How to be a Lighting Designer in the Theatre
Lighting Design is the youngest of theatre's design elements, only evolving into an art form distinct from other elements in the early part of the 20th century, when electric lighting finally made possible the dimming and colouration integral to a creative approach to illuminating a production. When performing the role of lighting designer on a theatrical production there are several things that you will need.
The Script
The odd producer or director still thinks a Light Designer can just "wing it" but in reality the lighting design is an artistic creation just as much as the set or costumes and you need to read the script well in advance to thoroughly understand the needs of the play.
General Knowledge of Design
Just like any other designer you must be familiar with from, line, texture, movement and all the other main tenements of visual design, both two and three-dimensional. You'll also need to understand optics and the biology of the human eye. You'll need to know colour theory as it applies to both pigment and light, and what will happen when, for example, you shine a green light on red surface.
Knowledge of the Tools of Lighting Design
You'll need to be familiar with a wide variety of conventional and automated lighting fixtures, as well as every dimmer system and lighting board you're likely to encounter in a given theatre. You need know the proper way to use all this equipment and exactly what each instrument or piece of gear is capable of (so you don't try to light a cyc with a 5 Degree or use a PAR 64 for a tight special on a six-year-old child). Every designer should have swatch-books of gel from Rosco, Lee and GAM (the three main gel companies) , lighting design templates in " and " scale, a comprehensive lighting design software program such as Lightwright or Softplot, and of course the bible of theatrical reference materials, Paul Carter's The Backstage handbook.
Knowledge of the Space
If you've never worked in a certain theatre before it's a good idea to arrange for a tour with the Head LX or the Production Manager to get a sense of the space. The theatre should also provide you with comprehensive overhead and cut-away scale drawings of the entire theatre (not just the stage), as well as a full series of lighting specs. Those specs should include up-to-date list of instruments, dimmers and all related lighting equipment, gel inventory and policies, the house plot if there is one, as well as anything particular to the space you may need to know. Since many spaces don't have this information readily available you will need to ask a lot of questions, so make sure you have the chance to talk to whoever is in charge of the lighting in this particular building.
Knowledge of the Play
Having the script is a good first step, but you need to actually see a run-through of the entire play in order to complete your design, so if your director doesn't have this in their plans make sure to insist on it, usually about a week before move-in. You'll need to know about any 'practicals' or working lights onstage, so you need a copy of the set design as well.
There's too much to know about Lighting Design to cover it all in a single article. The best way to become a Lighting Designer is to work alongside an experienced designer, learning the nuances of the process and the craft from them. This should happen after you've spent some time working alongside some lighting technicians bringing other people's designs to life, since a grounding in the technical execution of a lighting design is an essential foundation for a career in this very exciting, fast-paced, sometimes stressful but almost always rewarding field.
