# Wearing Blacks in Non-Backstage?



## DarSax (Feb 23, 2008)

This is something I've been wondering for a while. Do you think that techs that aren't backstage (FOH ops, light board ops, spot ops, etc. etc.) should be in blacks during the show?


----------



## cutlunch (Feb 23, 2008)

It depends where they are and if the audience can see them.
If they are in the line of sight of the audience then they should be in black so they are least noticeable when they move even if they are sitting. As an audience member would you like to see a spot operator with a white shirt moving in your peripheral vision. But it also looks tidier if they all in neat black clothes.


----------



## icewolf08 (Feb 23, 2008)

I don't think that you have enough options in your poll. I think that different situations require different apparel. 

Anyone who has to interact with patrons or be in the house needs to not look like a slob. Also, every theatre has different thoughts on the matter. An FOH mixer may not have to wear blacks, but you don't want to be hanging out in the house in ripped jeans and a stained t-shirt. You should look professional. 

If you work in the booth, you may also not be required to wear blacks. I have worked in some theatres where I was asked to wear a black shirt, but it didn't matter what pants as generally patrons can only see your upper body through the booth windows.

On the other hand, even if you are an FOH person, if there is ever a time that you have to go on stage, you should be in all black. So, if you have to preset a light or a speaker for act 2 during intermission and you are going to be in view of the audience then yes, you should wear blacks.


----------



## Sean (Feb 23, 2008)

I think it's too general of a question.

So long as someone in the rear of the house (in a booth, etc) isn't wearing bright clothing, or looks like a slob, I don't think it matters much. Jeans and a dark polo work just fine, etc.

It really depends though on the venue. In some houses the audience can't see the spot ops. In others they're in full view.

I think it's _easier_ to say they should be in blacks, though.

--Sean


----------



## len (Feb 23, 2008)

I'd vote "depends on the show." Corporate events I wear a suit, rock shows, I wear whatever the f*** I want. Theater, probably would if I were visible.


----------



## PadawanGeek (Feb 23, 2008)

I too think that if you can be seen, you should be in blacks. if not, wear whatever you want.


----------



## Footer (Feb 23, 2008)

I hate seeing people FOH in blacks. My opinion is, if you have to walk through he audience you should dress like the audience, to a degree at least. You should not stand out walking through the house.


----------



## soundlight (Feb 23, 2008)

I'm in the jeans and a dark polo/look kinda like the audience camp. I usually do end up wearing a black button-down work shirt, but that is usually accompanied by jeans or khakis, depending on the show.


----------



## Hughesie (Feb 23, 2008)

We have an unwritten FOH clothing policy

on opening and closing night

Collared shirt with black or red tie
full length black pants and black shoes

Normal Nights

Collared shirt without tie
full length black pants and black shoes

we maybe students but we like to look professional


----------



## soundman (Feb 23, 2008)

Hughesie89 said:


> We have an unwritten FOH clothing policy
> on opening and closing night
> Collared shirt with black or red tie
> full length black pants and black shoes



When do you strike? Closing night is our stirke and theres no way I would wear anything remotely nice, sure you can change but in those few minutes there are other things to be doing.


----------



## Hughesie (Feb 23, 2008)

well after out shows, we have a stupid party when we sit and listen to how great the cast was. we normally use this time to get changed and start bumping out, before the pearents arrive and try and do things......


----------



## DHSLXOP (Feb 23, 2008)

I say it depends on the show. We just did two shows in our blackbox, where we had to set up our own "booth" towards the rear of the house. For the play we did in there, anyone FOH wore black, but for the musical review where the cast was all wearing tuxedos, we all wore fancier clothes. 

In our main theatre though, we only run sound FOH in the like 7th row, so they generally wear nice clothes, while we pretty much say anyone upstairs in the light booth and catwalks running spots should be in black (or like a black shirt and dark blue jeans) to not stand out in the event that someone looks up in the booth. 

So I say it kinda depends on venue, the type of show you are putting on, and where exactly FOH you are located.


----------



## DarSax (Feb 24, 2008)

To all those saying the poll was too cut and dry, well if I put in a "depends" button most everyone would use it (too easy!). I was just wondering as far as techs who are not backstage and are likely to be seen by the audience. Didn't think of the corporate/theater/concert part, though.


