As I understand it, the PE is the person in charge of taking the
Lighting Designer's
plot and turning it into a working
system on paper. On Broadway, since 99% of everything is rented for each show, this mean accounting for every
instrument,
dimmer, and piece of cable (as well as hardware, accessories,
gel, and so on) that might be needed, then putting it into a
shop order that gets sent to the rental
house. The PE will also
plot out all the cable runs, determining what
circuit each
unit plugs into, and the path that the cable follows to get there. During
Load-In/Hang, the PE is usually at a table or
desk somewhere in the
theatre, making phone calls and updating paperwork.
The Head Electrician is the guy on the
ground who actually supervises all the work and is responsible for making sure everything gets done according to how the PE specified. The HE reports to the PE, and all of the day electricians report to the HE. As a general rule, the PE is responsible for everything that happens before hang, while the HE is responsible for everything that happens once they move into the
theatre.
