Lighting Design - New Plays Festival

Prior to starting work on any Columbia Theatre production, please make sure to read and understand the duties and stipulations for general design work at Columbia and the specific design area as detailed below.

General Information for All Design Disciplines

  • The Theatre Program will only be responsible for department-approved designs that are received by their designated deadlines.
  • Columbia property may not be altered without express permission.
  • It is the responsibility of each designer to keep and fill out a comprehensive list of their items, categorizing everything by owner and location origin.
  • There are no deliveries of purchased goods available on the weekends.
  • All items purchased by the production budget are the property of Columbia University after the production.
  • NYU designers need faculty permission from NYU to participate in Columbia SOA thesis productions.
  • If a designer is going to be remote for all or most of the design process, their participation in the production must be approved by the relevant production staff to ensure that the designer’s in-person duties are adequately covered by a member of the production team. It is strongly recommended that designers be able to attend in-person rehearsals and meetings.
  • A written and signed agreement indemnifying Columbia of liability must be provided for any items loaned to the production or borrowed for the production from sources outside Columbia.
  • Each design area has a Festival Coordinator (Scenic, Props, Costumes, Lighting, Sound, and Video/Projection). This person is intended to be the liaison from your production to the staff throughout your process. They are there to coordinate the design ideas of the director/playwright/designer, within the parameters listed in each of the areas below.

Lighting Designer Deliverables

Lighting Festival Coordinator / Lenfest Production Electrician: Holly Ko

Contact: [email protected]

Festival Coordinator Duties Include: 

  • Designing and focusing the New Plays Festival repertory light plot.
  • Coordinating with each production to implement their deck additions to the rep plot.
  • Scheduling lighting programmers to program cues (as specified by the lighting designer) during your tech.
  • Please Note: In the case of no lighting designer, the lighting programmer will be available to program preset-based lighting cues during your tech. In this instance, the programmer will not be responsible for generating a plot or attending any pre-tech meetings. There will be preset looks available and the programmer will be able to modify the looks and create cues as requested by your director.
  • Focusing added deck specials and safely securing any cabling for deck practicals.  (This will be done by the Technical Supervisor on show days).

LX Programmer: TBD

Lighting Programer Duties include: 

  • Helping with the implementation of the designer, director and/or playwright’s vision, and acquiring what is needed for the production.
  • Assisting in the documentation of added deck units for each production.
  • Being present for the entirety of the tech process.
  • Please Note: The programmer will not be at performances. A designated light board operator will be provided by production. The light board operator will be trained on the lighting console prior to performances.
  • The Lenfest Technical Supervisor will aid in any lighting changeover needs between shows in rep. They will follow the documentation provided by the programmer. 

If a Lighting Designer is not hired for the production, the following parameters must be followed:

  • The director and/or playwright will indicate any specific design needs to the Lighting Programmer.
  • The Programmer will not be responsible for generating a plot or attending any pre-tech meetings or pre-tech rehearsals.
  • There will be preset looks available and the programmer will be able to modify the looks and create cues as requested by the production.

Lighting Designer Responsibilities

  • Present at all Columbia Production Meetings
  • All drafting MUST be turned in on time in Vectorworks format. If you work in CAD, ACAD, Sketch-up, hand drafting or another form, you must convert this to Vectorworks before the Production Electrician will assess the design.
  • Working directly with the Production Electrician to realize lighting load-in and focus, as well as spec’ing of perishables and purchases.
  • Maintaining clear communication with Production Electrician throughout pre load-in and load-in process, responding to emails or other communication within a timely manner.
  • Source any purchases needed and send links/information to the Production Manager for payment.
  • Present at the entirety of all Technical Rehearsals/Dress Rehearsal to write light cues (programmer provided).
  • If any items were borrowed or rented, the Lighting Designer must coordinate the return of items with Production Management and the Production Electrician prior to the last performance.
  • Designers are responsible for the transportation of their personal items.
  • Responsible for keeping a master list of their items – categorizing everything by owner and location origin.

