Lighting software
for theatre
Amateur theatre group, school play, community centre, village hall: you have fixtures, a play to light and often a volunteer on the lighting desk. Here is how to build a proper lighting cue list, with its fades and sound cues, without a lighting console costing thousands.
What a theatre lighting desk needs
In theatre, the lighting doesn't follow a tempo: it follows the script and the staging. Dawn breaks, a door opens, a character is left alone in a profile spot… Each change is a lighting state, triggered on the right line, with a shorter or longer fade.
So a theatre lighting desk needs four things:
- A cue list: the lighting states, in the order of the show.
- Timed fades: moving from one state to the next in 3, 8 or 20 seconds, smoothly.
- A lighting plot: knowing which fixture lights what, and which DMX address it answers to.
- Sound: music and sound effects, often run by the same person as the lighting.
Theatre lighting consoles do all of this very well, but they are expensive and take time to learn. For a group that plays a few dates a year, MyStrow does the same job from a computer, with simpler wording and a simpler interface.
Building your lighting cue list with MyStrow
Draw the lighting plot
Place your fixtures on the 3D stage plot: front light, backlights, side lights, profiles. Give them their DMX address and sort them into groups. The plot shows the beams in real time, so you can prepare everything without being in the venue.
Create your lighting states
Set the look of a scene (intensities, colours, moving head positions if you have any) and save it to a memory. A memory is a complete lighting state that you recall in one move.
Set the fades
Each memory has its own fade time: 0 for a hard cut (a sudden blackout, a thunderclap), a few seconds for a sunrise. A memory can also hold a sequence of cues, each with its own fade: every press takes the lighting to the next cue.
Add the sound
Walk-in music, sound effects and videos go into the playlist, in the same place as the lighting. A PAUSE line waits for your go before moving on, and tracks can end with a fade-out.
Rehearse, then run the show
On the night, running the show comes down to pressing at the right moment: on a pad, a keyboard key or from a tablet at the back of the hall. The whole show is saved in a single file that you can take to another computer.
What a cue list looks like
Here is the start of a typical cue list for a play in two scenes. Each line is a cue: a moment when the operator triggers something.
| Cue | Lighting | Fade | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| House open | House lights on, stage in a blue wash | — | Walk-in music |
| House to black | House and stage off | 5 s | Music fades out |
| Scene 1 – daytime | Warm front light, amber backlights | 8 s | Birdsong |
| “Has he gone?” | Single profile spot on the character | 3 s | — |
| Storm | White flash, then back to the profile | 0 s | Thunder |
| Scene 2 – night | Blue backlights, very low front light | 12 s | Transition music |
| Curtain call | Full stage | 2 s | Curtain call music |
In MyStrow, each “lighting” line becomes a memory or a cue with its fade, and each “sound” line a track in the playlist. The operator follows the cue list from top to bottom.
What you need
- A computer running Windows or macOS.
- A DMX interface: a USB-DMX box or an Art-Net node. Our interface + licence pack starts at €99.
- DMX fixtures: LED PARs, moving heads, LED bars… Halogen fixtures (fresnels, profiles, PAR 64) go through a DMX dimmer pack, which MyStrow drives like everything else.
- Optional: an AKAI APC mini controller to play fades by hand, or a tablet to run the show from the auditorium.
To be honest: in a theatre equipped with dozens of automated fixtures and a cue list of several hundred cues, a dedicated theatre console is still the benchmark. MyStrow is aimed at theatre groups, schools, associations and multi-purpose venues that want a clean lighting setup without spending weeks on it.
Questions we often get
Can I prepare the lighting cues without being in the venue?
Yes. MyStrow's 3D lighting plot shows your fixtures, their beams and colours just as on stage: you build your states and fades at home, then plug in the DMX interface on the day of the dress rehearsal.
Can an inexperienced volunteer run the lighting desk?
Yes, that's the idea. Once the cue list is ready, running the show comes down to pressing the right pad or key at the right moment. Sound and music sit in the same list as the lighting, so one person can run both.
Are my halogen fixtures (fresnels, profiles, PAR 64) compatible?
Yes, as long as they are plugged into a DMX dimmer pack. MyStrow drives the dimmer like any other DMX device, alongside your LED fixtures.
How much does MyStrow cost for a theatre group or a school?
The 15-day trial is free, with no credit card and every feature except DMX output: enough to prepare the whole show. After that, the annual subscription works out at €9.99 a month excl. VAT, or a one-off €299.99 excl. VAT for a lifetime licence. The USB-DMX interface + licence pack starts at €99.
Do I need a MIDI controller?
No. A keyboard and mouse are enough, and the show can also be run from a tablet. An AKAI APC mini simply makes fades and effects nicer to play by hand.
Prepare your cue list for free
15-day trial, every feature, no credit card. Enough to build the whole show on the 3D plot before the dress rehearsal.