Good questions from StNic. For me, the biggest question is whether the show is being designed with a rep
plot, and how large and complex that
plot is. If you are talking about writing 160 looks (16 scenes, 10 cues each) with an existing rep
plot of around 100 lights then you won't need much tech time. One or two days in the
venue with full production staff should be fine to actually write it. Ideally you will need to do the designing part in
advance, which means you will need to attend rehearsals and meet with the choreographers and then write out some kind of plan for yourself - I wouldn't want to schedule that process over less than a week. So at the simplest I would say 7-10 days.
If, on the other
hand, you are doing any alterations to the
plot, the required time will start to go up quickly. If you are looking at changing color and maybe hanging some specials to supplement a rep
plot I would want to schedule one day with crew to make the alterations prior to a technical rehearsal. If you are hanging a
plot from the
ground up it will depend on the size of the
plot and the
layout of the
venue, which are big "X" factors. For a
plot of around 100 lights in a
venue with a fixed
grid and distributed
power I would want two days of hang and focus with a crew of 5-8 electricians. If the
venue has battens the time goes down, if the
plot is larger or includes
power or data distribution or other intangibles the time and personnel requirements go up. For a mid-size show (100-150 lights, maybe some moving lights, assuming a fixed lighting
grid and
house dimming and control) I would want a minimum of two weeks to attend rehearsals and design the
plot, minimum three days to hang and focus with a crew of 5-8 and minimum 3 days of technical rehearsals/dress rehearsals. I would consider that a tight schedule.