Cue Lights are a primitive form of communications between the Stage Manager and the crew.

Etiquette

For simple on-off switches, the Stage Manager would turn on the light to warn the crew to stand by, then when the light is switched off, the operator takes the cue.

For two coloured systems, the Stage Manager would turn on the Red light to warn the crew to stand by and when the Green/Blue light comes on, the crew would take the cue.

On most recent systems, the Red light is flashing for standby, where the operator is obliged to acknowledge by means of pressing a button on the outstation. The red light then goes stable to inform the Stage Manager that the operator has seen and confirmed the standby, ready to take the cue.

One important thing to note is that the operators have to keep track of which cue comes next, something that people using Comms don't need to do.

Construction

Cue Lights rely on simplicity to provide a reliable solution easy to troubleshoot and maintain. Since it mainly consists of switches, cables and lamps, many people choose to make their own.

The most simple one way communication would be a switch on the SM desk, connected to a low intensity lamp backstage, or wherever the need arises (at the LX Op, the Sound Op, the Fly Rails etc). Usually there will be many switches on the desk, leading to equal number of lamps for the different operators in the crew.

The second step of evolution is to use two lights, usually coloured Red and Green or Red and Blue. The switches would then be two way switches, giving power to either one of the lamps, having a common ground.

For a more sophisticated system, the following circuit provides flashing, and reply, on a 2 wire system.

Feel free to use this design in your own theatre / school, but not as a design for resale.

See Also

• Forum posts: Q Light's, Cue Lights circuits and A Very Basic Cue System

External Links

• Wikipedia article
• Stagecraft article