Question

the world of lighting designer jeanette ol-suk yew by paulette beete (excerpt)
may 21, 2021
(1) listen to a theater audience leaving a performance of, say, lin-manuel miranda’s hamilton or katori hall’s the blood quilt and you’ll hear them talk about a lot of things: the story itself, how much they liked (or didn’t like) the costumes, whether the music was as good live as it is on the official cast album, or how they wish they owned some piece of furniture from the set. what you probably won’t hear them talk about is the production’s lighting design. while most people get excited for the moment that the house lights dim and the stage lights start to shimmer, very few can articulate how the overall lighting design affected their experience of the show.
(2) this is no surprise to veteran lighting designer jeanette ol-suk yew, who’s long made her peace with the fact that audiences rarely have an idea of what her work entails—or even that her job exists. “i’ve been to many different gatherings with people who are not necessarily in the theater. when i say i work in theater, they’ll say, ‘oh, are you an actor? are you a director? are you a playwright?’ and then they kind of stop there.”
(3) she observed that part of the difficulty in understanding what she does is that the work isn’t tangible. “i’ll say that i make costumes, they’d go, ‘oh, i get it. that’s what they’re wearing.’ or if i said that i made the set, people get it. but with lighting design, it’s sort of like, ‘oh well, aren’t you just turning lights on?’
(4) for a recent project, for example, yew had to imagine the world of a cemetery waiting room. she explained, “the core of the story was about two people suffering a lot of grief and trying to make a connection with each other in a very unusual and sterilized space. so that is what i’m thinking about a lot as a designer. what is this space? what is this environment that this story is unfolding within? my thinking is very architectural-based in some ways.”
(5) lighting design is in fact equal parts art and science and involves a lot more than just turning the lights on and off. as yew described her
select the correct answer.
how does the author introduce the idea that a show’s lighting design can only be completed a few days before the first performance?
a. by comparing the work of the show’s lighting designer to the work of the show’s costume designer
b. by describing the collaboration that happens between the director, the lighting designer, and the set design team
c. by arguing that lighting design is the most important element of a theater production’s overall success
d. by detailing the order of events that take place when a theater space becomes available for rehearsals

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The text doesn't compare the lighting designer's work to the costume designer's. Eliminate A.
• Option B: The passage (part 1) describes how audiences talk about other elements (costumes, music, set) but not lighting design, implying the collaboration (or lack of audience focus on lighting) shows how lighting design is introduced. This matches the idea of showing the context around lighting design's perception.
• Option C: The text doesn't argue lighting design is the most important element. Eliminate C.
• Option D: There's no detailing of the order of events for theater space rehearsal availability. Eliminate D.

Answer:

B. by describing the collaboration that happens between the director, the lighting designer, and the set design team (Note: More accurately, by showing how audiences focus on other elements, but among the options, B is the best fit as it relates to the interactions/context around lighting design's role.)