So. June first.
We got in at 8am. we didn't really have much to do...we got most of it done on Tuesday, so we just had minor things to take care of before the company got there to focus and do tech. So we covered over some cable with Marley and did some other minor things. I helped Robert, the video guy, runs some cable. When Scott, the stage manager of the incoming show, came, we started focusing. I went up in the genie and did the two electrics (consisting of 40 fresnels). It went really fast. There was one light that I could not move to save my life. I broke a legit sweat wrestling with it for like 10 minutes. So we had to skip that one and Chris went up and worked on it after I got the rest done. Sean did the 4 lights on the 1Beam and then the two of us did the four booms. It probably look an hour, tops. Which was pretty awesome. Once that was done, the company started showing up and setting up their sound equipment and the instruments and video and everything, so we had a nice bit of down time and lunch time before the programming session and then tech rehearsal.
We had a small task to take care of before tech though. The lighting designed picked R59 (a deep purple color) and a green color (I cant remember the number), both of which are really saturated. This means they have to take in a lot more light in order to shoot enough of the proper color light out. So they burn really fast when put up to the powerful source fours like the designer did. So we had to put heat shield between the light and the gel, which is a clear gel-like sheet that absorbs the heat before the light gets to the gel. But the gels still burned through in about 15 minutes. So we had to order replacements really fast and figure out a way to handle the problem. So we framed the heat shield separate from the gel and put the heat shield in the slot closes to the lamp and the gel in the next one. This seemed to work a lot better than having the two together, and the gels lasted a lot longer.
So after lunch, Sean got to work on the pickle (Jarrod assigned him the task of circuiting 13 pickles together, instead of just decorating and lighting up one, so he had his work cut out for him) and I finished replacing the burned gels and everything. Then, I finally got to program. I was pretty excited. I don't know why I like programing so much. Jarrod refreshed me a little but on the keystrokes to the Element and then I got right to work. Scott started by arranging groups of lights (done by putting the desired channels at full, and then typing record+group+#+enter. Then, you take everything out and select the next channels that you want. For some reason though, on the first round, all of my groups just recorded everything that we had patched in to the board. I had no idea what was going on and I was really frustrated. But Jarrod came up and cleared everything out. Then he recored a group and instead of taking everything out after, he just hit go to cue zero and then started from a blackout. So that seemed to work and Scott and I re-recorded all of the groups, not issues this time. Then, we worked through the cues song by song. He would bring up the video (each song was written based on one of Andy Warhol's screen tests) and he would go for a certain look based on the song and the video. He would tell me a certain group or a certain channel and what percentage he wanted it at, I would type it in. If he liked it, he would tell me what cue to record it as and what time he wanted on the transition and we would go from there. It went really smoothly. I even remembered to keep typing "cue only" before recording and updating cues (otherwise, the Element will track the things that you type in and record and add them to the upcoming cues in advance. It can be both helpful and annoying) and got to record a submaster without needing help.
So then went by really nicely and I remembered everything and was able to do everything that he wanted. It was pretty awesome.
Then, we had about an hour break until we met back for the tech rehearsal. It was a little different than a regular tech. We used the cues that I had programmed, but the rehearsal was to get a feel for order as well as a filming session for the press and for the company's website. So instead of going straight through, we stopped and started a lot. The singers didn't introduce their songs and do their transitions like they would during the real show, and we messed with the lights a lot. The videographer needed certain levels to be able to get a good look on the camera, so we would go to a cue and then Scott would tell me to go through and change certain levels and same some things but discard others until we got a good look. So I got to do almost double the programming and board work that I would have at a normal tech rehearsal. So that was pretty cool. There was a little bump in the road when there was a problem with the bassists instrument - something was vibrating or making a funny noise or something - but that was the sound people's problem to deal with, so I just had to sit for a little bit while they worked it out.
Once that was done, we had an hour and a half for dinner and then we were in to the opening of the show. It's pretty easy going...there are the standard preshow cues like preshow, house to half, house out, etc. Then there is a "transition light" where the singers talk, and cue for the song, and then back to transition, etc. So there are 2 cues every 4 minutes. A few times, we skipped the transition or something and they would change, but it's a really easy show to be board op. for. No worries.
So we got through the show, and Scott was really cool and gave us extra back-story about some of the videos as we went which made it a lot more interesting. There is no strike or changeover to do once the show ends because it's our only show for the rep, so we finished the show, saved the show on the light board, locked up and went home. It was great.
So, long day - 8am-10:30pm. But it went really well.
