For the recent staging of Dallas Theater Centers production of Shane, Lighting Designer Pablo Santiago lit the well-received show for a third time. Playwright Karen Zacarios' take on Shane, the classic novel by Jack Schaefer was previously produced at both the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Minneapolis Guthrie Theater. Bringing a fresh perspective to a beloved American genre, required a lighting design that could help create the feel of the West's expanse and balance the intimacy of the story. Santiago shares some insights into his work on the play with PLSN.

What was your approach to the lighting design?

The starting point was in the script; Karen Zacarías wrote it needed dance lighting. She specifically said she wanted a certain level of abstraction. The Scenic Designer, Lex Liang, did that. Our set is a unit set —a farm and hills meshed together. The ramps in the set can be interpreted as hills at times, at other times they can represent parts of the bam, or they might suggest elements of the bar's interior. Transforming the space was a combination of these ideas. Additionally, the lighting had to highlight the characters, ensuring everyone was visible despite their varying skin tones. Our goal was to make sure the lighting worked for each individual.

In terms of light, we decided on sidelight. Taking into account that everyone on stage is wearing a hat, it all needed to be low sidelight, boom lighting; a more traditional dance lighting approach. The technique of low-side boom lighting is where the light is positioned at a low angle to create dramatic shadows, supplemented by a low three-quarter front light to fill in those shadows. We were careful to ensure that the sidelight didn't hit the ground so we could incorporate color fields effectively. In discussions with the director Blake Robison, we began to explore how Westerns evoke a sense of expansiveness.

The Western genre became significant in filmmaking around the same time Technicolor was introduced to the industry. Technicolor utilized a process where three strips of film-red, green, and blue — were shot simultaneously and blended together, resulting in colors that were vibrant and intense. Therefore, we decided that the colors in our production needed to be the same. Our approach combined sidelight and intense color fields, focusing on how we portray both the interiors and exteriors within the same set. The lighting design is not merely about illuminating the stage; it is about telling a story, evoking emotions, and enhancing the audience's experience.

Once we began the technical rehearsals, we approached lighting similarly to how a camera would in film, utilizing editing techniques. We incorporated close-ups, medium shots, and long shots into our lighting design, reflecting how a film cuts the story.

There is a real integration of light and sound which requires precise cueing — on average, we have a cue every 9 seconds, which is quite intensive for a straightforward play. Mat Nielsen, the Sound Designer and I did a lot of back and forth, in a good way. We had to be in step because of the fast cueing going on. It's similar to the cues in concert lighting, it's kinetic and abstract. Something not usual in play. You need solid sound support to do that. Matt's a great sound designer and storyteller. There are moods he's creating for certain moments that influence what it looks like and because there's a lot of cueing, the timing has to be very specific.

Some sections take longer to do, especially the action sequences, such as the bar fight, which are very stylized. However, the main fight is the only one that is explicitly realistic; the rest are choreographed like a dance routine. To convey that two characters are fighting while far apart, we light each character briefly. After showing a few punches, we use sound cues to highlight the two fighters. If one character falls, their light goes out while the other remains lit. We employ the same technique for gunshots, illuminating whoever is being struck to emphasize the moment—again echoing the filmic close-ups. This adaptability of the lighting design to various scenes and characters adds a dynamic element to the production, keeping the audience engaged and intrigued. The lighting acts as a character itself, changing and evolving alongside the story.

How do you use blackouts?

The only time the stage is blacked out is during the gunshots; then everything goes dark except for one light. Otherwise, we use a color field or dim lighting, but we don't eliminate the background entirely. We dim the rest of the lights. And there are no followspots used in the show, it relies on the actors hitting their marks. We try to maintain the presence of the world unless it's a specific moment, like during the gunshots.

Talk about your collaboration with Scenic Designer Lex Liang.

We had numerous discussions about how to fit everything into the set, considering that some lanterns hang from above. At one point, we planned to have a roof, but we ultimately decided against it to ensure we had the optimal lighting angles. The set in Dallas lacks the original proscenium, but it's an intriguing concept. Imagine a flat wall downstage that serves as the set. If you were to take a knife and cut out a specific section and push that piece back, you would create a relationship between the back wall and the proscenium, functioning as each other's positive and negative spaces. This stimulates a conversation between the back wall and the front, with slats in the planks that can be backlit.

Additionally, we incorporated a painted scrim at the front that resembles a sky. Sometimes, we front-light it, allowing viewers to see the sky, which can transform the perception of the space between interior and exterior based on our lighting choices. Like a canvas that often serves as the door to the bar, but it can also take on different forms depending on the lighting. Sometimes, there are windows that appear to be on and then off. We might say that the barn or house is behind the back wall, giving the impression of warmer windows, which makes it feel like an exterior space. At other times, the entire set appears to be the inside of the house, creating a colder effect, as if the light is coming from outside.

