Cue3Go!

Issue 19, 2023

Techie Tip of the Week

start of school year to-do list

It’s hard to remember what you did a year ago at the start of the previous school year, and you don’t want to get stuck finding out you forgot to take care of an essential item before your first event. Whether you are a Theatre Manager, or a theatre teacher who has to also wear the hat of managing your school theatre, it’s good to have a compartmentalized list (separate from your list you already have under your other hat). Some of the action items below may not make sense to you, or may not pertain to you, but the point is that as you have to get revved up again at the start of each school year, so it’s a good idea to develop a list.  Here’s the start of school year to do list that I developed when I was a Theatre Manager:

A start of year to do list such as this can take several weeks to complete, because as I’m sure you’ve experienced in your life, you are working on these action items, people are contacting you about all sorts of other things, and some days you find that all you’ve done all day is answer a round robin of incoming e-mails, and you’ve not done a single thing on your to do list!  But, it’s worth it in the end to preserver, as it makes the rest of the school year run a lot more smoothly.

This editorial is the express opinion of Beth Rand, and is not intended for substitution for professional advice regarding your specific situation or circumstances.

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Dear Techie,

It’s my philosophy that the lighting should pretty much be set up in the McCandless method and that this should pretty much stay set up all the time.  I don't think it needs to be changed for every single event – concerts, dance shows, plays, talent show, etc. They can gel all they want, but the basic setup should stay the same. But our TD wants to change it completely for every outside that group that comes in. I know for professional shows they start from scratch each time, but I don't feel we need to do that. What do you think?

McCandless in TX

Dear McCandless,

What you are talking about is commonly referred to in the industry as a “Rep Plot” - and it’s exactly the way it should be done in high school theatres that are essentially acting as “road houses”, whether you just have school events or outside events as well!  There is no way the entire lighting system can be changed for each event – there just isn’t enough time available to do that.  Each event may need a special or two and/or may want to change the gels of the existing instruments, but that should be it.  Not all professional shows start from scratch each time, especially if they are a repertory company.  “Rep” stands for “repertory”, and that’s exactly what a Rep Plot is for.

Although a lot of people reading this will be jealous that your district has the sense to hire a TD, I’m sort of surprised that a professional technician hired to head up the crew doesn’t support this industry standard, especially in an educational setting.

So I’m probably preaching to the choir when I quote the intro in my book The High School Theatre Lighting Rep Plot, but here’s some more fuel for your fire: “Although every event that comes into a theatre is unique, there is a way to provide a lighting system that can easily be applied to many uses of the space with only small adjustments that need to be made for specific requirements of a show or event.  This is called a Rep Plot (short for Repertory Plot).  A Rep Plot is a standardized lighting system, which is versatile for almost all performances and can be easily adapted to provide lighting for any event from class meetings, speakers, film presentations, variety shows, band and choir concerts to plays, musicals and dance recitals, while allowing for show-specific flexibility within a reasonable time frame. A light plot could be designed from scratch for every specific show or event in your high school theatre if you really want, but a lighting plot that is re-designed over and over again is more suited to the university level, where all the students are learning lighting as a vocational choice, and where it is necessary to start each lighting design “from scratch” as a part of the curriculum.”

I hope this might help convince your TD of the benefits of a rep plot.  I would also approach your admin, as using a rep plot also saves in wages too!

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It is PRESETT's mission to provide information to assist in endeavors for safe and functional operations of school theatres. However, PRESETT is not a safety consultant or professional, and any information provided or advocated is not intended to supplement, not supersede, industry safety training. Always consult a theatre safety specialist about your specific situation or circumstances.