With cold weather and exams looming on the horizon, students, faculty and the broader Charlottesville community can temporarily escape their troubles with one of the more colorful traditions on Grounds — Lighting of the Lawn. Occurring at the beginning of December, the event features live performances and culminates in a dazzling light show on the Rotunda and across the entire Lawn. This show is made possible by the intricate work of the Lighting of the Lawn’s lighting team.
Nearly all aspects of the event are run by students in the Lighting of the Lawn Committee. Unlike the other committees for Lighting of the Lawn, which involve an official application process, new members of the lighting team are usually informally recruited by current members.
Because of this, the number of members changes, but this year there are six students brought together by a passion for lighting design. Third-year Engineering student Will Conrad, a member since his first year, said that they are extremely proud to present their work to the University.
“I don’t think I really grasped how big a deal [Lighting of the Lawn] was when I stepped into it my first year,” Conrad said. “It’s all very superficial until you see your lights on the Rotunda … and opposite that are thousands of people you know.”
Each Lighting of the Lawn show revolves around a certain theme. This year’s theme is Remix: A Quarter Century of Light, which aims to celebrate 25 years of the event by blending old traditions and new ideas.
The light show is tailored to the music, generally a mix of recent and older pop songs. After the songs for Lighting of the Lawn are selected by members of the committee, the design team creates a light show that matches the music. Conrad said that the team plans the logistics and technology throughout the fall semester and hones in on the artistic design the week of LOTL.
“The week leading up to Lighting of the Lawn is when we hunker down and start doing most of our work,” Conrad said. “On Monday, we get our rental of lights in, load them into the Drama department basement, and we plug everything in and start programming from Monday through Thursday.”
During the programming phase, the team arranges the lights as they would be on the Rotunda, allowing them to visualize how the final show would look. They also use software to model the Rotunda and the lights digitally, ensuring that the show will look exactly as they intend.
As the event evolves, new additions to the show can lead to new challenges for the designers. For instance, last year’s Lighting of the Lawn included a special drone show in collaboration with a separate contractor — a first for the event. Third-year College student Daisy Wong said that she often keeps these changes in mind when designing her designs to build cohesion.
“Last year … it was the first time that instead of doing single songs, it was an actual audio remix,” Wong said. “I think I will be considering that experience and trying to remember what it was like, the process of really focusing on the transitions and building a balance.”
Creating art with light requires technical know-how. With all forms of technology, there is a risk of failure or malfunction — issues with synchronization, wiring and the program itself could all threaten to ruin their efforts. Conrad, however, said that they were not too concerned about those types of problems, like the synchronization issues last year, as they occur extremely rarely.
“The only thing that can really break, I’m glad to say, is our egos,” Conrad said. “All of us are concerned about getting it as good as it can be, but I don’t think any of us are worried that something will go catastrophically wrong.”
Bringing an event as important as Lighting of the Lawn to life is a mammoth feat, one that requires the collaboration of many students. Both Wong and Conrad emphasized the importance of teamwork in the show's production. The team members come from a wide variety of cultural and academic backgrounds, and with that diversity, they can support each other and inspire each other’s work.
Conrad got involved with Lighting of the Lawn because of his previous experience with lighting for theater productions. However, not every member of the lighting team came from a background in lighting. Wong said that she was invited to join after taking a lighting class with Drama Prof. Lee Kennedy despite not having much prior experience in lighting.
“My lighting design journey completely started at U.Va.,” Wong said. “I remember my first year … watching Lighting of the Lawn and being fascinated by how magical the event is, in terms of its [ability] to bring people together and have them enjoy a moment that heightens their sensations, both audibly and visually.”
When the night of the event finally arrives, the team can put all of their hard work on full display, brightening the Rotunda and pavilions in a dazzling array of lights and colors, as onlookers watch in awe. With their work, the team is able to make a continued impact on the University’s student body. Fourth-year College student Ritika Jha said that the event means a lot to her, especially after the tragic events of 2022.
“It’s one of my favorite events of the whole year … even though it's like, really cold, everyone's all together, and I think it's really pretty having the rotunda light up like that,” Jha said. “I think being there with all the people you love and coming together as a school … made me reflect on how lucky I was to have the relationships I had.”
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