Ruling The Rolodex

I’ve worked with a lot of different production managers. Each one has their own style, their own way of getting things done. Many PMs are hands-on guys who are on stage for a good portion of the day. It is their show and they feel responsible for everything that goes on. During the course of the day they will put out fires that range from lack of rigging points to dry cleaning last night’s clothes on a Sunday when you’re playing Peoria. Some are really good at what they do and some pretty much suck. But they all have one thing in common: They run the show. And as a lighting designer they can be your best asset…or your worst nightmare.

A production manager generally has a Rolodex full of names of people he has worked with before. I like to be in these in big capital letters. I want to be the first guy they think of to call when they get a new project. So there are two things I try to do. First, I have to deliver the artistic goods, but second, I like to be known as the easy guy in the class who plays well with other children. So basically, half of my job is based on talent, half on personality.

I heard some good jokes last month: “What’s the difference between a FOH audio engineer and a puppy?”

Answer: “After a while the puppy stops whining.”

Of course this is not true of all audio mixers, but it certainly pertains to quite a few. These guys that constantly complain need a new career. I have no time for you and neither does a production manager. I recently worked with a guy who had more talent mixing a band than anyone I had ever heard. But outside of his audio gig, he was constantly complaining about something. This guy added drama and more work for the PM. I imagine he has plenty of work because I’m sure he’s not in the production manager’s Rolodex.

Next joke: “What’s the difference between God and a rigger?”

Answer: “God doesn’t go around calling himself a rigger.”

By riggers, I’m talking about the guys who climb around building rafters and hang structures over everyone’s head, not the riggers in the movie biz who run electric cables all over the sound stage. Don’t get me wrong, these fly guys are a very important part of the show. But they often think that no show could happen without them. The fact is, they are being utilized less in our business each year.

There was a time when every show I was on had a rigger who would climb as well as work with the local riggers at each venue. Those days are past. Half the shows on which I work, I mark the points and the local riggers call the steel lengths and make the bridles. Riggers have become stage managers as well, or come up with some other gig on a show because production managers don’t need them for every show. Why has all this changed over the years? Could it be overpriced attitudes? Maybe.

Next joke: “What’s the hardest thing about being a lighting guy?”

Answer: “Telling your parents you’re gay.”

By no means am I bashing gay people here because I actually have quite a few friends in the lighting business who are gay. The joke is funny because of the fact that lighting techs sometimes can whine as much as anybody. But we’ve covered this in the past. If you want to cry about the long hours or the fact that nobody ever lets you program a console, go work at McDonalds. The pay rate is similar, but they have better benefits and you can stay home and watch TV. Shut up and gig.

Nobody goes to school to become a production manager. They all started with another gig and got thrown into the fire somewhere along the line. Of course it’s my personal opinion that the best PMs started out as lighting guys. They see the whole picture because they have been the first ones in and the last ones out at many gigs. They are aware that at the end of a workday, the lighting designer still needs dark time to himself to program while everyone else is at the bar. Last month I was eating dinner in the catering area when a PM asked me how the chow was. I said, “Fine, but I could use some Mountain Dews and their caffeine to get me through my long night ahead.” As I was leaving catering I noticed the caterer stacking a case of my soda into the cooler. I looked at the PM and he had never left his seat at the table. But somehow he got this done for me. The fact that he went an extra inch will result in me going an extra mile for him.

Chris Lamb and Chris Gratton are two top-notch PMs who I would work with anytime, anywhere. I’ve watched these guys sit calmly while a crewmember comes to them to gripe about what’s bothering them. After listening they would calmly ask if they were done, then give some advice that can be best interpreted as, “Are you done venting? Good. Hope you feel better. Now get over it.” These guys have to make a lot of important technical decisions during the day. While they also have to soothe the feathers of ruffled technicians, it is something they would rather not dwell on. If you wish to remain in the Rolodex, don’t ask for answers to petty problems. Sort it out yourself.

These guys both started out as lighting guys and know how to run a load-in properly. They know that the riggers need some space to work. But they also realize that the lighting crew can build their trusses and lay the cable on them while keeping them off the rigging marks. Everyone could work at once. They don’t judge a crew on the first day and don’t offer advice until they realize that it would be helpful to all parties involved in the project. But they will offer good advice because they have been doing lighting for years. They will also let me as a designer complete the construction and programming of a show before they pass judgement on the finished project.

I did a tour several years ago where the PM was an ex audio guy. He took one look at the video elements that were incorporated in the design and nixed them on the spot at the first load-in. He wouldn’t even let us hang it to see what the concept looked like. He also insisted on dumping the audio trucks before the lighting. Nobody who is sane does this. I played nice as long as I could until I realized the guy was an idiot. I knew I never wanted to work with this loser again so I voiced my opinion. I was surely removed from his Christmas card list.

Last year I was loading-in an arena-sized tour design I had done when the PM came up to me all concerned. “There are no lights up there. We need lots of truss and stuff for a giant rig. This doesn’t look like the drawings you sent.” I reminded him that we were only three hours into the setup and once all the video and stage elements were up, it would look huge, like the renderings he signed off on last month. It did. When the artist walked into the arena later that day, he looked at the PM and said, “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Great job, dude.” The PM got all the kudos he needed and my name remains in his Rolodex for another year.

E-mail Nook at nschoenfeld@plsn.com.