----------



## LD4Life (Feb 25, 2008)

If I am at a show, I usually venture to the side of blacks. I am an LD who stays throughout the show and continues to run the board myself and do my own troubleshooting. (I also happen to be house ME, so that helps) Because of this, I never really know when I may have to troubleshoot something backstage. Take the other night for example. The hazer malfunctioned and I was laying on the stage just out of sight fixing it while the show was going. I could have moved about 6" and been seen by a good portion of the audience. That is why I wear blacks even FOH.


----------



## Clark (Feb 25, 2008)

I've worked in alot of spaces where even the board ops, SM, or anyone else in the booth is still visible to the audience. Even in a standard, unidirectional proscenium during intermission or preshow an audience member may still turn around, or look up on the way out of the house, and see the booth crew. For this reason, I ask all of my techs to be in black. The only possible exception is non-theatre students taking Stagecraft or Intro to Theatre who need to be in a show for class, if they are board ops and don't have black pants, they can wear jeans. If you need to be in house, or seen by the audience directly, wear nicer blacks. If I am running a show in house, or from a setup in a non-theatre space, I generally wear nice black pants and a black dress shirt - or working for the University sometimes my formal "University Tech Crew" polo, which is also black.
If I need to go fix something in house, or run a show from in house, I would rather look like a well-dressed professional tech than some random audience member fiddling with equipment. 

Clark


----------



## thebikingtechie (Feb 25, 2008)

Personally I always wear blacks when working on a performance with an audience. Sometimes at school I'll just wear blue jeans and a black shirt. But in general it's all black. 

I feel that though you might not need to wear black, it's an easy way to look a little more professional. Then again the TD/LD at the community theatre wears whatever he wants, but he kind of can have any job in the province he's so experienced. 

In general though, I think you should wear blacks, or at least something dark and nice looking. Blacks make you identifiable to the audience in case of a problem, also with the nightly rotation of ushers blacks usually help to signify that I'm a tech.


----------



## SerraAva (Feb 28, 2008)

I say yes because you never know when a front of house person might become a back stage person. Point and case, during on of the nights of Ragtime, someone pulled the power on two of my movers, ruining the opening number a little bit. So I had to run backstage to see what was wrong with them. The best part was the power was ran off stage into another room in which no actor was allowed in. That means one of my techs did it .


----------



## Eboy87 (Feb 28, 2008)

Suit for coporate definitely. I used to tell my crew that I'd prefer them in all black, but if it meant having to make a stop at Hot Topic for something, then just wear the darkest colors you have. For the booths, they thought they could wear whatever they wanted. I would have preferred if they at least wore a black shirt.

Personally, I wear a black T-shirt/long sleeve T-shirt (depending on the weather in and out of the theater) and dark colored jeans most of the time when I'm doing a show. During summer, if the sound booth is in the back of the theater, I just wear my cargo shorts. If I'm on the deck, black shirt, usually black cargos, unless it's umpteen degrees, then black cargo shorts.


----------



## Schniapereli (Feb 29, 2008)

When I work sound FOH, I usually wear some nice-ish dark-ish normal clothes. I make an effort to look presentable, but since the reason for wearing black is to not be seen, in our particular situation since I occasionally walk through the audience, black would make me stand out, so I don't wear the kind of black dress shirt and dress pants that I would in another situation.

I heard once of this theatre in some other state, (don't know which one, but I know it wasn't mine) that had their crew go off the deep end with that idea. They were like Blue Man Group, but with black faces, and tight black clothing. You could not see a trace of them in the blackouts.


----------



## Logos (Feb 29, 2008)

I've kept out of this before but I have a strong prejudice against FOH operators LX sound or Follow spot wearing shorts. I also prefer them to be in black all over dress shirt or neat long sleeved polo shirt or equivalent. Black jeans or camo style trousers are OK if clean and tidy. Back stage long sleeved black top and long black trousers. Once again no shorts no short sleeved shirts if likely to go on stage in view and no printed T shirts. (Unless company shirts)


----------



## Hughesie (Mar 1, 2008)

i am thinking of drawing up a dress code for our venue 
i shall post it once im finished for you guys to use/steal


----------



## AndyPandy (Mar 3, 2008)

I always wear black, no matter where I am, or what i'm doing on a night.

I'm usually on lights FOH, but we dont have a booth. (its just a hall we convert to a theatre for our shows) so I can be seen at any time by the audience. also, i usually end up crawling about on stage at some point during a show to fix something, so its just easier to wear black all the time.


