Colors in between is a research in theater lighting that was born on the stage. It examines how to illuminate People of Color for theater and dance, and seeks to understand the representation of dark skin in theater. It faces the complexities of the performative bodies in dance and proposes a design in lighting that accommodates various bodies and skin tones into the understanding of performance, of subjects to be illuminated at the possible visual narratives on the stage. It will be an anti-racist ally on the technical side of the performing arts backstage. 

When I first had many different performers with various dark skin tones on the stage I realized that I have always considered a “universal” being on the stage, with a bright skin tone. That is the basis of the racist thought: when we believe one type of skin is universal, the reference, we ignore the differences between people and the stories their skin has to tell. “Colors in Between,” is the answer to that thought. It is the proposition that every performer on stage should be looked at based on their uniqueness, establishing a procedure of testing each skin tone as the basic tool kit in every creative process in theater. The project started, and it persists, as an experiment of lighting for People of Color on the stage. 

The first phase of the project experimented with different filter colors to test how the colorful light would interact with the skin. Using one color from one side and a distinct one from the other, the light forces a contrast on the body that white light cannot produce. In such a way, the texture, forms, and movements of the dark pigmented body are more noticeable on its spatial characteristics.

Colors in between intends to go beyond finding technical solutions to the “diasporic visualities”. It proposes a different way of exploring the interaction between light and skin. The black body changes the light when touched by it. As a designer and researcher, my challenge is to observe, document, and bring the discussion to the front of the stage and also to its back.