In the musical Wicked, at the end of the first act, the most memorable song of the show, “Defying Gravity” is performed. My favorite moment of the show (and I’m assuming many others share this opinion) is when Elphaba backs into the darkness and magically shoots into the sky, belting her face off. The moment I would love to create an aesthetic for is when she reaches her peak height and is soaring above the stage. The mood of the moment is one of sheer victory and ecstasy. The lighting should be intense, and should reflect Elphaba’s triumphant act of defiance. There would be greens, blues, and purples; a lot of cool colors to reflect the raw joy that Elphaba feels soaring above probably the highest point in Oz. There would be a lot of shadow, since most of the light would be coming from behind. The back lighting gives the scene a dramatic edge, and also makes Elphaba look extremely powerful. The back lighting would also alter the visibility of the scene, casting shadows onto the citizens of Oz.

My visual research was actually experienced this morning, walking through Washington Square Park. It was fairly early, and I looked up and saw streams of light through the barren trees, and it was absolutely spectacular. I felt that this really connected to the visual aspects of the scene, because as Elphaba flies into the air, it’s kind of unclear how high she’s flying. I assume, since she’s in the attic of the Wizard’s castle, she bursts through a skylight or something and soars into the sky. The visual of this could definitely be achieved with backlighting, to show that the only thing above her is light.