# Training a high school lighting designer



## Jermister5 (Oct 11, 2012)

I am currently the head of lighting at my school and I basically do everything. When I graduate I need to make sure that the person that replaces me is capable. I have started to pass on my knowledge of programming, focusing, drafting, etc. but I am not quite sure what to teach them. To me it is all second nature now but I cannot just hope that they understand everything I am doing why, and how. any tips on what I should make sure they know and possibly how to teach it?


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## ruinexplorer (Oct 11, 2012)

I'm curious as to why this falls on you and not the drama instructor?


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## chawalang (Oct 11, 2012)

I agree as a teenager in HS you do not possess the skills to take on this responsibility. Plus, not to be rude but your teacher is getting paid to do this not you.


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## urban79 (Oct 11, 2012)

I wish there had been a drama teacher to help when I was in high school. In many places there may not be a teacher with any knowledge of the lighting system, let alone design experience. My advice would be to ask an art teacher for tips on teaching composition, color, etc. That might be a good place to start to teach design...


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## Aman121 (Oct 11, 2012)

Jermister5 said:


> I am currently the head of lighting at my school and I basically do everything. When I graduate I need to make sure that the person that replaces me is capable. I have started to pass on my knowledge of programming, focusing, drafting, etc. but I am not quite sure what to teach them. To me it is all second nature now but I cannot just hope that they understand everything I am doing why, and how. any tips on what I should make sure they know and possibly how to teach it?



Maybe this answer is a bit to cynical, but I wouldn't worry to much about choosing a tech heir. Someone else will come along and sort out the lighting in a few years, then they will graduate and someone else will come and things keep spinning. Think back before you started doing major lighting work. Were things professional? No. Were all of the lights misaimed, mis gelled, and burnt out? Probably. But for band concerts and the like it probably worked ok. Really, 95% of the events in a HS can get by as long as there are photons onstage. As long as student techs are somewhat competent in lamping, dimmer loads, and the operation of the board, it's probably ok. Once people pick up the baisics the rest kinda follows. If people work with it enough things will become clear. And if a play director or someone every really wants professional level lighting they can hire a freelance TD or LD.


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## chausman (Oct 11, 2012)

A few suggestions...
Send them to useful sites like Controlbooth.com.

I'd also make sure that they are getting experience while you are still there, not just telling them about it while you do it. Have them do it, and you can explain/answer questions as you need to.


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## derekleffew (Oct 11, 2012)

ruinexplorer and chawalang (and others, posted concurrently with the above three posts) have valid points, but the reality is that high school tech theatre knowledge often propagates student-to-student rather than teacher-to-student. It's quite possible the "drama teacher" doesn't have the time, knowledge, or experience required to teach technical theatre. He/she quite likely may be an English teacher or Band Director. What then?

Jermister5, one of your priorities should be to convince your "chosen one," ideally more than one, to sign-up and participate here on ControlBooth. The quality of tech students at a given school ebbs and flows over the course of time. Some years there are many interested, other years there may be only one or none. Life and the show goes on. While it's admirable that you *want* to teach the youth of tomorrow, don't feel you *have* to. A graduating senior should not be concerned with what happens next year at the school. Move on and don't look back. If an underclassman is truly interested, she'll ask the right questions.

Some possibly relevant threads:
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/education-career-development/14697-thinking-becoming-teacher.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/education-career-development/14813-high-school-tech.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/stage-management-facility-operations/22904-high-school-tds.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...atre-director-need-lighting-sound-advice.html
How do you share your craft? - Blogs - ControlBooth
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/general-advice/9580-keys-high-school.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/education-career-development/9503-king-queen-booth-complex.html


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## chausman (Oct 12, 2012)

Aman121 said:


> Maybe this answer is a bit to cynical, but I wouldn't worry to much about choosing a tech heir. Someone else will come along and sort out the lighting in a few years, then they will graduate and someone else will come and things keep spinning. Think back before you started doing major lighting work. Were things professional? No. Were all of the lights misaimed, mis gelled, and burnt out? Probably. But for band concerts and the like it probably worked ok. Really, 95% of the events in a HS can get by as long as there are photons onstage. As long as student techs are somewhat competent in lamping, dimmer loads, and the operation of the board, it's probably ok. Once people pick up the baisics the rest kinda follows. If people work with it enough things will become clear. And if a play director or someone every really wants professional level lighting they can hire a freelance TD or LD.



