Lighting Design for Theatre Workshop With Nik Janiurek

Howick Little Theatre and Creative Communities NZ/Auckland Council are proud to bring you Lighting Design for Theatre Workshop for beginner and intermediate lighting designers with Nik Janiurek, an award-winning lighting designer and one of New Zealand’s most accomplished practitioners.

Brief Outline of Course:
This is a workshop, designed with beginners and intermediate amateur lighting practitioners in mind, which will explore the process and intricacies of lighting a theatrical production and proceed to design, rig and plot the lighting design for an actual production, The Spirit of Annie Ross, which opens to the public on May 4. During the course, various topics will be touched on, including:

- Use of particular instruments
- Importance of angles
- Choice of colour
- Special effects
- Parameters of design - based around the show, venue, resources etc.
- Realising the design on paper
- Implementing the design; cue plotting and cue timings.

Several professional designs will be explored and briefly critiqued in relation to the topics discussed. And reference to HLT’s upcoming production of The Spirit of Annie Ross will also be prominent in the discussions. A practical lighting design for a particular scenario will be given at the end of the initial day. This will form the basis of a design to be rigged and focused on the second day, and some cues plotted, if time allows. The design elements utilized in this practical will then be explored through discussion and evaluation of the difficulties encountered and the process behind creating a successful design. A basic knowledge and understanding of lighting equipment is recommended for those enrolling.

The Tutor: Nik Janiurek
Nik Janiurek is an award-winning lighting designer and production manager for theatrical performances and events. Originally from the UK, he has toured internationally and worked with companies as diverse as the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Bristol Old Vic, Auckland Theatre Company, New Zealand Opera, New Zealand Dance Company and Atamira Dance Company to name a few.

His recent work includes Orpheus – A Dance Opera, Mamma Mia, 360, Gathering Clouds (Civic Theatre), Vula, The Magic Chicken (Sydney Opera House), Masi (Sydney Festival), Len Lye -The Opera & ATC's God of Carnage (Maidment Theatre), Falling in Love Again (Australian Tour), Evita & The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate (Bruce Mason Centre), Mrs Warren’s Profession, Last Legs, Nell Gwyn, Peer Gynt & Billy Elliot (Waterfront Theatre), Red Chair, The Big Rethink, Te Po (Q Theatre), Seeds, Like There's No Tomorrow, Carol & Nev (Basement), Dark Star, Blonde Poison & Station to Station (Herald Theatre), Oliver, Wizard of Oz, Grease, High School Musical 2 (ASB Theatre), The Creditors (Musgrove Theatre), Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice (Mangere Arts Centre).

Nik has also toured extensively throughout New Zealand and has also previously toured work to Australia, America, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Fiji, Guam and Canada. Furthermore, Nik has been a guest tutor for the Toi Whakaari Drama School, Unitec, University of Auckland, AUT and run lighting and/or production workshops on behalf of Creative New Zealand, Auckland Live and Entertainment Technology NZ. He is also contracted to light Les Misérables which returns to the Civic Theatre, Auckland in November 2019.