# I'm a guest speaker. Me???



## What Rigger? (Aug 22, 2020)

What up, hive mind! So with the start of the fall (Zoom) semester in the Cal State System, I've been asked by my alma mater to give a 45 minute talk in about a week and a half to a Stagecraft class (general tech overview class).

The topics: load in procedures and (separately) automation. 

If _you _could tell this group of fine, upstanding young people something about either of these, what would it be? 
Yes, I am sort of asking you to help me with my homework. Hello, McFly! I need time to copy it, McFly- how do you think it would look if I turned in my homework in your handwriting?!?!? I can talk a lot, but there's always something I forget to mention that's good. Maybe you'll all help me avoid that. 

Anyway, have at, and thanks in advance.


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## Crisp image (Aug 22, 2020)

Start by telling them to put their smart phone down and do some work. . Remind them them it is long road between the start of load in before you get to play with the toys.
But of course mention some safety stuff, and the very basics. That is as much of your homework I am going to help you with. 
Regards
Geoff


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## Lextech (Aug 22, 2020)

Remind them that they should never guess at what to do. When in doubt, ask.


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## derekleffew (Aug 22, 2020)

I like to show a Utube video of a KISS load-in from, I think, 1977. Bill McManus is in it. Let's see if I can find it quick....

(not sure if this is the one I'm thinking of)

Then discuss it. Explain that, while some things have changed, MANY have not. Trucks are still unloaded, truss is still bolted together, etc. etc.


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## What Rigger? (Aug 22, 2020)

derekleffew said:


> I like to show a Utube video of a KISS load-in from, I think, 1977. Bill McManus is in it. Let's see if I can find it quick....
> 
> (not sure if this is the one I'm thinking of)
> 
> Then discuss it. Explain that, while some things have changed, MANY have not. Trucks are still unloaded, truss is still bolted together, etc. etc.



This is a favorite of all time. KISS Army for 44 years now.


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## TimMc (Aug 22, 2020)

Load in? If using ramps, never rest your hands on the ramp rails or you might lose some fingers.

Don't attempt to connect multi-pin audio cables unless specifically told to do so, whereas in LX, you're expected to connect the Soca...

Know up/down stage, stage left/right. Know the route to FOH, dressing rooms, and dead case storage.

Show up before call time to clock in, get instructions, and make a restroom visit before the truck is opened.

NEVER put your body or any portion thereof between a fixed, stationary object and a moving object. See Newton's first law...

In theater and arena work a worker's danger zone is potentially 360°. Look all the way around as well as up and down.

Mongo only pawn in game of life.


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## JimOC_1 (Aug 22, 2020)

Never assume the tie downs inside the truck survived the trip. Opening the door could be deadly. Reread TimMC’s lesson 5 on Newton’s first law.
Just because you can pull two top heavy amp racks at a time does not mean you should. Forty years ago, those McIntosh tube amps made loud broken glass sounds when tipped over. (Foreigner was my last job as an extra at a union house.)


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## What Rigger? (Aug 23, 2020)

JimOC_1 said:


> Never assume the tie downs inside the truck survived the trip. Opening the door could be deadly. Reread TimMC’s lesson 5 on Newton’s first law.
> Just because you can pull two top heavy amp racks at a time does not mean you should. Forty years ago, those McIntosh tube amps made loud broken glass sounds when tipped over. (Foreigner was my last job as an extra at a union house.)


Reminds me of the time I put a 500 watt bass head on a road case, to roll them both off the truck, and I hit the lip at the end of the truck ramp. I had no idea that bass heads could fly so beautifully, and the <<CRASHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHHHHHHHH>> it made when it landed and slid across the polished concrete floor of the warehouse...ho-ho!


