# New member alert!



## J Katz (Dec 26, 2018)

Good afternoon and Merry Christmas! Long time control booth reader here! I am now looking to contribute the best I can. I work at one of the leading commercial scene shops. I have worked on about 20 Broadway shows over the past year. I am able to help answer general questions and of course the inevitable "how do they do it on Broadway" questions.

What is the last Broadway show you've seen?


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## josh88 (Dec 26, 2018)

Question is what shop?


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## J Katz (Dec 27, 2018)

josh88 said:


> Question is what shop?


 
We just built Beetlejuice, Tootsie, Pretty Woman, and To Kill a Mocking Bird


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## derekleffew (Dec 27, 2018)

Some posts have been removed from this thread. If the original poster doesn't wish to, or cannot, state his employer, he doesn't have to. https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/confidentitality-proprietary-information.5984/#post-66469
He's provided enough information that anyone wanting to internet stalk him may do so.

Welcome, @J Katz . So how did they do the transformation where Atticus Finch turns into a mockingbird?
Fog? Pyro? Lasers?

P.S.: The last show I saw on Broadway was either _Rent _or_ Noise/Funk._


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## J Katz (Dec 27, 2018)

Hah geez! You guys are roasting me already... Sorry Ron, I was being ambiguous on purpose - for discretion sake. Thank you @derekleffew
I didn't know anyone in the industry but I worked my a** off through college. I worked at a few smaller professional shops straight out of school and I am blessed to be where I am. I have been working passionately towards Broadway since I was a kid. I believe that hard work pays off. (It also helps to be good at, and love what you do)

Trick question Derek? Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are the true mockingbirds of the story...


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## SteveB (Dec 27, 2018)

Welcome J. 

It’s terrific to have a member that has your insight into that end of the business. Hardly a day goes by here on CB when somebody isn’t asking “well how did they do it on Broadway”. Now maybe we’ll know. Of course sometimes the answer is simple “spend a lot of money”. 

A buddy of mine son was on the prop crew for Tootsie when it was in Chicago, he’s hoping to get picked up when it moves to the Marquis. 

Last show I saw was Kinkyboots. It was fabulous. I don’t get to see much B-Dway even though I’m in the NYC area and work in Brooklyn, unless somebody working a show gets me tickets.


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## J Katz (Dec 27, 2018)

Glad to be here. Tootsie was a fun one for sure! Fantastic creative team. Right now Tootise and Beetlejuice are both on the shop floor getting ready for their transfer from out of town tryouts. Shows have gotten very expensive over the years! Sometimes we don't even get tickets.


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## josh88 (Dec 27, 2018)

J Katz said:


> Glad to be here. Tootsie was a fun one for sure! Fantastic creative team. Right now Tootise and Beetlejuice are both on the shop floor getting ready for their transfer from out of town tryouts. Shows have gotten very expensive over the years! Sometimes we don't even get tickets.



I was just asking because I too just randomly found myself in the same situation after being a teacher at a boarding school. I ended up building Anastasia, Hello Dolly, 1984, and a couple of others, and we never got tickets haha.


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## Jay Ashworth (Dec 27, 2018)

SteveB said:


> I don’t get to see much B-Dway



Is that the Jewish spelling, Steve?


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## macsound (Dec 27, 2018)

Wasn't the shop I was thinking of, unless they keep some shows secret that they build.

*2018*​
KINKY BOOTS
LOVE NEVER DIES
ON YOUR FEET!
SCHOOL OF ROCK
SPAMILTON
THE BODYGUARD
THE COLOR PURPLE


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## Crisp image (Dec 28, 2018)

Hi J Katz,
I am an amateur set builder for a local community musical theatre co and love what I do for them. When I see a show I always think "how did they do that".
On my limited budget I make use of radio controlled items with wheelchair motors and gearboxes or car windscreen wiper motors because they are the right price.
We are off to New York (long way from Australia) on the 10th of Jan and will be seeing Frozen, King Kong and The Prom plus whatever else we can get our hands on for a reasonable price.
I also work in tech for a local PAC part time and am learning lots of good stuff there. I would love to visit a real Broadway shop to get some insight but I don't think that will ever happen.
Enjoy your time here
Regards
Geoff


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## SteveB (Dec 30, 2018)

Jay Ashworth said:


> Is that the Jewish spelling, Steve?



No, just easier to type that on an iPad. Fewer typos.


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## J Katz (Dec 31, 2018)

@Crisp image

I would suggest subscribing to/or viewing online the monthly Lighting and Sound America Magazine issues. (http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/) They often have very well detailed accounts of the tech that goes into a specific show. I started reading this magazine when I was in high school and googling every word and product I didn't recognize. There is a great article about King Kong that even includes concept drawings.


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## Crisp image (Jan 1, 2019)

J Katz said:


> @Crisp image
> 
> I would suggest subscribing to/or viewing online the monthly Lighting and Sound America Magazine issues. (http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/) They often have very well detailed accounts of the tech that goes into a specific show. I started reading this magazine when I was in high school and googling every word and product I didn't recognize. There is a great article about King Kong that even includes concept drawings.


Thanks for the tip. I am seeing King Kong which is featured in the latest copy.


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