Black Light Theatre
Revisiting a Different Kind of Theater
Last night, I spoke with a friend about Black Light Theatre. I saw a production in Prague in 2000 before I moved to New York City to pursue theater. Watching objects hover on stage was breathtaking. I loved how this theater was movement-based, so language wasn’t an issue. At the time, I had hoped to find people in the US who practiced this form of theater, but I never did.
I wrote this piece in 2004 when I was a playwriting columnist at Quietpoly, a website dedicated to exploring all forms of writing. Some of the information may be outdated, but I think it stands the test of time. I did update the links at the end of the article.
Theater in Black Light
by Laura Axelrod
Several years ago, I traveled to Prague and experienced a completely different kind of theater that was breathtaking and creatively inspiring. It’s called Black Light Theatre and it opens up exciting avenues for playwrights to explore.
Black light theatre depends on the interplay between light and darkness to communicate story, character and meaning. It is a live visual medium that, when done correctly, can provide theatrical illusions not easily achieved in conventional theatre. Props come to life and characters fly through the air with ease.
How is this achieved? Picture a black box theatre lit by several strategically placed black light bulbs. Three actors, covered entirely in black, hold portions of a marionette decorated with fluorescent cloth. An actress, painted in a variety of white and neon colors, climbs a black plank onstage. From the audience’s perspective, it looks as if she’s floating upward to look at the marionette face to face.
This is just one example of what can be achieved through such simple means. Most black light theater uses music, sound effects or pre-recorded dialogue for added effect. This means that actors are only responsible for movement and miming, which makes it a fun spectacle for everyone involved.
While many children’s groups use black light techniques to dazzle their audiences, it can also be tailored for adult storylines as well. While I was in Prague I saw two very different Black Light productions. The first play was a two character story featuring a conflict between a man and his television set. The television, covered in black felt with fluorescent edges, expressed emotions and movement in such a way that it literally came to life before my eyes.
The second play was an adaptation of Faust. It used gorgeous puppetry and dynamic choreography that kept me entranced the entire time. The harem girls danced while floating in the air and then disappeared into the darkness. Every aspect of the production expressed the themes central to the story.
There are at least half a dozen black light theater productions going on in Prague at any given evening, including Jiri Srnec’s Black Light Theatre of Prague. He is widely credited with bringing this theatrical form to the public’s attention in 1961 at the Edinburgh Festival. His theater has performed notable adaptations of Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and other original works.
While Srnec’s company goes on tour quite a bit, another group called The Famous People Players also uses black light techniques in their theater productions. Based in Canada, Famous People Players creates original productions utilizing fantasy and music. The group’s performers are all developmentally challenged. Through working onstage, they are gain confidence in themselves and also challenge audience perceptions.
Most Black Light Theaters claim that any type of play can be performed using this technique. Indeed, a cursory glance at the kind of stories that are produced by them would support this idea. Everything from Christian stories to Children’s adaptations are currently being performed in black light. Because it is movement based, playwrights would most likely work closely with a director and/or choreographer to compose the story. Still, playwrights will inevitably find a new freedom while creating in Black Light Theater.
For more information:
Black Light Theatre Srnec: www.srnectheatre.com
Famous People Players: www.fpp.org