Luke Smith is an emerging lighting designer and programmer based in Perth, Western Australia, specialising in theatre and dance productions. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Production and Design) with a specialisation in Lighting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), having previously completed an Advanced Diploma and Diploma in 2024 and 2023, respectively. He has gained comprehensive experience across live performance, large-scale events, and multimedia environments, developing strong creative and technical skills that support storytelling through light, projection, and visual design.
Throughout his time at WAAPA, Luke has contributed to numerous productions in roles including Lighting Designer, Assistant Lighting Designer, Programmer, and Head Electrician across a variety of performance disciplines. His recent work includes serving as the Lighting Designer for LINK/MAP during the LINK Dance Company's recent tour to South Korea and Lighting Designer for Katzenmusik in WAAPA's Enright Studio along with The Wedding Singer in WAAPA's Roundhouse Theatre.
As a lighting designer these experiences have strengthened Luke's understanding of design development, technical drafting, cueing, documentation, and creative collaboration within professional production teams. He places strong importance on designing lighting that conveys narrative intent, enhances character and atmosphere, and responds to performer energy while maintaining practical efficiency and safety.
Previous Work
Katzenmusik
Katzenmusik, directed by Emily McLean, was performed in WAAPA's Enright Studio in April 2025 by 3rd year BPA performance making students. For this production I held the role of lighting designer.
The show followed a darkly comic story line which exposed the depths of social inequality and community decay. Centred around a cat massacre, Tom Fowler's narrative reveals one towns tragic spiral under the weight of systemic neglect.
For more info and photos click here
LINK/MAP
LINK/MAP was a collaboration piece between LINK Dance Company (WAAPA) and the Korean National University of Arts. The piece was performed as part of the Seoul ARTSinTANK festival in the ARKO Arts Grand Theatre in July 2025. I toured with the LINK company to Korea and lighting designed this new piece.
For more info and photos click here
The Wedding Singer
The Wedding Singer, directed by Adam Mitchell, was performed in WAAPA's Roundhouse Theatre in September 2025. I was the lighting designer for this nostalgic 80s themed show.
Based on Adam Sandlers hit movie of the same name, The Wedding Singer follows Robbie Hart, New Jersey's number one wedding singer, on a journey of love and heartbreak. Robbie spirals after being left at the altar and tries to find love to repair his heart but the girl he finds is already engaged to be married, unless Robbie can pull off a performance and steal her for himself.
For more info and photos click here
Carrie
Carrie was performed by the 2024 2nd year Musical Theatre students and directed by Tyler Jacob Jones. It took place in WAAPA's Roundhouse Theatre in November 2024. I worked on Carrie as Head Electrician for Lighting Designer Matthew Roberts.
Skill Summary
Industry Knowledge
- Theatrical lighting design principles
- Understanding of professional production workflows and backstage roles
- Lighting equipment, rigging, optics, and electrical principles
- WHS procedures and principles
Software Proficiency
- Microsoft Office
- Lightwright 6
- Vectorworks
- Filemaker Pro
- Adobe InDesign
- ETC Eos
- GrandMA 2
- Vista 3
Practical Skills
- Lighting Programming
- Lighting Design
- Computer Networking
- Production Documentation
- Project Management
- Budget Management
- Equipment Maintenance and Troubleshooting
Tickets Held
- EWP Over 11m (HRWL - WP)
- Forklift (HRWL - LF)
- Test and Tag
- White Card
- Working at Heights
- Working with Children's Check (WA)
Statement of Philosophy
As an emerging lighting designer, I view light as a powerful storytelling instrument ready to tell and complement the world's stories. I am immensely drawn towards the ways that lighting can sculpt space, emotions, and guide an audiences focus in performances. My approach is greatly driven through a large amount of collaboration and curiosity combined with a commitment to create environments that support performers while also enhancing the audiences experience.
Seeing lighting as an extension of dramatic language, capable of communicating tone, tension, and rhythm, my design process begins with analysing the emotional and thematic core of a work, whether that be text-based or movement driven. I spend time exploring the ideas presented in the work and how the relationships form between performers and space. The findings from this exploration then informs my choices in colour, angle, texture and overall composition of the lighting for the work.
Throughout my creative practice, I find that collaboration is a central element to unlocking my best work. The open communication, mutual respect and shared problem-solving that comes with working as part of a creative team is something that I greatly value. When working as a lighting designer I always endeavour to be someone who not only contributes but also listens to others and takes on their ideas. This is crucial to ensuring that the lighting I design supports the overall artistic vision of the work rather than overshadowing it.
Additionally, I have a strong commitment for continually expanding my technical and practical knowledge. This includes understanding equipment capabilities, safe work practices, and the latest developments within the industry allowing me to stay ahead of advancements. I am able to utilise this knowledge to turn conceptual ideas into achievable designs that meet all goals.
Ultimately, I always endeavour to create a lighting design that resonates emotionally, elevates performances and feels purposeful rather than simply being a decorative element or an afterthought. As I venture into the industry, I aim to bring a unique blend of imagination and tradition, combined with a disciplined yet flexible design process which will allow me to contribute meaningfully to the storytelling power of live performance for every project that I work on.
Elaboration on Production
Working on Katzenmusik as lighting designer offered me with a valuable opportunity to refine my lighting design process, particularly in responding to a work that is greatly driven by tension, social dynamics and rapid shifts in the emotional tone and thematic undercurrents.
From the very beginning of the design process almost 8 months before the production opened to audiences it became clear that the play would require a design that could very easily pivot between the plethora of different locations that we jump to and from throughout the show. All of this needed to be achievable whilst maintaining a cohesive visual language throughout all design elements.
For this production of Katzenmusik, I was required to take a flexible and open-minded approach. Due to the nature of the work and cast that the show was being performed by, the show was shaped in a very collaborative manner inside of the rehearsal room in collaboration between the director, student assistant directors and cast. While this did help to build a cohesive show, it did mean that there were a lot of changes occurring in the rehearsal room and the way the script was interpreted at points was different to my original interpretation. Being able pivot quickly was critical as a designer working on this production.
Throughout the design process I produced a number of documents that detailed the plan for the lighting design including the full lighting plan, cue synopsis, extracted lighting list. I also undertook an extensive amount of testing in regards to the lighting of the plastic sheet at the rear of the stage, including running photometric calculations to determine the best fixture for the job. Examples of a number of these pieces of paperwork are shown below.
The final production demonstrated the effectiveness of the adaptive and flexible design process that I took. Undertaking this project significantly strengthened my confidence in responding dynamically to development within the rehearsal room on a daily basis. It also developed my skills in keeping documentation up to date to ensure all changes are captured, along with using lighting to reinforce the psychological depth of the dark narrative the show followed.
Lighting Plan for Katzenmusik
Lighting Designer Magic Sheet
Lighting Cue Synopsis
Extracted Lighting List
Lighting Wishlist
ETC Cyc Photometric Calculations - DIALux
