When I run a show, I like to do everything I can to insure a flawless performance. Whether it's a rock show, a comedy shoot or a full-on theatrical performance, there are cues that have to be hit on time, every time, or I get upset. I beat myself up mentally when I miss a cue. And I let others know by my glare after the show if they dropped the ball. That's why I swear by the Three Ps: Preparation + Practice = Perfection.
When preparing for a Broadway-type production, the players in the squad are not just the actors. The production depends on lots of professional people doing their gig correctly. The stage manager has to be on his game. The flyman running the lines that fly in set pieces has to be on time, every time. The audio guy behind the console must hit his playback of special effects and insure every last microphone is not muted at the wrong time. The folks playing back video content must have their stuff in the right order. And the lighting director best not leave anyone in the dark.
Triple-A Ball
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in our biz who don't believe in the Three Ps. They can't be bothered to make sure all their gear is tight and in top working condition prior to the show. They would rather spend an afternoon lounging than fixing their gear and rehearsing. I call these folks semi-pros. They are playing triple-A ball and will never make it to the big time in my book. These are the people who always have excuses and point fingers in another direction when something fails during a show. They are also the folks who are always looking for a gig because they have not been hired back by others they have worked with.
A large traveling theatrical show will have a full crew of technicians who rehearse each cue over and over until the show has been drilled into their heads. They prepare their gear daily and inspect it for potential flaws that can prevent unforeseen mistakes. But not every show can afford to carry all the set carpenters or spotlight operators they need. So these shows depend on local labor, stagehands that is, to execute cues. But these local guys are seeing a show for the first time. They need practice during the day and detailed instructions before the show so they have a clue. And it's our job to see that they are prepared.
Up to Speed
I've done a few shows with a production manager named Chris Gratton. Chris is one of those leaders who make sure all his ducks are in a row before every show. Once we are loaded into a theatre and the lights are focused, every player must be in position for a runthrough. He makes us practice the opening of the show with the local staff. He will practice flying in backdrops and rolling set pieces on stage during a 30-second blackout in the show and he will time it. If it takes too long, we repeat the procedure for however long it takes until he's positive it will run flawless that evening. If someone forgets to plug in one floor light, we run it again. If a dancer forgets to enter the stage on time, another runthrough. Why, you may ask? Because it's his ass that will get called in front of the principal at the end of the night and he's not allowed to have an excuse.
The Domino Effect
Practice makes perfection people. If I screw up and hit a light cue early, it may throw off everyone else's timing. And it creates a domino effect. Often it is the light cue that signals the performer when to make an entrance or a band member to hit a drum roll. If I miss a strobe light cue, the soundman won't hit the recorded thunder roll that signals the start of the next musical number. Then the dancers don't enter from behind the curtain. Then the singer is lost because he's waiting on the dancers. Then we are all involved in an amateur production.
Without practice, we cannot prevent these problems. A lighting crew must check the spotlights in every venue prior to the show. One of my pet peeves is when I start a show and find that one of the lights is a lot dimmer than the others. This means one of the performers who needs to be lit won't be. I don't care that the venue owns the spotlight and not the company that is providing the traveling lighting system. I want to know that my crew chief has my back and has checked them in advance. In the afternoon you have time to fix these sorts of problems. Finding an intercom fault five minutes before show time is unacceptable.
Be Prepared
Proper preparation of lighting gear is so important. If you see a stripped wire on a Leko, you can't ignore it, because sooner or later that fixture will short out. And when will it break? At the most inopportune time. It will break when I turn off every other light on stage and a performer is standing on a mark waiting to be lit. Then I have to think fast and call in a spotlight right away or the show will be in a momentary holding pattern. And that is bush league in my book.
I just finished a big tour that had a large musical number starting the show. All the video projectors were run with time code to sync with the audio and the lighting. But we were so busy every day that we didn't run through the opening of the show. Eventually it bit us in the ass. We got to a sold out coliseum and started the show. The house lights were called and the arena went dark, except someone left all the lights on the catwalk on and they were throwing awful shadows on the projection screens. And nobody could turn them off in less than 10 minutes.
Out of Sync
But we had to start the show on time, so we rolled the audio intro, which triggered the video console. All of a sudden we looked up and the wrong footage was rolling on the screen. But we couldn't stop it right away. So the video team started playing some backup footage on the other screens so we don't destroy the whole opening. But their footage was out of sync with the audio. Performers on the screens appeared to be singing a couple seconds before the words came through the PA. The stage manager was screaming through the headsets for an explanation while everyone scrambled. This was of no help.
Just in time, the team got it all together as the live performers started singing.
The only people who knew the opening was a disaster were the technical crew.
The next day there was a big meeting. Nobody pointed fingers; we just hung our heads in shame as the stage manager talked down to all departments for not doing their job professionally. Meanwhile, all I could think was, "Where's Gratton?" He would have made us run through the opening prior to the show until everyone got it right.
