Wong Sheds Light On Work

Senior Carolyn Wong is known by many as Oberlin's lighting designer extraordinaire. A long catalogue of campus productions, including House of Yes, Fall Forward 2000, Peter Pan, The Tempest and Shades of Gay, owe much of their ambience and emotional resonance to her work. Arts Editor Tim Willcutts interviewed Carolyn via e-mail.

Tim Willcutts: Would you say by designing the lighting of a piece, you can, to an extent, tell your own story? Would House of Yes, for example, have carried a much different message if someone else had done the lighting?

Carolyn Wong: The lighting in most pieces is pretty much the icing on the cake. In theater, so many different elements clue the audience in on what the director's intentions were - the script itself, the way the actors interpret the script, the sound, and so on. The lighting acts as a highlighter pen, drawing attention to what the lighting designer and the director/choreographer consider important moods or moments. House of Yes definitely had my stamp on it. Had someone else designed House of Yes it probably would have felt lighter, more comedic.

TW: How collaborative is your work? Do you depend heavily on feedback from actors and the director, or are you often given free reign?

CW: Most of the time, directors concern themselves primarily with the content of the show and less on the "look." Others know exactly what they want their show to look like. I've worked with all kinds.

TW: What are your favorite shows you've worked on?

CW: My favorite shows were definitely Shades of Gay, Spring Back (last year) and House of Yes. I'm super duper excited to be working on Jessie Marshall's Media/Medea in December, and Equus and Venus during winter term, both of which promise to be fantastic.

TW: What first drew you to lighting design?

CW: High school boyfriend. He did lights. I had a crush on him, and then I decided I liked lighting more than I liked him. It takes all kinds, I guess.

TW: What are some differences between lighting a dance piece and lighting a theatrical production?

CW: Dance pieces usually aren't grounded in any sort of reality - I can go totally over the top with weird and wacky colors, odd shadows, the whole nine yards. The lighting can play a more important role in creating mood. The music is key, but the lights can help people interpret where the movement is going.

TW: What are you planning next?

CW: To graduate, live in a hotel in Jersey City and try to hack it in the New York theater scene.

Senior Alex Longstreth contributed to this report, providing additional background and feedback on Wong's work.