Through a practical exploration of William Luce's The Last Flapper is it possible to demonstrate how the lighting design of a play reflects the protagonist's mental instability?

Abstract

This dissertation takes an in-depth look at whether or not it is possible to reflect a protagonist's mental instability through the lighting design. Using Zelda Fitzgerald from William Luce's The Last Flapper as a basis for the study, a lighting design has been created around Zelda's Schizophrenia. This was achieved by taking inspiration from Zelda Fitzgerald's art and letters as well examining lighting effects in films with protagonists who display mental instability. The original script was edited down to a half-hour performance which was performed twice, once under the florescent workers and again under the devised lighting design; the viewing audience was asked to complete a questionnaire to elicit their response to the two different versions of lighting applied to the scene, i.e. whether or not the inclusion of the specific design enhanced their understanding of the character's mental state. As this process progressed it was clear that the methodology was correct for this piece but in a practical professional environment this methodology is too time consuming as it requires a thorough understanding of mental health and the character to be able to reflect successfully the protagonist's mental instability.