Rick Baxter, master of electricity, is a sometime citizen of Vegas via Broadway.
While lighting designers create grand visions that bring productions to life, electricians are responsible for putting them together and making sure they work correctly. More often than not, they are faced with the challenge of taking a complex system with thousands of control channels and making it a reality. They are tireless workers and can spend months prepping a show.
One of the most well respected electricians in our industry is Rick Baxter. And in this month’s interview, he tells us about working on Broadway and in his home-away-from home, the importance of good paperwork, and offers a bit of advice for manufacturers.
PLSN: How did you get involved in the industry?
Rick Baxter: I started in junior high school. Actually, I was a clarinetist, good enough that everybody expected me to be a clarinet player. So I went to the University of Michigan in the music program. I was in the Michigan Symphony Band for a year and I studied clarinet. After one year at Michigan, I switched back to theatre.
When was this?
I started at the University of Michigan in 1970–71. I like to say the last concert I played was at Carnegie Hall. After that, I gave it up.
You went out on top. What next?
In 1975, I went on the road with John Houseman’s City Center Acting Company. It was an interesting time. Actors such as Kevin Kline and Patty LuPone performed in that company. It was a class that came out of Julliard and included Robin Williams and Christopher Reeves, but they didn’t tour with the group. Patty Lupone actually got nominated for a Tony Award for a show on Broadway that lasted one week: The Robber Bridegroom.
What did you do on that tour?
I was their lighting supervisor for two and a half years. We would travel with five shows at one time, and I supervised the lighting. David Segal was the lighting designer. Whether we had 12 lights or 150 lights, I would recreate whatever we needed. The plot called for about 150 lights, but if we had six fresnels, that’s what we used.
I then went out with the Eliot Feld Ballet, followed by Fiddler on the Roof. Ken Billington was the designer on that. And I did the Bolshoi Ballet. I actually helped a couple of Russian dancers, the Kozlovs, defect. I did a lot of interesting things early in my career.
You helped some dancers defect? How did you do that?
We were playing The Shrine in L.A. Alexander Godunov had already defected when we were in N.Y. at Lincoln Center. It was a big deal as the Russians were then going to take his wife back to Russia. Our State Department kept her plane on the ground for the entire day, refusing to let it leave for Russia, though they finally caved in. About five weeks later in L.A., we were doing our last performance. One of the American interpreters, Serge, had set up the defection for the last night in L.A. during the curtain calls. The KGB guys weren’t aware of the upstage right fire door as it had been blocked by road boxes. We created a snaking pathway to the door. During the bows, they headed right out the door in costume to a van where Serge’s aunt and uncle were waiting for them. [There’s more to the story, but space limitations don’t permit us to print it. You’ll have to wait for the book. – ed.]
How did you make the transition to Broadway?
My first Broadway show as an electrician was in 1982. It was Foxfire with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Ken Billington was the LD for Fiddler on the Roof, and he also lit Foxfire. He requested that I do the show, and I’ve been working on Broadway ever since.
Actually, the first show I did on Broadway, in ’79 or ’80, was The Grand Tour with Joel Grey, and I had a contract in carpentry. But, since then, I’ve been an electrician working in New York.
And in Vegas?
In my line of work, everyone has been to Vegas to do industrials. Mamma Mia was probably the beginning of the current wave of Broadway shows that have been sent out there. In 2000, we went out to do Mamma Mia and then we went to do We Will Rock You, Phantom, Hairspray and now The Producers.
I spent so much time on shows out there, everyone thought I left New York to work in Vegas. I last did Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Broadway, and now I’m on Little Mermaid, which is going into the Lunt Theatre this fall. Right now, we’re here at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver. It opens here in August and runs into September and then it goes to New York in the fall.
How long is your prep and load-in for a typical Broadway show?
On a typical Broadway show, we generally spend about four to five weeks in the shop prepping the gear. Prior to that, I may be on the payroll for four weeks to 12 weeks, depending on the size of the show. For instance, Phantom of the Opera was a huge show in Vegas so I was on the payroll quite a bit longer. On a small Broadway show, you can do your paperwork in three to four weeks, then spend four weeks in the shop. A large Broadway show may take three or four weeks to load into the theatre with focusing happening toward the end of that time, before technical rehearsals. Typically, a production electrician can spend 14 hours a day working. Then you may have the cast on stage for two or three weeks, before you have an audience.
If a Broadway show is going out of town, I typically figure three months of my life will be spent out of town, and three months will be spent on Broadway. If it opens cold in New York, it’s a month of prep and three months in the theatre.
As a head electrician on Broadway, what do you think are your most important skills?
Doing what I do, I think my organizational skills and crew hiring are most important. People talk about the paperwork I do all the time — the labeling of cable, the diagrams, the hanging cards and the data distribution diagrams. I’m also able to hire some of the best people working in the business.
What are some of the tools you use?
John McKernon’s Lightwright is the basis of all of it. I use Vectorworks for drawings, and I use Microsoft Vizio to draw a lot of my data diagrams. I use Excel, Visual Basic and Microsoft Word. I’ve written a lot of my own software using Visual Basic. Once I generate a database, I can quickly spit out two or three thousand unique labels that will print out on a P-Touch printer. The labels will tell you where a cable is going to and where it is coming from. So, that makes it pretty simple for my guys in the theatre.
Is that something you learned along the way?
It’s something I learned on my own from a lot of the things that used to make me crazy. Especially now, with all the data we have on these shows. Somebody might have a plug with a label that says where it goes to, but where did it come from? Troubleshoot-ing becomes very easy. For instance, if there’s a color changer power supply or an opto-splitter, there is a diagram on top telling you where it’s going, what it’s feeding and where it’s coming from.
Are you going wireless, yet?
Actually, I’ve been wireless for quite a few years now. When Mamma Mia Tour 2 went out, back in 2002, we actually programmed the entire rig wireless from front of house to backstage. From there, we used data cable to everything. On Broadway, we tend to use hardwire, except on scenic pieces that require wireless.
How has the new technology, like LED, changed what you do?
The biggest change is the amount of time you have to spend up front to lay out all the data distribution and control chan-nels. We’ve gone from DMX-512, where we thought 512 channels were a lot, to where using 25 universes isn’t unusual. On the show I am working on now, we have 18 universes of control; 10 universes for conventionals and eight for moving lights. On Hairspray in Las Vegas last year, there were 17 universes just for LEDs.
How do you and your crew keep current with everything?
Every show introduces new technology to learn. I rely on my guys and they rely on me. You just can’t know everything in this business. We’re always teaching and learning from each other. It’s a constant challenge.
From a technology standpoint, where do you think the industry is headed?
Some things are getting better, and many things are getting more complicated. Moving light and control technology is certainly improving, but the complexity of the systems is increasing. Cost is also skyrocketing for lighting systems. A large Broadway musical can easily have $2,000,000 worth of lighting equipment. Moving light gobos alone can cost anywhere from $50,000 to more than $100,000. Anything the manufacturers can do to help the complexity and the cost will be greatly appreciated by everyone.
And that about says it all…
