A thoroughly educated production manager is always going to be better at running the show than someone who’s brand new. And the best education comes from learning the basics as a new hire, then learning more and more as you work your way up. Asked of a particular job that “really set you on your course in your career,” Production Manager Denny Rich cites “being a head carp for Opie [Dale Skjerseth] and Jake [Berry]” on tours for the Rolling Stones and AC/DC and also working with Chris Kansy on ‘Roger Waters: The Wall.’ “You are not just focused on your one aspect of what you do,” Rich told PLSN. “You are expected to see the whole picture and understand what every other department’s trying to do at the same time. That is basically the beginnings of understanding production, seeing it past just your one lane; seeing the whole thing and how all the lanes come together. I think having been on the floor and building stages; facilitating in all the other departments, getting what they need and all that, I think it gives you a very balanced view of where everyone’s needs lie. And it gives you a broad view, it did for me. That experience gave me the understanding of a production that I then took and built on right up to today.”
From ‘1,000 Words with Denny Rich’ by Michael S. Eddy, PLSN, January 2024, page 49