Ok, now for my mini-rant.

Just because it is a high school, doesn't mean that you should be "happy" with a splotchy wash, and mis-matched colors. "Just light on the stage" should NOT be good enough. Really, if there is someone (or even better, multiple someones) they should be able to fix basic things like that. I get not being a professional level lighting, but you can make it look good. When you get opportunities, work on things like using color and angles to change the mood or feeling of a scene. It doesn't need to complicated. KISS does not mean lazy or looks bad. It means we don't need to hang five different fixtures for each area to get close to an ideal McCandless method. Just getting photons on the stage is not our goal. If it was we'd turn on the work lights. A single wash works great. Since it's a single wash, lets make it look good. You've probably got the time. "They'll just figure it out" does not work well. Yes, they'll find out what does what, but how long will that take? "Yes, the talent show at the end of the year looks fantastic, but the rest of the year looked like crap." You also don't need to choose an heir (that's happening this year, and I'm trying to make sure that we don't get stuck in that mindset) but you need to make sure that if your theater teacher isn't going to, or isn't able to, teach lighting (I also know what that's like) then someone better. Also, with this "lets just see what happens" what will happen when you get to a musical that requires more then a static look like a concert?

Sorry if that doesn't make much sense...it was written in strange chunks over several hours.


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## Aman121 (Oct 12, 2012)

chausman said:


> Ok, now for my mini-rant.
> 
> Just because it is a high school, doesn't mean that you should be "happy" with a splotchy wash, and mis-matched colors. "Just light on the stage" should NOT be good enough. Really, if there is someone (or even better, multiple someones) they should be able to fix basic things like that. I get not being a professional level lighting, but you can make it look good. When you get opportunities, work on things like using color and angles to change the mood or feeling of a scene. It doesn't need to complicated. KISS does not mean lazy or looks bad. It means we don't need to hang five different fixtures for each area to get close to an ideal McCandless method. Just getting photons on the stage is not our goal. If it was we'd turn on the work lights. A single wash works great. Since it's a single wash, lets make it look good. You've probably got the time. "They'll just figure it out" does not work well. Yes, they'll find out what does what, but how long will that take? "Yes, the talent show at the end of the year looks fantastic, but the rest of the year looked like crap." You also don't need to choose an heir (that's happening this year, and I'm trying to make sure that we don't get stuck in that mindset) but you need to make sure that if your theater teacher isn't going to, or isn't able to, teach lighting (I also know what that's like) then someone better. Also, with this "lets just see what happens" what will happen when you get to a musical that requires more then a static look like a concert?
> 
> Sorry if that doesn't make much sense...it was written in strange chunks over several hours.



Ok, maybe I was a bit drastic. Lets try again. 
I'm not saying bad lighting is good, I'm saying that if there really is no tech program at their school, kids are going to have to learn on their own to a degree. You can teach them the baisics to create a good wash, but some of it just kinda develops. at our school they don't teach tech at all, and there is barely any student intrest. They always hire pros for musicals and plays. Me and a few other guys are the only students who help with concerts and rentals. Before we started, lighting always looked bad. After we're gone it will look bad. I realize that this doesent always have to be the case, but sometimes it will be.


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## Robert (Oct 12, 2012)

I would teach the nuts and bolts first. The things that keep the new technician from burning down the auditorium and the things that keep him and the actors safe. 

One of the best ways I have found to teach students in this situation is to have them shadow you and then you watch them.

Tell them that people kill themselves all the time when working around electricity.
Teach the power formula and the capacity of the dimmers, cables, and plugs.
Show them how to change a plug.
Show them how to properly change a lamp and show them the inventory so they know what they have and how to tell when they need more lamps.
Show them how to trouble shoot a fixture that won't come on.
Teach them now to properly hang a light and how to use the safety cable. Tell them where not to hang lights.
Teach them the different fixtures and what they are typically used for.
Show them how to circuit and patch lights.
Teach the how to record a cue on the console. How to edit a cue. How to delete a cue. How to run a series of cues. How to skip and go back in a cue stack.
Show them the gel inventory and talk to them about the how and why of selecting colors.
Show them a gobo pattern and how it is used.
Tell them about the qualities of light and how to use them in a show.
Show them how to create an even wash. Teach them about color washes. Show them a gobo wash.
Tell them about specials and how to use them.
Teach them about area lighting and show them front, side, top, back, and set lighting.
Make sure they know what types of things can be put on a dimmer and the things that cannot.
Show them how to properly coil a cable and how to put things away.
Show them how to hook up the intercom.
Teach them how to talk like a designer/technician.
Teach them to be helpful.
Teach them how to talk to a director/designer.
Teach them how to treat the crew properly.
Teach them to be humble.
Show them how fun and cool it is to light a show.
Teach them to ask questions. 
Tell them who to call if they have questions.
Show them a good book on lighting.

