Return-Path: X-Processed-By: Virex 7 on prxy.net X-Real-To: stagecraftlist [at] theatrical.net X-ListServer: CommuniGate Pro LIST 4.1.8 List-Unsubscribe: List-ID: Message-ID: From: "Stagecraft" Sender: "Stagecraft" To: "Stagecraft" Precedence: list Subject: Stagecraft Digest #75 Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 03:01:36 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Disposition: inline For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Stagecraft Digest, Issue #75 1. High school musical lighting by David Duffy 2. Re: High school musical lighting by "Mike Rock" 3. Re: winch question by 4. Re: winch question by 5. Re: CAD Help by "Will Leonard" 6. Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks by "Samuel L. Jones" 7. Re: High school musical lighting by "Samuel L. Jones" 8. Re: High school musical lighting by John McKernon 9. not listing names of award winners by "RICHARD FINKELSTEIN" 10. Re: High school musical lighting by MissWisc [at] aol.com 11. Re: High school musical lighting by Steve Larson 12. Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks by Noah Price 13. Re: High school musical lighting by MissWisc [at] aol.com 14. Re: High school musical lighting by Steve Larson 15. Re: Lighting Elements Textbook by "Gilliam, Joshua M." 16. Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks by Brendan Quigley 17. Re: High school musical lighting by Richard Niederberg 18. Re: Lighting Elements Textbook by Steve Larson 19. Re: Lighting Elements Textbook by James Feinberg 20. Re: Lighting Elements Textbook by Richard Niederberg 21. Re: Lighting Elements Textbook by "Jon Ares" 22. Re: High school musical lighting by David Duffy 23. Re: High school musical lighting by David Duffy 24. HS theatre facility manager queries by "Jon Ares" 25. Re: Lighting Elements Textbook by "Fitch, Tracy" 26. This has GOT to be ...... by "Tony Deeming" 27. Re: HS theatre facility manager queries by "Chris Warner" 28. Introduction by "Chris Warner" 29. Re: Clapton Tour by 30. Re: Introduction by "MARK OBRIEN" 31. Re: Introduction by "Chris Warner" 32. Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks by Sunil Rajan 33. Re: HS theatre facility manager queries by Jeff Kanyuck 34. Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks by Rachel Steck 35. Re: beating a dead winch... by Dorian Kelly *** Please update the subject line of your reply to use the subject *** line of the message you are replying to! Please only reply to *** one message subject in each reply. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <40FA7280.7060209 [at] audiovisualdevices.com.au> Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 22:52:16 +1000 From: David Duffy Subject: High school musical lighting Hi there, I'm more of a technical person that the arty type but a local high school is putting on a musical and I'm helping them out. It's a comedy/musical spoof of Superman and involves an office, an abandoned warehouse, a gangsters lair and some general scenes and has a pit band. I've loaned them some dimmer packs and about 20 fixtures consisting of PC spots, multipars and a couple of 2 cell cycs. The stage has some basic painted background scenery flats on both sides and at the rear. So far I've only gelled a couple of fixtures up that are specials but the rest are open white. I did try some of them gelled but the look of the some of the costumes really suffered depending of the colours used. Would something like a light straw colour be the best option for taking away some of the blandness of open white light? Also, any suggestions for the warehouse and gangsters lair? The school staff have their hands full just organising students to play in the band and actors to learn their lines so won't be able to get too involved in the lighting and sound side of it all. Being a fairly new school, this is their first musical and is quite a strain on all concerned. Myself included! :-) David... ------------------------------ Message-ID: <000701c46cc9$a5252dc0$80fea8c0 [at] Mikesmadmachine> From: "Mike Rock" References: Subject: Re: High school musical lighting Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 08:17:55 -0500 As far as the warehouse goes I would throw a hint of blue on it and try to get a fan gobo and rotate it becasue nothing screams abandon warehouse like the fan spinning slowly. ------------------------------ From: Subject: Re: winch question Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 9:55:36 -0400 Message-Id: <20040718135536.ENVJ16889.de-fe01.dejazzd.com [at] de-fe01> > Most commonly used in people flying EFX and a few other non hard usage > rigging. It has always surprised me that Genie has used this type of winch on their crank up towers. It does have a note to make sure the cable drum winds smoothly but I am sure you know how difficult it is to just crank a roof system into place let alone finnegle the wire rope into a smooth lay (I do this but it isn't fun) Greg Bierly Hempfield HS ------------------------------ From: Subject: Re: winch question Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 10:02:40 -0400 Message-Id: <20040718140240.EPXK16889.de-fe01.dejazzd.com [at] de-fe01> > 3. If the footprint is that big already, why not just make a bigger drum? If the width of the footprint is the issue couldn't you mount the winch vertically instead of horizontally with some sort of drive mounted mule block? I am sure there are winches with a driven pulley to keep the wire feeding into the groove. The trick would be to find one with a rating to use the pulley as a mule block. Greg Bierly Hempfield HS ------------------------------ From: "Will Leonard" Subject: Re: CAD Help Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 10:15:27 -0400 Message-ID: <000701c46cd1$acf4b720$175da318 [at] nc.rr.com> In-Reply-To: The drawings were to scale, so a 2x was thicker than a 1x. He just used the colors to help draw attention to the different materials in a unit. I really liked it. The dimensions were all there as well, you just had to be careful about subtracting the right dimension from the toggles, etc. - Will Leonard Assistant Technical Director DDA Facility Manager PlayMakers Repertory Company Center for Dramatic Art UNC - Chapel Hill O: 919-843-9817 C: 919-423-9612 Sometimes you just have to ask yourself: WWJCD? (What would Johnny Cash do?) My website: http://WillTheTD.tripod.com ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <9D00557E-D8C5-11D8-8641-00039313C6D2 [at] ucla.edu.