Bobbsy Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 - Texting each other (sitting 4 feet apart with me in the middle) Was that before or after one of them played the pre-show announcement about turning off mobile phones? Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyBrooks Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 If I can get on the internet, that keeps me going for the show, unless have 4 or 5 racks full of amps, then a nice long snooze in the warm breeze, bliss! Can't remember the last time I turned my phne off for a show! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 It does strike me that there is an awful lot of information here that if read by your exisiting employers or prospective next employers could suggest that maybe your heart isn't quite in the job, and/or professional attitudes to work could be a little, er, distorted. Being serious for a moment, but I wonder if people who have posted what they really do, have considered for a moment what this says to others? I'm not for a moment pretending that I've never done some of these things myself, but there is NO WAY I'd put it up on a public forum for others to see. I've always worked on the premise that backstage activity stays backstage, in private. Some of the things on display here, when read by people who may not realise what goes on, could well be why they want to pay £5 an hour instead of a couple of hundred quid a day. If somebody working for minimum wage wants an extra fag break, or wants to sit and text their mates, or even watch a video - if it doesn't hurt the show, I'd probably turn a blind eye - but if I was paying that person freelance pay, and they did things like this, then they would not work for me again. I'm not sure how other people's experiences work, but mine work like this. At the end of each production, I have three piles of names. First one is use them again - no doubts. Second one is use them again, if the first pile people are not available. The third pile goes in the bin, never to be seen again, and the name comes out of my mobile and gets deleted. My opinion - and maybe it's just me, is that a lot of people here are putting themselves in the bin pile!Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HobitLight Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 When I am running the lighting I watch the show! Or follow the script with the show. That's that reason we're there, isn't it? (Unless you're doing a different task, that is!) If there is a problem, how would you notice if you weren't watching? I once ran lighting for a three act show, with each act having a single state so the only cues I had were to start and finish each act (plus the bows). I followed the script with the show, not play games on my phone or what ever. I think I may have played Frogger during the interval but not while the show was running, as my eyes were wither on stage or the script! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scjb Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Maybe, just maybe, some of us who commented are grown-up enough to figure out when attention needs to be focussed, and when it's ok to chill out. <assumes the crash position and waits...> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali2580 Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Wouldn't this topic be kind of boring though if we all had said "Yeah I sit and watch the show. Everytime". I'm sure that's not what the OP was going for? Fair enough doing the job properly but, if you have an extremely boring show, 2 cues in the whole thing, your going to find something more interesting to do during those cues. If all the lights fell from the roof your obviously going to notice but I'm sure the OP was going for the weird and wonderful things that people have done before. it's the 10th show of the run, you have exactly 4 cues over 2 and a half hours and you are trying to stay awake. What do you do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 This thread is getting depressing reading.Getting? I was depressed when I saw the title.The most depressing thing about it for me, was the eventual realisation that the OP is actually a full-grown adult :( Is this really the kind of thread that TNG was set up to entertain? :) How times change. I remember our master carpenter at college, telling us about the theatre he'd started out in. There was a speaker monitoring the cans, which was located in the Theatre Manager's office. Any banter, over and above the giving and acknowledgement of standbys and cues, would see you summoned to said office to explain your behaviour and (most likely) be given a formal warning. Any swearing on cans resulted in instant dismissal (at a time when words like, damn, blast and bum were considered swearing). With that in mind, I entered the business with perhaps a more puritanical view than I hold now; for as time went by, I encountered things like conferences with four (lighting) cues a day and looooong rehearsals for TV shows, where nothing happened for hooooours at a time. This led me to appreciate the presence of a book / paper / crossword by my side, to stave off the increase in eyelid mass, which can often happen on those occasions; especially in the afternoon, after even the lightest of salad lunches (it's called Postprandial Dip - see also...) :) This is not my first attempt to post to this thread. I pulled all the others, because they weren't coming out right, but I don't have to worry about that now, because paulears' post pretty well sums up my own feelings to a tee (thanks, paul :P). Yes - work should be fun and No - I haven't always been a saint; but this isn't The Wild & Wacky World of Showbiz, where everyone's a slightly eccentric, maverick genius - not any more and in some ways it never was, the rumours having been greatly exaggerated. There's more money more technology and higher expectations involved nowadays and people need to have absolute confidence in their crews. Talk of sock puppets, PSPs and catching up with a few DVDs does not inspire that confidence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scjb Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 In a more general vein, is the Blue Room specifically designed to be a forum relating to theatre only, or to all forms of entertainment technology? This isn't the first thread that seems to think everyone reading it works in "serious" theatre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChazHS Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 In a more general vein, is the Blue Room specifically designed to be a forum relating to theatre only, or to all forms of entertainment technology? This isn't the first thread that seems to think everyone reading it works in "serious" theatre. My thoughts exactly. I don't even work in theatrical productions - not my cup of tea at all! In terms of what I do to pass time at the club gigs where I'm just production and not DJing or anything I will sit at my appropriate console (be it lighting, sound, lasers or video) and get on with things. Sometimes theres not a lot for me to do, so I'll either go and get a drink, or try and find somewhere nice and quiet for 15 minutes to try and recoup a little bit knowing that I've got a get-out at 6am. