Course

Stage Lighting

Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Department
Stagecraft & Event Technology
Course code
STGE 1112
Credits
2.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
25
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Lab
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
Students will become familiar with industry standard working procedures for hanging, focusing and maintaining theatrical luminaires. Other topics will include light, colour, lenses, reflectors, lamps and basic electricity as they apply to lighting equipment for the stage.
Course content

1. Basic Theory of Optics:

  • Composition of light
  • Reflection: spherical, ellipsoidal, parabolic
  • Refraction: fresnel, stepped, plano-convex

2. Light Sources:

  • Incandescent
  • Tungsten – halogen
  • Arc and discharge
  • LED
  • Other sources including fluorescent, laser, fiber optics, low voltage

3. Equipment:

  • Lens and lensless luminaires
  • Spots and floods: fresnel, projectors, floods and scoops, par and r, follow spots

4. Hang and Focus:

  • light plot and schedules
  • Selection and preparation
  • Circuitry and patch
  • Troubleshooting and repair
  • Focus

5. Basic Electricity for the Stage:

  • Safety
  • Introduction to certifications: LPEC, LE, FE
  • Quantities and measurement:power, resistance, EMF, current
  • Basic wiring and maintenance for luminaires and cable: grounding, GFCI
  • single and three-phase circuits
  • connectors: u-ground, twist lock, cam-lock
  • cable: cabtire, csa type and use
  • metering: volt meter AC/DC, continuity
Learning activities

Students will receive 1 to 1 ½ hours of lecture/demonstration followed by 2 ½ to 3 hours of lab that includes independent work and one-on-one instruction.

Means of assessment

Students are expected to be self-motivated and to demonstrate professionalism, which includes active participation, good attendance, punctuality, effective collaboration, and the ability to meet deadlines.

 

Professionalism: 5 indicators x 2% 10%
Practical Test 30%
Written Test x 2 30%
In-class Quizzes x 3 30%
Total 100%
Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the successful student should be able to:

  1. demonstrate safe working procedures and precautions when dealing with theatrical luminaires and related equipment
  2. demonstrate a working knowledge of theatrical luminaires including:
    • basic lens and reflector characteristics
    • theatrical light sources
    • function and use of theatrical luminaires
  3. demonstrate a working knowledge of the procedures and techniques for hanging and focusing of theatrical luminaires
  4. understand basic electrical theory and practices for the stage

Textbook materials

Recomended text: Carter, Paul Douglas. Backstage Handbook. Shelter Island, NY: Broadway Press, 1994.

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

Acceptance to Stagecraft Program or permission of the Stagecraft Program Coordinator.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for STGE 1112
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU ARTS 1XXX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU THTR 1XXX (2)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU THTR 1XX (1)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG STGE 1112 (2) & DOUG STGE 1202 (2) = UBCO THTR_O 150 (3) & UBCO THTR_O 1st (1)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG STGE 1112 (2) & DOUG STGE 1260 (2) = UBCO THTR_O 150 (3) & UBCO THTR_O 1st (1)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO ELEV_O 1st (2)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG STGE 1112 (2) & DOUG STGE 1207 (2) = UBCO THTR_O 150 (3) & UBCO THTR_O 1st (1)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) DOUG STGE 1112 (2) & DOUG STGE 1212 (2) = UBCO THTR_O 150 (3) & UBCO THTR_O 1st (1)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV THTR_V 1st (2)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) No credit
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC THEA 348 (1.5)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025