A lighting designer works to enhance a theatrical production through lighting effects that establish mood, location, and emphasis. They begin by reading the script and meeting with the director to discuss the lighting concept. Early meetings with the set designer are also important for collaboration. The lighting designer attends rehearsals to plan cues and instrument placement. They use various lighting properties like intensity, color, distribution and movement to create different effects through a combination of direct and indirect lighting. The lighting designer continues to collaborate with the design team to ensure a unified production look and feel, then the stage manager takes over operation of the lighting rig as designed.

1. Lighting roles
Lighting designer:
Lighting designers know how to make the best use of the subtle and powerful medium of
light, creating effects that can be changed at will to match the mood of the action. At its
most basic, stage lighting functions to make the actors and their environs visible to the
audience. But it can also be used to:
 Evoke the appropriate mood
 Indicate time of day and location
 Shift emphasis from one stage area to another
 Reinforce the style of the production
 Make objects on stage appear flat or three dimensional
 Blend the visual elements on stage into a unified whole
The lighting designer begins by reading the script to be produced noting the type of light it
calls for in each scene. Designer and director share their ideas about how light could be used
to enhance the production concept at their first meeting. Early meetings with the set
designer are also important because the set and lighting designers must collaborate on how
to achieve the desired "look" for the play. The plan for the set may influence the placement
and direction of the necessary lighting instruments, so flagging any potential problems in
this area as early as possible makes sense.
Lighting designers attend rehearsals to get a feel for the lighting cues and to plan how to
light the actors as they move from place to place on stage. When the blocking is set, the
lighting designer can start to work out which lighting instruments will be used and where
each one will be located.
Light control:
Lighting designers usually combine both direct and indirect light to illuminate the actors and
objects on stage. Direct lighting comes from a definite location and illuminates specific
areas; indirect lighting washes over the entire area to be lit and doesn't appear to come
from any one specific location.
The amount of light needed to clearly illuminate an object on stage depends on the objects:
 Reflective properties
 Colour
 Contrast with its surroundings
 Size
 Distance from the person looking at it.

2. There are four properties lighting designers can control to create a vast array of effects:
 Intensity
 Colour
 Distribution
 Movement
Collaboration:
The lighting designer will meet with the director and the design team to discuss the details
of the set and the director’s interpretation of the play. The design team and lighting
designers meet and work together to ensure the creation of a unified look and feel for the
production. Once the show opens, the designer’s work is essentially complete and now it’s
normally the job of the stage manager and light crew to make sure that every aspect of the
production runs just as the designer intended until the production closes.
Mamma Mia lighting:
 Trevor Nichol is head of lighting
 They look after the entire lighting rig, maintain it and run it on the night.
 There Is approximately 380 lights on the rigging
 Consistently have to keep up the maintenance of the lights
 Main lighting is operated from the lighting box
 they also look after smoke, confetti and strobe lighting during the show
 The production values are very high
Wicked- Behind the Emerald Curtain lighting:
 The lighting designers cooperate with the creative team
 Kenneth Posner is the lighting designer of the show
 The lighting plan is the representation of where the lights hang
 The plans also include the position of the lights, the fixture

3. References:
http://www.aact.org/lighting-designer