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## egilson1 (Aug 23, 2020)

-If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. And if you’re late, don’t even bother showing up. The call time is when you start working, not when you arrive. 
-Wear a hard hat. And not just when people are working overhead. That’s not what OSHA requires. It’s whenever you’re exposed to the potential of head trauma. That could be the rider on the case sliding off onto you head. Or when a line set is in and the batten is below head height. 
-please and thank you are a must


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## What Rigger? (Aug 23, 2020)

egilson1 said:


> -If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. And if you’re late, don’t even bother showing up. The call time is when you start working, not when you arrive.
> -Wear a hard hat. And not just when people are working overhead. That’s not what OSHA requires. It’s whenever you’re exposed to the potential of head trauma. That could be the rider on the case sliding off onto you head. Or when a line set is in and the batten is below head height.
> -please and thank you are a must


Good one on the hard hat, Ethan. I'm so used to wearing mine whether I'm on rope or under someone on rope I sometimes forget it's not an automatic for other departments.


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## soundman (Aug 24, 2020)

I would focus more on some planning and head of department stuff and less on helping them be a better local.

I'd break it down into sections, 15 minutes on general planning, 10 minutes or R&R touring, 10 minutes on Theater touring and 10 minutes on one offs. 

General -

Chain of Command
Advancing / site survey
Scheduling Labor / equipment
How a plan is developed and distributed

R&R

Club/arena/stadium logistics
typical schedule / hand calls for shows
'standard' flow of the day. Rig upstage, pin truss mid stage, build stage DS,
examples of paperwork from different departments.

Theater
- Fitting massive shows in 100 year old buildings, 
- 'phantom points' producers reusing other show's engineering
- tons of stuff I'm not aware of because its not my world

One Offs

It's only got to work once.....
Ball room / arena/ theater pros and cons
Trade shows / press events / award shows

I'd try and find as many visuals as you can, photos from load ins showing R&R set carts, a chalked floor, cable/case labels, and rigging point stickers would all be great to see as a new student. Both examples of what to do and what doesn't work so well....


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## gafftaper (Aug 24, 2020)

I generally like the outline that @soundman gave above but want to remind above all else know your audience. So I would start by talking to the Prof. about what the class knows. Do they know what a pro load in even is? Do they know what points are? Do they know anything about how a truck is packed? Have they ever personally touched a road case? Is their definition of "load in" when we built the set on stage in High School? Think back to when you were 18 and a hot shot senior on the high school campus because you knew how to do things in your space really well, but arrived in college to find out you knew nothing about how the pro world works.


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## Lynnchesque (Aug 24, 2020)

To be clear, the load in procedure for what exactly? Touring shows? Or shows at the school? 
Remember that an intro stagecraft class will have general theater majors- actors etc who may not know a bunch of jargon. 
I think the main thing to get across is that while a school production has months to lollygag, a pro show has a day, so the order of operations is well choreographed. They should come away knowing the answer to "which do we build first- the lighting truss or the massive set?"
My tip- figure out the path you're going to take 'before' you start dumping the truck. 

As for automation.. All though highschool and college, I don't think I had a concept of what a motor was until several calls in a down-rigger told me to get out from underneath the steel, and I looked up and realized there was a whole other level of work going on. So show em a motor.


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## macsound (Aug 24, 2020)

Lynnchesque said:


> To be clear, the load in procedure for what exactly? Touring shows? Or shows at the school?
> Remember that an intro stagecraft class will have general theater majors- actors etc who may not know a bunch of jargon.
> I think the main thing to get across is that while a school production has months to lollygag, a pro show has a day, so the order of operations is well choreographed. They should come away knowing the answer to "which do we build first- the lighting truss or the massive set?"
> My tip- figure out the path you're going to take 'before' you start dumping the truck.
> ...



Quite true. Even working in corporate AV, concepts of what happened in theatre was super foreign to those folks. I worked in some large San Francisco hotels where the experienced lighting guys (who only had large hotel corporate experience) say some really weird things because of their lack of exposure to any more creative venues.

I'm sure, even the concept of having hundreds of light cues for a musical is foreign to someone who's only lit plays on unit sets.


