I've often wondered exactly how it's possible to put up those huge SuperBowl stages, with all their lights and projectors and pyrotechnics, etc. Now I know: with a fuckton of stagehands.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Fire Code Shenanigans
Patrick over at Backstagejobs has a great article on how effing difficult it is to find information on theatre fire codes.
I've run into this problem myself on more than one occasion- in New York City, one would presumably go to the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting website to find out, for example, how many chairs can legally be put together in a row before an aisle interrupts them, or how many and what type of fire extinguishers should be on hand. One might also think that the FDNY site could be a good resource. Now, I know I've found *some* info online before, but I remember digging around for hours before finding out that every audience member must be no more than 7 seats away from an aisle (or was it 6?).
A logical stagehand might think that the city would put this information out there for fire-prevention at the many theaters here. Use a phone, you might say? I've tried that, too. The best I usually get as a response is "the dude who knows all that stuff is out today" or "call so-and-so and such-and-such-a-theater, he's great with all that".
The theater I work at is blessed with many a visit from the fire department, as standard procedure. They send an army of four or five men decked out in full fire gear, five minutes before a show to scare the bejeezus out of anyone waiting in the lobby. Then I have the dubious pleasure of showing them around, making sure to point out exit signs and fire extinguishers.
On one such visit, dude came with a clipboard and a list of questions. One question on his form was "thrust stage, proscenium, other?"
Dude turned to me and asked what a thrust stage was.
I'm not saying that your average fireman has to know what a thrust stage is, but one would hope that the team that is inspecting theatres for public safety might have to know.
Anywho. That's my rant of the day.
I've run into this problem myself on more than one occasion- in New York City, one would presumably go to the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting website to find out, for example, how many chairs can legally be put together in a row before an aisle interrupts them, or how many and what type of fire extinguishers should be on hand. One might also think that the FDNY site could be a good resource. Now, I know I've found *some* info online before, but I remember digging around for hours before finding out that every audience member must be no more than 7 seats away from an aisle (or was it 6?).
A logical stagehand might think that the city would put this information out there for fire-prevention at the many theaters here. Use a phone, you might say? I've tried that, too. The best I usually get as a response is "the dude who knows all that stuff is out today" or "call so-and-so and such-and-such-a-theater, he's great with all that".
The theater I work at is blessed with many a visit from the fire department, as standard procedure. They send an army of four or five men decked out in full fire gear, five minutes before a show to scare the bejeezus out of anyone waiting in the lobby. Then I have the dubious pleasure of showing them around, making sure to point out exit signs and fire extinguishers.
On one such visit, dude came with a clipboard and a list of questions. One question on his form was "thrust stage, proscenium, other?"
Dude turned to me and asked what a thrust stage was.
I'm not saying that your average fireman has to know what a thrust stage is, but one would hope that the team that is inspecting theatres for public safety might have to know.
Anywho. That's my rant of the day.
Facebook Love/More Job Postings
Hey! I got a metric shit-ton of visitors from Facebook today! Thank you to whoever shared my link- brownie points to you, redeemable for two broken HPLs and a burnt-out stage pin cable!
In other news, some more cool jobs posted around the interwebs this week:
NOTE: I will not be posting Summer Stock Jobs, as I already have quite a comprehensive list of hiring theatres here.
On with the work!
Added Thursday: Bentley Meeker in NYC seeks lighting production manager
Production Assistant, touring Illusion Show (cue "The Final Countdown")
Rigger, Wynn Las Vegas
Trade Show Tech Manager/Driver, Touring
Stage Manager, NYC (stipend)
TV Production Asst., Seattle
Well, that's all I got. It's apparently a not-so-awesome week for job-hunting. Dear readers: what sorts of jobs do YOU have?
In other news, some more cool jobs posted around the interwebs this week:
NOTE: I will not be posting Summer Stock Jobs, as I already have quite a comprehensive list of hiring theatres here.
On with the work!
Added Thursday: Bentley Meeker in NYC seeks lighting production manager
Production Assistant, touring Illusion Show (cue "The Final Countdown")
Rigger, Wynn Las Vegas
Trade Show Tech Manager/Driver, Touring
Stage Manager, NYC (stipend)
TV Production Asst., Seattle
Well, that's all I got. It's apparently a not-so-awesome week for job-hunting. Dear readers: what sorts of jobs do YOU have?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Golden Globes
So, who watched the Golden Globes last night? Anyone? No? Okay, I'm not surprised; I wouldn't have watched it, either, except that my friends had a little shindig at their place, and I can't turn down a good time.
So. Lets' talk about all the ways in which the production could have been waaaay better.
1. Don't do an effing dinner service for the audience! It took eons for each winner to get to the stage, having to navigate through chairs and busboys. In the meantime, terrible music clips were played, which sometimes gave a bumbling-idiot feel to their inability to get through the crowd.
2. If you're going to have a host, let him host. Ricky Gervais was barely onstage at all, and most of the time was the most entertaining thing going on.
3. If you're gonna play someone off, don't pussy out. Do it, loud and clear. None of that slow....slow....fade-up of violins. And do it to EVERYONE, for fairness' sake. Yes, Meryl Streep is amazing, but she should know by now not to ramble at awards shows.
4. Wake up the follow-spot ops. Yeah, it's boring work, but when two hosts come up on stage, and only one has a spot on their way, that's weird.
5. I hate to say it, but would some musical acts have killed you? The format of award-award-award seems less sustainable to me than award - rock band - award. Sort of like a 15-minute union break every two hours. Breaks up the monotony.
6. Don't cut to a foreign dude (Schwarzenegger) for the foreign film category. He wasn't IN any of them!! So many awkward camera moments in this show.
Do YOU have any other gripes? Oh right: you didn't watch it.
