Use overhead lights to bathe the entire stage. Center the lights as best you can over, and slightly audience-ward, of the main action in the play. You may have to move the action more center-stage if you have very few overhead light fixtures.
Hang spotlights or similar instruments at the actors' eye level on either side of stage to act as fill lights. These lights can be behind the curtains on stage, or hung from light standards in the theater itself. Fill lights help eliminate shadows and give the production a more natural look.
Place footlights at the leading edge of the stage to eliminate shadows created by the overheads. Although not critical, footlights are effective for illuminating the actors' faces.
Decide if special effects, such as colored gels (transparent color sheets) or gobos (pattern cutouts placed in front of a light) will help the mood of your production.
Make certain that each set of lights, overhead, fill, and foot, are logically wired into your lighting panel. You want each set to be individually controlled if possible.
Draft a lighting script for your crew person to follow. The script tells the crew person when to turn the lights on, when to fade them, and when to switch them off altogether. You can use either lines from the production's script or easily identifiable actions as cues.