[SML] Minimum Lighting Levels for audience safety

[Kristi R-C]

 People need to be able to see well enough to exit safely and move without tripping on anything or anyone at any time they are in the space. So you need some kind of aisle lighting, ideally from chair ends, but using overhead lights with shutters or gobos to define the “aisles" can work, too. 
Good crowd management procedures would have you divide the audience into manageable “corrals" with a reasonable number of people and ushers in each, but you can have fewer people in an area if they need more room for some reason, say a mosh pit or dance floor or accompanying wheelchair users.  
I’m certain there’s some magic foot candles required number in Canada just as there is in the USA, but it’s also about not having to do a show stop or care for someone who was hurt in the audience. 
And I’m now up to a half-dozen shows I’ve not gone to because of the expectation that the audience will stand for the entire time. Goes back to safer crowd management practices, the ability to control egress if there’s an emergency, and respect for differently-abled people. Without sufficient chairs, people tend to sit on the floor which adds risk for all attendees. 
Kristi R-C
    On Friday, December 19, 2025, 07:24:21 PM CST, Riter, Andrew via Stagecraft <stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:   

  
Hi everyone
 
  
 
This will be a discussion in the new year for my administration and staff:
 
  
 
What is the determined safe lighting level for the audience area, on a flat floor, where they may be either walking around or dancing?
 
(I’m in Canada, so please share foot candle or lux or lumens, and not code sections).
 
  
 
Background:
 
In our main concert hall (fixed seating), our typical SOP is to add house lights once audience starts getting up to leave, even if curtain calls are still happening.
 
If the band is still playing encores, I may cheat in the house lights, depending on how many audience are moving.
 
  
 
In our secondary space, black box, flat floor:
 
A recent in-house produced show, the PTB decided to have a standing audience.  Some chairs in the seating towers around the outside, but the flat floor, where we normally put out 100+ rows of loose seating (secured to each other), had no chairs, and audience was expected to stand for the 90 minutes.
 
  
 
There was disagreement between PTB and the lighting tech, about suitable levels in the audience area.
 
1 wanted the area darker, the other thought it was dim enough due to audience (being able to) walking around.  AND the levels were already programmed into a cued show.
 
  
 
So: for a dance floor / night club  sort of area, what is the proscribed lighting levels, or average lighting levels?
 
  
 
Thanks in advance.
 
Merry Christmas
 
  
 
Andrew M. Riter 
Assistant Technical Director, Head Lighting Technician
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus
6265 Crescent Road | Vancouver BC | V6T 1Z1 Canada
Phone 604 822 2372
andrew.riter at ubc.ca
 

 
  
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