What lighting gear did you use and why?

Well, it is different every time. Cincinnati [Playhouse in the Park] has a ton of [ETC) Series 3 Lustrs, so we used them as part of the backlight on three-quarter fronts. They have [HES) SolaFrame 1000s and they have VL1000s. We combined movers for all these specificities and made color changes for the backlight and fronts. In Dallas, we had an abundance of lighting options because part of their inventory was available in the theater. There were some (ETC) Vivid LED PAR lights positioned at the three-quarter front, which served as their top light. Just before we started production, they acquired 10 Martin MAC Ultra moving lights. This meant we had about 10 of those lights and roughly 15 MAC Auras available. This variety of units allowed us to be more specific with color choices and lighting in various areas. The MAC Auras helped enhance the color scheme, tailored to each character. We aimed to create distinct lighting ideas that complemented the overall look of the set in the production. 

Shane takes place in Wyoming in 1889. Talk about your research for the design.

I'm someone who feels like lighting design comes from an emotional space. What's the emotional center of the scene, and how can we make the light give that sort of visceral experience to the audience? Then it becomes more about understanding the script, what the emotional beats of the script are, and how we can help with the lighting in terms of color or intensity, taking the audience on that emotional journey. So then, some of the more historical references become more of a distant reference to what one would think a Western should be like. After that, we chose to recreate Wyoming.

I did a little research on the wide exteriors of Wyoming and what it looks like during sunset and mid-afternoon. The results provided us with an idea of how that world appeared; but the production is so abstract that we didn't have to stick to the literal interpretation. I also researched old western movies because Shane is part of that genre. I studied what type of film and scenic grammar was used on those produc-tions. I watched Shane, the movie. It was beautiful to look at, as Westerns are generally attractive in terms of cinematography, but it wasn't my favorite. After I saw it, I left it there and went in another direction and was inspired by Technicolor films-the iconic reds and blues of the era.

If you watch the show, it's like a graphic novel more than anything else. The editing and the color are angular in light. The show in Dallas gives you a better sense of the scope of the cinema than before. But while in tech, the director said, that this is the chamber opera music version because it felt more intimate. After a while, I realized that the Dallas production is the version where you're at the campfire in the middle of the night, and telling this story felt that close. It has this sense of a fable; it was like you're sitting around the fire in the middle of the desert and somebody tells you a story about the cowboys.

Is there one moment that resonated the most with you as a designer?

Each production has had a different mo-ment, depending on where I'm at emotionally or what's happening in the world. There's a character who is Native American, and she has these sorts of moments where she explains how the world really was, including some of the history that has not been represented in Westerns that existed in those times; just not talked about. Those moments have been powerful.

In this latest production, there is a sense of Shane; he is welcomed into the family, and there's more chemistry with the wife. Then, they both recognize this idea but know it's an impossibility because she's already with someone. When they realize that it will never happen, but they want the other person to know their feelings there's a moment in which they say it, but then they say, we won't do anything about it. It's a sweet and tender moment, and how these two actors portray it is powerful.

Anything else you wanted to mention about working on Shane?

I want to mention there are some people who helped bring the design to life and I'm forever grateful to them. They are Associate Designer Daniel Friedman; Programmer Caroline Hodge; Lighting Supervisor Troy Carrico and Staff Electricians Wes and Daylan. An interesting thing is that the Dallas Theater Center is the only theater designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and holds landmark status, which comes with many restrictions and prevents any modifications. As a result, not much can be changed inside. So, to move the electric pipes they use ropes, which is an old-fashioned method; moving trims is not simple.

Another note I would like to bring up is, if we think about the mission of the play from a technical perspective, answering the question of how can we portray a Western on stage without using horses or guns? Our challenge is to create a sense of the landscape while also maintaining intimacy. This is our guiding motivation. It isn't something overtly displayed; rather, it's woven into the experience of the piece.

We are working with a unit set, which means the only significant change involves a set of chandeliers for the bar that can move up and down alongside the furniture. Aside from that, the set consists of a bar, a table, and four chairs.

Everything else relies on bodies and space-it is about how we organize that space and what elements are visible or hidden. I appreciate this approach because it gives me the freedom to shape the experience without relying on large scenic changes. Instead of being prescriptive about how everything looks, we have the opportunity to decide which areas to light and how to manipulate the space creatively. We generate the intangible tension that is characteristic of Westerns. This universal tension is what resonates with the audience and brings the essence of a Western to life on the stage.

Photo courtesy of PLSN.