UNCG Theatrical Lighting Fieldtrip!

Today in class we took a field trip to UNCG's theatrical lighting room and theatre. Theatrical lighting designer Ken White spoke to us how theatrical lighting is different from interior design lighting. He said that his perfect lighting condition is a room that is completely dark with no natural light able to stream in, so that he can add and manipulate the lighting to create the mood he's trying to covey for the play without consideration to the actors on stage.
A dark room allows him to create contrast. What he is able to achieve is the brightest of bright, so bright it hurts, and the darkest of dark. Interior design lighting is the complete opposite of this. What we want is a room that provides lot of natural lighting so we can add minimal lighting to the room. Even when we put lights in, we still try to achieve the natural light look the the color temperature of light bulbs.
Another difference is, theatrical lighting is not permanent. Ken designs the light show, installs them, and then as soon as the performance is over, the lights are removed and then configured for the next show. Interior design lighting is more permanent. We plan where the lights go (done with an RCP), what types of effects we are trying to achieve, and in some cases what are we trying to show off (like in a museum).