> From: "Samuel L. Jones" Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 07:20:26 -0700 On Jul 18, 2004, at 1:34 AM, Rachel Steck wrote: > I think "A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting" by Steven Shelley is an > excellent book for a beginning student as well as the professional ,,, > [snip]... But for $14.99, it is a great addition to any classroom: Where did you get it for $14.99? It lists for $49.95. Sam Samuel L. Jones Technical Director, Dance Program, Dept. of World Arts and Cultures, UCLA. sjones [at] arts.ucla.edu (310) 207-0392 (home) (310) 825-5823 (office) (310) 993-4172 (cell) ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <3244FAF2-D8C6-11D8-8641-00039313C6D2 [at] ucla.edu.> From: "Samuel L. Jones" Subject: Re: High school musical lighting Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 07:24:36 -0700 On Jul 18, 2004, at 5:52 AM, David Duffy wrote: > Would something like a light straw colour be the best option > for taking away some of the blandness of open white light? A special lavendar is the best all around color (for me) for most skin tones and a costume colors. Many people use R53, I prefer R52. Sam Samuel L. Jones Technical Director, Dance Program, Dept. of World Arts and Cultures, UCLA. sjones [at] arts.ucla.edu (310) 207-0392 (home) (310) 825-5823 (office) (310) 993-4172 (cell) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 10:31:39 -0400 Subject: Re: High school musical lighting From: John McKernon Message-ID: In-Reply-To: > Would something like a light straw colour be the best option > for taking away some of the blandness of open white light? Light straw is pretty much like taking the light down on dimmer - Craig Miller turned me on to Rosco 3313, which is a lovely cool light pink that works well with almost anything, especially faces, without killing blues. - John McKernon ------------------------------ From: "RICHARD FINKELSTEIN" Subject: not listing names of award winners Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 10:43:49 -0400 Message-ID: Rebutting Kristi . . . quoting . . . <> That's not too much different than the awards show itself... the "stars" get their photo on screen and if they win they get to thank everyone and their dog. Technical people are lucky to get 3 seconds of fame IF they win. Comment: ..... While your observation is true, the nature of televison has always been different from that of print journalism. Television is specifically driven by commercial sponsorship. While newspapers do have advertising, this does not formally drive such news coverage decisions. quoting .... UPI is all about selling papers, not accurately recording events. Here you are absolutely wrong, and why I am more upset on this issue than usual. Indeed you might claim that a NEWSPAPER's job is to see newspapers, but UPI's job is as a NEWS SERVICE, to provide a feed of news from which newspapers do traditionally edit to suit their needs. While I have always been upset with newspaper's sloppy coverage of awards, the fact that the service SUPPLYING the news has gotten sloppy has left newspapers with fewer choices should they wish to do a more responsible job. While newspapers also have constraints regarding space and have always edited stories to fit their space, a wire service does not have such a limitation (for the most part). Finally as I argued in my first post the argument that "design tech names are not important as news" belies a few other decisions. For instance if the design awards are not important, then why are they listed at all in coverage? Indeed some newspapers do only cover the awards for stars and directors. At least they are consistent in their values here. To cover an award without saying who won the award is just sloppy journalism.....or as I worry, just a matter of using the news service's copy when that is sloppy! Also on this issue of design winners being too obscure for "news", I charge you to look at these papers when they announce awards in their own field. Then ALL Names are given including the most obscure. Dog catching photo photographer of the year WILL belisted when newspapers cover the pulitzer prizes. So to recap, UPI is not a newspaper but a news serviice whose hob is to supply a full if not reasonable coverage of such news as awards. They do not have the space limitations of newspapers. Also if you have worked with news services, they send out over the wires the most tiny and obscure of material. I've had small theatre companies with knowledge of how to use the wire services being able to have their shows announced over the national wires. No sweat, newspapers just don't pick it up. But the news is there should any paper elect to include it. UPI is a raw feed so if the coverage is limited there, newspapers will often not even have the opportunity to cover the story properly. So I hope you can see the distinction. My feeling is that a story worth covering is worth covering properly. If listing a name of a designer is unimportant, then I feel that to that outlet, coverage of that award category itself is unimportant. RF ------------------------------ From: MissWisc [at] aol.com Message-ID: Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 11:05:00 EDT Subject: Re: High school musical lighting Bastard Amber (Rosco 02) and light lavender/pink are good ones to just take the "edge" off the white light. Easy plan of success for beginning lighting people... cool colors from one side (lavender) , warm from the other (pink), and a wash of BA across the front. Kristi ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 11:22:36 -0400 Subject: Re: High school musical lighting From: Steve Larson Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Good start. But first- why should anyone not having at least the basics of McCandless be lighting a show. To provide a bright light on the actors so all the parents can videotape the show? You can light with light blues and pinks, bastard amber and special lavender, Gam 365 and Lux 63. There are loads of