Choose your color scheme for the stage lighting. Familiarize yourself with the soloist's performance, because the performance impacts the mood that you need to set with the lighting. For instance, if an actor is performing a monologue from a tragedy, you would not use cheery bright colors. Rather, melancholy colors, such as blues, greens and purples, are optimal color choices for a drama.
Design the concept of visibility. Think about how visible the performer should be to the audience. Since there is only one performer on stage, the audience's attention will be on that individual. Talk to the director about the vision she has for that scene and for the performance as a whole. For instance, some directors may want the soloist to perform in silhouette, while other directors want a spotlight on the performer to illuminate the soloist from head to toe.
Work the natural environment of the soloist's performance into your lighting design plan. If the natural environment of where the soloist's performance takes place is in a forest, for instance, you might use special lighting effects to make it look like there are the shadows of trees in the background. Color is also impacted by the natural environment. For example, a performance set in the forest can inspire the lighting designer to use green gels in some lights, with brown gels in others to create the look of a forest.
Determine the lighting distribution for the single performer. Decide whether to use a low-angle lighting design, which gives the performer a softer look, or a high angle from overhead, which acts as a flood of light that comes down over the actor and brightens his spot on the stage.
Use backlighting to create dimension for the single person on stage. Backlighting makes it look like the performer has a glow from behind, adding depth to her presence onstage. Romance, drama and tragedy performances typically work with backlighting more than comedies.
Ask the director whether the performer will be moving around during the show. If so, create a movement lighting plan to follow the performer with a spotlight.