Spot On

As one of the spot ops for Disney on Ice’s Monsters Inc., one of my main objectives is to hit every cue. But no matter how you try or how well you plan, there are times when forces beyond your control conspire against you. Take, for example, the time I was working spotlight number in section 209. I was sitting in a seat behind the spotlight when I reached up to strike the lamp. I tilted the light back so that I could reach the button, as I have done hundreds of times before. All of a sudden the back leg of the spotlight flew up and in the air, and the entire spotlight, all 106 pounds of it, came crashing down on me, pinning me between the seat and the light.

Luckily, an audience member saw it all and ran over to offer his assistance. He helped lift the light off of me and we stabilized it until we could get more help. As we lifted the behemoth, the platform started wobbling under our feet. I was afraid the platform, the light and I were all going to go sliding down the seats into the house and right off the balcony onto the floor. Finally, after what seemed like hours, a house guy came over and brought some hardware to secure the platform. The problem that made the light tip over in the first place was finally remedied. Fortunately, the only injuries I sustained were a scratch on my right thigh and possibly a strain in my neck. The spotlight, on the other hand, suffered an 8-inch  dent on the right side and several bent boomerang levers. But the only cue I missed was the first one. Two other followspot ops—one from a catwalk up above and the other from the mirror followspot position—as well as a house guy in the control booth, saw the incident. They still talk about it to this day. Oddly enough, my brother and his family happened to be at this particular show. Later on, when I asked them, they said that they didn’t notice a thing.

Tom Charron
Capitol Productions
Manchester, NH