combinations. Everyone has a set that works fine in their space. First- analyze the script, break down the show into scenes, develop a concept for each scene. What is the source of light in the scene- window, candle, bare light bulb, fireplace? What is the mood of the scene (not lighting-wise, that will be created if you properly provide for and pay attention to the functions and qualities of light. There are lots of books that will aid you- McCandless, Parker and Smith, Gillette, etc. There should be at least as much time go into the planning as in the execution. My 2=A2. Steve on 7/18/04 11:05 AM, MissWisc [at] aol.com at MissWisc [at] aol.com wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- >=20 > Bastard Amber (Rosco 02) and light lavender/pink are good ones to just ta= ke > the "edge" off the white light. Easy plan of success for beginning lighti= ng > people... cool colors from one side (lavender) , warm from the other (pin= k), > and=20 > a wash of BA across the front. >=20 > Kristi >=20 >=20 >=20 ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: <3CEE2AAD-D8D2-11D8-8E19-000A958ABBF8 [at] theprices.net> From: Noah Price Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 08:50:48 -0700 On Jul 18, 2004, at 7:20 AM, Samuel L. Jones wrote: > On Jul 18, 2004, at 1:34 AM, Rachel Steck wrote: > >> I think "A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting" by Steven Shelley is an >> excellent book for a beginning student as well as the professional >> ,,, [snip]... But for $14.99, it is a great addition to any >> classroom: > > Where did you get it for $14.99? It lists for $49.95. I'm guessing she looked quickly at the Amazon listing and saw the "you save $14.99" but the resulting price was $34.96. Noah -- | Noah Price | http://stagecraft.theprices.net/ | | Stagecraft Mailing List | Web issues: stagecraft-web [at] theprices.net | | Web site administrator | Personal: noah [at] theprices.net | ------------------------------ From: MissWisc [at] aol.com Message-ID: <147.2e9f2530.2e2bf7f3 [at] aol.com> Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 11:57:39 EDT Subject: Re: High school musical lighting Cc: tiptd [at] theatreinthepark.com In a message dated 7/18/4 10:23:29 AM, tiptd [at] theatreinthepark.com wrote: <> Because there's no one else to do it. Because you have to start somewhere. You too were a beginner once. Because if the show is bright enough for Mom and Dad to see junior's face clearly, that will be sufficent for these purposes. (Personal preference is it NOT be bright enough for the video US federal law-breaker pirates.) Because (hopefully) this person has a modicum of knoweldge regarding electricity, C-wrenches, and physics. This is not as common as it once was. Because along the way, someone will learn something. It is educational theatre after all. This person was smart enough to come to the list and seek advice. I bet he'll take it back to the school and share it with the teacher and students. Because the VAST majority of HS theatre in the USA is done by certified English teachers (not drama/theater!) with little or no tech theatre background. This is the reason for the existence of ISETSA - International Secondary Education Theatrical Safety Association http://www.isetsa.org - an organization to promote safe practices in school performance spaces through education and awareness. I encourage anyone involved with theatre at the HS level to join us. Kristi ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 12:44:37 -0400 Subject: Re: High school musical lighting From: Steve Larson Message-ID: In-Reply-To: on 7/18/04 11:57 AM, MissWisc [at] aol.com at MissWisc [at] aol.com wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > In a message dated 7/18/4 10:23:29 AM, tiptd [at] theatreinthepark.com wrote: > < be lighting a show. To provide a bright light on the actors so all the > parents > can videotape the show?>> > > Because there's no one else to do it. That seems to be the most prevalent answer you get at that level. > Because you have to start somewhere. You too were a beginner once. I was a beginner once, but I didn't attempt to design a show without classroom training and lots of hands-on techwork first. > Because if the show is bright enough for Mom and Dad to see junior's face > clearly, that will be sufficent for these purposes. (Personal preference is it > NOT be bright enough for the video US federal law-breaker pirates.) You can videotape in near darkness with the modern recorders. Bright is not always best when it comes to lighting. > Because (hopefully) this person has a modicum of knoweldge regarding > electricity, C-wrenches, and physics. This is not as common as it once was. Is that ever true. > Because along the way, someone will learn something. It is educational > theatre after all. This person was smart enough to come to the list and seek > advice. I'm sure someone will learn something. I occasionally worry that what they learned is not common, safe practice. I love to have high school students volunteer at my theatre. I take the time to make sure they learn not only how to do something, but also why to do it that way. Safety is foremost in any teaching I do. It invariably takes longer to get the job done, but next show, perhaps they can work alone, with less supervision. > I bet he'll take it back to the school and share it with the teacher and > students. I taught at the university level for 27 years. As experience taught me, incoming college students were best taught to forget just about everything they learned in high school theatre. Most of it was not common practice it was what worked at the time. Most did not have teachers who had much experience at tech. What a shame. > Because the VAST majority of HS theatre in the USA is done by certified > English teachers (not drama/theater!) with little or no tech theatre > background. > This is the reason for the existence of ISETSA - International Secondary > Education Theatrical Safety Association http://www.isetsa.org - an > organization to > promote safe practices in school performance spaces through education and > awareness. I encourage anyone involved with theatre at the HS level to join > us. Good for that organization. Hope it helps. > Kristi > I would