Lesson 2 – Caring For Your Fixtures
Objective:
Students will be able to clean and maintain different lighting fixtures, including changing lamps, cleaning lights, and checking cables.
National Standards:
TH:Cr1.1.I.b. Explore the impact of technology on design choices in a drama/theatre work.
Resources:
A space with lights to be cleaned, vinegar water (10% vinegar), rags for cleaning, spray bottles
Hook: Take students into the cleaning space. Show them how lights are hung on the electric with a C-clamp. Make sure to include using safety cables, he set screw, use of shutters, etc.
Step 1: Clean lights
Take a rag and spray bottle and spray vinegar water on the rag. Wipe down the light, removing the barrel. Try to get as much dust as possible out of the light. Do not clean the lamp inside the light. Pass out materials and let the students clean lights.
Step 2: Instrument Quiz
As students clean the lights, have them explain the fixture they are cleaning to a nearby student. Their partner can ask them questions about the fixture. They should be able to identify the different parts of the light, such as the lamp, body, yoke, clamp, and reflector.
Step 3: Other maintenance
While cleaning the light, check the rest of the fixture, including the cable and the lamp. Make sure the cable isn’t damaged, and that there is a lamp in the light. DO NOT TOUCH THE LAMP. NEVER touch the lamp with your bare hands. Only touch the base. The lamp will explode if it has any hand oils on it, even if you use gloves. If you think you may have touched the lamp, get alcohol and a rag and wipe it down. Your hand oils are bad for lamps. Remember that. Show students how to change a lamp.
Step 3: Conclusion
Review these questions:
What do you use to clean lights?
Why is touching a lamp bad? What should you do if you touch a lamp?