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 In a more general vein, is the Blue Room specifically designed to be a forum relating to theatre only, or to all forms of entertainment technology? This isn't the first thread that seems to think everyone reading it works in "serious" theatre. I think not. The forum is obviously not just for theatre however professionalism applies everywhere does it not? I think its inevitable that some people will 'doss about' when a show is running but if people valued there jobs and worked in the more competitive parts of the entertainment industry, they wouldn't dream of it. I think Paulears said that very well. Lack of interest in the job at hand 'commonly' stands for- not bothered, unmotivated, no pride or sense of responsibility. In some cases you only need to mess a show up once and your jobless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Nicks comment about the General Manager listening in isn't out of date, either. Only a few years ago when I was doing panto, The GMs secretary asked me to wait to see him, as the door was ajar, I went in and sat down - only to hear the comms chat coming out of his desk drawer. The crew there had no idea he listened in - and judging by what I heard during the run, he knew far more than they were aware. The Blue Room, by the way is a backstage forum, that's been extended to cover backstage type activities in most kinds of events areas. I don't think we've ever said we were into serious theatre. In fact, very few members come from a serious theatre background. We're currently in the Next Generation section, where newcomers can chat about basic or new concepts - so I'd have to question the subject matter being put across as 'normal'. Propogating less than professional behaviour as 'well, we all do it' seems to be bad form, as newcomers could come to see this as what everyone does, and not everyone does do this - or at least own up to it. Wasting, as it used to be called was an art form of it's own. Large amounts of time and skill went into appearing to be busy. Nowadays, nobody even has the pride to do it craftily - they just say out loud "I've got nothing to do, so am going for a fag/drink". Old fogey I might be, but it's people like me who choose who works and who doesn't. The loveys do auditions, just a few minutes to impress, but behind the scenes nobody seems to care much what people think of them. Very odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooftop Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 The way I see it (as a former technician turned manager): While a show is running I would expect all of the technicians to have their full attention on the proceedings so that "when" it goes wrong (it's live afterall), they are already sorting the problem before the audience even notices. FOH staff are expected to sit in the auditorium and "watch" umpteen performances of a show... so that they are in position and ready to respond to any FOH emergency... Why shouldn't technicians? I love the monitoring station of the comms in the GM's office.... must get myself one of those... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scjb Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I think its inevitable that some people will 'doss about' when a show is running...Don't get me wrong. People "dossing" around as you put it during a show annoys the hell out of me. However, depending on the particular discipline in which you work, there can be extended periods of time where your presence is not required (or even desirable, depending on the backstage space available!). During those periods there is nothing wrong with grabbing a cup of tea, reading a book or surfing the net. You make a personal judgement as to what you have to look after, and how much babysitting it needs. If you're not in the right place at the right time for your next cue, you get the sack and have only yourself to blame. It's all about personal responsibility. We're currently in the Next Generation section, where newcomers can chat about basic or new concepts - so I'd have to question the subject matter being put across as 'normal'...Back to personal responsibility surely? It's very normal to make judgement calls on everything in life. This is just another example of knowing what to do at a particular time, and being aware of the harsh consequences if you make the wrong call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helgrind Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 er fruit pastilles and watching it go well for me. Though the last show I did the box was so hot I ended up nearly falling asleep! eating is the usual I spose but of course you can always spice things up a bit and eat honeycomb over the cans :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charl.ie Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 eating is the usual I spose but of course you can always spice things up a bit and eat honeycomb over the cans :huh:Eating on cans is a beatable offense where I've been. If you have time to eat, you have time to press the mute button. EDIT: In fact, breathing, coughing, sneezing and anything that's not talking annoys me. Unmute when you have something to say damn it! (Yes, I do realise this isn't always practical. I can still complain though.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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