still try to latch onto a lighting design textbook if I were he. If I had a extra, I would send it to him. I have given away most of my older edition stagecraft and lighting books to students who have worked with me. Other folks in our field should do so too. I've given away my drafting table and most of my drafting tools. I only use computer drafted drawings anymore. Steve ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbook Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 11:57:58 -0500 Message-ID: From: "Gilliam, Joshua M." Thank you for all of those who have responded to me about Lighting = textbooks. I think that those are all good books, but I am looking for = a book that will give the basics of lighting for all of our students, = design and performance students alike. Maybe some of the books that = have been mentioned will describe all of those details, but they sound = like they are geared more to Lighting Design. =20 Thank you in advance for your time, =20 Joshua Gilliam Master Electrician Department of Theatre Arts Baylor University ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: From: Brendan Quigley Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 11:59:28 -0500 mornin' all ... so Joshua Gilliam wrote in part: > I am the master electrician at Baylor University and I am looking for a > textbook that would teach the lighting students the basis of lighting, > along with the history and make-up of the most used lighting > instruments > including moving lights and control consoles. While I haven't read her current book, don't forget the textbooks written by my good friend Linda Essig, who's probably packing her little self up right now and may not have seen this posting. They just might be what you need ... Kind Regards, Brendan C. Quigley Vari*Lite Technician/Electrician WICKED - A New Broadway Musical ------------------------------ Cc: tiptd [at] theatreinthepark.com Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 10:03:04 -0700 Subject: Re: High school musical lighting Message-ID: <20040718.100441.2720.2.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg And the 'product' to be produced by educators should be the best-educated student possible, not always the slickest-produced show possible. /s/ Richard > Because if the show is bright enough for Mom and Dad to see > junior's face clearly, that will be sufficient for these purposes. > Kristi ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 13:14:53 -0400 Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbook From: Steve Larson Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Your best bets are Parker and Smith or Gillette. True they have lots of other subjects in them and they include design but they have the basics. Those two books were written primarily for one purpose- cover stagecraft, scene design and lighting all in one book so students only have to buy one book and can take three or more classes. Someone out there on the list needs to write the basic Lighting 101 book. Any takers? Then there are the other books- Discovering Stage Lighting too English (British), would be confusing to American students Stage Lighting Step by Step basic, lots of good pictures- hey, this might work! Stage Lighting Revealed starts with design and then goes to equipment, paperwork, etc. Lighting and the Design Idea basicly a design book, but a good one. Steve on 7/18/04 12:57 PM, Gilliam, Joshua M. at Joshua_Gilliam [at] baylor.edu wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Thank you for all of those who have responded to me about Lighting textbooks. > I think that those are all good books, but I am looking for a book that will > give the basics of lighting for all of our students, design and performance > students alike. Maybe some of the books that have been mentioned will > describe all of those details, but they sound like they are geared more to > Lighting Design. > > Thank you in advance for your time, > > Joshua Gilliam > Master Electrician > Department of Theatre Arts > Baylor University > > ------------------------------ Message-Id: <200407181737.i6IHbvro002103 [at] gryphon.auspice.net> Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbook Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 13:37:57 -0400 (EDT) In-Reply-To: from "Gilliam, Joshua M." at Jul 18, 2004 11:57:58 AM From: James Feinberg Do take a look at Glen Cunningham's "Stage Lighting Revealed," which is subtitled "A Design and Execution Handbook." While most of the descriptions I've found online, including at Amazon , imply that the book is only or mostly about design, I think there's a lot in the book that would be exactly what you're looking for. Allow me to quote from the Introduction. "One intention of this book is to offer an introduction to stage lighting design, showing some of the different aims and processes involved in the creation of a design." "Another objective of this book is to give the stage lighting designer and technician information concerning the equipment used and procedures often followed when lighting a show. Descriptions of various pieces of equipment and common practices used in stage lighting are given. If your interest is in executing a design of either your own or someone else's creation, you should have an understanding of what is required of the lighting as well as an understanding of the equipment you will be using." Good luck! --James Feinberg Production Manager, Theatre Arts Program University of San Diego ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 10:33:16 -0700 Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbook Message-ID: <20040718.103321.2720.3.ladesigners [at] juno.com> From: Richard Niederberg There are many trade publications, as well as a plethora of Physics textbooks, that cover this subject, but probably the well-illustrated free yet comprehensive lighting instrument sales catalogs would give your students a headstart in formulating which questions to ask. Once they formulate the right questions, researching the 'what' answer will be relatively easy for them these days. Then they can approach the much more cerebral 'why' questions with store-bought books. The 'how' is still based upon hands-on experience, though, and safety training is also best