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## RonHebbard (Aug 24, 2020)

Lynnchesque said:


> To be clear, the load in procedure for what exactly? Touring shows? Or shows at the school?
> Remember that an intro stagecraft class will have general theater majors- actors etc who may not know a bunch of jargon.
> I think the main thing to get across is that while a school production has months to lollygag, a pro show has a day, so the order of operations is well choreographed. They should come away knowing the answer to "which do we build first- the lighting truss or the massive set?"
> My tip- figure out the path you're going to take 'before' you start dumping the truck.
> ...


No matter how good your lighting and sound systems may be, touring productions will invariably chose/ prefer to use their own; familiarity, cues and presets already loaded in, labels in place. Connectorized, ready to rock, go, and get out. 

Having established cable-ways in place and organized. GREAT! 

Crew who know SR from SL. US from DS. Direct route directly to / from your loading dock to FOH *and mentioning this* BEFORE they've taken items for the lobby through the door (s) to your stage only to have to schlepp them back out to your truck dock rather than needing to schlep them over your pit and through / over your expensive upholstered seating. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## What Rigger? (Aug 24, 2020)

Lynnchesque said:


> To be clear, the load in procedure for what exactly? Touring shows? Or shows at the school?
> Remember that an intro stagecraft class will have general theater majors- actors etc who may not know a bunch of jargon.
> I think the main thing to get across is that while a school production has months to lollygag, a pro show has a day, so the order of operations is well choreographed. They should come away knowing the answer to "which do we build first- the lighting truss or the massive set?"
> My tip- figure out the path you're going to take 'before' you start dumping the truck.
> ...


Waiting on all these questions to be answered. Hopefully tomorrow, if not tonight!


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## Playajackal (Aug 26, 2020)

RonHebbard said:


> No matter how good your lighting and sound systems may be, touring productions will invariably chose/ prefer to use their own; familiarity, cues and presets already loaded in, labels in place. Connectorized, ready to rock, go, and get out.



Depends on who's touring and what their budget is. I've worked with plenty of dance companies where we used the venue's lighting rep plot, tweaked it a bit, and added specials. And the venue sound system was just fine.


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## RonHebbard (Aug 26, 2020)

Playajackal said:


> Depends on who's touring and what their budget is. I've worked with plenty of dance companies where we used the venue's lighting rep plot, tweaked it a bit, and added specials. And the venue sound system was just fine.


Local dance companies don't often visit with four or five semi's or, particularly in the case of country acts, six or more custom mobile homes. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## Joe Moore (Aug 26, 2020)

Try to find a photo of a blown truck load that shows up at the venue and a couple of thousand pounds of gear comes flying out of the back of the truck when the rear doors are opened. Remember you have no idea how a touring show was loaded in the truck from the previous load out unless you were there.

Be mindful of where you stand when opening up the doors to the truck. I have a great photo but am not permitted to share it.


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## Hansentd (Aug 26, 2020)

One of the most useful classes I ever took was called "Professional Theater". At the time I was an actor and it was mostly geared towards acting BUT it covered things like "What is an Independent Contractor" - "What are deductions and can I have some" - "What are contracts and how are they structured" - "What are unions, why did they come about, and how can they be useful". If they're only having you in for a single talk, I would try to cover some of those "gee nobody ever told me about this in school" subjects.


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## What Rigger? (Aug 26, 2020)

Hansentd said:


> One of the most useful classes I ever took was called "Professional Theater". At the time I was an actor and it was mostly geared towards acting BUT it covered things like "What is an Independent Contractor" - "What are deductions and can I have some" - "What are contracts and how are they structured" - "What are unions, why did they come about, and how can they be useful". If they're only having you in for a single talk, I would try to cover some of those "gee nobody ever told me about this in school" subjects.


Right now it is only one session. But they have made vague mention of possibly more. I’ll keep this one cued up on the “if there’s time/definitely next time” list.


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## TimMc (Aug 27, 2020)

Let us know how it goes...


