Light Board Operator

The light board operator (commonly referred to as the "Light Op" or "Board Op") is the electrician who operates the light board. Depending on the scale and type of production, the board op may be responsible for conventional or automated lighting fixtures, as well as practicals and, in some instances, controlling video as well.

Sometimes, most commonly in small productions, the Light board Operator will be the same person as the stage manager. Another variation in smaller productions has the responsibilities of Light board Operator and Sound operator combined into one position. In the smallest productions, all three of these functions are done by one person. For productions where lighting and sound are operated by a single person, as well productions where sound needs to be exactly timed with lighting, it is not unusual to use Midi Show Control (MSC) or Timecode (SMPTE Time Code) to synchronize the lighting and audio consoles.

The light board operator may, in some cases, also be the lighting designer for a production.