Jean Rosenthal 1912-1969

The first “Lighting Designer”

 “I remember how I felt each time I moved
into the atmosphere of light Jean had
created for me…till the last spot irised out
on my face, and I was thankful for the
cover of darkness to hide my tears.”

~Angela Lansbury

http://www.susanscharfman.com/genius-passion-and-the-magic-of-light.html
 “Lighting affects everything light falls upon.
How you see what you see, how you feel
about it, and how you hear what you are
hearing. Replace the ‘a’ with an ‘e’ and you
get lighting effects!”
~Jean Rosenthal

http://www.susanscharfman.com/genius-passion-and-the-magic-of-light.html
 She used light’s form, color, and movement to
express the intention of a performance. “Light is
tactile to me,” she said. “It has shape and
dimension.” Integrating light into the overall
texture of a production, Jean’s mantra was: “the
most successful and brilliant work a lighting
designer can do is usually the least noticeable.”
Theatrical lighting today has its origins in her
pioneering work.

~Susan Scharfman- Jean Rosenthal’s cousin

http://www.susanscharfman.com/genius-passion-and-the-magic-of-light.html
 Innovations
• technical engineer + artist

• the position/job/title of the Lighting Designer- first

“credited” lighting designer

• approach to lighting dance- both ballet & modern

dance (Balanchine, Martha Graham)

• approach to lighting Musicals- lighting design for

West Side Story, Fiddler On The Roof, Cabaret

https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/jean-
rosenthal-25879
 Balanchine’s Four Temperaments opened and flopped
because of overly elaborate European backdrops that
Jean said were “clunky, outdated.” She rescued the
production for the New York City company with her less
is more blue cyclorama and unique lighting design. An
instant success, Four Temperaments remains part of
the New York City Ballet repertoire. Until his death,
Balanchine never did another production without her.

~Susan Scharfman- Jean Rosenthal’s cousin

http://www.susanscharfman.com/genius-passion-and-the-magic-of-light.html
http://www.stagelightingprimer.com/index.html?slfs-right-
frame.html&2
 Lighting Paper Work

The Light Plot- Lighting Plan (plan view)

The Section Plot
The Instrument Schedule
The Channel Hook-Up
The Focus Chart
The Magic Sheet

The Cue List or Cue Sheets

examples-http://www.theatrecrafts.com/pages/home/topics/
lighting/lighting-design-paperwork/
http://livedesignonline.com/blog/spider-man-lighting-
paperwork
 Fun Home Paper Work
http://stage-directions.com/current-issue/28-feature/8291-time-
and-memory.html
McCandless Method
https://www.d.umn.edu/~mharvey/th1501lightplot.html