One of the most important things that comes under the heading of stage equipment or theatre equipment is the lighting. Lights allow us to see, and they can be used to create a mood. There are no particular rules about creating a mood: it is an artistic process that is supposed to support the story of what is happening on the stage.
Lighting is required to enhance all of the parts of the stage performance. Lighting can bring focus to a particular point, highlighting what is important and equally perhaps de-emphasising another area that is not so important, so that the focus of the audience is on the important part of the story.
Lighting can be used to take an audience away from the auditorium and into another time and place. For instance, if a scene is set in the past – perhaps the 19th century or earlier - then dim lighting can recreate the effect of candle-light or oil lamps which were used before the advent of electricity. Lights can also underscore the mood or action of the performance and can bring it to life with a combination of colours, intensity, angles, and effects.
Different stage lights can be used for different purposes. An ellipsoidal reflector spotlight can highlight a point with a fairly narrow beam while parabolic reflectors create a wash effect and can cover the whole stage. A Fresnel is something of a combination between a parabolic reflector and an ellipsoidal reflector spotlight and has a zoom function, while a moving head can be a spot, wash, or beam light which all have different beam angle ranges.
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