Torch Song was an intimate play about a man’s private life. The lighting in the show played a key role, more complex of a role then it usually does in most performances. It not only allowed the audience to see what was going on but it moved the story along. In the opening scene it portrayed the silhouette of the main character, Arnold, in drag performing a song on stage. Throughout all three acts, lights are the first things the audience sees. The title of each act was always in neon lights above the scene. In the final scene, Fugue in the Nursery, the stage very gradually get brighter to show the morning breaking. It was not something I would have even taking note of if I was not assigned to dictate the light beforehand. It was so artfully done that it seemed natural, as if the sun was actually rising outside. Light played a special role in this very special play.
