Part 689: M. C. Lilley & Co. Lighting for Scottish Rite Stages
Any painting can be destroyed in an instant with poor lighting. It does not matter how beautiful the composition, or the painted aesthetic; if the person designing ot running the lights does not understand two-dimensional scenes it doesn’t matter.
During a 1913 New York Dramatic Mirror interview with scenic artist Ernest Albert, he explained that a scenic artist’s function did not cease until the scenery was all installed and the lighting arrangements completed. He commented, “Lighting is within his province, just as groupings are in a measure. An unexpected orange light on violet, for instance, will produce a russet brown that will make everything look dirty. It is true that in the days of gas lighting much softer effects were possible, but I will sacrifice all of the advantages of mellow light for safety…Anyway, we are now avoiding many of the hard qualities of the electric light by greater use of ambers, straw colors, and pinks.”
A pamphlet produced by the M. C. Lilley & Co. for Scottish Rite stages during the early twentieth century commented, “The lighting equipment of a stage used for Scottish Rite purpose is very important. No matter how well the scenery may be executed, much of its effect will be lost without proper lighting. The equipment should be complete and in no department should a false economy produce a lack of capacity.”
In 1900, the following lighting equipment was delivered to the Scottish Rite stage in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
Four (4) Borders
Four (4) portable ground rows
Two (2) Strip rows
Two (2) Bunch lights
One (1) Slate switch board, full fused, containing 1 main, 3 Service and 32 subordinate double contact knife switches – 36 switches in all; connections on board all made
In 1912, the following lighting equipment was delivered to the Scottish Rite stage in Santa Fe, New Mexico:
Six (6) Border Rows
Six (6) Ground Rows
Two (2) Strip lights
One (1) Dimmer plant
One (1) Switch board
One (1) Arc spot light
One (1) Arc reflector
Two (2) Metal bunch lights
Eight (8) Framed gelatins
To be continued…
