# Order of Operations During Load-in / Install



## JacobRothermel (Jun 5, 2020)

Help me make a case to my Powers That Be:

What's your production footprint typically look like?

While I think this question applies to a lot of folks, I'm particularly curious to ask those in an academic settings (though I'd value union folks, too) who may be in permanent to semi-permanent residence with a performing arts center but cannot build in-space. Assuming you cannot build on stage and have to load in or "install", *in what order do you all typically load in to a space*? I'd ask for both traditional proscenium spaces (i.e., with fly systems) *and* for alternative spaces like black boxes and/or spaces with lighting catwalks.

Do you hang lights & audio first? Last? When do you typically do rigging (including soft goods changeovers)? Do you schedule LX and scenery overlapping or intrinsically separated (especially if you've catwalk spaces above the stage)?

Almost as importantly, WHEN DO ACTORS TYPICALLY REHEARSE ON STAGE? Tech? If prior to Tech, how prior? A week? Two? If two or more weeks prior, how long do you typically have access to the space, performances included (i.e., five weeks? six? longer?)? What the breakdown of that time, (i.e., you have 8 weeks start-to-finish but 4 of those weeks are performances)?


As a little background, my academic department is soon planning (covid notwithstanding) to take residence of a new performing arts center. We will become primary residents with mostly-constant access to scene shops, etc. but not to performance spaces. Mgmt of this PAC is fairly new to large facility management like a PAC but are intimately linked for the Theatre dept, at large. We're being given five-week "rentals" of a particular space, start to finish; 2 weeks "load-in", +/-1 week for focus & tech, 2 weeks will be performances. My issue is coming, less so from PAC mgmt, but from my academic dept who want wishes to maintain a model we used in our old theatre, where we were not only the sole residents but basically owned the space as well.

Within this five-week footprint, actors would take stage for rehearsal at the end of Week One; yes, in the middle of load-in. Resident designer and academic artist arguments are that spacing must take place in-space w/ "appropriate" time prior to focus to augment LX plots and give student actors ample time to be on stage. This actor-on-stage footprint is our traditional one; however it's worth noting that our previous theatre allowed us to build in-space and typically had a footprint of 6-8 weeks total (so a lot more time to hang, cable, construct, and finish prior to actors taking stage). 

With a accepting nod to the fact that academic theatre is non-traditional in a planning sense (i.e., bat-sh** crazy), I'd be grateful for any insight you all might have as to models for residency in PACs.

thanks,
-jake


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## Ben Stiegler (Jun 5, 2020)

At one school where I mentor, with similar space constraints (the auditorium is used for classes, assemblies, music events, art shows, as well as drama), the schedule is usually that actors and techies alternate days or shifts in the space. Typically 2 tech build sessions a week (6 hrs total), with occasional Saturday sprints as needed. Actors get the space the other 3 days after school. Then comes switch week, where actors and techies alternate owning the space either from 330-630 or 630-930. 2 dinner shifts are served to accomodate the kids. Finally, during "hell week" - tech rehearsals, dress rehearsals from Sat thru Wednesday, all hands 330-930. Preview is Thursday, and opening Friday. Also - a long standing tradition of cast and crew doing strike together after the last (Sunday matinee) show ... then the cast/crew party can begin.


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## MarshallPope (Jun 5, 2020)

I'll give you two perspectives:
In a previous university position:
Rehearsals would generally begin on stage prior to any sort of load-in. (Evenings)
During the day, scenic would have the deck, with the goal of ending the day with the set at a safe, usable stopping point. Electrics would share time (and crews) as needed.

In a professional theatre with approx. 1-week changeovers:
Show closes on a matinee. LX strikes any practicals and booms. Scenic strikes the previous set and does soft goods/show deck changeover. Scenic is out at 6 am. 
LX is in from 6 am-6pm to begin changeover, working upstage-downstage. Ideally they are mostly hung that day.
Scenic is in 6pm-6 am to begin with flying units and upstage units. 6a-6p LX finishes all electrics over stage and begins over the house.
Next night, scenic continues on stage, then LX continues in the house and booms, then the next night scenic mostly finishes on stage.
The next day, LX focuses and we load in props. That night, scenic continues with notes.
The next afternoon actors are on deck for a wandelprobe.
The next day is the first of 2 10/12 rehearsals, with all tech crews shifting to overnight notes after.
The next day is opening.


