The Lighting Of The Arabian Nights By Mary Zimmerman

The lighting used for “The Arabian Nights by Mary Zimmerman is based on providing a very minimalist approach to the acting and text of the actors on the stage. The director of the play, Jennifer Tuttle, chose to use simple overhead lighting for this production, which made a special focus on Zimmerman’s adaption of classic Middle Eastern literature. The lighting would sometimes accentuate the actors on the stage by permitting them to have spotlight on certain important solo narratives, yet the use of red, blue, and green lights would generally be used to light the ensemble pieces in various scenes. This minimalist approach defines the smaller space orientation of Aaron Davis Hall that makes these smaller productions more about the text and delivery
This type of student performance reveals the limitations of budget, which allow the audience to experience a greater directness in narrative and dialogue in the play. Therefore, the play does not present costly or elaborate costumes, yet the costumes do resemble a modern form of Arabic dress to allow the audience to feel a framework of culture in the Middle Eastern style. I enjoyed some of these Arabic costumes because they allowed me to step into a different cultural environment. Tuttle was able to create just enough cultural exoticism to bring the audience into The Arabian Nights, but not so much as to distract from the dialogue and narrative form of Zimmerman’s textual interpretation of the original
Much like other plays at City College of New York, it is important to understand the focus on acting and the delivery of text to improve the audience experience. These plays do not rely on expensive and elaborate stage design, which often rely on a black curtain or black backdrop to bring out the actors to the forefront of the stage. Tuttle has actually increased the costume and musical delivery of this play by having these simple backdrops to frame the actors. Again, it is the minimalist style that allows Zimmerman’s text to be the focal point in which the actor can become more directly involved with the audience. More so, the stage is closer to the audience, which allows a more direct and less elaborate distraction in this type of dramatic presentation. I really enjoyed the play because there were not a lot of stage distractions that took away from Zimmerman’s text. In addition this factor, the audience was able to truly enjoy the humor and delivery of the actors through a more direct minimalist style. These are some of the important aspects of Mary Zimmerman’s play, which Tuttle presented in a professional and minimalist style of design, lighting, and musical production of the classic Middle Eastern tale of The Arabian Nights. This was, yet again, another enjoyable night at Aaron Davis Hall, and I thoroughly enjoyed a modern