CITATION — REFERENCE ENTRY

Introduction to Theatre: A History of Stage Lighting — Northern Virginia Community College, SPD 130 course materials

Revision 56f5ecd0-fff2-4833-8118-62c898b560df · 10/6/2026, 4:32:08 PM UTC
Key
nvcc-history-of-stage-lighting
Type
webpage
Container
Northern Virginia Community College, SPD 130 course materials
Publisher
Northern Virginia Community College
Raw CSL JSON
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  "URL": "https://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/histlighting.htm",
  "type": "webpage",
  "title": "Introduction to Theatre: A History of Stage Lighting",
  "accessed": {
    "date-parts": [
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        2026,
        10,
        6
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  "publisher": "Northern Virginia Community College",
  "container-title": "Northern Virginia Community College, SPD 130 course materials"
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Claims

  1. This course timeline dates Nicola Sabbatini's 1638 dimmer proposal (metal cylinders lowered over candles), Henry Drummond's limelight to 1803, the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia as the first fully gaslighted theatre in 1816, Sir Humphry Davy's electric arc to 1809, and England's Savoy Theatre as the first completely electric theatre in 1881.
    Locator: section: Timeline
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