A Career As A Lighting Board Operator

What is a lighting board operator? One might simply say a person who operates the lights. However, the simplicity of that statement does not truly acknowledge the vast amount of work and quite frankly skill it takes to do this job. Prior to my practicum if asked what a lighting board operator was I would probably tell you it is self explanatory. After having finished my practicum I learned that this job is not by any means easy. It is an important job, as is all jobs in the theatre, each working together to create a mystifying performance. Working as a lighting board operator for a Dolls House, my job consisted of controlling the lights for the show, this entailed working on the lighting hang and even the strike of the lights from the beginning

Being a lighting board operator is an important job, as you are in charge of maintaining the integrity of the lighting design throughout the show. This means you ensure all the lights are working, and that the correct cues are being depicted throughout the show. My experience working on this production was for lack of a better term not simple, I don’t believe it is ever simple but this production seemed to have a particular level of challenges with the process of communication within the show. However, this contributed in me learning about how the design process needs to be flexible but also strong with the concept and the design. In addition, during my experience working on the production I had a few specific challenges. For example, my first challenge came on my first day operating the board at levels. As I had never done it before I was quite inexperienced with the pace of being a board operator. It was quite a humbling experience, because through my mistakes I actually managed to discover a new way of doing a command. It was a freak accident, and from it I managed to teach myself and others a

The most important lesson I learned in this production is communication is important but in combination with confidence. This was specifically shown in this production with the director and lighting designers relationship, which was a little strained in this from a lack of these traits in both the designer and director. Moreover, from this production my professional skills have grown in that I appreciate this aspect of theatre more greatly, having never done any light operating prior to this show, everything was new and from this learning I developed. All in all I am proud of all that I accomplished, and glad I learned how to convey what is needed in order to successfully achieve a lighting design. For those of you who have yet to do your practicum or are soon embarking on one, my advice to make the most of your practicum is to approach it with an open mind. It’s okay to be wrong and most of the time you will be wrong, that is what makes growing and learning so much better. You can learn a lot from your practicum and sometimes you might be thinking do I really need to know this, and I can’t say you do. But its not about just learning new things, it is about gaining a better understanding of other roles within the theatre and how those roles impact your job