The assistant lighting designer joins the design team to aid the lighting designer in their work and to follow the process of design in preparation for designing on the main stage at a future date. The assistant lighting designer receives direction and reports to the faculty lighting designer (not the production).

DESIGN PROCESS: The lighting design process moves through the events as specified in the formalized design process. Assistant Lighting Designer will attend each meeting and observe the process. The ALD will read the play in advance and do the analytical work (minus the visual research) and submit to the faculty lighting design professor. There may be specific requests made of the ALD to aid the LD in this process - as determined per project by the  faculty lighting design professor.

PRELIMINARY PLOT MEETING (~ 1 week prior to Rough Plot due date and only with the Lighting Design Mentor and the Lighting Designer): The ALD will attend this meeting.

ROUGH PLOT MEETING: The ALD will attend this meeting.

FINAL PLOT MEETING: The ALD will attend this meeting.

 

HANG

Designers will be available to answer any questions and make multiple visits to the stage to look at progress, discuss any issues and resolve any conflicts as they arise.

PRE-TECH MEETING WITH MENTOR

At some point after the light plot is submitted and before focus you must make an appointment with me to go over your magic sheet & cue list and discuss an approach to focus.

FOCUS

Designers will be given a specific focus date and time. All focusing will be done during that time. The master electrician will have been informed that the show must be ready to focus the day before the first focus call and will be prepared to do a channel check with the lighting designer and the lighting advisor at that time. Focus time is meant to be used only for focusing - not for finishing the hanging and patching of equipment. The designer should know where each light is to be focused and have the proper paperwork prepared in order to focus as quickly and efficiently as possible. The designer should show up to the focus at least 10 minutes early and have taped out all focus points prior to this time and day. The Master Electrician will run the remote-focus unit and will track all changes on the hook-up and plot.

PAPER-TECH

Designers will be present to relay all cue information (placement and nomenclature) to stage management. This is NOT a time to discuss the finer ascetics of the light, but rather to get the information in order in the stage managers book. The design conversation with the lighting designer and director should happen outside of this meeting and in more detail.

LIGHT-OVER REHEARSAL (OPTIONAL AND WITH DIRECTOR APPROVAL)

Designers may want to take the last run-through before tech to light over rehearsal. This is meant to be the director’s rehearsal - with the lighting designer looking at ideas over the top. At this point it is essential that the designer become familiar with the focus and color choices and begun to understand how those will be used to accomplish the needs of the production as discussed.

LIGHTING LEVELS & DARK TIME (OPTIONAL AND DIRECTOR DEPENDENT)

Some directors may want to look at the lighting before technical rehearsals. If this is so, the designer will have programmed ideas into the board PRIOR to this meeting. If this is something you and your director are interested in pursuing - you must voice this desire EARLY in the scheduling process. It is very difficult to carve out the time in the theatre as well as arrange for a board operator and people to walk the stage for you.

TECHNICAL REHEARSALS

Designer will be prepared with updated Magic Sheets, Cue Lists and Follow Spot Cue Lists. The designer will take their own technical notes unless other arrangements have been made.

POST REHEARSAL PRODUCTION MEETINGS

At the end of each technical rehearsal there will be a production meeting where the director will be able to give notes to the entire production team. After this, the designer and master electrician will meet to develop a list of notes in order of priority for the following day.

NOTE SESSIONS & DARK TIME

During the day before each technical rehearsal - the designer will be present at all note calls to accomplish any focus notes and answer any questions that arise.

OPENING

Upon opening, the designer will present stage management with an updated channel hook-up, magic sheets & cue list.

BEFORE THE END OF THE SEMESTER

Each lighting designer must turn in an updated lighting package and schedule a post-mortem with the lighting mentor. No grade will be submitted until the receipt of this document.

  • This package will include the following
  • Updated Plot
  • Updated Section
  • Updated Hookup
  • Updated Magic Sheet
  • Updated Cue List
  • 8x10 Photo of Production
  • Self Evaluation

The lighting designer is expected to attend strike and assist the master electrician or light cage supervisor as necessary. Evaluations of the master electrician, lighting supervisor and assistant lighting designer (if appropriate) should be completed and returned to the department technical director by this time.