So. Lets' talk about all the ways in which the production could have been waaaay better.
1. Don't do an effing dinner service for the audience! It took eons for each winner to get to the stage, having to navigate through chairs and busboys. In the meantime, terrible music clips were played, which sometimes gave a bumbling-idiot feel to their inability to get through the crowd.
2. If you're going to have a host, let him host. Ricky Gervais was barely onstage at all, and most of the time was the most entertaining thing going on.
3. If you're gonna play someone off, don't pussy out. Do it, loud and clear. None of that slow....slow....fade-up of violins. And do it to EVERYONE, for fairness' sake. Yes, Meryl Streep is amazing, but she should know by now not to ramble at awards shows.
4. Wake up the follow-spot ops. Yeah, it's boring work, but when two hosts come up on stage, and only one has a spot on their way, that's weird.
5. I hate to say it, but would some musical acts have killed you? The format of award-award-award seems less sustainable to me than award - rock band - award. Sort of like a 15-minute union break every two hours. Breaks up the monotony.
6. Don't cut to a foreign dude (Schwarzenegger) for the foreign film category. He wasn't IN any of them!! So many awkward camera moments in this show.
Do YOU have any other gripes? Oh right: you didn't watch it.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Lighting Wall of Shame
A new(ish) facebook group dedicated to showcasing lighting mishaps and stupidity. Enjoy.
Also, got some stupidity to share? Send me your ridiculous production photos!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Haiti Relief Efforts
Yes, this is wildly off-topic. And you're probably sick of seeing it.
- Text "haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross for earthquake relief efforts.
- If you're on the fence about this, don't be. Hundreds of thousands in Haiti are seriously injured or dead. It's just $10. It'll go on your next cell phone bill, so you have a month to figure out how to afford it.
- Do NOT send packages. Just send money.
- There are two hoaxes floating around on Twitter. One is that American Airlines is flying docs and nurses to Haiti for free. The other is that UPS is giving free shipping to Haiti tomorrow. Neither are true. The main airport in Haiti has been shut down for lack of space and fuel.
-Let's not allow this to be another Katrina. It's bad enough already, as Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
- Text "haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross for earthquake relief efforts.
- If you're on the fence about this, don't be. Hundreds of thousands in Haiti are seriously injured or dead. It's just $10. It'll go on your next cell phone bill, so you have a month to figure out how to afford it.
- Do NOT send packages. Just send money.
- There are two hoaxes floating around on Twitter. One is that American Airlines is flying docs and nurses to Haiti for free. The other is that UPS is giving free shipping to Haiti tomorrow. Neither are true. The main airport in Haiti has been shut down for lack of space and fuel.
-Let's not allow this to be another Katrina. It's bad enough already, as Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Materials for the Arts and Shhhh Projects, NYC
I can't believe I haven't given a shout out to Materials for the Arts here yet. For those of you who live in, or are planning on moving to NYC, this place can be a trove of great free materials for your theatre pieces.
There are a few catches, but they're not so bad.
1. You must be involved in a 501c3 organization (a non-profit)
2. You must make an appointment to shop
3. You have a limited amount of time (I think it's 1.5 hours)
4. You must write (and provide proof of) thank-you letters to all the donors whose items you take.
MFTA is a huge warehouse of wonderful things, with a staff of (I believe) mostly volunteer workers. I myself found par sockets, RCA cables, video mixers and all sorts of other neat gadgets for the theatre I work at.
I'm shamefully ignorant of the goings-on of other cities- you folks out in Chicago and LA must have some similar types of resources, no?
Also, Janet Clancy, a wonderful, knowledgeable woman to work with and just a really cool person in general, started a salvage company, Shhhh Projects, a while back- which was profiled in the New York Times (they also got a really great shot of her atop a ladder draped in white fabric). Basically, for a small fee, she'll take unwanted arts materials (sometimes from all those Bryant park fashion shows), and then she'll dispose of them for you by delivering them to other artists in need. Cheaper and less wasteful than finding a way to trash the objects! A really great idea on her part. It's not a free service (she does need to make a living, after all!) but if you know of a film shoot or a theater set that's doomed to a scrap heap somewhere, it can't hurt to give her a call.
There are a few catches, but they're not so bad.
1. You must be involved in a 501c3 organization (a non-profit)
2. You must make an appointment to shop
3. You have a limited amount of time (I think it's 1.5 hours)
4. You must write (and provide proof of) thank-you letters to all the donors whose items you take.
MFTA is a huge warehouse of wonderful things, with a staff of (I believe) mostly volunteer workers. I myself found par sockets, RCA cables, video mixers and all sorts of other neat gadgets for the theatre I work at.
I'm shamefully ignorant of the goings-on of other cities- you folks out in Chicago and LA must have some similar types of resources, no?
Also, Janet Clancy, a wonderful, knowledgeable woman to work with and just a really cool person in general, started a salvage company, Shhhh Projects, a while back- which was profiled in the New York Times (they also got a really great shot of her atop a ladder draped in white fabric). Basically, for a small fee, she'll take unwanted arts materials (sometimes from all those Bryant park fashion shows), and then she'll dispose of them for you by delivering them to other artists in need. Cheaper and less wasteful than finding a way to trash the objects! A really great idea on her part. It's not a free service (she does need to make a living, after all!) but if you know of a film shoot or a theater set that's doomed to a scrap heap somewhere, it can't hurt to give her a call.
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About Me
- KDubs
- New York, New York, United States
- Tired. Caffeinated. Quietly evil.
I'm a theatre technician, living and working in NYC. Also an aspiring costumer, makeup artist, playwright and dilettante.
I like to rant about things, I swear like a person who swears a lot, and I work too much. Other than that, my time is spent at home with the puppy or in Chelsea bars with friends and co-workers.