The Theater Techie Thread

[houseelf25]

Hi Everyone!

I was just wondering if there's anyone else on here that does tech theater in school or professionally (p.s. if there ARE any professional techies, that'd be really cool!).
I thought it might be fun to discuss shows that anyone is working on, the random things that happen there (try to keep it PG kids! ), any tips you might have, crazy director stories (I have some friends who have interesting ones about the old drama teacher), anything.
So, I guess I'll start.

We're doing the Neil Simon play "Rumors" at school this year, and we've just started building the set. Last year we did "Annie" and "Little Women." "Little Women" was NOT FUN because we started building late, so we were still building and painting the set less than a week before the show. "Annie" was better because we had learned during "Little Women" how to work fast

[branwall]

Um, not sure if this counts.... but I'm about to be an actor in my school's production of a student-written movie called "Bus"

Should be interesting...

[houseelf25]

That's cool. Are you going to do behind the scenes stuff as well?

Maybe I should clarify: a Techie is someone who does stuff behind the scenes in stage production (probably movies too, but I don't know). By behind the scenes I mean Building Sets, Sound Design, Set Design, Lighting, that kind of thing.

[sllagnire]

I'm not a techie, but I have great respect for them. I have been in many many school musicals, and I think techies don't get nearly the respect and praise that they deserve.

[8m57w6]

I used to do tech crew. It was really mostly moving the sets on and off and that sort of thing. I tried to do it last year at school, but to much other stuff interfered. But when I did do it, it was really fun, I loved it!

Actually, my uncle majored it set design or something like that in college. He doesn't do it any ore, tohugh, unfortunately.

[houseelf25]

That's really cool. I have a friend who wants to major in Lighting design or Stage management or something along those lines.

Did you just do floor crew then, and not help with the building? I honestly think the building is the best part!

[beth83]

I'm not a techie, but my sister is one her way to being one. Her dream is to to do the lighting creation on a big new production. But luckily her feet are firmly on the ground and accepts that she will probably end up in a regional theatre. I get the impression she doesn't really care as long as she is in a theatre!

She is looking for a uni that does the degree she needs.

[houseelf25]

Most of the techies I know are like that...as long as they get to do it, they're fine.

[8m57w6]

Originally Posted by houseelf25

Did you just do floor crew then, and not help with the building? I honestly think the building is the best part!

If you meant me, then yes, I just did floor crew. Even though it was only youth theater, it was really... elaborate, I guess, so the parents actually built most of the sets and things. I have helped build and paint, etc., for school, though.

[MimiMascara]

I've come into being a theatre techie over the last year because I haven't made any shows at my school (I prefer being onstage, but that seems unlikely to happen).

Last year I was on run crew and I was Props Mistress. This year I've already been Props Mistress (and on run crew), and apparently I'm Props Mistress until I graduate. However, I'd really like to be in at least two shows this year, or I'd really like to Stage Manage one of them

[Mundungus Fletc]

houseelf25 wrote
"Little Women" was NOT FUN because we started building late, so we were still building and painting the set less than a week before the show.

I've worked backstage in amateur theatre for years and that's not late - late is painting at 3am. after the dress

[houseelf25]

lol well it's late for school theater. everyone was ****** because the actors were working around us. and we were actually building the set when the actors were on stage. they didn't even have stairs to the "2nd floor" until about 5 days before the show.
but that does suck. what show were you doing?

[NoDayBut2Day]

We did "Kiss Me Kate" my senior year of high school and we were definitely late... and short of hand.

I painted the revolving "dressing rooms" by. MYSELF. Yellow and green stripes for the walls on the guy's side, yellow and purple stripes on the walls on the girl's side... not to mention the joys of painting the floor of the entire thing black.

I was still painting during dress rehearsal. I think I still know all of the songs and some of the lines of that play...

[houseelf25]

Ugh. Stripe painting. During Little Women my "birthday buddy" and I spent all day (3pm-9pm) painting the stripes in Beth's room. Which was eight feet above the ground. While some of the others were fixing doors and moving things around. We've come across the flats that we painted both during Annie and Rumors and we're always like "Do you know how long it took us to paint that??? Don't paint over it!!!" but they always do.

[8m57w6]

Originally Posted by houseelf25

We've come across the flats that we painted both during Annie and Rumors and we're always like "Do you know how long it took us to paint that??? Don't paint over it!!!" but they always do.

Yeah, one of the times when I did it for my school, my friend who had done it the previous show was looking at this one section that she'd had to paint tiny, metuiculous little lines to look like a fence, and we had to paint it this weird purple-y color, and the whole time she was like "God, do you remember when I painted this!? This is killing me!?" And sense we had to make the color from comining 2 others, that was also when I learned the ever-important lesson of 'You can never run out of paint.'

[Mundungus Fletc]

houseelf25 wrote
what show were you doing

Almost every pantomime I've been involved in has gone to the wire for the set. But I was thinking of a Man for all Seasons where the paint was still damp in places at curtain up.

[8m57w6]

I've had that sort of experience, too. The place where I do theater is really low budget, so all the props are donated/brought in/made by the actors or their parents, and during my last show, we had a jail cell, and the feet were in a plus shape, and parts of th sides weren't painted, but we thought it would be fine. Then during the first performance our director said you could see the unpainted parts from the audience, so the next day, my mom and I are sitting there backstage, me in costume, using tiny craft paint brushes to get it done about an hour before the performance. Good times.

[aliauthor]

Originally Posted by sllagnire

I'm not a techie, but I have great respect for them. I have been in many many school musicals, and I think techies don't get nearly the respect and praise that they deserve.

Same here. Everyone in the show has to do tech work for the show I'm doing now, 'A MIdsummer Nights Dream'. The director has us building various levels of platforms, which are almost done, and we are building a tree. 20 feet high. that people can enter through. out of PAPER MACHE.

That will be fun. We open in three weeks. And the tree hasn't been started. And we are in the process of cutting out fabric and patterns.

So to all the techies out there, a round of applause! STANDING OVATION!

[8m57w6]

Originally Posted by aliauthor

Same here. Everyone in the show has to do tech work for the show I'm doing now, 'A Midsummer Nights Dream'.

Oh that's so weird!! My school just did that play, too!! I wasn't able to help with it at all, because I had so many conflicts, but I saw it yesterday, and it was hilarious.

[thethirdman]

I majored in theater tech, and got my bachelors. I was tech director at a small caberet theater before I joined the military.

I've torn down a show in one morning and put mine set up in the afternoon. I've worked with all sorts of unbearable folk. I've worked for prima donas who can't tell one end of the hammer from the other. But I've also had the time of my life doing some shows. It's been good fun for me.