Just scratching the surface, but these are the things I wish I had known when I took over.


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## techieman33 (Oct 12, 2012)

If there are people interested in learning then have them shadow you as your working, explaining things as you go and answering any questions they have. But if there is no interest then don't waste the time and energy trying since odds are they won't be paying attention, and won't use most of what they do remember.


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## ruinexplorer (Oct 12, 2012)

You can always document your space by taking pictures and writing down procedures. When learning something completely new, it is easy to forget the details. Having a visual reference for them to fall back on when you are gone will be a valuable asset.


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## Jermister5 (Oct 12, 2012)

> I'm curious as to why this falls on you and not the drama instructor?


My instructor lets us run tech. Since it is a club at our school it is mostly students teaching students. Our TD really designs the sets and directs the play and most of the time I do not get a drawing of the set till the month before the show like currently we have our show in less than a month and he does not have a drawing of the set. As much as I like my teacher I do not really know that he is going to get things done so I am ensuring that things do get done.


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## lwinters630 (Oct 13, 2012)

Jermister5 said:


> I am currently the head of lighting at my school and I basically do everything. When I graduate I need to make sure that the person that replaces me is capable. I have started to pass on my knowledge of programming, focusing, drafting, etc. but I am not quite sure what to teach them. To me it is all second nature now but I cannot just hope that they understand everything I am doing why, and how. any tips on what I should make sure they know and possibly how to teach it?



Jermister5,
You are indeed a rare find. It is great that you have a passion for excellence and passing on the flame. You cannot teach, unless they want to learn. Set up a 4 year program now, bring in a freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior. each will have a progressive responsibility as they move up a class. I.E. freshman wrap cables and sweep floors, sophomores hang and aim lights, juniors program . . . . . in this manor there is not a sudden void but always an influx moving up the ladder. 

Start with #1 safety. Clamping and safety cables. Fly and weights. Power, loads and cable safety.
Then move on to the basics of the why. why back light, side light, why blue, why not blue.
Give them resources . . . . like CB, Lee, Rosco, ETC, and a whole host of other web sites.

Finally pass on your passion. That is what I sense has made you a success and a joy to work with.

Best wishes in all you do as you move onto College and your future.


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## Jamyo (Oct 13, 2012)

chausman said:


> Ok, now for my mini-rant.
> 
> Just because it is a high school, doesn't mean that you should be "happy" with a splotchy wash, and mis-matched colors. "Just light on the stage" should NOT be good enough. Really, if there is someone (or even better, multiple someones) they should be able to fix basic things like that. I get not being a professional level lighting, but you can make it look good. When you get opportunities, work on things like using color and angles to change the mood or feeling of a scene. It doesn't need to complicated. KISS does not mean lazy or looks bad. It means we don't need to hang five different fixtures for each area to get close to an ideal McCandless method. Just getting photons on the stage is not our goal. If it was we'd turn on the work lights. A single wash works great. Since it's a single wash, lets make it look good. You've probably got the time. "They'll just figure it out" does not work well. Yes, they'll find out what does what, but how long will that take? "Yes, the talent show at the end of the year looks fantastic, but the rest of the year looked like crap." You also don't need to choose an heir (that's happening this year, and I'm trying to make sure that we don't get stuck in that mindset) but you need to make sure that if your theater teacher isn't going to, or isn't able to, teach lighting (I also know what that's like) then someone better. Also, with this "lets just see what happens" what will happen when you get to a musical that requires more then a static look like a concert?
> 
> Sorry if that doesn't make much sense...it was written in strange chunks over several hours.



I agree - As a TD at a high school that also offers a professional series, I find this mini-rant to be spot on (pun intended . Students can do amazingly creative things and latch on to new technology faster than a bee on honey. My students serve as crew for all of our events which take up 200+ days of the year, with no events in the summer! Sure, there are a few students who complain about the work but overall the students step up to the level you expect from them. I appreciate and echo Jermister5's comments, keep taking pride in your work and I completely understand your desire to pass your skills/knowledge on so the same quality continues after you graduate. Keep it up!