----------



## Andy_Leviss (Mar 3, 2008)

FWIW, typical in touring and Broadway is some form of business casual these days. Some companies that do a more "corporate" product, such as VEE, require either a company polo or collared shirt (be it generic company logo or show-specific), or at a minimum something else business casual with a show jacket over it.

Some venues do require shirt and tie, my first tour advised FOH staff to have a suit as part of their wardrobe in case, although I haven't run into it personally.


----------



## mixmaster (Mar 7, 2008)

We don't require any particular clothing for our students beyond "reasonable for the event" Our crew does pretty good at figuring that out. If there is a specific dress code for an event, that gets communicated ahead of time. Generally though, I like to see my crews at FOH dressed at least as well as the audience, and as dark as possible.
Personally, I wear black all the time. I have black jeans, black T-shirts, black Polos and black dress clothes/suit. And yes, I change after the show, before strike. It only takes a few minutes, and beats tearing up an expensive pair of pants. I know it's been a long day when I take home enough dirty laundry to require two loads in the washer.


----------



## Spikesgirl (Mar 8, 2008)

I'm only wearing black until they make something darker...

Personally, I tend to wear black whether I'm in or out of the theater - no messing around with what goes with what. When we're in the booth, we ask that folks wear a dark colored top, but bottom half is to their liking. Backstage, everyone wears black.

Charlie


----------



## howlingwolf487 (Mar 13, 2008)

Dress blacks if needed. A nice pair of black dress khakis and a button-down black shirt; a pair of black dress shoes might be a good idea, too.


----------



## museav (Mar 19, 2008)

Admittedly a slightly unsual situation but when working at a large amphitheatre the shirts were matching polos but the colors indicated the role; stage and FOH crew as determined by the artist (usually black), security in white, ushers in yellow, parking in orange and maintenance staff in red (the theatre's color scheme was yellow, orange and red). So it was very typical to see staff in black, yellow, white and red shirts in the house at any time.


----------



## LD4Life (Mar 19, 2008)

I also have the tendency to wear black outside of the theatre as well. Not all black, but, when you have as many black shirts as I do, you just wear them most of the time anyway. I'm also guilty of wearing my steel-toe work boots with dress blacks. That and having my Gerber multitool and Garrity flashlight on my belt at odd times. You get some really weird looks in a college cafeteria when you and your crew are eating in dress blacks, work boots, and a belt full of tools.


----------



## tech2000 (Jul 1, 2008)

I think that no matter where your position is, if you are working a technical position (sound, lights, or backstage), then you should wear all black. Pants and long sleeve shirt. Then, if you are FOH and you have to move around, then during the event/show, you will not be noticed.

Thats just my opinion.


----------



## Wolf (Jul 2, 2008)

I always wear full black NO matter were I am. If you're FOH on any board or spot, SM whatever you never know when you'll have to run back stage. When im light board op I like to even wear a tie thats not black it does help the audience so they dont think why is the grim reaper here. When im on spot its still long black pants and long sleeve black shirt, you never know whos going to look up. If I have authority over a crew I will tell them to be wearing black no blue, no just dark color black, sometimes people wear short sleeve blacks i dont like that too much but at least its black. And it doesnt matter if your African American or not wear black clothes. But yes even FOH and FOH should even have button shirt or nice looking shirt.


----------



## photoatdv (Jul 4, 2008)

When I LD/ TD I typically require people who would have to go onstage to wear either all black or the show/crew shirt and dark jeans. Also if no run crew I require an ASM to wear all black so he/she can go onstage if there is a problem. For outside groups I typically wear a school shirt so they realize I am the one they have to listen to. (sometimes stage mothers/ fathers do not like being told that they can not hang a large ans heavy sign with 10lb fishing wire nor can the pin or tape it onto the cyc or scrim. They also don't like me telling them they have to wait until I am available to add weights so the sign doesn't come crashing down and kill there precious little kindergardeners!--- Yes I actually had to say that to get them to shut up and listen!).


----------



## MNicolai (Jul 5, 2008)

My philosophy is simple, but it depends if there are policies in place depending on where I'm working; if so, they take precedence. The goal of a tech should be to blend in. That can mean many things. If you have scene changes that are simultaneous to scenes going on currently, then you wouldn't want techs in black, but in costume. If the gig is outdoors in the middle of summer, then I would dress comfortably casual, borderline formal. If it's indoors, but it's something like a jazz concert in early summer, and I'm mixing FOH, I would probably dress dark, but yet again, casual, borderline formal, but not necessarily black. 

