheme Designer. Use the color wheel to create great color palettes.

# data[].attributes.body
I have been able to further develop my design skills through this opportunity.

It has given me the opportunity to build a broader outlook on lighting design, since this was a show type that I had not been involved in previously

I've also not had opportunity to work on a show that has two different locations, which enabled me to design two separate lighting designs one for each space being used.

The format of the lighting in each space was different; therefore, as part of my design, I had to take this into consideration and take alternative routes to light the lecture theatre.

# data[].attributes.body
This is a link to part 2 of the Matinee performance performed on 21st May 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUSrnWkwtZ4

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Midsummer Nights Dream - Part 2 Matinee 21st May 25

# data[].attributes.body
This is a link to the video showing myself as a lighting technician during the matinee show performed on 21st May 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6s-5g5SP60

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Midsummer Nights Dream 21st may 25 Matinee - Technicians (Lecture Theatre Six & Lx)

# data[].attributes.body
This is a link to part 1 of the evening performance performed on 21st May 2025.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8zWj10-IKk

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Midsummer Nights Dream  - Evening Part 1 21st May 25 1

# data[].attributes.body
This is a link to part 2 of the evening performance performed on 21st May 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXL4Hp3r2yM

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Midsummer Nights Dream - Evening Part 2 21st May 25

# data[].attributes.body
This is a link to the technicians footage showing myself as a Lighting Technician for the evening performance performed on 21st May 25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl6Z-In7IWY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Midsummer Nights Dream 21st may 25 - Technicians (Evening: Lecture Theatre +Extra Backstage)

# data[].attributes.body
Cartwright, M. (2018). Ancient Greek Government. [online] World History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Government/.

Edmondson, P. (2021). "Sukanta Chadhuri On 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' - in India." Shakespeare Alive. [Podcast], Available at ones, J. (2023). "Exploring History." The History Podcast. [Podcast], Available at https://open.spotify.com/episode/3FX2qLxnEvO793SRGqTbnN?si=171441086da4418f