Tag Archive
The audience. Part 2: the reason for our work.
Those of us that write about working in live entertainment tend to go on about the things we work with. Shiny new gear, and old crappy gear; working conditions, co-workers, employers, locations, fun/odd/terrible things that happened during a show, etc… But often we forget about the entire reason we are working on a production:... »
Your crew are not non-profit corporations.
Those of you that follow my Twitter feed know I have been a bit testy lately due to a company being very late with their paychecks. Crew members finally received paychecks from them just over seven weeks after the job. This is not the first time this or other companies have been late in... »
Fun bit from late night TV
Alan Kalter: Its time for “Late Show Before They Were Stagehands!” Alan Kalter: Pat Farmer is a treasured, much beloved member of the “Late Show” family. As the head stagehand, he holds a job of immense responsibility and is integral to the production of the show. But, what was Pat before he was a stagehand? Pat Farmer: I was... »
Conventions, McCormick Place, and convenient omissions
I was going to write a long piece about this, but as it is somewhat off-topic for the majority of readers, I’ll make this short. There has been a lot of uproar over Chicago losing 2 large conventions to other cities. Claims of outrageous charges for simple items, unfair union rules and costs, and the... »
Stagecraft in the News: Theatre for the troops & Sandy Everett
Most of us wouldn’t put theatre and the army in the same sentence, unless discussing a USO show. But Sandy Everett is one of many helping to present drama and musicals to our troops at foreign bases. Everett is a technical theater specialist, and she works full-time for the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s... »
Theatre fire codes must be heeded, but good luck finding them
A BackstageJobs.com user’s e-mail lead me to this discovery. This person had discovered that the theatre they were working in had no fire extinguishers. This would seem odd to pretty much any theatre person in the US, if not the world. The reasoning given by building management was that because the sprinkler system could... »
The obligitory look back at 2009
I tell myself that I’m not going to do one of these, and then remember that they are marginally useful. Here’s just a few of the stories we looked at in the last year. Learn past or repeat… Chicago started off 2009 with the loss of its free downtown trolleys. Tourists (especially those heading to... »
Pic of the Day for December 18, 2009
A stagehand climbs to the front truss at a Bruce Springsteen concert. This great Pic of the Day is from Josefine Stenudd and is posted in her Flickr account. »
Kids aren’t stupid.
I attended a show Friday with about 600 students, approximately ages 6 to 12. (I already see many of you shuddering at the thought.) Granted, many of these kids could have cared less about being there. There were pockets of them in each class that wouldn’t have stopped talking or started really watching the show if... »
Technician killed in 30′ fall
Fenton “Andy” Hollingsworth died today after falling 30 feet in the Rinker Playhouse, part of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. Reports indicate he was installing lights either in a catwalk or on a truss when he fell. There is no word on if he was wearing... »
Hudson & Gaines