I got convinced to go in to the shop and do extra hours this morning too, so I had an early morning (van leaves at 7:30am). Andrew and Jarrod had hinted that we had a lot of down time, but the shop opened at 8am if we wanted to go. But they weren't going to make us. I didn't know if I wanted to go, but going in meant I would have something to do for a few hours, I would meet more of my coworkers, and I would be able to make a good impression on the people in charge there. So I went in.
The ride in was super fun in itself - The people who work in the shop (listed as "Special Projects" people, so we call them SPs) are really cool. So I went in and everyone got coffee and breakfast and sat around for a few minutes, and then they met and figured out the tasks for the day. I got put with the SP Electricians, but no one was expecting the extra person (I guess we are supposed to call and warn Steph if we are coming so they can be ready) so they didn't really know what to do with me. So I worked with one of the SPs sorting camlocks for feeder cable by otts and whether it was male or female. I've never really worked with feeder cable so I guess that was sort of interesting. I still don't really know what it does or what it's for. Maybe I will google it later.
We did a few other basic inventory things, and then we were set of to the Cistern to do some busy work there. Becca and James went up on the lighting trusses in harnesses to re-run some of the cabling - the amount of lights being used was overheating the cable and damaging the circuits and creating a lot of hazards, so they were trying to rework it so less lights would be on at one time per cable. I worked with SP Andrew (not my TD Andrew, haha) counting, straightening, and cleaning the chairs. There are at least 2000 chairs in the Cistern Yard and we worked on every one. It makes you appreciate the janitorial work, the ushers jobs, and the other things that go in to theatrical maintenance. If someone didn't keep the chairs looking nice, the patrons would think the cleanliness and presentation of the theater was poor and they wouldn't want to come back, or how uncomfortable they were would affect what they thought about the show.
So, we did a lot of cleaning. It was nice to be outside for once, but it was dull and hot work. But we got it done. Once that was over, I was done for the day. Since they didn't really know I was going to be there in the first place, they didn't have anything planned for me to do, so I probably would have been in the way a lot. So I got a little work in, earned a few brownie points, and now I am done until my own show call at 7pm. We will iron out some cues and sound stuff, do a smooth show, and then get on with the evening. It should be pretty easy.
Updates later if anything interesting happens.
We got in at 8am. we didn't really have much to do...we got most of it done on Tuesday, so we just had minor things to take care of before the company got there to focus and do tech. So we covered over some cable with Marley and did some other minor things. I helped Robert, the video guy, runs some cable. When Scott, the stage manager of the incoming show, came, we started focusing. I went up in the genie and did the two electrics (consisting of 40 fresnels). It went really fast. There was one light that I could not move to save my life. I broke a legit sweat wrestling with it for like 10 minutes. So we had to skip that one and Chris went up and worked on it after I got the rest done. Sean did the 4 lights on the 1Beam and then the two of us did the four booms. It probably look an hour, tops. Which was pretty awesome. Once that was done, the company started showing up and setting up their sound equipment and the instruments and video and everything, so we had a nice bit of down time and lunch time before the programming session and then tech rehearsal.
We had a small task to take care of before tech though. The lighting designed picked R59 (a deep purple color) and a green color (I cant remember the number), both of which are really saturated. This means they have to take in a lot more light in order to shoot enough of the proper color light out. So they burn really fast when put up to the powerful source fours like the designer did. So we had to put heat shield between the light and the gel, which is a clear gel-like sheet that absorbs the heat before the light gets to the gel. But the gels still burned through in about 15 minutes. So we had to order replacements really fast and figure out a way to handle the problem. So we framed the heat shield separate from the gel and put the heat shield in the slot closes to the lamp and the gel in the next one. This seemed to work a lot better than having the two together, and the gels lasted a lot longer.
So after lunch, Sean got to work on the pickle (Jarrod assigned him the task of circuiting 13 pickles together, instead of just decorating and lighting up one, so he had his work cut out for him) and I finished replacing the burned gels and everything. Then, I finally got to program. I was pretty excited. I don't know why I like programing so much. Jarrod refreshed me a little but on the keystrokes to the Element and then I got right to work. Scott started by arranging groups of lights (done by putting the desired channels at full, and then typing record+group+#+enter. Then, you take everything out and select the next channels that you want. For some reason though, on the first round, all of my groups just recorded everything that we had patched in to the board. I had no idea what was going on and I was really frustrated. But Jarrod came up and cleared everything out. Then he recored a group and instead of taking everything out after, he just hit go to cue zero and then started from a blackout. So that seemed to work and Scott and I re-recorded all of the groups, not issues this time. Then, we worked through the cues song by song. He would bring up the video (each song was written based on one of Andy Warhol's screen tests) and he would go for a certain look based on the song and the video. He would tell me a certain group or a certain channel and what percentage he wanted it at, I would type it in. If he liked it, he would tell me what cue to record it as and what time he wanted on the transition and we would go from there. It went really smoothly. I even remembered to keep typing "cue only" before recording and updating cues (otherwise, the Element will track the things that you type in and record and add them to the upcoming cues in advance. It can be both helpful and annoying) and got to record a submaster without needing help.
