# Getting loaned items back



## masterelectrician2112 (Aug 9, 2010)

First of all, I only know what I have been told, and I do not know if my source is reliable. I am designing lights for a community theatre and have been inquiring about their inventory. This theatre company has no space of their own, so they perform in different venues, sometimes taking their inventory of fixtures with them. I will call them "theatre A" for all intents and purposes. A few years ago, theatre A lent some source 4's to another local community theatre (who I will call "theatre B", who usually borrows most of their inventory from a local college. To my understanding, the fixtures were left in the space and used in many of theatre B's productions. Now that I am designing a show in theatre A's borrowed venue, I want to use the S4's that theatre B currently has. The problem is this. It has been told to me that when the fixtures were loaned from theatre A, they had the initials of theatre A painted onto them. However, theatre B has allegedly painted over theatre A's initials and replaced them with the initials of the local college. How should I go about getting these fixtures back seeing that there is now no proof that the fixtures do in fact belong to theatre A?


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## DaveySimps (Aug 9, 2010)

Other than attempting to contact Theatre B in a nice manner to inquire about the instruments, there is not a whole lot I think you can do about it if they say they do not have them. The individual who was in charge of lending the instruments out in the first place should be the one to track them down. They will have had a point of contact and personally negotiated the terms of the loan, so they can speak to specifics. Presumably, they will have some sort of relationship with the people at Theatre B that they will want to make things right.

~Dave


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## seanandkate (Aug 9, 2010)

I don't suppose that Theatre A had any sort of inventory tracking system other than the painting system? Dave is right--it's not your fight and you probably don't want to go there. Especially if even _you_ aren't sure if your source is reliable. You may want to highly suggest that if instruments are to be loaned out, that Theatre A should engrave or put tracking marks internally on the instrument.


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## 2mojo2 (Aug 21, 2010)

I have had some of the same issues, and I am not sure how best to track loaned properties.
I am thinking that the next time we loan something to another school or a local dance company, I want a signed receipt.

If you had a signed receipt for your lights, the burden would be on the other school to prove they returned the lights.


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## bishopthomas (Aug 26, 2010)

Signing in and out is the only way to keep track of who took what when.


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## derekleffew (Aug 26, 2010)

Somehow I missed this initially.

masterelectrician2112 said:


> ...However, theatre B has allegedly painted over theatre A's initials and replaced them with the initials of the local college. ...


As Judge Judy says, "If it doesn't make sense, it's probably not true." and this certainly makes no sense. I could believe theatre B painting over theatre A's markings with its own, but not with college C's. 

As others have said, without a paper trail, possession is 9/10 of the law, but have you tried asking theatre B's TD if you can borrow the fixtures in question for your production? Worry about returning them after the show, when/if the subject arises.


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## CSCTech (Aug 26, 2010)

I would hope some form of contract or agreement was made up when letting theatre b rent the fixtures, if not there isn't much to do besides having the person in charge of the loan from theatre a contact theatre b and hope they will come through.

But as derek said, why would B make it seem like C owned As fixture and not having make it seem like B owns As fixture?


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