The Master Electrician (or ME) in a theatre is responsible for implementing the lighting design for a production drawn up by the Lighting designer. This involves overseeing the preparation, hanging and connection of stage lighting fixtures.

This can be done on a show by show basis, or as a resident position of a specific theatre. The tool of the trade of the theatrical Master Electrician is the wrench or spanner, used to secure lanterns from lighting positions in the theatre. This wrench is typically a standard 8" adjustable c-wrench connected to the belt or wrist with a lanyard. The lanyard, sometimes made from telephone cord, is important because the Master Electrician tends to work at great height from ladders, lift tables, catwalks, or lighting truss.

Duties

The Master Electrician supervises all other Electricians working on a production or show. They are sometimes referred to as the Head Electrician or in a touring house, the House Electrician. Their other duties include:

• Inventory and repair and maintenance of all stage lighting fixtures, cables, effects, power distribution, dimmers, networking and lighting control consoles.
• Organization and purchasing of all consumables including color gel, gobos, Sharpies, and gaffer tape.
• Planning and implementing of the cabling (circuiting) of lights and electric power distribution for any given show or production.
• Documenting and tracking of all scenery, circuiting, addressing, and system configuration in cooperation with the Lighting Designer.
• Patching assignments of the control console based on the paperwork generated by the Lighting Designer and the planned circuiting.
• Occupational safety and health of workers and operational decisions as the Head of the Electrics department.

Training, origin, and professional affiliations

Master Electricians are more grown than trained. Within the industry, training is done on the job, with little work in more formal settings such as schools or colleges, which tend to focus on lighting design rather than vocational experience. Knowledge of the field is often passed on by word of mouth, rather than having a documented industry.

There are as yet no formal certifications of the theatrical title "Master Electrician" as in some of the more mainstream trades. The stagehands union, IATSE, come close in that they offer apprentice and journeyman levels of certification. In the future, IATSE, or some of the larger local affiliations may form a more formal method of certification, which may include the title of Master Electrician. In the meantime almost every production, from High School to Broadway uses the term to describe their primary electrician regardless of their skill level or experience.

Stage lighting