Also, black is a very general term. My show blacks consist of black dress pants, formal black shoes(black tennis shoes if dress shoes do not fit the situation), and a black collared shirt with a black tie. If I'm going to be mixing FOH, that's fine, but if my goal is being a heavy-lifter on stage between scenes, then I would want to be in more plain clothing than formal.

Let's face it though, what's more distracting during a show if you're an audience member sitting two rows behind the FOH mixing position? Is it when the technician is wearing black, or when he's dressed as a fellow audience member would be? I'd think it'd be _more_ distracting if he's wearing all black. Everytime he moves I'm reminded that he's an employee, doing a job, and I might even be curious what knob he's about to turn. If he's dressed to blend with the audience, he doesn't stick out as much when he's reaching over to adjust a fader. Maybe that's just me though. Another variable is house lights on or off. If it's off, then so long as he's not wearing bright white, he's probably fine, if it's off, then he's probably more distracting wearing all black.

What about indoors/outdoors? If a show is outdoors, does it matter? I supposed it depends, but if it's some outdoor nighttime concert, attire is less noticeable than if it's a daytime Shakespeare gathering. 

It also depends on the venue. If you're goal is to blend in, and you're way to get to the followspot booth includes walking through the lobby, but once you're at the booth, you're 30' above the audience and behind two panels of tinted glass, then I'd say it's more important to be dressed as nicely and less obviously than all-black as you make you're way through the lobby 10-minutes before the show.

That is why I believe that the simple philosophy of blending in is the best for deciding what to wear.


----------



## jb595 (Jul 5, 2008)

most definitely! if you need to run on stage at any given minute to fix something major you look better in black. also some other options depending on the event would be black shirt and dark jeans, black suit or black shirt and pants. it just makes you look all that much smarter to your clients


----------



## Casey (Jul 5, 2008)

I totally agree that you should blend in with you surrondings, and given that it was worded as "non-backstage" I assume that would be FOH, in which case you should be dressed as the audience is dressed. In my market, Chicago, I find that a black polo and jeans is about average. Also, as asked by one person, that is something you can wear to a strike.


----------



## Macbeth (Jul 5, 2008)

we require all of our crews to just wear a black shirt that has Syracuse High Stage Crew printed on it.


----------



## kimberlite (Jul 6, 2008)

Mostly, I agree with everyone else's postings that it depends on the show, venue and house staff.

For the record, though, I have supervised many students in university houses who ask this very same question, a lot. I always tell them they need to be prepared to go onstage by wearing all black. I remind them that even though they are the followspot operator and no one can see them, someone might go home sick or not show up and suddenly they have to come down from their location and help out, etc. Non-union scenario obviously. But, IMO, it's always good to be prepared for anything (within reason), it's a part of our job.


----------



## EXQEX9 (Jul 6, 2008)

Yes, they totally should, if only to be uniform. In my short life, ive noticed that organizations that are uniform preform better than those that are'nt.


----------



## Serendipity (Aug 9, 2008)

MNicolai said:


> My philosophy is simple, but it depends if there are policies in place depending on where I'm working; if so, they take precedence. The goal of a tech should be to blend in.



For my school's the formal ballroom event, everyone FOH wears dress blacks. For some people on makeup crew, it meant black dresses, for others it meant black suits, black jeans and a nice shirt, something which blended in, but also meant that if you had to blend in onstage as opposed to in the house, you were prepared. For strike, most people changed, as we had to wait for the ballroom to empty anyways.
[The audio designer actually wore a black dress and fake leopard coat during the show  ]


However there's other performances where even being "non-backstage" still doesn't mean you're seen. For example, one local performing arts center has the lighting booth raised above normal audience eye-level, and nothing can be seen above the shoulders of the LD/LBO. In that case, they could wear whatever they chose, though it's ultimately a shirt that is dark and clean.



IMO, it depends.
You'll know what feels right, and if you don't, you're not going to be in trouble if you're in black.


----------



## derekleffew (Aug 9, 2008)

Serendipity said:


> ... The audio designer actually wore a black dress and fake leopard coat during the show...


 Did he receive many compliments on his ensemble?


----------



## scubadiver305 (Aug 10, 2008)

personally i think that if you are going to be in the booth or in the FOH you should at least wear a black shirt for obvious reasons, but black pants are optional and unnecessary (and dont always look the best). anywhere FOH no matter where you are you want to be professional and if your only blacks are an inside out black shirt with a bunch of writing...i think blacks might not be a good choice. but a dark polo or shirt will work just as well.


