Light board operator

A lightboard

Summary

In the performing arts and stagecraft, the Light Board Operator is the technician in charge of operating all lighting equipment for a performance, with the possible exception of the spotlights/follow spots, which are usually handled by one or more designated spotlight operators.

As the title implies, the light board operator (commonly referred to as the "Light Op" or "Board Op") is the person who operates the light board. These come in many forms, from inexpensive to exorbitant, from simple to complex, from purely manual to highly computerized. For more information on light boards and their operation, see the Light Board Page.

In some situations, the light board operator may be a clear-cut job. Sometimes, though not always, the Lightboard Operator will be the same person as the Stage Manager. Also, the responsibilities of Light board Operator and Sound operator are sometimes combined into one position, usually referred to as the Board Operator or Board Op, referring in this case to the combination of light board and sound board. In some productions, all three of these functions are done by one person. For productions where lighting and sound are operated by a single person, or productions where sound needs to be timed well with lighting changes, it is not unusual to use Midi Show Control (MSC).

The light board operator may in some cases also be the lighting designer for a production.

Responsibilities of a Light Board Operator

The light op has many responsibilities in theater, especially small productions. In small productions, the light op is often required to create a lighting plot, gather the required instruments, and load them in. This is in addition to running the board during the performance, as well as many rehearsals. In this situations the light op will need to have memorized the blocking of the performance, in order to accurately focus the lighting instruments at a later point in time.

Any light op will be required to spend a large amount of time watching rehearsals. Usually the actual lighting of these rehearsals won't take place until the last week or two. As aforementioned, the light op is required to have the show memorized. In addition to the movement of characters, the light op needs to know the position and timing of cues.

The other half of light board operation is the board itself. The light op will often be required to set up the board for use in some way. Much of this is patching in instruments on specific dimmers. With the saturation of digital boards this task as become much easier, requiring only a few keystrokes, as opposed to moving plugs on a switchboard like panel. The light op will also be responsible for programming in all cues into the light board. This involves much knowledge of the board's controls. Most boards have a similar input. However, until a light op learns the syntax of the light board, he or she can not be time efficient. The syntax for light boards is similar to the syntax of basic computer programming languages.

During the performance the light op is responsible for advancing through cues. On a digital board this is as easy as hitting the "Go" button. However, older manual boards are more complicated. In traditional two channel manual boards, the light op will have to set up each scene in either X or Y channel. Because there are only two channels, the lights can only be ready one scene ahead. This means a lot of work has to be done during shows. This is a more stressful environment for the light op because many more things can go wrong, from levels being off, to completely forgetting an instrument. Theaters that have old two channel boards, often have manual patches. This means that the light op may also be required to move plugs around to actually be able to use all of their instruments on the correct channels.

During the performance, the light op is often on headset with the Stage Manager, and multiple other members of the crew. The stage managers job is to call out warnings, and cues. This means that theoretically the light op shouldn't have to memorize cues. However, it is important that the light op listen to the stage manager, because the stage manager may be re working the lights to facilitate what happens on stage. For example, perhaps a character skips a page of the script, and someone's entrance is missed.

Similarly to the previous paragraph. The light op is also responsible for on the fly thinking and crisis management. Not a show goes by were something doesn't go wrong. Perhaps a lamp exploded. Perhaps a gel is missing, perhaps the board crashes. In any of these situations the light op may be required to think up a solution, and quickly. Actors can not act with out light. If a black out can not occur due to a board glitch, or operator incompetence, the actors can not leave the stage. These situations create awkward moments of silence and a stop in the action. In addition, poorly timed cues can ruin the feel of a scene. For these reasons light ops need to be able to think on their feet and work under extreme stress.

In theater, no one notices how well a scene is painted, how well a stage is lit, how exact the cues are. The audience only notices what is wrong. Thusly, the major aim of stage crew / light ops/ sound ops is not to do well, but rather, not to do poorly. The audience will pick up on any imperfection on the show. No where is this more apparent then the lighting of a scene. Light ops aim to make as few mistakes as possible. If they have to create new cues during the show, a good light op won't test out the instruments, and will try and make the least noticeable changes to things like intensity.

See also

• Stagecraft
• Theatre
• Lighting design
• Light board