So then went by really nicely and I remembered everything and was able to do everything that he wanted. It was pretty awesome.
Then, we had about an hour break until we met back for the tech rehearsal. It was a little different than a regular tech. We used the cues that I had programmed, but the rehearsal was to get a feel for order as well as a filming session for the press and for the company's website. So instead of going straight through, we stopped and started a lot. The singers didn't introduce their songs and do their transitions like they would during the real show, and we messed with the lights a lot. The videographer needed certain levels to be able to get a good look on the camera, so we would go to a cue and then Scott would tell me to go through and change certain levels and same some things but discard others until we got a good look. So I got to do almost double the programming and board work that I would have at a normal tech rehearsal. So that was pretty cool. There was a little bump in the road when there was a problem with the bassists instrument - something was vibrating or making a funny noise or something - but that was the sound people's problem to deal with, so I just had to sit for a little bit while they worked it out.
Once that was done, we had an hour and a half for dinner and then we were in to the opening of the show. It's pretty easy going...there are the standard preshow cues like preshow, house to half, house out, etc. Then there is a "transition light" where the singers talk, and cue for the song, and then back to transition, etc. So there are 2 cues every 4 minutes. A few times, we skipped the transition or something and they would change, but it's a really easy show to be board op. for. No worries.
So we got through the show, and Scott was really cool and gave us extra back-story about some of the videos as we went which made it a lot more interesting. There is no strike or changeover to do once the show ends because it's our only show for the rep, so we finished the show, saved the show on the light board, locked up and went home. It was great.
So, long day - 8am-10:30pm. But it went really well.
I got convinced to go in to the shop and do extra hours this morning too, so I had an early morning (van leaves at 7:30am). Andrew and Jarrod had hinted that we had a lot of down time, but the shop opened at 8am if we wanted to go. But they weren't going to make us. I didn't know if I wanted to go, but going in meant I would have something to do for a few hours, I would meet more of my coworkers, and I would be able to make a good impression on the people in charge there. So I went in.
The ride in was super fun in itself - The people who work in the shop (listed as "Special Projects" people, so we call them SPs) are really cool. So I went in and everyone got coffee and breakfast and sat around for a few minutes, and then they met and figured out the tasks for the day. I got put with the SP Electricians, but no one was expecting the extra person (I guess we are supposed to call and warn Steph if we are coming so they can be ready) so they didn't really know what to do with me. So I worked with one of the SPs sorting camlocks for feeder cable by otts and whether it was male or female. I've never really worked with feeder cable so I guess that was sort of interesting. I still don't really know what it does or what it's for. Maybe I will google it later.
We did a few other basic inventory things, and then we were set of to the Cistern to do some busy work there. Becca and James went up on the lighting trusses in harnesses to re-run some of the cabling - the amount of lights being used was overheating the cable and damaging the circuits and creating a lot of hazards, so they were trying to rework it so less lights would be on at one time per cable. I worked with SP Andrew (not my TD Andrew, haha) counting, straightening, and cleaning the chairs. There are at least 2000 chairs in the Cistern Yard and we worked on every one. It makes you appreciate the janitorial work, the ushers jobs, and the other things that go in to theatrical maintenance. If someone didn't keep the chairs looking nice, the patrons would think the cleanliness and presentation of the theater was poor and they wouldn't want to come back, or how uncomfortable they were would affect what they thought about the show.
So, we did a lot of cleaning. It was nice to be outside for once, but it was dull and hot work. But we got it done. Once that was over, I was done for the day. Since they didn't really know I was going to be there in the first place, they didn't have anything planned for me to do, so I probably would have been in the way a lot. So I got a little work in, earned a few brownie points, and now I am done until my own show call at 7pm. We will iron out some cues and sound stuff, do a smooth show, and then get on with the evening. It should be pretty easy.
Updates later if anything interesting happens.
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