----------



## Serendipity (Aug 10, 2008)

derekleffew said:


> Serendipity said:
> 
> 
> > The audio designer actually wore a black *dress* and fake leopard coat during the show.
> ...



Why, yes! Quite a few. 
[She actually looked great, it was just amusing.]


----------



## RichMoore (Aug 20, 2008)

I and all of my tech people wear clean blacks for all ticketed performances, whether in the booth, backstage or deck.

If we have rented out the house and the show has their own LD, sound people and stage manager, or it is an non-ticket show then techs are in blacks and I am in black shirt and shoes and khaki trousers.

If it is a CCSO, Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra performance, then all techs in blacks and me in black suit with a tie, usually red because I hate ties.

If, for some reason, techs show up in black shirts (T type) that has lettering on it, I use the ever present and multi-functional black gaffer's tape to cover the lettering.

At no time and no way are shorts ever worn, even though we are on an island and that is what most of the students live in constantly, along with their flip-flops (which used to be called thongs, btw) which are also not worn on any call.

When you are called to work, you dress for work, otherwise I couldn't care less what you wear.

My $.02,

Rich


----------



## quarterfront (Aug 20, 2008)

Just because you're not assigned to go onstage doesn't mean it won't happen. If there's a chance of you having to go onstage you should be in blacks. I'm a designer, usually I show up for previews in street clothes, but if the show's going rough in tech and I think maybe I'll need to go backstage and troubleshoot, well, I show up in blacks. I agree, a FOH sound mixer should be dressed in street clothes - and I think they should be dark grey or suchlike, non-descript and able to pass as blacks onstage.


----------



## lieperjp (Aug 20, 2008)

quarterfront said:


> I agree, a FOH sound mixer should be dressed in street clothes - and I think they should be dark grey or suchlike, non-descript and able to pass as blacks onstage.



In my opinion, nicer than street clothes if patrons can see them. Probably the same level of dress as most of the people in the theatre. Not a tux or suit if it's that formal, but at least a nice button-down (dark colored) shirt and pants.


----------



## Serendipity (Aug 20, 2008)

quarterfront said:


> Just because you're not assigned to go onstage doesn't mean it won't happen.


Very true, and it's something to think about with dress blacks.


Charc said:


> Of course wearing black doesn't make a technician invisible.


WHAT?! :shock: 
All this time, I swore I was Violet Incredible...


----------



## quarterfront (Aug 21, 2008)

lieperjp said:


> In my opinion, nicer than street clothes if patrons can see them. Probably the same level of dress as most of the people in the theatre. Not a tux or suit if it's that formal, but at least a nice button-down (dark colored) shirt and pants.



We probably mean the same thing. I dress pretty shabby, so when I refer to "street clothes" I tend to mean dressing up clean. My "regular" clothes all have holes in the knees....


----------



## achstechdirector (Mar 23, 2009)

My crews wear a tech shirt that is black with white lettering. We like to look seperate, but during the show the audience can't see anyone unless they are straining to see us. I have gone to a military surplus store and bought several pair of black cargos and the techs buy them from the theatre so that they are uniform and usually cheaper. I, as the TD/HM/ME usually wear the same thing but a button up long sleeve shirt that has the same design printed on it (A very generic design that is good for every show) When working at a jobsite or when someone rents I look professional, the first due to the fact that is a job and the latter due to the fact that Im in charge and they should know that. Always, black steel toe workboots for everyone.

BTW I just realized how old this thread was, oh well.


----------



## MSLD (Mar 31, 2009)

Im going to go out on a limb and say this. It all depends on the security as well. If you dress like a normal audience person and security doesnt know who you are, chances are, you are not getting backstage very easily. 

Security is nice to have but sometimes they are a PITA!


----------



## cdub260 (Mar 31, 2009)

MSLD said:


> Im going to go out on a limb and say this. It all depends on the security as well. If you dress like a normal audience person and security doesnt know who you are, chances are, you are not getting backstage very easily.
> 
> Security is nice to have but sometimes they are a PITA!



I actually had something like this happen with the security a show brought in to my venue a few years back. Their security wouldn't let me through the stage door, so I told him that was fine and I'd just go through the office located ten feet to the left of the stage door. I took out my keys, opened the office door and went through.

After that, I had no more issues with their security.


----------

