# Sony says Hello from Rhode Island/Massachusetts



## Sony (Aug 22, 2008)

Finally I have decided to introduce myself and give you a little information who I am and where I'm from.

My name is Trevor Bates I originally hail from the island of Martha's Vineyard. I grew up in the town of Edgartown on the island since I was 4 months old. I am currently the Assistant Manager of the Martha's Vineyard Performing Arts Center at the MV Regional High School. This is my Summer/Winter Break job as I go to College for the rest of the year. 

Hopefully this is my last year as a Theatre Major at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. I concentrate mostly in Lighting Design but am well versed in Sound, Lights, Electrical, Carpentry and Production Management as well as the basics of Rigging. I love anything with electricity, it's kinda a fetish (no, not the "I like to shock my own nipples" fetish...) for me. 

I got into theatre in 5th grade running lights and sound for my Elementary Schools musical productions. Since then it's spiraled out of control much to my enjoyment. I've been incredibly blessed to work with some of the people I have, mostly through my job as Assistant Manager of MVPAC. Some of the biggest names include American Ballet Theatre/Stiefel and Stars, Alive Arts, NAACP, Livingston Taylor, Island Moving Company and Cape Cod Ballet. I love the work, even if I'm not getting paid, the experience alone is worth every second. 

Of course lighting is my main source of enjoyment. My college has a ETC Express 48/96 and 72 Unison DR Series Dimmers which I helped install 3 years ago. Last year as Senior Lighting Designer I was in charge of spending $10,000 from start to finish on more lighting equipment. It was an awesome experience going through the quoting and purchasing process (I know it may not seem that fun for most people but I always enjoy learning HOW to do something I've never done before.) I was basically in charge of everything from start to finish, and we ended up purchasing:
*4 Apollo RightArms 
4 ETC S4 36° ERS's 
2 ETC S4 50° ERS's
6 ETC S4 ParNEL's
2 Apollo SmartRotator DMX Gobo Rotator
4 Apollo SmartColor 5.25" Scrollers. *

We added all this to our current complement of 
*30 ETC S4 Zoom Jr's
24 ETC S4 ParEA's. 
24 ETC S4 ParNELs
12 Apollo SmartColor 7.5" Scrollers*

I've designed a dozen or more shows since my freshman year of College, usually at least 2 or 3 a semester including:
_*Duran Duran*_
*And The Tony Goes Too... *(Musical Review composed by the students of RWU)
_*Woman In Black*_
_*Orestes*_ by Helen Edmundson (It was actually the first production of this particular adaptation of Orestes in the USA)
_*Dead Man Walking
Waiting for Godot*_

If anyone has any work or needs an extra set of hands anywhere near (within 1 hour) Bristol, RI. Depending on the job I'll gladly work for free or minimum wage just for the opportunity to add another job to my resume. People say I have an incredible troubleshooting ability, I can usually just look at something and almost immediately know whats wrong and how to fix it. Experience includes large amounts of Lighting a Sound including like recording/mixing and lots of electrician work. Recently revamped MVPAC's sound system, pulled out 6 old Renkus-Heinz amps that were on their way out as well as a Peavy Media Matrix. Replaced them with 6 Crown XTI-2000's and a DBX Driverack 4800. Installed and tuned the entire system pretty much completely by myself. So if you need someone then shoot me a PM! I just plain love working in the industry. 

Other interests I have are Mountain Biking, Boating (Sail or Power,) Computers, Cars and Futurama.

Here are some pics!

This is where I work in the summer at the MVPAC (Seats 791, Dimmer Capacity is 192 Dimmers + 200 Amp 3 Phase Distro w/ Cam-Loks, stage is 42' wide by 35' Deep, 21 Fully Counterweighted Flys and 4 Electrics on Drill Winches.)




