Lighting Design and Technology Concentration

Overview

The B.A. in Theatre with a concentration in Lighting Design and Technology offers students the opportunity to explore how light shapes storytelling across stage, television, film, and live performance. Students develop both artistic vision and technical expertise, learning to design with intention while gaining hands-on experience with industry-standard tools and technologies. 

The program emphasizes collaboration and versatility. In addition to focused training in lighting design, students engage with other areas of design, including projection, sound, costume, and set design. This cross-disciplinary learning is designed to prepare students to be a part of a creative team. Students also have the opportunity to design departmental productions, building real-world experience and a portfolio before graduation. 

At its core, the program encourages students to think critically and creatively about the role of light in storytelling. Students explore how light interacts with space and time while using technology as a tool to build dynamic composition. The program is designed to prepare students to pursue career paths in entertainment, design, and production, or to continue their studies at the graduate level. 

In addition to the four CSU Theatre Program Learning Objectives, the Lighting Design and Technology Concentration includes the following unique learning objectives:

  • LIGHTING DESIGN and TECHNOLOGY FOR THEATRE, FILM, and INDUSTRY: Explore the specific techniques that lighting designers use to develop and communicate their ideas through research, synthesis of skills including drafting, computerized/virtual reality pre-visualization, automated lighting programming, and application of emerging technologies with a robust understanding of how the lighting designer supports, collaborates, and interacts with the creative team.
  • DESIGN ARTISTRY: Develop an understanding of the Lighting Designer as a collaborative artist, creative visionary, technician, and working professional by practicing organizational, design, and technical skills to realize a show from concept-to-production and building a portfolio of creative design and/or technical work.

Lighting design and technology offers students several ways to express their creativity and artistry:

  • Lighting designers for theatre, musicals, opera, or dance
  • Lighting engineers for stage, television, and film
  • Lighting technicians for stage, dance, live productions, television, and film

Related Facilities and Equipment:

  • CAD Lab with 22 student workstations
  • Lighting Lab

CAD Lab software and training includes:

  • Vectorworks Spotlight
  • Lightwright
  • WYSIWYG
  • MakerWare 3D printing software

Lighting Control Systems include training with:

  • ETC Ion; ETC Emphasis/Express, ETC GIO
  • Flying Pig: Hog 3 iPC
  • GrandMA dot-2

Lighting Equipment and Moving Light Inventory include:

  • ETC Source-4 Based Conventional Lighting Systems
  • Vari*lite Automation
  • Martin Automation
  • High End Systems Automation
  • Clay Paky Automation
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Lighting Design and Technology Concentration Checksheet

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