presented live. /s/ Richard > Thank you for all of those who have responded to me about Lighting > textbooks. I think that those are all good books, but I am looking > for a book that will give the basics of lighting for all of our > students, design and performance students alike. Maybe some of the > books that have been mentioned will describe all of those details, > but they sound like they are geared more to Lighting Design. > Thank you in advance for your time, > Joshua Gilliam ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! ------------------------------ Message-ID: <000601c46cf5$34265050$0201a8c0 [at] BRUTUS> From: "Jon Ares" References: Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbook Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 11:29:45 -0700 > Do take a look at Glen Cunningham's "Stage Lighting Revealed," which > is subtitled "A Design and Execution Handbook." I have many of the books previously mentioned in my personal library, and the above book is by far the most popular of them, with my students that need the 'basics.' I heartily recommend it. The diagrams and explanations are excellent and simple, and it's not like some books that are filled with manufacturer's cut sheets on their fixtures and dimmers. Another book that's very popular with my students is "Stage Lighting - Step by Step" by Graham Walters, because of the excellent cause/effect colour photos in the book. It has a number of photos in the "Examples of Lighting Design" section where it shows the result, and also shows where/how the fixtures achieve it. It does get technical in areas and does show a lot of European fixtures, but it's an excellent book because of all the examples it shows. In the section "Creating Atmosphere," there are four pictures of the same set: morning light, evening light, cool light, and sinister light. A lot of my students appreciate this style of learning. -- Jon Ares www.hevanet.com/acreative ------------------------------ Message-ID: <40FAEF3A.8090808 [at] audiovisualdevices.com.au> Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 07:44:26 +1000 From: David Duffy Subject: Re: High school musical lighting References: In-Reply-To: MissWisc [at] aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 7/18/4 10:23:29 AM, tiptd [at] theatreinthepark.com wrote: ><be lighting a show. To provide a bright light on the actors so all the parents >can videotape the show?>> > >Because there's no one else to do it. > You said it! The school has only had this building for 6 months & have no "program" or resources to teach the technical aspects of theatre. The stage has 4 lighting bars (11 outlets each) including the FOH one. School equipment is a sum total of 4 Fresnels a 4 way dimmer! :-) Knowing they won't get anything more for a while, I bought dimmer packs, a lighting desk, a platform ladder and about 30 fixtures myself for them to use in this and other productions. (to share with a primary school where my younger son goes - yes, I'm a busy dad at times!) >Because you have to start somewhere. You too were a beginner once. > > I've read a few "stage lighting" books (from the library) but putting it all into practice is not as easy. Last night I had to put the fixtures up in the meal breaks, etc or otherwise work backstage around them. Having variable lens fixtures for most of them helped alot. :-) >Because if the show is bright enough for Mom and Dad to see junior's face >clearly, that will be sufficent for these purposes. (Personal preference is it >NOT be bright enough for the video US federal law-breaker pirates.) > >Because (hopefully) this person has a modicum of knoweldge regarding >electricity, C-wrenches, and physics. This is not as common as it once was. > > The technical part is no problem for me. I've even designed DMX equipment . All fixtures have hook clamps & safety wires on them. I imagine that the school will videotape the performances. >Because along the way, someone will learn something. It is educational >theatre after all. This person was smart enough to come to the list and seek advice. >I bet he'll take it back to the school and share it with the teacher and >students. > > I've not got any students involved in the rigging of fixtures at this stage as I don't know the OHS policy on this. Maybe we'll get the students involved in the technical aspects more over time. I will be a parent at this school for about the next 8 years so we will slowly get something happening in that direction. (I hope) >Because the VAST majority of HS theatre in the USA is done by certified >English teachers (not drama/theater!) with little or no tech theatre background. >This is the reason for the existence of ISETSA - International Secondary >Education Theatrical Safety Association http://www.isetsa.org - an organization to >promote safe practices in school performance spaces through education and >awareness. I encourage anyone involved with theatre at the HS level to join us. > We had one music teacher (for the pit band) and one drama teacher (for the actors & overall) at rehearsal last night. The kids are enthused about it and we have 4 performances (spread over a few nights) that start in about 10 days time. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <40FAF241.70803 [at] audiovisualdevices.com.au> Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 07:57:21 +1000 From: David Duffy Subject: Re: High school musical lighting References: In-Reply-To: Richard Niederberg wrote: >And the 'product' to be produced by educators should be the best-educated >student possible, not always the slickest-produced show possible. >/s/ Richard > > >>Because if the show is bright enough for Mom and Dad to see >>junior's face clearly, that will be sufficient for these purposes. >>Kristi >> >> First of all, a big thanks to everyone for the suggestions so far. The main object of this musical is to get the kids up there on stage acting and the pit band playing well. (my son is in the pit band) Me doing the lighting for them will allow them to concentrate on those two items. Oh, btw, I'm organising the sound for it too! Luckily the pit band is loud enough and I'll only need to DI the keyboard and possibly the 2 guitars. The fun will come from the logistics of keeping track