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The symphony of stage lighting and the actors' fate

Moogle News 2025-03-25

## Prisoner of Light #stage light

The stage lights came on, and the dazzling white light split the darkness like a sharp sword, shooting straight into my pupils. I squinted my eyes and saw countless dust flying in the beam, like imprisoned elves. This light not only illuminates us, but also nails us firmly in this small space.

I stood in the center of the stage, feeling the scorching light burning my cheeks. The lighting engineer Lao Chen often said: "This light is so hot that the oil paint on the actors' faces can be melted." At this moment, I deeply agree. Sweat flowed down my temples, shining under the strong light, and I think the audience in the audience could see it clearly. We actors are just puppets of light.

The side lights on both sides of the stage came on, casting two long oblique shadows under my feet. I looked down and the shadow was distorted, as if another me was struggling to crawl out of the ground. The lights changed from white to blue, and the whole stage was suddenly immersed in a cold color. This blue reminds me of the old actor who died backstage last winter. He just curled up next to the prop box, with oil paint on his face, and a strange blue light under the dim emergency light.

"Light is the soul of the stage." The director always likes to say this. But I think that light is more like a tyrant. It determines where you stand, when you are seen, and when you are forgotten. The ceiling light suddenly dimmed, leaving only a beam of follower light to move with the protagonist. We, the supporting actors, suddenly disappeared into the darkness and became an unnecessary background. On this stage of alternating light and darkness, everyone longed for the favor of that beam of light.

The revolving light started, and colorful spots of light flowed on the curtain. I looked at the ever-changing light and shadow, and remembered the shadow play I watched in the shabby theater when I was a child. What is the difference between us now and those shadow puppets? They are just more delicate puppets, controlled by more complex light.

The most terrifying thing is the face light. The row of lamps facing the stage exposed every expression and wrinkle of the actors. Under this ruthless illumination, no disguise can escape. I once saw a young actress collapse under the strong light - her false eyelashes were curled by the high temperature, and her tears washed away the carefully painted eye makeup. Under the illumination of the face light, her fragility was infinitely magnified and transmitted to every audience member below the stage.

As the performance was coming to an end, the lights in the whole venue gradually dimmed, leaving only a beam of top light hanging alone in the center of the stage. I stood at the edge of the aperture, half in light and half in darkness. This intersection of light and darkness is the truth of life for most of us - we both desire to be seen and fear to be seen through.

The curtain fell and the lights went out suddenly. In the darkness, I heard my heartbeat. It turns out that what is more terrible than being imprisoned by light is the confusion after losing light. We, the stage animals, have long forgotten how to survive in real darkness.

#stage light

Tomorrow, the lights will be on again. We will be captured again, and once again in that illusory light, we will perform the life that has already been choreographed.

#stage light