Lighting Design $50 initial, $8 / hour

The role of the lighting designer (or LD) within theatre is to work with the director, set designer, and costume designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost. The LD also works closely with the stage manager on show control programming.

The role of the lighting designer varies greatly depending on whether a production is professional or amateur. For a Broadway show or a touring production the LD is usually an outside freelance specialist hired early in the production process, but most smaller theatre companies will have a resident lighting designer responsible for most of the company's productions. At the amateur level the LD will often be responsible for much of the hands-on technical work (hanging instruments, programming the light board, etc.) that would be the work of the lighting crew in a professional theatre.

The LD will read the script carefully and make notes on changes in place and time between scenes - such changes are often done just with lighting - and will have meetings with the Director, Designers and production manager during the pre-production period to discuss ideas for the show and establish budget and scheduling details. The LD will also attend several later rehearsals to observe the way the actors are being directed to use the stage area ('blocking') during different scenes, and will receive updates from the stage manager on any changes that occur. The LD will also make sure that he or she has an accurate plan of the theatre's lighting positions and a list of their equipment, as well as an accurate copy of the set design, especially the floor plan. The LD must take into account the show's mood and the director's vision in creating a lighting design.

Because lighting design is much more abstract than costume or scenic design, it is often difficult for the lighting designer to accurately convey his ideas to the rest of the production team. The lighting designer's chief tool, the light plot, is an very technical document that means almost nothing to someone unfamiliar with stage lighting. In some instances, a lighting designer may be expected to provide rough cue sheets or storyboards during pre-production. This non-technical document gives the rest of the production team a way to understand the lighting designer's vision without having to immerse themselves in the technical details of theatrical lighting. These cue sheets will typically include descriptions of each "look" that the LD has created for the show, using artistic terminology rather than technical language, and information on exactly when each look changes to the next.

source Wikipedia