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## Morte615 (Jun 5, 2020)

Pre-planning, Pre-planning, Pre-planning, Pre-planning

I work around a lot of road houses and other permanent spaces that load in different shows. We rarely (almost never) get to build in/on the space as it's publicly visible and usually in use.
Every show is different depending on what it has. If it's a heavy rigging show they will get more time, if it's a heavy light show they will have more time. Same with timelines.
Depending on where the stage is located and if it's visible from the public usually this all happens overnights. Though if it's backstage then it's usually a split shift where disciplines will split their time on stage. If it's overnights it's usually crowded on stage.
Our time frame goes from hours to load in a concert event to mulitple weeks to load in a seasonal show.
But in general the order is usually:

Pre-Rigging (hanging things in the air over the stage to support things later) LX pipe, drape, ex. Pretty much to get things anywhere that it will be difficult to access once others start using the stage area
Motors and moving electrics are usually installed at this time
Structure of the booth is usually installed if not permanent
Sometimes video walls are loaded in, sometimes done later depending on the video wall and schedule

LX, FX,, Video Audio will then cable and install things overhead using lifts. Biggest thing is getting it in the air and getting the cables run because once things start on the stage you can't get a lift in.
From there it's all hands on deck and you start to see a little of everything being done. Staging and Scenic start to go in and the stage space get's hard to move on
LX usually will work on hanging fixtures on/off stage and will work on the electrics when they can be lowered in.
Audio will also start setting up stuff offstage, fills, and SFX speakers
This is also where you start to see the booth fill up with equipment

Sometimes talent will use the space for extended rehearsals if needed, the schedule is always opposite load in. Talent is never on stage while a load in is happening.
Once everything is installed (before LX focus) that is when you will start to see Talent appear. Techs usually mostly work oppisite shifts but there may be a few people doing programming and other thing around while talent is rehearsing
Then we start rehearsals, tech, and dress
Strike is of course quicker and more of a all hands on deck at the same time to get it done.


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## Lynnchesque (Jun 5, 2020)

So.. the schedule for the HS I work with typically looks like:
Week 1- Actors rehearse off site, crew builds set elements off site
Week 2- 
Day 1- Load in to performance space, Light hang/rough focus, Drops hung, Set built in as we go, Audio built around 
Day 2- Cut everything we didn't finish on day 1, Q2Q, fix problems during dinner/ fine focus, Run through
Day 3- Soft open school show or maybe a final dress if we're lucky, fix problems during dinner, open 
It's terrible and should be impossible but we pull it off.


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## RonHebbard (Jun 5, 2020)

MarshallPope said:


> I'll give you two perspectives:
> In a previous university position:
> Rehearsals would generally begin on stage prior to any sort of load-in. (Evenings)
> During the day, scenic would have the deck, with the goal of ending the day with the set at a safe, usable stopping point. Electrics would share time (and crews) as needed.
> ...


Add two, or more, focusing tracks, complete with rolling 'bosun's chairs', and another similar track adjacent to every overhead FOH LX and it's a whole new ball game, simmer and season to taste. The first time you're partway across an LX pipe when the carps hear the painful sound of the chain spilling out a no longer accessible two ton LoadStar, then you tell your crew we're going to pause for a few minutes at the end of your pipe to hand-bomb the carp's chain back into their now inaccessible chain bag IF they'll have a clean towel or two waiting for you to clean the chain lube off your hands and forearms, you want to watch how fast the Head Carp' will have a small stack of clean towels waiting for you when your guys run 5 minutes into their break time prior to landing your focusing track. 

None of my guys minded, they ragged the carps about how we had to cover for them for the remainder of our tour. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## themuzicman (Jun 6, 2020)

When I'm not touring I do a lot of work in off-Broadway NYC venues. In these venues it is pretty typical that they have no in-house lighting, audio, or video. Rehearsals are almost always off-site. Some have the ability to construct the set on-site, but an equal number shop their sets out. Because it's NYC we also typically have almost no storage space so it's a constant game of inter-departmental Tetris. 

There isn't typically an order we follow - 3-4 months out the Production Manager will gather the Head Carpenter, Production Electrician, Production Audio, and Production Video to hammer out a mutually agreed upon schedule. Some venues operate on 4-week turnarounds in their spaces (2 on the out, 2 on the in), others have the luxury of extending it further (typically those with multiple spaces and the ability to build on-site). On a 4 week turnaround you almost always have 3+ departments working at any one time. On a 5 week turnaround typically you get at least 1 week where it's just Scenic + Audio or Scenic + Lighting. Longer turnarounds don't always mean more solo time in a space for departments because at a certain point you're paying for at least one department's rental to sit unused in a space and producers tend to not like that. 

