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Booth pan! LX - SM - Audio playback.

'Rope' understudy at The Royal George.

Sconce Troubles

Practical wall fixture doesn't come on in lamp check.

Step one: Check plugged in to right circuit.

Step two: Unplug and replug.

Step three: Track along power cord for damage.

Step four: Jiggle it.

Step five: Jiggle it more.

It works!

Nope, now it's off again.

And crackling?

That's usually not good.

Give it a tentative poke.

Now it's on again and there's an interesting smell...

-Kills power-.

Alert Technical Director standing nearby.

Notify construction electrics.

Pry the thing apart in case it's an easy fix.

Oh look! It was on fire! Awesome.

This is now sufficiently a safety hazard and beyond my skillset.

Show it to Lighting Designer, stick it back on the wall, but not plugged in, for Aesthetics.

Sometimes making notes in the dark be like that.

I'm resisting adding a :3

Lift skills.

So apparently my driving has two extremes:

FOuR whEeLs HOow???!!?!

And

Drives into place.

Start going up.

Smirk at ground crew freaking out.

Less than one inch gap clearance.

Hell yeah.

Theatre Tips and Tricks:

Doors!

More accurately, how to keep doors where you want them:

So you've got a set, and it has a Door. But. Your stage isn't level, or your flat isn't square, or there's a strong airflow current or any number of things. And the door just won't stay Shut/Open/Ajar/In Place.

Paint brushes!

As you can see in the photo above, paint brushes secured to the back of the bottom corner of a door will work like a movable wedge.

They're flexible enough to slide against the floor when an actor moves the door intentionally, but if secured properly, will provide resistance against whatever gravitational or structural forces might conspire to swing the door when unattended.

For example:

This door wants to swing towards me, which has pushed the brush back as it attempts to settle. The pressure of the bristle mass, however, are gripping against the riser and pinning the door in place.

You can increase or decrease the 'hold' by moving the brush up or down the door panel.

And it's virtually undetectable from the front.

Just a tiny blob in the bottom corner of the door.

Hope that helps!

It's Liiiiiivvve Theatre!

So I'm doing an understudy track for Glass Menagerie, everything's good, preshow went fine, up in the booth behind the board operator, half paying attention since it's just a "Go" show.

When suddenly...

"Console has lost control of the system..."

Thankfully we run a parallel backup.

Except.

It's not advancing the cues?

And now it's "searching for master console..."

And the lights still aren't changing.

And I know it's terrible. But there's a part of me that's like. "For once... This happened to someone else..." Because I've been dealing with system glitches like this in here for years.

So we announce to the audience. Please stand by. Technical difficulties. We will resume shortly.

Turn on the works. Except we can't access the Paradigm system. So we pop on the emergency lights. And reset the boards. They look good! Except still not controlling the lights.

So we reset the dimmers!

Which does nothing.

So we reset the network!

Which does nothing.

So now we're waiting for intermission.

Thankfully the dimmers locked on in the last cue, and it's a bright stage look, so THE SHOW GOES ON.

Liiivvvveeee theaaatrreeee.

When you been running the lamps at full for so long, the burning gel makes it look like we're running a hazer.

Press F for those poor colour frames.

People (Over 50):

YOUNG PEOPLE THESE DAYS. GOT NO RESPECT. SO SELF CENTRED. NO CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS.

Also People (Over 50):

Not even starting on the just... Grossness of dropping all your shit all over the carpet... This isn't a concrete movie theatre. We can't just hose wash this floor down...

Nevermind the godsawful noise unwrapping all your damn candies would have made, disrupting the people around you...

Kleenex biohazards? C'mon... You brought that stuff in with pockets or purses. Put it BACK in same until you pass a trash can, of which there are several.

Unacceptable.

Line!

Tech Dress. Actress in character. 'Drunk'

"Ahahahaaaa.....ahhh... What? The fuck? Do I say nowww?"

