A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting, 2nd Edition

Prior to the Load-In

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289

The usual list of things to confirm typically

includes:

•Whateveragreementsrequiringsignatureshave

been properly signed.

•Whateverfinancialarrangementsrequiring

additional forms or processing have been

processed. Any checks, bank accounts, credit

card numbers that need to be approved have

been provided and processed.

•Anyrepeatbilling(weekly,monthly,etc.)has

been confirmed and arranged for.

• Thedeliverydateandtime,address,contactname

and cell phone are on the invoice. Highlight this

item if any of the information is different than the

billing address and contact info, which it often is.

•Forlargerdeliveries,thepick-updateandtime

for any empties.

•Forone-offevents,thepick-updateandtimeare

on the invoice.

• Andlastbutnotleast,thebiggorillaintheroom

that has recently become important for lighting

rentals,theCertificateofInsurance(COI).

Certificate of Insurance

TheCOIisadocumentissuedbytheproducer’s(or

theatre’s) insurance company that lists one specific

vendor as the “lost payee.” This document is legally

binding proof that if the lighting rental package is

destroyed or somehow hurts someone, the producer’s

insurance policy will pay to replace the gear, and/or

assume the liability for anyone who got hurt by the

rental package. The lighting rental shop doesn’t have

to pay to replace the destroyed rig, and is absolved of

any liability if pieces of that rig hurt someone.

In these litigious days, many lighting rental shops

now insist that this document is in their possession

before the rental package will be released, and delivered

to the venue. Some shops want it more than 48 hours in

advance. While the Certificate of Insurance may often

be limited to the lighting rental shop, it should not be

excluded as a point of concern for any agreement involv-

ing borrowed or rented gear from any other source.

And that’s the funny thing; each COI can only list

one “loss payee” on each issued certificate, and often each

certificate costs a fee. So if there are a lot of vendors ask-

ing for their own certificate, this can quickly add up to a

whole new line item in the budget. While the producer or

the general manager’s office should handle all of this, the

lighting designer needs to at least be aware of the implica-

tions. That way, when the lighting rental shop says to the

lighting designer, at the last minute: “we don’t have the

COI, so we can’t release the package,” the next phone call

is to management to get this sorted out ASAP.

Beyond rental items, there are many other sources

for goods and gear to become involved in the light-

ing package. Their arrival at the theatre at the proper

time during the tech process may require a second or

third confirmation in order to be certain that they’re

included in the lighting package at the right time

requiring the least amount of crisis. Other vendors

worthy of this double-check might include:

•Anynewbetaproducts,orgeardirectlyonloan

from manufacturers.

•Drop-shippedcustomitems,suchascustom

gobos or gel string sixth.

•Otherspecialeffectsrentalsorloaners.

•Perishablesfromanexternalsupplier;color,

templates, black wrap, and so forth.

Double-checking may take some time to complete

and may become an annoyance. Not double-checking

may endanger a lighting design.

Truck Tactics

While the topic of getting gear to the theatre is

being discussed, the discussion should also include

general tactics about trucking. Every time a delivery

is made to the venue, no matter where it comes be

from, moving that freight costs money. The driver,

the gas, the truck rental all need to be considered.

There is the fact that the venue’s loading dock, or

the street outside of the theatre, may be blocked at

different times of the day or night. Not to mention

the potential cost of additional union employees

(“loaders”)whomaybecontractedtodonothing

but get gear in and out of the door. The bottom line

is, the fewer the trucks, the better.

For that reason, many designers and produc-

tion electricians will direct large and small pieces

of gear from outside sources to be delivered not to

the venue, but to the lighting rental shop instead.

Presuming that there’s enough available room, and

agreements can be made with the proper parties, the

rental shop’s loading dock can sometimes become

a temporary staging area to pack all sorts of other

gear into the shop’s trucks on the day that the light-

ing package is scheduled to depart. This is a logis-

tic challenge, and not one to be entered into lightly.

The arrival of the external gear has to be carefully

timed to make sure that it doesn’t get in the way of

the shop’s scheduled business. Successfully arranging

this scheme, though, means that many small pieces

are all combined and delivered in single delivery. This

is a common tactic that reduces the overall number

of trucks arriving on-site, and saves time, money and

delivery headaches.