The other big holdup is available labor. In NYC it isn't unheard of for us to have 25+ on the load-out crew while there's an additional 12+ in the shop building. However I did a regional tryout in a minor market a few years back where we had a 6 week turnaround between shows but only because the non-union labor market in that city only afforded us 2-3 overhire per department on any given day. The producers ate the cost of the rentals sitting unused because they were saving money on labor. It also meant none of us were ever in each others way because there were so few of us. The venue also had workarounds for this huge lack of labor (my favorite: half of us got 120V 1/4 ton motors so we weren't burning people on the bottom of a rope all day). 

On a 4-Week Turnaround:

Week 1: Two weeks prior to this actors have started in a rehearsal room. Show comes down Sunday Night. A night crew from Audio/LX/Video is on-hand to do a quick 4-hour call to remove all delicate items from stage. Foot-lights, microphones onstage, anything delicate and easily breakable. Typically no cable unless there is cable that would prevent Genies or Scaffolding from rolling on deck. The focus of Week 1 is to get the rental items back to the shop, so the set is taking a backseat. Monday morning the carps are on-hand to clear paths for Audio/LX/Video. One department works in the house, another works on stage and they work towards each other. It's all about balancing resources because there's never enough scaffolding or ladders to go around. There is a second crew from each department at the rental shops building the rig for the next show. Typically no weekend work this week. 

Week 2: Scenery is taking priority to get the set out. Typically LX and Audio go into a re-store mode and start knocking the overhead pipes back into their rep plot to match the drawings. Shop crews are still working away. The more organized crews are sending info and pre-rig packages to the theater to get pre-hung for their arrival. Typically no weekend work this week. 

Week 3: Old show is totally out. Rental packages arrive from the shops. At this point the load-in order is dictated by the needs of the show - I'd say 50% of the time the show deck needs to get in pretty quick just so that cables can be laid into/under it. Audio and Lighting will spend the first day getting Ampland and Dimmer Beach loaded in, and from there start getting to it. Lighting typically gets all fixtures hung before they do cable, Audio typically starts with long-length cables (Ampland->A2 Land) and then moves to hanging speakers and cabling back to the long-length runs. Set is going up around everyone working. Typically no weekend work this week. 

Week 4: Lighting hopefully has all fixtures hung and starts cabling/ring-out. Audio typically has the PA hung, cabled, and tested by mid-week so that PA Tuning can take place Wednesday/Thursday. Lighting will start Focus Wednesday/Thursday as well, and sometimes continue through the weekend. If it's a musical Audio turns to the orchestra pit and starts doing a basic setup + pinup. On the weekend LX will continue focus. Typically the scenic painters are attacking the set as quick as possible to help the LX crew do a proper focus. Sometimes Sunday will be a spacing day for the actors. Monday is typically dark.

Week 5: Tech rehearsals begin Tuesday, typically a 1pm GO with actors on stage. Morning is a work-notes session. At a minimum there's rehearsal keys in the house for the MD. Sometime mid-week there will be a morning band seating to seat the band because you'll get the full orchestra for at least 1 10-of-12. 

Week 6: Second week of Tech, Previews start sometime later in this week. Typically work crews are in every day from 8/9am-Noon to do notes, Actors onstage at 1pm until 5pm. 

Anyhow, PM me if you want schedules - I'm sure I have a few from a few different venues that each have their own ideas on organization and load-in flows.


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## Crisp image (Jun 6, 2020)

I have 2 spaces I works in.
One is the local PAC which sees lots of one night only shows and a few short seasons form local theatre companies. 
For this space we would typically do a prerig for LX and SX the day before the tour arrives with their set. Set is placed on stage and then lighting is focused as required using a lift. At the end of the show usually a 3hr load out happens with 3 or 4 of us and the tour crew. 
If it is a local company then the load in would happen over a couple of days being Friday to Sunday (although I do remember one set taking nearly a week to do) and then they are straight into tech on the next day or evening. Tech and dresses rehearsals all week opening on Friday evening. At the end of their productions all hand on deck to clear it out and then cast celebration takes place.

The other space is a PAC at a local school. All of the set is built off site (usually at my house) and then on a Friday afternoon at 4pm we start the load in. Sometimes it will be the first time the whole set has been together in one piece (which can be a bit nerve wracking) and we work till it is mostly finished ready for tech rehearsals the next morning. While tech is going on we are finessing the set. Tech and dressed rehearsals all week except Thursday and then we open the season on Friday evening. After the season closes (on a Sunday matinee) all hands on deck to get the show out. Because this is a school we don't have the luxury to leave anything onstage for any length of time so it is a quick turnaround. 

