At 3LR, one of the most prominent services we offer our clients is house lighting. Over the years, we’ve been fortunate enough to work at some incredible venues across the world where we’ve either delivered a brand-new house lighting system or transformed an existing set-up into something extraordinary. What’s always fascinated me is how house lighting arguably plays the most pivotal role in any live performance – yet is forever overlooked. It’s the one element that has the biggest impact over the course of an evening yet isn’t considered as important as say furnishings, carpeting and everything else interior design (the appearance of which would suffer drastically without the correct house lighting). As such, I thought I’d put together a blog which highlights the importance of house lighting, the impact this has on both a building and those visiting as well as how 3LR can help deliver this.

Picture the scene. You’ve arranged a trip to the theatre. It’s a special occasion (you’re in your Sunday best), one you’ve looked forward to and the anticipation has built even more now you’ve arrived at the venue. The usher checks your ticket as you walk into the auditorium, head over to your seat, with several other audience members doing the same. You look around and take in the magnificent architecture before catching up with a friend or family member, whilst simultaneously digging out that pack of sweets from your bag you brought as a snack. Suddenly you realise the place is now full and you’re surrounded by almost 1,200 people, all chatting in eager anticipation for the performance to start. And then, the house lights begin to fade. And the chatting slowly descends. And as the auditorium is plunged into near darkness, your attention is drawn to the stage area as its lights slowly rise.

And then the show begins…

No doubt we’ve all been lucky enough to experience the above several times – it’s part of the joy of attending the theatre! But how many of us have ever really considered that it’s a venue’s house lighting that sits at the core of this? For instance, it’s the house lighting that creates the warm, comfortable atmosphere when you walk into an auditorium. It’s the house lighting that allows us to find our seats. It’s the house lighting that uses our emotional connection to light to ensure a ten second fade will bring us into complete silence and that, in a dark environment, our eyes will always be drawn to movement or light – in this case the main stage. House lighting offers the handshake towards the start of the show and helps create a sense of magic and performance before the curtain has even been raised – and it’s something most people barely realise. Not only that, but it plays a vital part during the interval as well as being the main signifier of when a show finishes. For instance, if a performance came to an end and the lights stayed down, more likely than not the audience would remain still. It’s a subconscious, powerful influence that determines the entire running order of an evening; and also the emotional impact that an audience member will receive throughout.

Such is the power of house lighting that it takes on a secondary role once the show starts – that of safety. Whilst the audience’s main focus will naturally be on the stage (again, thanks to the house lighting), it also allows latecomers to be guided to their seats (I’m sure we’ve all been there). It allows those who need the bathroom to make their way through the auditorium (again, we’ve definitely been there). Perhaps most critically, if there is the need for a mass evacuation of some sort, house lighting is the crucial partner in ensuring a safe and calm evacuation; in that it literally lights the way for people to leave. Of course, most venues will have their own emergency lighting, which is there to play a similar role. However, there’s nothing worse than large green indicators distracting you during a show and affecting your emotional engagement to a live performance. That’s why, more and more, we’re seeing emergency lighting being integrated as part of the house lighting system. This is not only cost effective but means the production team have complete control over every light source; meaning they can dim any light source in the Auditorium should they need to during a performance; whilst also having the peace of mind that the system has the ability to turn to full brightness for either emergency mode or end of show. Simply put, the house lighting in any auditorium plays an absolutely pivotal role to the experience of the person visiting that space – and we need to ensure that’s as memorable and as positive an experience as possible.

Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. Designer – PSI

At 3LR, we have a team which has overseen the house lighting in over 1,000 venues across their careers. As a company whose mantra is ‘lighting by emotion’, we know how vital it is to create a set-up that offers visitors and audience members a truly emotional connection to the space they’re in. We’ve worked in buildings and environments of all sizes, from the Royal Albert Hall to The Sphere in Las Vegas to private houses and restaurants to whole cruise ships, and in each case, provided a service that was bespoke to each one.

So, when it comes to house lighting, in what ways can 3LR help you and your venue? Given our depth, experience and our primary business as a manufacturer’s rep, we can provide the following:

  • Take your current layout, convert this to LED and advise on other improvements
  • Work with you on your design and aspirations and offer our own advice for development
  • Work with your team on emergency lighting standards and discuss how these can be integrated into your existing system
  • Provide a specialist design service for architectural lighting

All of these are available for any of our customers, whether that’s manufacturers and dealers, integrators, architects, consultants, lighting designers or venue operators. To discuss further, or if you’d simply like a chat with one of our team, then contact [email protected] and let’s start a conversation.And finally, the next time you’re out at the theatre and walk into an auditorium, just remember how the performance has already started – and that the unsung star of the show is the house lighting…

Main image – @sohoplace, London. Designer – Charcoalblue