Approach
As Lighting Designer, I approached Once as a story about intimacy, memory, and the healing power of music. The design relied heavily on practical sources — bare bulbs, warm tungsten washes, and the glow of instruments themselves — to blur the line between performance and real life.
 

The set, with its thematic display of instruments, became a canvas for light. Transitions were fluid, using lighting to shift between pub, street, and private reflection without changing scenery. Shadow and saturated side light suggested the grit of Dublin, while golden ambers created moments of communal warmth. At its most fragile, the design narrowed into focused isolation, pulling the audience into the characters’ vulnerability.
 

Every cue was shaped to honor the music itself — allowing light to rise and fall with the swell of the ensemble and their instruments. Once is a show where characters live inside song, and the lighting reflected that truth: it wasn’t just illumination, it was storytelling in rhythm and hue.
 

Below, the Scene by Scene Lighting Breakdown illustrates the extensive visual research that guided this approach. It served as both a design roadmap and a collaborative talking point with the director and creative team, ensuring that color, angle, and emotional arc were aligned across the process.