Both spaces have their challenges to work around but we seem to manage well.

Regards

Geoff


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## JacobRothermel (Jun 9, 2020)

Thank you all. Some of this is very helpful.

-jake


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## almorton (Jun 10, 2020)

I don't know if our experience is relevant, as it's from a volunteer run perspective (what is often called am-dram in the UK) so a lot of the cast and crew have day jobs, but here it is.

We ordinarily do one show a month for 8 months of the year, which open on a Thursday evening and run through 10 performances to the following but one Saturday evening.

Get out is Sunday morning following the last performance, and is usually completed by lunchtime to a completely empty stage. Any lighting specials are struck. Once the stage is clear it may have a new base coat of paint applied. Any large set pieces which have been constructed in the workshop may be moved into the scene dock and wings. If the show has a particularly complex lighting plot we may begin rigging lighting in the afternoon. On the Monday there is a film in the theatre, so the stage will be left empty for one day (the cyc is painted with projection screen paint). Set construction begins on the Tuesday morning, and rehearsals on stage begin on Wednesday evening, moving out of the studio. Lighting crew get access to the stage on Tuesday evenings and optionally on Friday evening and on Saturday all day. Thus in the period between shows the stage is owned by set construction, painters and set dressers during the day and by cast in the evening, apart from the days mentioned. During this period the cast of the following show will take over the rehearsal studio and will be rehearsing most evenings and Sundays. Part of the set crew will be constructing any special set pieces for the following show in the workshop while the rest of the crew are constructing the current set on stage. During rehearsals the sound crew will be putting their cues together, and technical crew will be working with the director on timings that may change during rehearsal. If there is a live band they will be rehearsing separately with the musical director until quite late in the rehearsal schedule. In the week before the show is due to open special deliveries of furniture, musical instruments (e.g. pianos), special effects etc will arrive and be incorporated on stage and into the rehearsals at last.

On the weekend before the show opens the Saturday will be for final lighting rigging, set dressing, finishing touches etc. and sometimes the lighting plot will start. The Sunday is lighting plot and technical rehearsal(s), and at the end of the day we'll maybe do the work to tie Qlab and the lighting desk's cues together, although often this happens after dress rehearsal on Monday evening.

Monday is dress rehearsal, hopefully a straight run with no stops.
Tuesday is final lighting snagging and technical fixes.
Wednesday is final dress rehearsal with an "audience" of the crew and other helpers such as the sewing group who make and modify costumes, prop makers etc.
Thursday, is opening night, Friday, Saturday, Monday to Saturday are performances, including a matinee on the final Saturday.

Get out is Sunday morning ...


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## RonHebbard (Jun 10, 2020)

Love that you can make this work for you you 8 times a year.
( I'm a little confused, possibly by British terms Vs. North American. )
It works 8 times per year; DON'T change it. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## almorton (Jun 10, 2020)

Sometimes we do nine or even ten per year, it depends on the season. There's a Young Players production shoehorned in usually, sometimes with as little as a 4 day turnaround from the previous show. It used to have a much simpler set and lighting rig than the main theatre shows, but recently it's had a similarly complex set, with full lighting effects, sound effects, projections smoke, even pyro ... That's all hands on deck for us.

Which terms are confusing? Perhaps I can clarify.


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## RonHebbard (Jun 11, 2020)

almorton said:


> Sometimes we do nine or even ten per year, it depends on the season. There's a Young Players production shoehorned in usually, sometimes with as little as a 4 day turnaround from the previous show. It used to have a much simpler set and lighting rig than the main theatre shows, but recently it's had a similarly complex set, with full lighting effects, sound effects, projections smoke, even pyro ... That's all hands on deck for us.
> 
> Which terms are confusing? Perhaps I can clarify.


I'm running on VERY little sleep at the moment; I'll do a quick re-read and list the first, and likely only few I noticed: 
Beginning with painting your cyc'; if you're painting it, surely it's a plastered / permanently curved OR flat wall, perhaps even wooden construction faced with a solid surface, thin plywood for example: Definitely NOT a thin fabric flown "sky cloth" as so often employed on our side of the pond. 
*Upon first reading*; I originally understood you were painting specifically for each production, painting it for projection, then over-painting back to your production multiple times within each 3 week period.

Upon re-reading, I'm suspecting your cyc' is painted white year round and re-painted ONCE per production.