of the 5 wireless beltpacks. (mine too as they only have a couple of handheld wired mics) Geeze, I *really* like a challenge eh? :-) David... ------------------------------ Message-ID: <001101c46d29$61c16ed0$0201a8c0 [at] BRUTUS> From: "Jon Ares" Subject: HS theatre facility manager queries Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 17:43:15 -0700 Greetings all... at my school, construction is about to begin on our new multi-million PAC facility, and I've been on the design spec committee for the last several years. Luckily we have very good architects and outstanding theatre consultants. All is well in that area, but the very provincial district administration has been unwilling to hire, or even address, the importance of having a paid Facility Manager (or Production Manager, if you prefer), even though there's been much rumbling and grumbling at the school level, as well as the community/parent/taxpayer level. As any employee of a public school district can attest, there is never a "good" time to hire employees. (Maybe more administrators, but that's another gripe.) I have yet one more presentation to make on this subject of Facility Manager this coming Tuesday evening, and with it being summer, it's been hard for me to get ahold of other schools and personnel in this area (Portland, OR USA) that have FMs, so I'm casting my net wider. If you have experience as a Facility Manager (as a separate paid job from say, classroom teaching), please give me some info, on or offlist. How is the position paid for? Outside rentals? Stipend that's attached to something else, such as a department TD? Is the job full-time? What is the salary of the FM? (You can reply offlist, if you'd like.) How many outside 'clients' do you have, annually on average? How much does the facility make annually from these non-inschool activities? Does that money go into a special fund, or does it go to the school or district General Fund? Does anyone's facility have an endowment? Is this endowment specifically for operations and maintenance of the facility? How much is your endowment? (I was going to write, "How well are you endowed?" but I really don't think we need to get personal.) Do you ever run into funding troubles as it relates to Title IX? (Specifically if you have an endowment.) Has anyone raised that issue? (As we're being told, both by the District attorney, and by a friend of mine at the Oregon Supreme Court, Title IX mandates that all funds can be challenged and required to be distributed across all departments of a school... I'm oversimplifying it, but that's the gist. That could seriously jeopardize the creation of an endowment for a facility.) That's about it. Specifically, our pitch is being made to establish an endowment for the facilities, and that all facility rental monies be directed back into the facilities, not into the General Fund. These monies would help pay for a Facility Manager, and also go towards upgrades and maintenance. (Custodians don't really know too much about cleaning and flameproofing drapes, and inspecting counterweight systems -- go figure.) If you have any info to share with me, I'd be mighty grateful. -- Jon Ares www.hevanet.com/acreative ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbook Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 20:51:03 -0400 Message-ID: From: "Fitch, Tracy" You might want to take a look at "Stage Lighting Revealed" by Glen Cunningham. It's a nice, inexpensive quick overview of stage lighting. --Tracy Fitch Faculty TD, UNC Charlotte; LD, Everywhere Else > -----Original Message----- > Thank you for all of those who have responded to me about Lighting > textbooks. I think that those are all good books, but I am looking for a > book that will give the basics of lighting for all of our students, design > and performance students alike. Maybe some of the books that have been > mentioned will describe all of those details, but they sound like they are > geared more to Lighting Design. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <001e01c46d2b$add0a550$0a01a8c0 [at] Tony> From: "Tony Deeming" References: Subject: This has GOT to be ...... Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 01:59:43 +0100 ...my favourite story of the week! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3887493.stm nothing to do with stagecraft, but I'm SURE there are few peeps out there who've not had one of these every week!!! Ynot ------------------------------ Message-ID: <02fd01c46d32$d58b6010$6501a8c0 [at] chris> From: "Chris Warner" References: Subject: Re: HS theatre facility manager queries Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 18:50:56 -0700 In the highschool I graduated from several years ago now, the school facilities person took care of the bookings, and making sure sufficient Janitorial and Theatrical technical staff were available. That school had a Media Technician/Technical Director that dealt with all things related to the technical aspects of the theatre. The school hired the most technically inclined students (myself and one or to others) to operate the technicals inside the facility, then they had hired individuals to handle the Ushering. If I remember my title was an instructional aide, and the only aiding I did was to operate the sound or lights for outside groups that used the space. Hope that info Helps Chris ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Ares" To: "Stagecraft" Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2004 5:43 PM Subject: HS theatre facility manager queries > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Greetings all... at my school, construction is about to begin on our new > multi-million PAC facility, and I've been on the design spec committee for > the last several years. Luckily we have very good architects and > outstanding theatre consultants. All is well in that area, but the very > provincial district administration has been unwilling to hire, or even > address, the importance of having a paid Facility Manager (or Production > Manager, if you prefer), even though there's been much rumbling and > grumbling at the school level, as well as the community/parent/taxpayer > level. As any employee of a public school district can attest, there is > never a "good" time to hire employees. (Maybe more administrators, but > that's another gripe.) > > I have yet one more presentation to make on this subject of Facility Manager > this coming Tuesday evening, and with it being summer, it's been hard for me > to get ahold of other schools and personnel in this area (Portland, OR USA) > that have FMs, so I'm casting my net wider. If you have experience as a > Facility Manager (as a separate paid job from say, classroom teaching), > please give me some info, on or offlist. > > How is the position paid for? Outside rentals? Stipend that's attached to > something else, such as a department TD? Is the job full-time? What is the > salary of the FM? (You can reply offlist, if you'd like.) > > How many outside 'clients' do you have, annually on average? How much does > the facility make annually from these non-inschool activities? Does that > money go into a special fund, or does it go to the school or district > General Fund? > > Does anyone's facility have an endowment? Is this endowment specifically > for operations and maintenance of the facility? How much is your endowment? > (I was going to write, "How well are you endowed?" but I really don't think > we need to get personal.) > > Do you ever run into funding troubles as it relates to Title IX? > (Specifically if you have an endowment.) Has anyone raised that issue? (As > we're being told, both by the District attorney, and by a friend of mine at > the Oregon Supreme Court, Title IX mandates that all funds can be challenged > and required to be distributed across all departments of a school... I'm > oversimplifying it, but that's the gist. That could seriously jeopardize > the creation of an endowment for a facility.) > > That's about it. Specifically, our pitch is being made to establish an > endowment for the facilities, and that all facility rental monies be > directed back into the facilities, not into the General Fund. These monies > would help pay for a Facility Manager, and also go towards upgrades and > maintenance. (Custodians don't really know too much about cleaning and > flameproofing drapes, and inspecting counterweight systems -- go figure.) > If you have any info to share with me, I'd be mighty grateful. > > -- Jon Ares > www.hevanet.com/acreative > ------------------------------ Message-ID: <033601c46d33$5ef216a0$6501a8c0 [at] chris> From: "Chris Warner" Subject: Introduction Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 18:54:42 -0700 Hi everybody, My name is Chris Warner, I am a theatrical design student in the San Diego county area of California. Currently I am a pretty prolific lighting designer for the community theatre groups in San Diego county, and hoping to one day make it to the big time. I am looking for a place to use as a sounding board, discussion of productions and a networking environment to begin to grow myself as a professional designer. Thanks everyone for your time Chris Warner ------------------------------ From: Subject: Re: Clapton Tour Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 22:56:08 -0400 Message-Id: <20040719025608.NGSE16889.de-fe01.dejazzd.com [at] de-fe01> > Someone on one of the Clapton fansites described it as 'Oh, that's where all > of my socks and sheets went that get lost in the dryer.' I believe that Atomic insiders call the drop the "burrito drop." If you ever get to light an Atomic Design scenic piece it is a dream. Most of their drops are dimensional and take light beautifully. You can check out some of their items in the Rose Brand Catalog (for rent). Tom McPhillips is brilliant. (No I don't work for them and am not on comission). I feel very fortunate to be here in little 'ol Lancaster and have Atomic Design, Tait Towers, and Clair Brothers all right up the road in even littler 'ol Lititz. (all within spittin distance of each other too). ------------------------------ From: "MARK OBRIEN" Subject: Re: Introduction Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 20:10:57 -0700 Message-ID: Welcome Jump into the fire. Mark O'Brien Tucson, AZ >Hi everybody, My name is Chris Warner, I am a theatrical design student in >the San Diego county area of California. Currently I am a pretty prolific >lighting designer for the community theatre groups in San Diego county, and >hoping to one day make it to the big time. > >I am looking for a place to use as a sounding board, discussion of >productions and a networking environment to begin to grow myself as a >professional designer. _________________________________________________________________ Don�t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <035501c46d42$afc63c50$6501a8c0 [at] chris> From: "Chris Warner" References: Subject: Re: Introduction Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 20:44:25 -0700 Why Thank you.... Actually my biggest challenge is getting over my fear of saturated colors.... I tend to light everything wtih R60, R61, R05, R03. I am really afraid of moving away from my comfort zone! LOL... Chris ----- Original Message ----- From: "MARK OBRIEN" To: "Stagecraft" Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2004 8:10 PM Subject: Re: Introduction > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > Welcome > > Jump into the fire. > > > Mark O'Brien > Tucson, AZ > > > > > >Hi everybody, My name is Chris Warner, I am a theatrical design student in > >the San Diego county area of California. Currently I am a pretty prolific > >lighting designer for the community theatre groups in San Diego county, and > >hoping to one day make it to the big time. > > > >I am looking for a place to use as a sounding board, discussion of > >productions and a networking environment to begin to grow myself as a > >professional designer. