Adolphe Appia and Edward Gordon Craig never worked together, nor spent any significant time in each other’s company, but their names were linked as early as 1913, before they had yet met or corresponded and have remained so. Appia and Craig who working independently of each other laid the foundation of modern non-illusionistic theatre practice.
Adolphe Appia

Swiss lighting design innovator, Adolphe Appia (1862-1928), saw the possibility of using light during scenic changes and striking (special) effects. Appia was the first to develop and practice multi-directional colored lighting that painted the stage and moved in harmony with the production (Brockett 78). Adolphe Appia believed that light was a medium capable of conveying both external and internal meanings. Appia observed contemporary theatre and thought that most productions failed to use light and its potential to serve a production. The newly …show more content…
The first type is diffused light, which provides an undercoat illumination for the more suggestive effects. The second type of light was active, which molded what it lit; providing the means for enhancing both the external setting and the inner life as well. Active light allows night (be it moonlight or torches) and/or the supernatural to be expressed. Diffused and active lighting are used simultaneously, however, only in terms of the intensity. Appia discovered that to avoid extreme shadows, which weakens the effect of active light; diffused lighting can illuminate the setting and the actor. When visibility on stage and shadows are suppressed, active light can be used (enabling for a more dimensional atmosphere). Using these two types of light Appia began to define the shapes and objects on stage (enhancing the plastic form) and transformed the idea of plasticity with light on stage (Beachman