|
|
|
|
Articles
|
|
|
Articles |
In Praise of the TechieDateline: 19th November, 2000 Not long ago we had our Awards Evening at school: the choir sang, an old boy who is a successful pop singer presented the prizes, the Head delivered his report on the previous year, and lots of kids received well-deserved awards for achievement or effort and progress. Then all the kids and parents went home and most of the staff went off to the pub. A very pleasant evening! But I didn't go to the pub - at least, not until almost 45 minutes after everyone else. You see, I had to wait till everyone went, then dim down the tungsten house lights, switch on the normal working lights, disconnect the monitor from the lighting control desk, unplug the DMX lead from the desk and the DMUX box in the lighting cupboard, take up the gaffer tape which fastened it to the floor, coil it, put it away, unplug the power from monitor and desk, put them away, switch off the mains power to the stage lighting system, and then lock up. Tonight I got home at 5.30 - school finishes at 3.10 - because it was my second session teaching some Year 9 (14 year old) boys the basics of stage lighting, how to set up the system, program cues and operate the lighting plot. Next week I'll be introducing them to the sound system: dynamic vocalist microphones, radio microphones, shotgun condenser microphones, amplifier and mixer, graphics equaliser and signal processor, chorus and flange, reverb and echo, jack and XLR sockets and plugs, phantom power, loudspeakers, monitors, foldback and feedback. By our next full-scale show - just before Easter - they'll be ready to rig, focus, plot and operate the lighting, and set up and operate the sound. The audience will see smooth lighting transitions, cross-fades and move-fades, selective and overall lighting, the varying effects of fresnel and profile spots. They'll hear even the quietest speaker clearly, and the singers' voices will sound full-bodied and rich and will balance nicely against the sound of the band. They'll wait for the cast to come from the dressing rooms and tell them how great the show was, how talented the actors, singers and dancers. They'll congratulate them. There'll be a real air of excitement which they won't want to leave, so they'll hang around and chat. And when they eventually go, then the three lads will get to work, powering down both systems, putting easily portable items (desk, monitor, mics) away, checking gaffered cables and replacing the tape where it is scuffed or worn by audience feet. The same lads will be in the next night before the actors arrive. They'll get out and fit up what they put away the night before. They'll check each mic, each lighting circuit, each lamp. They'll make adjustments where necessary, replace any blown lamps. And by the time the majority of actors arrive, they'll have turned off the working lights, faded up the house lights, and brought on the preset. And that is just a school show! In the professional theatre, someone from the LX (electrical) department will do the "lamp round" every day, checking every light in the theatre (not just stage luminaires but every one everywhere: corridors, bars, toilets, the auditorium), replacing lamps (bulbs) where necessary. Fly lines will be checked, set examined, sound systems given the once-over... But when was the last time you heard someone come out of a theatre and remarked on the smooth technical running of the show? If something goes wrong with the lighting or the sound, or if bits fall off the set, or a door doesn't open properly, or a prop is missing, then audience members will comment, but that so rarely happens that the vast majority of theatre-goers simply expect that the technical side of any production will run without a hitch, and that expectation is so tacit that they won't even notice that everything is going smoothly. And when we talk about a brilliant production, we'll talk about the performances, about the direction, the set, and - just possibly - the lighting. But in the latter two cases, it will be the design that will be commented upon, not their operation. And then the awards are given out: best actor, best actress, best actor in a supporting role, best actress in a supporting role, best newcomer, best director, best play, best musical, best lighting design, best set design, best costume design. Where are the awards for best flyman, best electrical dayman, best stage manager, best chief LX, best sound operator, best scene-shifter? They don't exist. And yet the forgotten legion of techies makes a major contribution to the success of any show, musical or straight, one-person or huge cast. Here atthe British Theatre Guide we've just had our Best Actor and Actress poll. In all the excitement of performance, in all the adulation of exceptional performers, in all the admiration of brilliant direction, let's not forget theatre's foot-soldiers, the self-effacing infantry who contribute so much. Let's hear it for the techies! Articles Indices:
|
|
|