Cue3Go!

Issue 51

Techie Tip of the Week

THEATRE MANAGER OR TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Whether your admin decides to have the Drama teacher and students run your theatre, or whether they decide to hire qualified professionals, there are some things to educate you admin about, before they make their plans.  One of the first things to take into account is the interchange of the job titles Theatre Manager and Technical Director.  In actual fact these are two different positions and ideally it’s best to have both.

A Theatre Manager, or the person running your theatre, does not necessarily have to be a specialist in every technical aspect of the theatre, but they do have to know enough in order to hire and manage the people who do. They have to be organized and self-motivated.  They have to be good at maintaining stacks of paperwork.  They also have to have a good grasp of how a theater operates and what policies and procedures will make it operate more smoothly. This can come through a degree related to theatre business management, and/or through years of experience of working in a theatre in some capacity or another – preferably both. A Theatre Manager does not always actually run tech for the shows - just as in a hospital, the hospital administrator does not perform the surgeries - but they must have enough specialized knowledge to manage the facility.

A Technical Director (TD) is more of a hands-on position.  A TD usually has the technical knowledge of how to program and run lighting and sound computer boards, knows how to hang and focus lights, set up a sound system, and knows the correct rigging hardware and techniques needed to hang scenery.  A TD usually has a more general, but hands-on, technical knowledge of how the equipment in the theatre works.  Sometimes they have a design background or a related degree, but not always.

Which begs the questions, if we have a Theatre Manager and we hire professional crew in each area of tech (lights, sound, and stage and rigging) do we need to also hire a TD?  If we don’t hire a TD, how many technicians do we need to hire? It would not be practically possible to have one TD in place of three or more technicians. One TD cannot physically be at the light board, the sound board, and backstage at the same time.  Therefore, you still need technicians at each show who can operate – and mentor your student techies - in each of those areas.  Ideally it would be best to have a Theatre Manager to run the theatre, and a TD to supervise the technicians, who in turn mentor the students.  But, usually in high school theatres, regardless of whether the job title is Theatre Manager or Technical Director, one person does both those jobs with the help of the technicians.  As their job is so multi-faceted, your Theatre Manager/TD, or the person who is running your theatre (and, yes, too often, it’s the Drama teacher!), has to be that rare person who is as happy sitting at a desk as they are up a ladder.

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

Leveling-Up

Online courses for school theatre teachers and staff

Courses that leave you empowered with actionable strategies to level-up support and funding for your theatre operations and educating your students. ​

Check with your admin - many districts will pay for Professional Development!

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DO YOU HAVE TO MANAGE YOUR THEATRE'S OPERATIONS AS WELL AS TEACH!?

HELP IS HERE!

please visit:

Theatre Management Training Course

Lighting and Safety Courses

Safety Webinar for Students​

Dear Techie,

I’m struggling with my parent volunteers in the scene shop. They mean well, but they sometimes don’t follow my set design plans, and certainly don’t follow the safety rules (my students wear safety glasses, but I’m always having to ask parents to put theirs back on).  How can I deal with this unruly bunch?

Struggling in AZ

Dear Struggling,

As I can see you already know, it is imperative to teach theatre safety and protocols to is your parent volunteers, especially the set builders.  Parents who want to volunteer in a high school scene shop often have some sort of background and interest in construction.  When I started working at one theatre there were a group of parents who were already working on building a house set for “The Sound of Music”.  And that’s just what they did – they built a house on stage.  That thing was never going to budge.  As luck would have it, throughout the year they were able to repaint it and use it as a factory in “The Pajama Game” and later a community annual vaudeville show used it as a brothel(!). This isn’t standard practice in set building of course, we were just lucky with the choices of shows that year. 

If you have parents who want to build sets, I’ve found that it is best to instigate an annual set building and rigging workshop, which is mandatory for anyone (teachers, parents and students) who will be building sets to attend. There are techniques to building sets so that they can be modular, portable and also safe for student actors to stand on. Teach about modular set pieces, general theatre construction techniques for flats, platforms, stairs, etc, and how to safely hang drops and flats using the correct rigging hardware with the correct techniques (although a rigging technician should be present to supervise any hanging of scenery). 

Here’s a suggested list of topics for your set building workshop for volunteers:

CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION

FLATS

PLATFORMS AND WAGONS

STAIRS AND STEPS

CROSS BRACING

CONNECTIONS

RIGGING

HARDWARE

PAINTING

TYPES OF PAINT

BASIC TECHNIQUES

SAFETY

If you don’t have anyone on your theatre staff who can teach this, hire a professional from the community, such as www.theatricaltraining.com in the Seattle area, or check out the list of Theatre Inspectors (some also do trainings) at https://www.presett.org/theatreresources.html.  Spending the money on training parent set builders will be less than spending the money on lawsuits down the road.  Consider the cost of hiring a professional as a form of insurance.

Submit your Dear Techie questions to [email protected].  

A high school did an off-the-wall production of Romeo and Juliette, where everyone was dressed as fruit.  

But, they didn’t choose a melon to play either of the star roles…

because it cantaloupe.​

Submit your Bad Theatre Joke or Funnies to [email protected].

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.