Rigging, Power & Signal

Three systems, one build

Every show rests on three physical systems: what hangs it (rigging), what powers it (power and distribution), and what carries the signal (audio, video, and data). A technical director must be conversant in all three because their job is to sequence the build so the systems do not collide. The unifying discipline is the 80% rule: never load any path — rigging, power, or data — past roughly 80% of its rated capacity, because that headroom is the safety margin that absorbs what you did not plan for.