Here are a couple Productions I've done at my College

*Orestes* by Helen Edmundson





*Dead Man Walking* by Tim Robbins


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## gafftaper (Aug 22, 2008)

Welcome to the Booth Sony! You just won the gold medal for best intro post ever. Nicely done. Sounds like you've done a nice job of positioning yourself so you are getting some good practical experience while in school. That isn't easy to do but it's very helpful for the job search later. I've spent the last year spending about a half million bucks equipping a new theater it's been both a pain in the butt and a blast (I hope with the purchase of all that Apollo gear you got yourself a nice stack of gum).


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## LekoBoy (Aug 22, 2008)

I'd recheck the dimensions of the stage if I were you. It's a shame all that education and experience never taught you to _italicize_ the titles of shows.


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## Sony (Aug 22, 2008)

LekoBoy said:


> I'd recheck the dimensions of the stage if I were you. It's a shame all that education and experience never taught you to _italicize_ the titles of shows.



OH DOH! I totally spaced and put " instead of ' ....duh...editing it now.

I'm sorry...I didn't mean to offend you by not _italicizing_ the titles. Next time remind me to give a ****... you got the point didn't you, was it not enough? I didn't know I was writing a research paper and it had to be so formal.


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## LekoBoy (Aug 22, 2008)

Sony said:


> I'm sorry...I didn't mean to offend you by not _italicizing_ the titles. Next time remind me to give a ****... you got the point didn't you, was it not enough? I didn't know I was writing a research paper and it had to be so formal.


 You didn't offend me, and I hope I didn't offend you. One of the most important things I've learned on here is to present yourself in the best manner possible. Here you are asking/begging for work. Now most people won't know/care that you didn't use italics; but what if the Technical Director of the nearby theater looking for interns IS a stickler? Most theater professionals know titles are italicized, and is an easy way to spot those who care about details and those who don't.


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## Sony (Aug 22, 2008)

I'd just like to say I'm not begging for work, just saying if anyone needs help I'm more then willing to help out with anything just for the experience. Sorry for getting a bit angry...the way you worded it made it seem like you were belittling me.

Anyways here are a couple more pics of the MVPAC



Me up on the Super Straddle...**** that thing is freaky...better then a ladder though by a longshot.


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## cdub260 (Aug 22, 2008)

Sony said:


> Sorry for getting a bit angry...the way you worded it made it seem like you were belittling me.



Belittling people is what we do best here on CB. If you think what you've seen here on the introduction page is bad, you should see some of the things I've said about Serindipity.

Seriously, though, welcome aboard! I think you'll find this a useful place to learn a few things and pass on what you know.


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## Serendipity (Aug 22, 2008)

cdub260 said:


> Belittling people is what we do best here on CB. If you think what you've seen here on the introduction page is bad, you should see some of the things I've said about Serindipity.


Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely.

Yes, welcome! And your introductory post is by far the most detailed (with pictures, inventories, interests, outside-of-theater, and..!).


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## Sony (Aug 22, 2008)

Serendipity said:


> Yes, welcome! And your introductory post is by far the most detailed (with pictures, inventories, interests, outside-of-theater, and..!).



Thanks, yea I may have gone a bit overboard with the intro...I just get really excited when talking about the things I love. People who know me say I'm very "passionate" about my work.  Which I am...I love my job and hopefully my future career!


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## TWSmith (Aug 22, 2008)

That might be the best introduction I've ever read. Nice to "meet" you.


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## gafftaper (Aug 22, 2008)

Hey Sony, one thing we really try to preach around here is professionalism in how you present yourself. However we usually go after the young folks who come on and expect to be able to use internet slang or who don't use a spell checker in their postings. That's not ok. The point being to be a good technician you need to care about your work... even the smallest little details matter. The person you meet in a little side gig may be the connection that opens the door to your future. So caring about what you have to say is critical. In that sense, I thought your post was an outstanding representation of your work. 

I think Leko boy was also trying to add a little bit of sarcastic humor in his post... and if there's one thing I've learned the hard way here it's that sarcasm doesn't transmit well onto the internet even with a few extra smilies and winks.


