White Light Goes On the Town with Howard Hudson

WL’s Copywriter Adam recently went along to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre to spend the afternoon with lighting designer Howard Hudson. 

It’s a blistering day in Central London as I make my way over to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Located in the heart of Regent’s Park, the venue is the oldest, permanent outdoor theatre in Britain. Every year, from May to September, it hosts a range of exciting work, including last year’s Olivier Award-winning Jesus Christ Superstar. Having supplied the lighting equipment for many years now, White Light has been called upon to do so again in 2017. One of the shows programmed this year is the Broadway classic On the Town which is being lit by Howard Hudson. I was invited along to spend the day with Howard to get an insight into his process and how he works on a show such as this.

As I arrive, Howard is sat behind a desk in a pop-up marquee situated in the middle of the auditorium. There are several crew members looking very busy on stage, making final tweaks before the first preview of the week that evening. Despite the busy nature of the afternoon, everyone seems to be embracing this; and there’s a reason why. Howard states: “Our tech last week was extremely hard as it literally pelted it down with rain for most of our nine sessions with the company. That proved to be a problem, as it always would, but especially on a dance-heavy, Broadway musical like this. It’s not unlike Wimbledon tennis in that you keep working until the umpire calls the covers on. The company then scarper and the stage fills with crew armed with mops and towels and we are left with stage time to light ahead as much as possible. However, without the company, this obviously complicates things. Going into the first preview last Friday, we’d never seen the show performed at the correct time of 7:45pm as we weren’t able to have our only evening dress at the correct time of day. This was quite terrifying but, at the same time, sort of exciting!”.

However, this is now a distant memory: the sun is shining and conditions couldn’t be any different to what Howard faced last week. He states: “Today is all about problem solving and refining. Drew McOnie, the director and choreographer, is changing certain sections that he wants to see amended. What this means is I have to work quickly on top of this session, mostly changing how sequences are cued and making small tweaks to positions and intensities.”

Today, Howard is working with Adam Squire, Regent’s Park’s Head of Lighting, and the rest of the on-site team as he begins relighting certain sections. Whereas last week’s torrential rain proved a problem, this week’s sunshine also brings a few obstacles. Howard explains: “Whereas we’re welcoming a change of weather, this beautifully bright sunshine does make my job slightly problematic as you cannot see the changes you’re making! It’s a bit like lighting with a blindfold on as you’re essentially choosing the channel, colour, position and intensity of a light without seeing what that light is doing. You then just have to hope that, come 9:30pm, in front of 1200 people, you see that cue running and you’ve made the right decision. It’s certainly a challenge but it keeps you on your toes.”

The next few days are about using the previews so that the company is able to catch up with the work they should have completed in the previous week. Howard explains: “At the moment, we’re watching the previews at 7:45-10:00pm. Once the show finishes, we go into a notes session with the rest of the team. We then go back to the desk and implement the lighting notes so that they are in place before tomorrow. What this means is that we’ll usually finish at around 2:00am. It’s exhausting but necessary. It also means we have a definite deadline. With our official opening on Thursday, we know for a fact that we have three more sessions to get it right.”

And part of getting it right means preparation. Howard has already been on-site for over a week teching the show (weather permitting). That said, he has been fully immersed in the show for the past month at least. He states: “This is a huge production with so much going on that I wanted to be fully prepared. Ideally you’d normally spend as long as possible in rehearsals yet this is not always feasible due to your schedule and the tightness of dates surrounding other shows. For On the Town, my agent and I deliberately kept the few weeks before tech free so that I would have the time available to sit in on as much rehearsal as possible. My aim was to learn the dance aspects of the piece and really understand the material I was lighting; something you cannot do by simply watching the actors on stage and turning up a few days before”.

Howard approached WL to supply him with the technology needed for the show. He states: “At Regent’s Park, you work with a season rig (supplied by WL) so a lot of the moving lights are in position for the whole season. Alongside this, you’re able to focus a certain number of particular lights for your own show. I was really fortunate that Adam Squire was extremely flexible and allowed me to move some moving lights around to accommodate the particular angle on which the set is positioned.”

Due to the dance-heavy focus on the show, Howard found himself supplementing the existing rig with VL 3500 Washes in a lower, cross light position in order to accentuate the dance feel.  With this show in particular, the lighting had to accommodate the fact that the production was taking place outside hence would have to change as the evening progresses. Howard states: “What we find is that, in order to make the lighting read more in the earlier part of the show, you’re using the rig at much higher levels. As the show moves into the second act, hence the latter part of the evening, you’re moving down to normal levels. A lot of this show has been about finding that balance and smoothing the change. At the moment, there’s a very definite point where the natural light changes and I know now that this will alter throughout the run. It’s my role to ensure this remains as seamless as possible. We’ve also been fortunate in that the piece is set over the course of 24 hours from early morning, through evening to sunrise, so the natural light works alongside the narrative.”

With an iconic show such as On the Town, it has obviously been performed many times across the globe (it was last in London at the Coliseum). So how does a designer like Howard approach the show with a fresh pair of eyes? He states: “It’s important to remember that when this show was first performed in 1944, it was a contemporary look at the lives of young people living in New York, written by Leonard Bernstein and directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins – both of whom were 26 years old at the time. Drew, the director and choreographer, was determined that we didn’t perpetuate a vintage look but actually kept the vibrancy and freshness that the show would have had 70 years ago. This was in my mind when creating my design and I wanted to use a more brash, electric selection of colours in order to bring it singing and dancing into the twenty first century.”

The show opened last night to rave reviews, including a staggering five stars in The Stage. It is the first time that Howard has worked at Regent’s Park and it’s something that he has relished. He comments: “This show hasn’t been without its obstacles (largely due to the horrendous weather!). That said, I’ve been so lucky to work with an amazing team at Regent’s Park, along with Andi Davis, the programmer, who has been phenomenal. I’m really proud of what we’ve managed to achieve in a short space of time.”

I am lucky enough to catch a performance of the show after my day with Howard. With memorable numbers, brilliant performances and, of course, superb lighting, I suspect that as many people as possible will be On the Town over the next few weeks…

Photos courtesy of Jane Hobson and Johan Persson.