Correct me if I am wrong but it sounds like your position equates to being a Master Elec./Head Elec. In which case here is some advice for you:
1) Make friends with (or at least make nice to) your
Lighting Designer, as they are going to be running your life from the time you get the
plot and paperwork to the day the show opens.
2) Make sure you understand the
plot and paperwork, as well as any other information that the LD sends you. This will make hang go quicker and more smoothly.
3) For hang, I try to make hang cards or hang tapes for each position. I also generate
instrument counts broken down by position to give to my crew. I use hang tapes (
burlap webbing with tick marks every 6 in. on which I put white
gaff labeled with the following info:
Unit#,
Instrument Type, Color,
Template, Rough focus direction,
2-fer with) on flying positions. I use hang cards for fixed positions that are only accessible from catwalks and such. For hang cards I generally print a scaled version of the position with dimensions and a good
instrument key.
4) I make it a
point to get all color and
templates in during hang.
5) Make sure you write down all the dimmers/circuits that you connect each
instrument to, or you will be kicking yourself when you have to patch.
6) Find some time to patch at the
console before you get to focus. This is also a good time to make sure everything is working.
7) For focus I set myself up with a table, littlelight, a copy of the
plot and paperwork, a highlighter marker, and a couple pieces of magnetic poetry. It is important to keep the designer moving through focus, so if you are organized that is good. Some designers will ask you how you want to run focus and some have a way that they like to do it. Personally, I prefer to just work along an entire position and then move on to the next. Some designers like to work by systems (frontlight, backlight,
etc.), I find this less efficient. I use the magnetic poetry to keep
track of which person is at which
fixture, and I highlight the fixtures we have done.
8) Do a
channel check with the designer and make sure things are really the way they want. This will also start to get you to know where things are focused and how things are supposed to look so that you can keep that after the designer leaves.
9) Know your lighting
console as best you can. Many LDs know what they want, but they don't know every lighting
console. If you know your
console it will make programming much smoother.
10) SAVE! SAVE! SAVE! I don't think you can save too many copies of a show. If your
console has a hard drive, save every time you have time to. I personally create a completely new show file on the hard drive every day. I title them with the show name and the date. I also create/update at least 2 floppy disks with the show periodically throughout each day of tech for a show (usually every 80min when we take our
AEA mandated breaks). After we finish tech and the show is finalized I create a disk with the final show file that I give to the
stage manager to keep in his
book as a backup, and I make one for me.
That should do you well for advice. Have Fun!