# How professional is your theatre?



## Diarmuid (Apr 22, 2006)

At the moment, hundreds of things are changing at my theatre along with those changes, we are trying to become more professional and I was just wondering how professional you and all your crew were. E.g. If someone hasn't got anything to do for a while will you (as SM or your SM) allow that person to go and watch the play from the wings, even if they wont cause an obstruction, or would you/the SM be more professional and ask them to stay backstage or in a crew green room/dressing room? or for another example are actors allowed to do what ever they want, until they are about to go on-stage?- that typa thing.

Basically how professional is your theatre?

Thanks for all your help and views!!

Diarmuid


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## chris48083 (Apr 24, 2006)

I read this and laughed. I actually left my school theatre cuz of the whole situation. Allow me to explain...

The school district that I belong to for some reason doesn't understand any sort of problem. They don't understand even the simplist of phrases such as 'This isn't to code,' 'This is dangerous,' or even 'This isn't safe.' For some reason the district beleives in throwing money at the problem hoping to hit the it close enough. The two venues we have (one at each high school) are very nice, considering it's a high school. Last year one of the high schoools got an entire new dimmer system (ETC put it in for us, very expensive and cool) yet not a single fixture in the entire theatre is safety cabled. We have two people in charged of both theatres. The head theatre manager 'toured with only the best' (or so he says) and has found stories of his days on the road with Tom Petty and Pink Floyd, yet at any given moment the difference between the arbor weight and batton weight can be +/- 300 pounds. The two theatres could be very nice spaces, and further then being ran professionally kids could really learn something about the industry, instead we have unsafe working condition and idiots (I'm refraining from using some other words right now) managers.

That's why I'd put my theatre at 'Other.'

-Chris


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## CHScrew (Apr 24, 2006)

Our theater is in bad shape. All of out lighs are outdated. The sound board hardly works. The light board shorts daily. The air conditioning is broken (not really important but it would be nice). **All the lighting fixtures still have asbestos wiring. We have rats... big rats! Torn/burnt curtains (stupid prom burnt one of them with a heat lamp). Etc...


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## saxman0317 (Apr 24, 2006)

haha.. I wouldnt say that were unprofessional as far as what we get done, or how we do it and stuff. Granted, wwe do have odd ways of getting there and dont exactally act professional/mature all the time. But, as long as the job gets done and gets doneon time and right (safly and without giving your group a bad rep), who nessicarly cares how it happens?


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## GRCHSCAW (Apr 24, 2006)

Our theater does 3 productions each year. one musical a one act and a normal play. We put a lot of time and money into sets, effects, lighting and sound. I think it is more like a brodway, but it is high school.


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## AVGuyAndy (Apr 25, 2006)

saxman0317 said:


> who nessicarly cares how it happens?


The person paying you?


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## Chris15 (Apr 26, 2006)

AVGuyAndy said:


> The person paying you?



That presupposes that you get paid. Technically to be professional, one needs to be paid. Oh how I wish...


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## egorleski (Apr 27, 2006)

We do a student written, directed, and designed musical. A regular musical (the past few have been- les mis, Beauty and the beast, Fiddler, Scarlet Pimpernel), 2 short plays, and a festival of one acts that are student directed. We usualy have students that design at least one aspect of every show. We are lucky to be in a school district with lots of money and in a comunity that values that arts. We dont have moving lights or anything like that but we have a large quantity of lights and they are all new withing the last 7 years or so. We recently redid our sound system and have a bunch of new body mics. We have a decent fly system and a decent grid.


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## saxman0317 (Apr 30, 2006)

AVGuyAndy said:


> The person paying you?


that only applies if there actually is someone paying you...


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