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## egilson1 (Aug 27, 2020)

Don’t jump off the dock/truck/stage edge. Your knees will thank you.


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## JimOC_1 (Aug 27, 2020)

Or jump into the pit. There’s stuff in there even if you can’t see it. Like black wardrobe and equipment cases.
Another close call from my college days.


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## MBrodin (Aug 28, 2020)

Every venue is different, every show is different. Don’t assume, ask. For instance, I started in small theater and bars and moved to A/V install then to pro and corporate theater. Some places you can load in the front door, others in the back. Some through the loading dock, some not. Some places you can roll items in, some you can only bring what you can carry. Some only other people can move your equipment. Some won’t let you touch your equipment or will need to shadow you. It’s someone else’s house. You’re a working guest. Ask.
The same applies to using any outlet/circuit and touching/moving any set, prop, costume, tool or even walking onstage. It may seem obvious, but it might be. Respect their house, ask.


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## macsound (Aug 28, 2020)

MBrodin said:


> Every venue is different, every show is different. Don’t assume, ask. For instance, I started in small theater and bars and moved to A/V install then to pro and corporate theater. Some places you can load in the front door, others in the back. Some through the loading dock, some not. Some places you can roll items in, some you can only bring what you can carry. Some only other people can move your equipment. Some won’t let you touch your equipment or will need to shadow you. It’s someone else’s house. You’re a working guest. Ask.
> The same applies to using any outlet/circuit and touching/moving any set, prop, costume, tool or even walking onstage. It may seem obvious, but it might be. Respect their house, ask.


Super true and ask in advance. One show I worked, there were flats that didn't fit in the freight elevator, and it took special permission to bring them up the fire exit staircase and through the house.
Since the scene shop knew what theatre they were building for and had all the dimensions ahead of time, it would have been prudent to ensure the set could be loaded in.

On the other side of the coin, I worked at a theatre with a strict no food policy. Not in the house or lobby or backstage. The only place you could eat was in the bar, but the bar didn't open until the house opened. I was mixing and came from work so would usually pickup a sandwich for dinner on the way. 
Thankfully I didn't ask about the food policy so I didn't hear about this rule until closing weekend, so I only had to endure 3 days of eating my sandwich on the streets of San Francisco instead of with the crew at the backstage tech table.


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## RonHebbard (Aug 28, 2020)

macsound said:


> Super true and ask in advance. One show I worked, there were flats that didn't fit in the freight elevator, and it took special permission to bring them up the fire exit staircase and through the house.
> Since the scene shop knew what theatre they were building for and had all the dimensions ahead of time, it would have been prudent to ensure the set could be loaded in.
> 
> On the other side of the coin, I worked at a theatre with a strict no food policy. Not in the house or lobby or backstage. The only place you could eat was in the bar, but the bar didn't open until the house opened. I was mixing and came from work so would usually pickup a sandwich for dinner on the way.
> Thankfully I didn't ask about the food policy so I didn't hear about this rule until closing weekend, so I only had to endure 3 days of eating my sandwich on the streets of San Francisco instead of with the crew at the backstage tech table.


 * @macsound* Posting regarding building to fit in the venue. 
For a number of years I worked in a scenery and automation shop (As IA Head of electrical construction) Our IA Head Carpenter made it his business to learn the dimensions of all doorways, often taking measurements and photos on site prior to bidding the construction. 

For every truck load shipping to the the venue, a wooden frame equal in dimensions to the smallest opening our scenery would encounter was constructed immediately inside our load out door: If it wouldn't pass through our reduced exit, there was ZERO point in loading it in a truck. 
This was especially true when shipping all of the Who's Tommy to Offenbach Frankfurt in 1995 and to London's Shaftesbury a year later in 1996. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## What Rigger? (Sep 1, 2020)

Thanks for the input everyone. Unfortunately, the instructors seem to have ghosted me despite numerous attempts to contact and confirm after they initially reached out to me.


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