My motivation for designing each stage is to incorporate the entire room. Most of my venues are clubs, but of very different sizes. When we do play larger venues or outdoor events, I'd rather leave the grunt work to riggers and engineers. However, as an example, we do a very large room from time to time that allows me to fully utilize the lights from the audience's perspective. Yes, almost all the rooms are square, but a smaller room won't allow me to do a crowd wash without someone (manager) complaining. In those cases, it's better to concentrate the lighting on the stage rather than the audience. With each stage (that is regularly played) designed in advance, I can simply load that particular show et voia la! I'm ready to run. It may be a bit more work, but when regulars come to me complimenting the differences in the show from venue to venue, the headaches wear off rather quickly.
No slight to Chris, though. He's a sound guy...