How to Test Lighting Cues Before Showtime
Cue 47 triggered a disaster: instead of the subtle color shift intended, the entire lighting rig snapped to full brightness while audio simultaneously started the wrong playback track. The stage manager’s voice crackled through intercoms as everyone scrambled to recover. This preventable failure resulted from inadequate lighting cue testing a critical pre-show discipline that separates professional productions from amateur attempts.
The Testing Protocol
Sequential cue review walks through every cue in show order, verifying that each produces the intended result. This isn’t creative refinement it’s technical verification that what’s programmed actually happens. On GrandMA3, ETC EOS, or Chamsys MagicQ consoles, operators step through cues observing actual fixture behavior against expected behavior. Discrepancies indicate programming errors, fixture issues, or console problems that require correction before audiences arrive.
Timing verification ensures that fade times, delays, and cue timing work as intended. A 3-second fade programmed incorrectly as 0.3 seconds creates jarring snaps rather than smooth transitions. Complex sequences with multiple timed elements require particular attention a lighting chase triggered by audio playback must synchronize correctly when both elements run simultaneously. Testing with actual audio playback reveals timing relationships that isolated testing might miss.
Technical Verification Points
Fixture functionality testing confirms that all fixtures respond correctly to commands. Moving heads should pan, tilt, change color, and adjust intensity as directed. LED fixtures should produce correct colors without unexpected variations. Conventional fixtures should dim smoothly without flickering or nonlinear response. Running all fixtures through their full ranges during testing reveals problems that limited operation might not expose a fixture that works at 50% but fails at 100% creates show-time failures that earlier testing would have caught.
Integration testing verifies that lighting cues coordinate correctly with other production elements. Timecode-triggered cues using SMPTE LTC or MIDI timecode should fire precisely when their timecodes arrive. OSC commands from show control systems should trigger expected responses. Cue-to-cue rehearsals with stage managers calling actual show flow confirm that human-triggered cues work within real operational context. These integration tests reveal problems that isolated system testing cannot.
Documentation and Backup
Show file backups after testing preserve verified programming against console failures or accidental changes. Multiple backup copies on different media USB drives, network storage, cloud backup provide redundancy that single backups lack. Version numbering tracks changes: “ShowName v3 tested” indicates a tested version distinct from subsequent modifications that might introduce problems. Should issues arise, reverting to known-good backups provides recovery paths that starting from scratch cannot match.
Cue sheets documenting intended behavior provide references for verification. A written description of what each cue should accomplish” Cue 47: Slow fade stage wash to 30% over 5 seconds” enables observers to verify actual behavior against intent. These documents also serve operational purposes, enabling backup operators to run shows if primary operators become unavailable. Productions maintaining written cue documentation demonstrate professional rigor that improves reliability throughout event execution.
Testing lighting cues before showtime transforms programming from hopeful attempt into verified system. The discipline requires time investment that compressed schedules pressure teams to skip yet skipping testing creates far greater time costs when untested cues fail during shows. Professional productions budget testing time as essential preparation, recognizing that show success depends on verification that optimistic assumptions cannot provide.