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! > http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ > > ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <32CAF952-D938-11D8-A5F8-000A95BD64AC [at] earthlink.net> From: Sunil Rajan Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 00:00:40 -0400 > Joshua, > I think "A Practical Guide to Stage Lighting" by Steven Shelley is an > excellent book If only all of us were as well prepared as Shelley. > Sincerely, > RK Steck Personally having worked a few Spoleto Festivals with Steve, we got to see a few incarnations/drafts of the book. It's a very good "common sense" book, which most textbooks don't cover at all! At the very least, it's a fun read, even if he couldn't put all the fun stuff in it! Cheers, Sunil Rajan Freelance Audio Mercenary Sound Design, Engineering, Consulting for Stage, Screen, Studio I.A.T.S.E. #395 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 21:07:14 -0800 From: Jeff Kanyuck Subject: Re: HS theatre facility manager queries Message-id: <000401c46d4e$416aa000$c04bed18 [at] anchorageak.net> References: ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jon Ares" Subject: HS theatre facility manager queries > Greetings all... at my school, construction is about to begin on our new > multi-million PAC facility, and I've been on the design spec committee for > the last several years. <> > > How is the position paid for? Outside rentals? Stipend that's attached to > something else, such as a department TD? Is the job full-time? What is the > salary of the FM? (You can reply offlist, if you'd like.) > At the school district here in Anchorage, the "Auditorium Technician" 's job is paid for through the Rentals Department's budget and he/she reports to the head of the Rentals Department. The facility of the theater space is accessed through the Rentals Department which handles everything from classrooms and football fields to entire schools for State sport meets of various sorts. Even the principal of the school has to schedual things through the rentals department. For reasons of safety and keeping schedualing conflicts out of the picture. Of course depending on the size of your soon to be theater space you may have people banging down the door to use it for free since they are part of the community and pay taxes there. That's not the way it is here. Anyone who uses the space pays, whether they get a standard rate or non-profit, unless it is specifically a school project (which get first priority and may {specifically in the contract} bump anything that is non-school). Money from the rentals goes into the budget for the rentals department to help pay for consumable materials and the position of the technician. The job is full time with 4 weeks of vacation and all standard school district benefits and a member of the local union. Pay is hourly. > How many outside 'clients' do you have, annually on average? How much does > the facility make annually from these non-inschool activities? Does that > money go into a special fund, or does it go to the school or district > General Fund? > The Anchorage School District has three large auditioriums, ranging from 600 seats up to 2,000. The large theater gets an average of 40 clients a year, tending towards more during the school year than summer. How much the district makes I don't know.. it's been 8 years since I've worked for them. Money into Rentals Department. > Does anyone's facility have an endowment? Is this endowment specifically > for operations and maintenance of the facility? How much is your endowment? > (I was going to write, "How well are you endowed?" but I really don't think > we need to get personal.) > No endowment. > Do you ever run into funding troubles as it relates to Title IX? > <> the creation of an endowment for a facility.) > > That's about it. Specifically, our pitch is being made to establish an > endowment for the facilities, and that all facility rental monies be > directed back into the facilities, not into the General Fund. These monies > would help pay for a Facility Manager, and also go towards upgrades and > maintenance. (Custodians don't really know too much about cleaning and > flameproofing drapes, and inspecting counterweight systems -- go figure.) > If you have any info to share with me, I'd be mighty grateful. > Jon, I hope your school system does hire someone independent to run the facility. As you've stated above there is equipment to be run and maintained that has specific requirements for safety, to be in good working order and maintenence scheduals. They need someone to deal with clients that come in and need lights on, projectors on, or audio dealt with; and can interface with the clients to negotiate how the facility will be used, what equipment is available and all the other little details of a theater. It is extremely rare that a drama teacher or custodian will happen to have been an all around theater technician and understand that you don't patch a mic in with the entire system on and that crosbys need checked and lighting instruments need cleaned and what to use to clean them (as we know, it isn't always Windex) without messing up the optics. The Anchorage School District has "4" Auditorium Technicians now to deal with the use of the three theaters and equipment. They realize it's safer (and cheaper) to have someone hired specifically for the job that understands the equipment, will keep the students and users safe, and maintain the systems, and help control access to the building during load-in, tech, rehearsals, shows and load-out. Good luck, Jeff Kanyuck > -- Jon Ares > www.hevanet.com/acreative > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 23:55:05 -0700 Subject: Re: Lighting Elements Textbooks From: Rachel Steck Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Hello, I bought the Shelley book for $14.99 used at Amazon a year or so ago. -Rachel ------------------------------ Message-Id: In-Reply-To: Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 09:12:28 +0100 From: Dorian Kelly Subject: Re: beating a dead winch... >hummmmmm could the list "collectively' patent something? > >maybe everyone who participates on the list should sign off on some sort of >disclaimer saying that anything suggested on the list is "public domain" > > The law everywhere says that once an idea which is capable of being put into production is published it is automatically in the poublic domain and effectively unpatentable. It also has to say things about obviousness and pre-existing technology. This is very much a gray area and probably depends on the clout of the prospective patenter versus the potential objector. Dorian ------------------------------ End of Stagecraft Digest #75 ****************************