An Actor Prepares

Tortsov works with the class on focus and attention, and frequently uses lights as a method of delineating areas of focus or to represent more abstract concepts and elements. Kostya discovers that a small circle of light makes focusing on the proper object much easier in a theatre that is full of distractions. The light helps to create the world of the play and to feed the actors in their search for truthful performances by, in part, fabricating the atmosphere needed to make their given circumstances feel real. Tortsov frequently refers to the footlights as a line of demarcation that divides the audience from the actors and creates a no-man’s-land where the actors must avoid placing their focus and attention. The lights serve to emphasize an actor’s faults or lead an actor to overperform, and beyond their rudimentary purpose in illuminating the stage for the benefit of the audience, they are the primary element that distinguishes the experience of being onstage with the experience of living real life.

Additionally, Tortsov uses the lights metaphorically. In order to demonstrate that there are different types of actors, he uses the lights to show different levels of focus.