Followed minutes later by:

At prop record player:

"I'm gonna put on..." Struggling to get record on centre post: "Some... really swingin'... tunes!" Gets record placed, flicks switch to start spinning triumphantly. Steps back, raises arms to start dancing, silence.

Sound on standby. Stage manager waiting.

Both performers staring at silent device.

Both clocks the missing link at the same moment, lunging for the needle arm at the same time.

"I-think-you-have-to-" "As-soon-as-I-put-the-needle-on-"

First show of the week.

Let's boot up the ETC system, head on down to the stage, weird, the remote won't connect, back up to the booth, weird, backup won't connect, weird, 1 Thru 30 @ Full. Nope.

Cue: Unplug, power cycle, replug, power down, unplug, replug, call department head, call other venue lighting operator, unplug, replug, deep clean, power cycle.

But did you unplug that one part?

But did you power cycle that part?

But did you power cycle and unplug this part?

Okay so the board is talking to the lights!

But. Not the DMX. But some of the DMX? Universe 2 is down! But we've already held the house going ten minutes.

Park Universe 2 off! The show must go on!

One of the problems of being the only technician under 45 -

Is when one of the carpenters doesn't unhook enough coils off the air hose holder, and calls over to help him out, and I holler:

....

No one else gets it.

Ah well.

Theatre Tips and Tricks: Sleep.

The header is a bit misleading.

So you want to be in live theatre/concert tours/film and tv?

Do yourself a favour.

Take your circadian rhythm.

Gather it up in your arms.

Now carry it out back.

Give it one last, tender hug.

Put it down.

Tell it what a good sub-conscious control system it's been.

Now shoot it.

Or if you're Canadian and don't have a gun, use a rock, I don't know.

Just.

Put it out of its misery.

You'll be doing it a favour, I promise.

Because if you don't do this,

It is going to die a long, suffering, trembling death.

And it's going to take you with it.

Okay, joking aside, our 'time off' varies from month to month, week to week, even day to day. It's difficult to work in 'normal life' things such as shopping, banking, raising children, and sleeping. Fortunately, with 24 hour stores, online banking, and internet shopping, some things are easier than others.

Sleep is not one of those things.

One day you might be an afternoon matinee, the next day a morning work call, the afternoon off, and an evening show. Right into another morning call followed immediately by a matinee. Then you're off until the next evening. Then an afternoon and an evening. Finally an afternoon. And then your day off.

That's your week. But the next week is totally different. And the next.

Okay so that's an example of Repertory theatre like the Shaw Festival or Stratford (Ontario).

Back at Aquarius, 'stock' theatre, one show at a time, it wasn't uncommon to have twelve to sixteen hour days during tech weeks, setting up the lights and set, programming, actors onstage. And then it opens and you're just in for evenings and two matinees a week, for three weeks, and then do it all over again.

Or you're on a film shoot, and one day you start at 6am, go for twelve hours, then break. But because of turn-around stipulations, you can't start the next day until 8am. And the next day until 10am. So you begin the week up early and out in time for supper, but you end the week starting in the late afternoon and there until the sun rises.

Or you're a road crew touring the globe. You pull in at 7am, direct the local crew on how to put everything together, make sure everything works, trouble shoot, maybe rehearse a song or two. Catch a nap if you can, then it's concert time, immediately followed by directing the local crew how to take everything apart, shove it back in the truck, grab a shower, and it's 2am, back on the bus and off to the next town to start again in four or five hours.

That's not counting things like commuting to and from your job. Or the getting up and getting dressed, or the unwinding after you get home. Just because you have eight hours between calls doesn't mean you get eight hours sleep.

Sure, there are 'laws' against pushing people like that, or bonus time pay penalties to employers who make their workers keep such hours. But this industry also pushes people hard, and burns them out quickly. There's tons of unscrupulous bosses all too ready to take advantage of an earnest technician. Having the weight of a Union backing you up at times like that can certainly help to keep things legal, but not every venue has one. So then there's the boss saying something like "oh but this has to be done by tomorrow, I thought you cared about the arts..." These people don't care about the arts, and they certainly don't care about you. Look after yourselves.

