Written by Loela Dickey
Wen-Ling Liao is a lighting designer who recently visited Whitman to design the stage lighting for Whitman’s production of The Winter’s Tale. For our guest artist interview series, I asked Wen-Ling some questions about her education, career, and experience at Whitman.
Wen-Ling discovered her passion for the craft when she took a lighting design class as an undergraduate student. She explains that she “fell in love with it right away” and decided to study it from then on. Describing her love for lighting design, she says, “I love how abstract and magical the art form is.” Wen-Ling received her Bachelor of Arts from the National Taiwan University Department of Drama and Theatre in Taipei, Taiwan and proceeded to achieve a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance. These degrees led her directly into her career as a lighting designer and she has been working in this field ever since she graduated.
Wen-Ling previously visited Whitman in 2021 to do lighting design for the production of The Penelopiad. This year, Whitman’s director Dr. Laura Hope invited her back to do the lighting for The Winter’s Tale. I asked Wen-Ling to share a bit about her process when it comes to starting a new project. She explains, “I usually start by reading the script… and highlight[ing] the text that speaks to me.” She continues, “During the first design meeting I will listen to [the] director talk about his/her/their direction. Then as a design team we will start our conversation and form a ‘concept’/ ‘direction’ together. Based on this concept, I rely on visual research to find inspiration.” Wen-Ling explains that, for The Winter’s Tale, Dr. Laura Hope shared a collection of photos with those working on the lighting and set design. Wen-Ling then “used those photos as inspiration to think about color, texture, tone and angle for the play.” She continues, “I do also follow certain ‘formulas’; I study the set and costume, listen to the sound track we use for our production, study the space, and do specific calculations for the lighting instruments. I tend to combine some basic foundations with specific ideas so I get to try new things and keep the process fun and challenging for myself.”
When I asked her about her experience working with Whitman students, she was nothing but complimentary. She says, “Students here are smart and eager to learn. I enjoyed my experience with them.” Furthermore, she mentions, “Every college and organization is different and I think it’s very valuable that the students here get hands-on experience.” I also asked Wen-Ling if she had favorite moments from the experience; in response, she says, “My favorite part of this project [was] reuniting with this team and meeting new collaborators! I think we work well together.”
The production of The Winter’s Tale has already finished but we hope Wen-Ling returns for future productions for those who have not yet gotten a chance to see her work and those who are eager to experience it again!