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## nickbramblecornwell (Oct 13, 2012)

I found myself in a scenario like this one only three years ago. I was the TD for my district. I held that position for the greater part of my high school years, three to be exact. I had ran through several replacements fondly quoting Tommy Lee Jones in, Men In Black. "I'm training my replacement not my partner.." I realized that this was not the way to go. A mind game of sorts must be played here. Just because this potential replacement is in the DEPT does not mean they are willing or capable of handling the responsibilities that come with commanding a crew of stage carpenters, scenic artists, electricians, systems technicians and the list could go on and on. Rather than viewing teaching through the Charles Dickens lens... pouring knowledge into a students head, teach them in a laxed, hands on style where the student may not even be aware that they there is a formula to each scenario they are being asked to handle. 

Open up the source four and with them next to you, as you move through your motions (replacing lamp or w.e.)ask them to help you as if the answer is not an obvious one. In this moment they sharpen their observational skills and, should they find the solution it gives the student the thrill of being correct, of having purpose and of being good at what they are doing, suddenly they are more inclined to invest in their own knowledge. It allows you as the teacher to sit back and for the student to progress forward emotionally (pride in work and knowledgeability). 

There is a conventional style of teaching but that is by no means the only way to go about teaching. I like my method, it worked for me. And this method i used worked for teaching all the technical elements of theater that must be taught. Its controlled chaos. You give the prompt, (hints toward a correct answer) but ultimately you give the student the experience of working "with" you, collaboratively, "Learning" together and that gives them much more than knowledge. That sets the precident for the remainder of their career in theater. Theater is a collaborative process and by allowing them to find an answer in a controlled environment you help to nurture that sentiment.

It sounds to me like you know what to teach this person. The technical element of theater is an easy thing to understand for some. It sounds like its easy for you, that whole second nature comment. Being able to explicate knowledge though is the greatest skill one can learn and it must be learned over time. Explicating what you know will also make a better technician out of you because you will find yourself needing to explain it a different way to each person you attempt to explicate your knowledge too. 

As for what to teach i think i may have already said it all (even though i have directly said nothing specific technically). If you teach them nothing else teach this person to think in a collaborative manner, to lead in a collaborative manner, and to always keeping a sunny disposition. i am a teaching assistant now three years removed from my TD'ing days and i have to say the most distressing (yes i am using that word which may seem a little exaggerated but ill explain why i use it here) thing i experience with other students is the jaded and hardened way of thinking. "I am right i know i am right, this show sucks, i could do that better, that way is stupid, i am not going to listen because my way will be easier, better, stronger, more aesthetically pleasing..." Oh get over yourselves!!! 

Teach this person to understand this is all collaborative, that they should never feel alone in troubleshooting an issue, to put the pride away and to relax. you are not a brain surgeon with a persons life in your hands... 

i suppose all of my ramblings could be ignored. http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/outreach/etiquette.pdf

Simply read this form. at the bottom of the page there is a header called respect. i carry this on my persons at all times. This is what this person really needs to know for the future. Teach intelligence not smarts. any one can type into google "Whats an Altman?"

--Nick


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## gafftaper (Oct 14, 2012)

Former high school teacher here...

Sadly this is just the way it goes in a LOT of the high schools out there. Many never find a student dedicated enough to come to CB and ask questions. Many struggle just using the same two submasters that someone mysteriously programmed long ago. When a lamp burns out they pull the fixture down and throw it in a closet somewhere because no one knows what to do with it. It's just how it is. Then someday "the chosen one" will come along and the program will be technically revitalized for a few years. A few years later, all will be lost again. It's just how it goes. 

I think the best thing you can do is create a visual manual with lots of pictures of where things are, how they work, how to use them, and how to find controlbooth.com if you need help. 

Short of that, I believe you should have been choosing a replacement last year or the year before that. You have to create a system that isn't focused on ONE person. You need a self perpetuating system that passes the knowledge around as much as possible to as many students as possible at the same time. In my tech program, freshman year is a lot of grunt work, a little board op or follow spot work and a lot of being mentored by seniors, sophomore and Junior year is when you get your hands dirty and do all your serious work. Senior year my best techs are all mentoring freshman, supervising sophomores and Junior crews, and doing design work.


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