Driving fatigued kills tons of technicians yearly. It's not "on site" so it doesn't count as a workplace concern. But it should.

The machismo attitude of "yah well, I did all that on only two hours sleep and twenty bottles of jolt!" feeds into this terrible cycle, encouraging people to push themselves harder and longer to get the show up.

And that's why this whole thing is absolutely terrible on our bodies.

Even if you're happy where you work, and love putting in that over time, our bodies need to rest, and our brains need to shut down. It will be incredibly hard to keep any sort of normal sleep cycle with standard working conditions.

As long as you're aware this is going to be part of your life in this industry.

And that there will be health repercussions down the line.

So how do I cope?

I keep odd hours. I'm usually up noon to 2am. Thick curtains can help keep the room dark to simulate night for dozing during the daytime.

I catch naps whenever I can. Back to back shows? An hour meal break in between. I'll curl up on a couch and close my eyes for fifty minutes. Sometimes I manage to doze off. Generally it's just nice to zone out and unwind. 'But that's your MEAL break!' Trick is... There's usually time preshow, or even during, where I'm sitting around bored. I can eat then. Eating on the clock is okay, sleeping generally isn't. Weird.

I try not to ride fatigued, but it's unavoidable. Leave yourself plenty of time, and plenty of space between other vehicles. Your reaction time is horrible when you're drowsy, so having that extra buffer helps.

Other common sense things include "eat healthy, avoid drugs and alcohol, exercise" and so on, but let's be honest, what we 'should' do and what we 'do' do often don't mesh.

Caffeine and stimulants might keep you awake, but at what cost 'later'. Tired bodies have weaker immune systems, but we don't have time to be sick. Take some pills and push on. -Also unhealthy.

At the end of it all, I have no "life hack" for sleeping and working in the entertainment industry. I don't know that there is one.

I love my job, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. And part of my job is being up at all hours, which means squeezing sleep in as best I can during the off hours. I'm okay with it, but I also don't have a social life.

Someone with a family, or friends, of whom keep 'normal' person timetables, trying to squeeze them in around rehearsals and runs, more power to them. And often times it just doesn't work. Which isn't me saying "you can't have friends or kids". It just takes more... effort? Or there are times you just have to miss important moments because time tables don't mesh?

It can be a tough career, and a tough way to live, but it's also the best jobs in the world.

Just make sure you're going into it eyes open.

Ppppprrrrrroogggramin'

Happy Openings to Sex, The Russian Play, Ladykillers, and The Glass Menagerie!!

Up next: Cyrano de Bergerac, Man and Superman +, and Victory!

Gaze impatiently into the booth void, and the booth void stares back. With ice cream.

House just got handed back at the end of intermission.

Man in the back row of the balcony turns around to peer into the booth with an expression of "what's taking so long".

Looks at Audio, leaning back in his chair browsing his phone.

Looks at Stage Manager, making notes on times and Important Things in the script.

Looks at me, looking right back at him. I grin, saluting him with my half-eaten creamsicle.

He winces, realizing he's been caught staring, gives an awkward half wave, and turns back around.

Yes sir, that IS two way plexiglass. Enjoy Act II.

As a lightning technician, I appreciate the first one.

ROSCO VS APOLLO.

so i tried photo translator feature in google translate on my god of war disc and

TAPE BAAAALLLLL

I am a simple technician.

If a child reaches up to touch my spot beam when I am doing a ballyhoo, I will shine my light where they can reach it.

Enjoy, you funky little theatre goer.

Oh this. Is good.

This is 'the song where the technicians get a chance to sit down, check up on sports scores, chat about who broke what in another show, and scroll Tumblr posts.'

We all know 'this song.'

Shaw Festival's running a live Cabaret event on youtube in 10 minutes!

Dunno what's in store but might be worth a look!

Yeeaahh I love old remotes. Here's one from the Studio at Hamilton Place, Hamilton, Ontario.

My Associate Production Manager found this old dinosaur in his office as he was cleaning it out.