Keeping track of where / how the stage relates physically to the: Studio, work shop, loading dock, various storage areas. 
I suspect when you're "beginning your lighting plot" equates to our listing of lighting cues, as opposed to a document detailing the hanging locations of each instrument on your various and several 'on stage' and 'FOH ceiling coves and 'Box Boom' locations. 

"Putting your sound cues together": Is this creating an ordered printed list; selecting and locating various physical effects; choosing, editing and sequencing pre-recorded effects? 

When you have live band, are they eventually located within your performance space, or electronically reinforced from their rehearsal space?
When you have "deliveries of furniture, musical instruments (e.g. pianos), special effects etc will arrive and be incorporated on stage and into the rehearsals at last". 
Is / are a variety of previously hung lighting specials focused and finessed to suit the new arrivals?

I believe that's my full list of queries. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## almorton (Jun 11, 2020)

OK, all good questions.

The cyc is, as you surmised, a white plastered wall, used often for projections in shows, or simply to take a colour for the "far distance". If it's visible, it's the rearmost part of the set. We often hang a cloth which can be painted, or "skin" it with broadway flats which can be painted. We have a projector in the rig which can cover the whole cyc, and due to the steep projection angle, cast can get quite close to the cyc before casting a shadow. Here's an example, th windows are projected, and to the eye looked brighter.




The layout. Stage right, the wings are relatively small by theatre standards - maybe 10' deep max. Stage left slightly bigger, leading off to the scene dock behind. Dressing rooms are behind the stage and reachable from either wing. The workshop and studio are in a separate building very nearby - a few seconds walk across the small car park.

We use the term "lighting plot" to describe the process of actually programming the lighting desk. Where possible this is done ahead of time but of course the majority of levels get set at the last minute. In terms of hanging lists, drawings etc, these will be prepared by the designer often months in advance.

The sound files will have been obtained or often recorded specifically for the show well in advance, it's during rehearsals that the sound designer may finesse timings, orderings etc. and fine tune their Qlab settings. For shows with a lot of projection this will also have been put together in advance and married up during rehearsals as minor block changes occur etc.

The band location varies. When we did A Little Night Music the band were on a mezzanine over the wings, specially built just for the show. For Seussical, the band were actually located in the workshop and an audio snake connected them to the rest of the world. For shows with an MD we use a two way video system so the MD can see the action and the cast on stage can see the MD, since we don't have space out front in the auditorium to accommodate the musicians and MD. That way the MD can cue the band and the cast for the opening note.

Where there is special furniture delivered late, stage boxes will act as stand ins for rehearsal and, yes, when the real thing arrives any lighting may then be finessed.

It's not perfect, but it works for us.


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## RonHebbard (Jun 11, 2020)

almorton said:


> OK, all good questions.
> 
> The cyc is, as you surmised, a white plastered wall, used often for projections in shows, or simply to take a colour for the "far distance". If it's visible, it's the rearmost part of the set. We often hang a cloth which can be painted, or "skin" it with broadway flats which can be painted. We have a projector in the rig which can cover the whole cyc, and due to the steep projection angle, cast can get quite close to the cyc before casting a shadow. Here's an example, th windows are projected, and to the eye looked brighter.
> 
> ...


I'VE INSERTED MY RESPONSES IN UPPER CASE WITHIN YOUR ORIGINAL TO MORE EASILY CATCH YOUR ATTENTION: I'M HOPING THEY'RE STILL VISIBLE POST MY CLICKING SEND. 
TOODLEOO! 
RON ( FROM ONE OF YOUR COLONIES ) HEBBARD


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## almorton (Jun 11, 2020)

Couple more points. The cyc is flat, it is the most rearward visible part of the stage.

When we use video links we use analog over coax, into security monitors which take an analog input. The latency is low enough that no MD or cast has complained or had a problem. We also have IP cameras for security and other monitoring, and side by side you can see the latency in the ip connected cameras.


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## RonHebbard (Jun 11, 2020)

almorton said:


> Couple more points. The cyc is flat, it is the most rearward visible part of the stage.
> 
> When we use video links we use analog over coax, into security monitors which take an analog input. The latency is low enough that no MD or cast has complained or had a problem. We also have IP cameras for security and other monitoring, and side by side you can see the latency in the ip connected cameras.


Thanks Again; In my era latency, was a less than common term. Every time I read ANOTHER post grumbling about latency and how it builds the more digital devices along the way: 
1; This has got to be a PAIN for international "broadcasting networks" ; as the term was used in my analog commercial broadcasting era VS in today's era when I read the term in posts about "brodcasting throughout your entire CHURCH or OFFICE. 
2; Then *@MNicolai* posts and makes it seem ALMOST easy.
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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