I want this list to be complete.
The most common, frequented things should be in obvious locations, and when they can't be located in obvious places, a simple diagram may suffice. The more complete the list is, the more obfuscated it becomes as people try to weed through it to find what they're looking for instead of just asking for it.
As a
stagehand in a new
venue, I expect I'll be told where the things are that I need, if I need them. I expect (and prefer) I won't be let loose into the
venue's full inventory of everything they own without oversight.
As a manager, I expect people will come to be when they have questions instead of rooting around trying to find things I may not want them to find. The new guy asking "Where do we keep the lamps?" may also be the guy who thinks the answer to every light not coming on is to begin troubleshooting by putting a new lamp in. Or if the group is a rental, that new person may not know that if the client asks for a bunch of rolls of
spike tape or a case of batteries, that those come at additional fees that 1) the new guy will forget to
track and that 2) the client may not know when asking for those things that they should be incurring additional fees they'll have to pay when they close out their rental agreement.
When people cannot find things and they have to ask, it's an excellent opportunity I have to filter what they're doing so I know they're not getting into a regrettable situation. Conversely, when people get to know the place well enough to know where everything is, there's a good chance they've become autonomous by showing they know what they're doing without getting into trouble.
My temptation is to say do a simple list or diagram that covers the 80% of what people will usually need, and for the other 20% it's probably better that they have to stop and ask where to find things like the glass gobos, the 20-roll box of
glow tape, or the box of 250 9V batteries (kinds of things that tend to walk if you leave them unattended).