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## Sony (Aug 23, 2008)

Yea...sorry...I just get really annoyed around people who concentrate too much on spelling and not enough on personality. I mean...it's one thing is someone is posting in freakin 1337 speak. However, if someone is going to judge my technical abilities and professionalism because I didn't italicize something in a personal post about myself on an internet forum, then personally I wouldn't want to work for them anyways. That's not what my degree is for...and that's not what I've spent my life working towards. You want to judge me? Meet me in person, and I'll be more then happy to show you everything I'm capable of and how professional I really am. People make small mistakes...other then the two insignificant things LekoBoy pointed out, my post was pretty much perfect.

Sorry for the rant...

Anyways...more pictures!

Full J.R. Clancy Rigging with 25 linesets each with 64' long pipes



Maximum of 1800lbs per arbor

Total Counterweight Available = 20 Tons in a various assortment of Wholes, Halfs and Quarters. 

Oh and lastly...you've always got to have a little fun  



Today was my last day at work for the summer...Sunday I head back to school...so me and my boss fired up the HD LCD Projector and played some Halo 3 in 720p and used a couple Direct Boxes to inject Halo 3 into the 6,000 Watt Sound System...needless to say...it was freakin awesome. Nothing like blasting the Flood on a 23x12' screen.


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## Serendipity (Aug 23, 2008)

Sony said:


> Today was my last day at work for the summer...Sunday I head back to school...so me and my boss fired up the HD LCD Projector and played some Halo 3 in 720p and used a couple Direct Boxes *to inject Halo 3 into the 6,000 Watt Sound System*...needless to say...it was freakin awesome. Nothing like blasting the Flood on a 23x12' screen.



Hahahaha!
And I like the verbage I bolded above.


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## Sony (Aug 23, 2008)

6,000 watts RMS baby yea! 6 Crown XTI-2000's running 500 Watts per channel into a total of 8 Renkus-Heinz Speakers. The Mains are 2 R-H SR6/6's for Left and Right and 2 R-H SR6/9's for the Center Cluster and then 3 R-H TRC121/9's to Fill in the Stadium Section and 1 R-H BPS15-1K for a Sub. The 4 Mains are Bi-Amped and the rest are Speaker Per Channel...it gets loud when you want to crank it up!


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## cdub260 (Aug 23, 2008)

Sony said:


> Yea...sorry...I just get really annoyed around people who concentrate too much on spelling and not enough on personality. I mean...it's one thing is someone is posting in freakin 1337 speak. However, if someone is going to judge my technical abilities and professionalism because I didn't italicize something in a personal post about myself on an internet forum, then personally I wouldn't want to work for them anyways. That's not what my degree is for...and that's not what I've spent my life working towards. You want to judge me? Meet me in person, and I'll be more then happy to show you everything I'm capable of and how professional I really am. People make small mistakes...other then the two insignificant things LekoBoy pointed out, my post was pretty much perfect.
> 
> Sorry for the rant...



So when does the war begin between LekoBoy and Sony? Will you be charging admission? Can I get ringside seats?


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## Sony (Aug 23, 2008)

No physical fighting...I'm a pacifist. I might however threaten to stab you in the face a few times, but it wont ever actually happen. I'm usually a nice guy...just been a little on edge lately due to...personal issues. heh I'll try to tone it down.


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## LekoBoy (Aug 23, 2008)

Sony said:


> ...my post was pretty much perfect.


humility - Definitions from Dictionary.com, much?

Just teasing with you. Glad you're here!


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## Sony (Sep 3, 2008)

So, I'm making this my own little Journal thread on what I'm going to be up to this year...figure it's better then starting a whole new thread. 

So far this year I'll be designing 3 shows at my college...but there may be more. If any of you are in the RI Area then I invite you to come see them! They will all be at Roger Williams University Performing Arts Center, Bristol, RI. 

So far the 3 shows are:

_Ghosts_
By Henrik Ibsen
October 3-5, 9-11, 2008

_The Women of Lockerbie_
By Deborah Brevoort
November 14-16, 20-22, 2008

_Little Shop of Horrors_
By Alan Menken
April 24-26, 30, May 1-2, 2009

There may be more to come...and there will be pictures of each one once we get to final dress rehearsal. I'm doing the Lighting Design for all 3.


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