Of the seven key rules for success as a touring lighting director (Be nice/honest/humble/competent/social/unforgettable), perhaps the most basic is rule number six: Be punctual. Production Managers hate it when crewmembers are late. PMs spend hours putting schedules and timelines together, and when people are disrespectful of those schedules, they get understandably upset. And should a PM get upset at you, they will make sure that everyone is upset at you. That is never more true than when a bus full of roadies are sitting in a parking lot waiting to go to breakfast with only five minutes to choke down some fake eggs to begin with, and it’s you who is holding them up. Trust me, you keep them from their black coffee a moment more than absolutely necessary, you will hear about it all day long. Touring happens on a tight schedule, so respect the schedule.
—Chris Lose, from “LD at Large,” PLSN, Feb. 2016
