The Lighting Designer

Presented in partnership with The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives
No other lighting designer has won more Tony Awards (eight, at last count) than Jules Fisher. With Harvard vision scientist Margaret Livingstone he unveils the techniques behind some of his theatrical masterstokes.

About the Speakers

” I took my scientific interest in light and my interest in magic — which was about entertainment and illusion and make-believe — and combined them.” – Jules Fisher, Playbill, 2005
Since arriving in New York in 1959, Jules Fisher has become the preeminent lighting designer of his era with dozens of Manhattan credits in shows as diverse as Anyone Can Whistle (1964), Black Comedy (1967), Hair (1968), Home (1970), Lenny (1971), No No Nanette (1971), Pippin (1973), Ulysses in Nighttown (1974), Frankenstein (1982), La Cage aux Folles (1985), Grand Hotel (1989), Jelly’s Last Jam (1992), and Angels in America (1993). In the 1990s he began working with Peggy Eisenhauer and they collaborated on such productions as Victor/Victoria (1995), Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk (1997), Jane Eyre (2000), The Wild Party (2000), and Gypsy (2003). Fisher has also produced some of the shows he designed, such as Dancin‘ (1978) and Rock ‘n Roll! The First 5,000 Years (1983)
Margaret Livingstone is Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. She has done research on hormones and behavior, learning, dyslexia, and vision. Livingstone has explored the ways in which vision science can understand and inform the world of visual art. She has written a popular lay book, Vision and Art, which has brought her acclaim in the art world as a scientist who can communicate with artists and art historians, with mutual benefit. She generated some important insights into the field, including a simple explanation for the elusive quality of the Mona Lisa’s smile (it is more visible to peripheral vision than to central vision) and the fact that Rembrandt, like a surprisingly large number of famous artists, was likely to have been stereoblind.

About Brainwave: Illusion

The Buddha said that everything is illusion. What did he mean by that? This sixth edition of Brainwave will enlist the aid of neuroscientists to help us understand how the perception of our world is shaped by the surprising adaptability of our brains. Brainwave includes talks, special film screenings followed by discussions, interactive workshops, and much more!
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