Paule Constable
One of the UK's leading lighting designers, Paule Constable has worked for Glyndebourne, The Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Theatre de Complicite, the Royal Court and the National Theatre. She is currently working on Ivanov for the Donmar and Oliver! for Cameron Mackintosh.
As someone who tries to be as environmentally aware as possible - cycling, composting, co-operative food shopping and commuting on public transport - Paule is equally passionate about trying to make her working life more environmentally responsible, despite being a self-confessed ‘tungsten queen'. She's starting to look at how she can feed her concerns into decision making processes, operational policy, and into choices about using more energy efficient lighting and staging.
She is leading the way for a new generation of lighting designers. Paule's top tips;
1. Every light in the rig needs a clear use and purpose. I try not to create options and light the piece to avoid unnecessary equipment.
2. When deciding on equipment I consider what energy a luminaire uses and if the brightness is needed.
3. Does that unit have to be tungsten? I consider whether I can achieve the same effect with a lower powered yet bright discharge unit.
4. Consider the best practices regarding the length of time the rig is on. Attempt to only power up the rig as and when it is necessary.
5. In simple unseen areas such as working lights for off stage I suggest using low energy
6. with my production electrician how accepted practices might change to cut down on wastage. Can we use the French equivalent to PVC tape - rubber straps made of old bike tyres? Velcro straps to attach cables to bars? Cable trays? What is possible?
7. Try to pre-plan so deliveries can be made once a day.
8. Use cycle couriers and encourage lighting departments to think about how they travel to work.
9. Introduce more sustainable office practices.
10. And finally, encourage the management to provide good quality mains drinking water on tap.
‘...I think that we need to be more carbon transparent in the way we design and light theatre productions. With lighting you're telling people about time and place, and trying to find the right emotional temperature. I want to be able to do this and at the same time be clear about how I'm having less impact on the environment...' quote from Paule Constable