Lighting Design Stipulations

  • 2025 NPF Lighting Rep Plot (this is an example, the 2027 rep plot will be available closer to when the festival starts).
  • The theater has a robust rep plot in place, which will be supplemented to create a festival plot for your production.
  • The festival plot contains both incandescent and color-changing, LED units (Colorsource Spots, S4 Lustr II’s, Color Force 72’s, Desire D60’s), as well as two moving specials (I-Cues with DMX Iris).
  • The festival plot contains all components of a standard lighting system (front light, back light, side light, foot lights, template wash, pre-focused specials, cyclorama wash). It is sufficient to provide lighting washes in all of the theater’s playing areas, as well as specials on most parts of the stage.
  • For drawings of the festival plot, please refer to the CU Theatre Program Production Folder for drawings and tech specs.
  • Columbia will provide a lighting programmer for all tech rehearsals. Hours for the lighting programmer will be determined by Production Management.
  • Due to the quick turnaround between shows, the festival plot must remain the same throughout the entirety of the festival. Units in the festival plot cannot be moved, gelled, refocused, repurposed, struck, or re-channeled.
  • Each show is allowed to add no more than 3 units (Source 4 Incandescent, Colorsource Spot, etc.) and/or practicals (desk lamp, Christmas lights, etc).
    • All lighting adds are subject to approval by the Production Electrician.  
    • Please note that practical units that require additional considerations (LED Tape with Decoder, Fluorescent that need dimmer capabilities) may limit the number of practicals that can be supported per production.
    • The Lighting Coordinator will ensure that any adds are installed and functioning prior to tech.
  • The added units will be focused at the top of tech with your designer and a member of the production team.
  • There is no designated focus time prior to tech hours.
  • There is no designated programming time outside of tech rehearsals.
  • On the 1st day of tech, the added deck units must be solidified (placed, secured, and focused). The lighting designer must create adequate paperwork to ensure a successful turnover.
  • The programmer and/or technical supervisor can assist in the documentation of the added deck units.
  • Unless express permission is granted by the Lighting Coordinator/Production Electrician, the lighting rig and board may not be used without the presence of the programmer, master electrician, or technical supervisor.
  • It is highly recommended that shows in rep with each other share a Lighting Designer.

Drafting

  • All drafting MUST be turned in on time in Vectorworks format. If you work in CAD, ACAD, Sketch-up, hand drafting or another form, you must convert this to Vectorworks before the Production Electrician will assess the design.

Fire Safety

  • Exit signs may not be covered. Additional Exit Signs may be added for sight line issues, pending Technical Director approval.
  • There must be 42” egress to fire exit doors at all times during the production. No scenery, lighting instrument, cables, chairs, or curtain may obstruct the exit.

Purchasing

  • As much as possible, please allow Production Management to make purchases on your behalf. It is faster and significantly less complicated than requesting reimbursements.
  • Please see the Making Purchases section for more information.
  • If making a purchase, please confirm shipping address with Thesis Production Manager before finalizing the purchase.

Recommended Lighting Resources

Production Resource Center - Columbia’s Prop, Furniture, & Costume storage

  • Located at 3280 Broadway, 5th floor. ID required for entry to building.
  • All appointments must be made with 48 hours advance notice by emailing [email protected], or in-person during PR working hours.
  • When making the appointment, please tell us:
    • the time frame(s) you'd ideally want for your appointment, we'll do our best to accommodate you.
    • who will be checking out the items (Appointments can be made on behalf of others, but we need to know the name of who to expect on the day.)
    • the name and type of project the checkout is for (e.g "LORDES- Directing Thesis")
  • Unless specially requested, appointments are for one-hour blocks only.
  • If you are late for your appointment, you will forfeit the time lost. We do not have overlapping appointments.
  • We will store items in PR or the Ramp Room for thesis productions.
  • If you plan to check out fragile (such as glassware or lamps) or bulky items please bring the appropriate packing and transportation items with you. We have some packing materials and bags available at PR, but we cannot guarantee this will suit your transportation needs.