Hi, Dana.  This is something I happen to have strong feelings on, so forgive me if I speak strongly.

 

Anyone who would trust me with technical matters is an idiot!!!!!  A working stage is a VERY dangerous environment, with cables running everywhen that can be tripped over in the dark (or tripped over, pulled loose, and then plugged back into the wrong plug!!).  With very heavy things hanging over people's heads, that have to be secured the one and only right way to prevent disasters.  With a fly rail that also controls heavy things that are extremely dangerous when not operated correctly.  And with stage sets and set pieces that can cause damage or injury.

 

NO ONE WITHOUT PROPER SAFETY TRAINING SHOULD EVER OPERATE THEATER TECHNOLOGY!!!!!  And you'd better have incredibly good insurance if you try it, because people CAN get hurt and you CAN be sued.

 

For our annual summer musical, I stay out of the technical things.  But in directing show ensembles at two different universities I've had to be involved to some extent.  At Indiana, my show ensemble had one or two technicians assigned to our shows--never the same ones--and I had my performers trained to assist with setup and strike.  When I came to this school I asked my Technical Director whether he wanted me to do the same thing, and he was horrified!  "Keep your performers away from my equipment!" sums up his reaction.  And he was right.  They had their job to do, and his Technical Staff had theirs, and they were VERY well trained and very aware of safety necessities--and there were still occcasional lapses and problems.  (One of our Techs earned the nickname "Sparky" because of something that happened when he was crawling along a lighting batten; fortunately I was not there at the time, and he recovered just fine.)

 

So, that's my highly prejudiced advice.  Others will no doubt differ, and of course it does depend on how elaborate your setup is and how well-trained your stage crew is.  Just remember that if you're in charge, you're also responsible.

 

All the best,

 

John

 

 

Our media teacher got RIFfed two years ago. My .18 media job includes sound and lights for special events in the auditorium, but thankfully, not sets! My knowledge of sound tech is VERY limited- if a kid messed with the board, I'd be screwed as to how to reset it. But I can plug mics in and turn up the right sliders! My lighting knowledge is lower, but our after school theater teacher, set up some cues for various scenarios so I don't have to do much.

I'm the vocal director for our high school productions.  We're lucky to have very competent people on staff for set design and construction, lighting, sound, etc.  I have some experience with set design and construction so I lend a hand there whenever I can.  That being said, I would not feel comfortable working with lighting and sound, so I don't volunteer in those areas.  

 

We handle things a few different ways.  We have a stage crew that helps build, runs lighting and spots, and assists with the sound board.  Our sound and lighting is mostly rented and we enlist the help of a few parents who are trained in these areas to set everything up.  From the cast, we have apprentices.  We believe that to be a performer, you should have experience in all aspects of theatre.  This makes the students much more prepared when they get to college and also gives them opportunities to stay involved with theatre when they're not on the stage.  We have apprentices for director, producer, choreographer, and vocal director.  These students assist with certain aspects of the technical production or merely observe how things are done.  It's been a great benefit to the students as well as the staff to train these kids.  We definitely emphasize safety, and would never put a student (or untrained adult) in a dangerous situation.

 

My suggestion to music education majors is to seek out opportunities to learn the technical aspects of theatre while you're in college.  Not only does this give you experience should you need it, it makes you a much more valuable candidate when applying for teaching positions.  I was a member of a student-run theatre company in college.  We were all required to help with the productions: set design and construction, marketing, ticket sales, costumes, etc.  I even volunteered for the set crew for one of the school operas.  I felt so much more prepared going into my teaching job having these extra set of skills.  I've also felt that by assisting in other areas of the productions, that we've had better communication between the staff and therefore we work together much better. 

Kristin Hingstman
Choral Director
Delran High School
Delran, NJ

Hi Folks:

 

Thanks for your responses. The comments and suggestion made are both valid and valuable. I am surprised that there aren't more listers

who have found themselves presented with this responsibility and generally clueless as to how to proceed.

 

Listers shouldn't feel too bad about a lack of knowledge. I teach classes on these topics for theatre educators and have often found participants to be ignorant of much related to lighting, audio and rigging. This is especially true in regard to the growth of the related technology over last several years.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Dana

Hi, DAna:

 

In a little late on this discussion - however, training is crucial.  A theatre space is one of the most dangerous spaces in a school building.  I do all of the vocals for our musicals.  I have a very minimal background in tech theatre.  We have a class that actually helps train kids for crew.  We also bring in a qualified adult to assist, mentor and work with our kids in the following areas:  set construction, lighting, sounding and costume construction.  No way we could do our productions without those additional highly qualified adults.  I try ti pitch in whenever I can - when asked.  If I cannot do the job or am not comfortable, I decline.

 

It's far too easy for someone to get hurt, seriously injured or killed.  Make sure you have a strong tech team working with a qualified adult leader.

 

Our secondary music and theatre staff was sent to an in-district safety training session this spring as well.  I highly recommend it.

 

Good luck

Wendy