Show dictionary · Lighting
Lighting Designer (LD)
Also: LD · lighting director (touring)
The lighting designer (LD) creates the visual light of a production: the rig (what hangs where), the looks, and the cues that sequence them. In touring, "LD" commonly means lighting director: the person operating and adapting the design night after night.
In practice
Design work happens before the hang: plots, patch, and previsualization turn intent into paperwork the crew can build. In theatre the LD designs and hands off to a board operator with the design frozen; on the road the LD busks or runs cues live, remaking the show for each venue’s rig reality.
The LD sits inside a department: a master electrician or crew chief owns the physical rig and power, programmers build the console file on larger shows, and operators run spots. Small shows collapse all of it into one person with a console and opinions.
How you’ll hear it
"The LD wants the trims up a foot and the mover wash re-focused before the Q2Q."
Related resources
Part of the eventools.io Show Dictionary, a free glossary of live event production terminology.