Customer Reviews

Magic of Light: The Craft and Career of Jean Rosenthal, Pioneer in Lighting for the Modern Stage

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While this book is not up to date with the current gadgets of the industry, moving lights, projections, lazers etc. It is still a definitive book on excellent lighting design. It is hard to find but it well worth it. The sections about lighting for dance are outstanding. The book focuses on integrating the lighting design with the overall design of the event. Find other books for technology but get a copy of the Magic of Light. When your friends in the industry ask to borrow your copy tell them to get lost. Otherwise you will have to find another copy. [thanks amazon]

I was a technical theatre student in the mid-80s, and this is the only book which I've kept from the many we had to buy. While it doesn't include all the modern technical gadgets available, it is a wonderfully readable and entertaining discussion on the art of lighting theatre, dance and opera. Jean Rosenthal was a pioneer in stage lighting, moving designers away from making sure the stage wasn't dark to illuminating the plot, characters and theme. This book is hard to find now, which is a pity. It would do many designers well to read it with care. We've gone from "light to see" to Jean's art to "showing off our gadgetry".

It wasn't until I first read this book that I truly understood the purpose of light on the stage. As Jean stated at the beginning of the book, she was a pioneer of lighting design. Her book is not about gadgetry, even though she does list some aspects, it is about lighting as an art form, lighting as a business, and lighting as a career. I still use this book as an inspiration whenever I become complacent or dismayed in the industry, and it helps me remember the overall picture of which lighting is only a part. Every lighting designer should read this book at some point early in their career, and then come back to it often.