Return-Path: X-Processed-By: Virex 7 on prxy.net X-Real-To: stagecraftlist [at] theatrical.net Received: by prxy.net (CommuniGate Pro PIPE 4.2.6) with PIPE id 17614306; Mon, 07 Feb 2005 03:00:54 -0800 X-ListServer: CommuniGate Pro LIST 4.2.6 List-Unsubscribe: List-ID: Message-ID: From: "Stagecraft" Sender: "Stagecraft" To: "Stagecraft" Precedence: list Subject: Stagecraft Digest #287 Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2005 03:00:30 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Disposition: inline X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.2 (2004-11-16) on prxy.net X-Spam-Status: No, score=-5.4 required=5.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, DRUGS_PAIN autolearn=ham version=3.0.2 X-Spam-Level: X-TFF-CGPSA-Version: 1.4f2 X-prxy-Spam-Filter: Scanned For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- Stagecraft Digest, Issue #287 1. Re: Censorship by Paul Puppo 2. Re: Censorship by Charlie Richmond 3. Re: Censorship by Paul Puppo 4. Re: Censorship by Paul Puppo 5. Re: Censorship by Charlie Richmond 6. Re: Censorship by Paul Puppo 7. Re: Censorship by Charlie Richmond 8. Re: Yo, Frank Wood, I gotcher Matchless rightchere! by "Wayne Rasmussen" 9. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by roguerpj [at] mn.rr.com 10. Re: Frank on the Long Reach Long Riders ride for BC/EFA by Loren Schreiber 11. Re: Proper sizing of neutrals by murr rhame 12. Re: Frank on the Long Reach Long Riders ride for BC/EFA by Bill Sapsis 13. Re: Palm Trees by "Brian Jeffrey" 14. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by Bruce Purdy 15. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by FrankWood95 [at] aol.com 16. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "Gerry G." 17. Re: piano tuning by Bruce Purdy 18. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "RODOK!!!" 19. Re: Proper sizing of neutrals by Mitch Hefter 20. Re: piano tuning by Fred Fisher 21. Re: 130% Neutrals and the Code by Mitch Hefter 22. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by Howard Ires 23. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "Waxler, Steve (waxlers)" 24. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "Erika Smock" 25. Re: We Ride!! Gas Mileage by Jerry Durand 26. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "Dr. Randall W.A. Davidson" 27. Re: We Ride!! Gas Mileage by Bill Sapsis 28. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "Jon Ares" 29. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "Jon Ares" 30. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by Bill Sapsis 31. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "Jonathan S. Deull" 32. Re: Proper sizing of neutrals by FrankWood95 [at] aol.com 33. Re: Proper sizing of neutrals by Greg Bierly 34. Re: Welding Shop Equipment by Greg Bierly 35. Re: Welding Shop Equipment by "Mike Rock" 36. Re: Welding Shop Equipment by Greg Bierly 37. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by Greg Williams 38. Re: by Richard Wright 39. Re: Proper sizing of neutrals by "ladesigners [at] juno.com" 40. Why not use single phase for stage lighting by Scott D Trites 41. Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... by "Ronnie Thevenot" 42. Re: Why not use single phase for stage lighting by "ladesigners [at] juno.com" 43. A bad show day by BKHAIN [at] aol.com 44. Re: Bad Show Days by Danielle Maul 45. Re: Periaktoi 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <8e944913e1600fd070881adcb64cb464 [at] Nifty-Gadgets.com> From: Paul Puppo Subject: Re: Censorship Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 03:14:52 -0800 My college professor told my class about a production of The Birds (at UCLA?) (In the late 1960s?). The sheriff came to close them down (there might have been some nudity, see parenthesis above), he also came with warrants for the arrest of the director the actors and, the author, one Mr. Aristo P. Hanes. Paul Puppo ILLUMINEERING 547 Green Street San Francisco, CA 94133-3905 (415) 397-8776 phone/fax http://www.Nifty-Gadgets.com mailto:Paul [at] Nifty-Gadgets.com On Feb 3, 2005, at 9:09 PM, Dawn Ashley wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > So this doesn't have much to do with stagecraft, necessarily, > but it would be very helpful to me... > > I'm writing a research paper on censorship in the theatre > (all around the world, any time), so I thought I'd ask...has > anyone ever run into problems? Any feedback would be greatly > appreciated and I promise if I use your comments I will > properly cite you! > > Thanks! > > Dawn Ashley > TD student > College-Conservatory of Music > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:28:21 +0000 (GMT) From: Charlie Richmond Subject: Re: Censorship In-Reply-To: Message-ID: References:

On Sun, 6 Feb 2005, Paul Puppo wrote: > The sheriff came to close them down (there might have been some nudity, see > parenthesis above), he also came with warrants for the arrest of the director > the actors and, > the author, one Mr. Aristo P. Hanes. ;-) what ended up happening? Charlie ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: <44607f8b139f827792f53333b63d4945 [at] Nifty-Gadgets.com> From: Paul Puppo Subject: Re: Censorship Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 03:31:57 -0800 I once worked a show called "Free Food and Frontal Nudity". It had neither, but it did have some very funny songs. Unfortunately no one bit and the audiences were small. It changed it's name to some thing much less titillating, and changed some songs, but still died. Pity. Paul Puppo ILLUMINEERING 547 Green Street San Francisco, CA 94133-3905 (415) 397-8776 phone/fax http://www.Nifty-Gadgets.com mailto:Paul [at] Nifty-Gadgets.com On Feb 3, 2005, at 9:09 PM, Dawn Ashley wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > So this doesn't have much to do with stagecraft, necessarily, > but it would be very helpful to me... > > I'm writing a research paper on censorship in the theatre > (all around the world, any time), so I thought I'd ask...has > anyone ever run into problems? Any feedback would be greatly > appreciated and I promise if I use your comments I will > properly cite you! > > Thanks! > > Dawn Ashley > TD student > College-Conservatory of Music > ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: From: Paul Puppo Subject: Re: Censorship Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 03:38:09 -0800 I _think_ the actors and director were taken away, trying to explain to the sheriff's that they were not going to find Mr. Hanes... Paul Puppo ILLUMINEERING 547 Green Street San Francisco, CA 94133-3905 (415) 397-8776 phone/fax http://www.Nifty-Gadgets.com mailto:Paul [at] Nifty-Gadgets.com On Feb 6, 2005, at 3:28 AM, Charlie Richmond wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > On Sun, 6 Feb 2005, Paul Puppo wrote: > >> The sheriff came to close them down (there might have been some >> nudity, see parenthesis above), he also came with warrants for the >> arrest of the director the actors and, >> the author, one Mr. Aristo P. Hanes. > > ;-) what ended up happening? > > Charlie > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:38:19 +0000 (GMT) From: Charlie Richmond Subject: Re: Censorship In-Reply-To: Message-ID: References:

On Sun, 6 Feb 2005, Paul Puppo wrote: > I once worked a show called "Free Food and Frontal Nudity". Was this a Steve Silver show? Charlie ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: From: Paul Puppo Subject: Re: Censorship Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 03:47:58 -0800 I think it may have been. A two person show on (at least in San Francisco) a very small stage. It's good to know I'm not the only insomniac on the list... Paul Puppo (3:45 AM) ILLUMINEERING 547 Green Street San Francisco, CA 94133-3905 (415) 397-8776 phone/fax http://www.Nifty-Gadgets.com mailto:Paul [at] Nifty-Gadgets.com On Feb 6, 2005, at 3:38 AM, Charlie Richmond wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > On Sun, 6 Feb 2005, Paul Puppo wrote: > >> I once worked a show called "Free Food and Frontal Nudity". > > Was this a Steve Silver show? > > Charlie > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:51:46 +0000 (GMT) From: Charlie Richmond Subject: Re: Censorship In-Reply-To: Message-ID: References:

On Sun, 6 Feb 2005, Paul Puppo wrote: > It's good to know I'm not the only insomniac on the list... London here -- 11:49AM ;-) But still an insomniac... Charlie ------------------------------ Message-ID: <001601c50c60$476f08e0$0617000a [at] blair.edu> From: "Wayne Rasmussen" Subject: Re: Yo, Frank Wood, I gotcher Matchless rightchere! Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 10:26:50 -0500 Frank, 1. There's a guy in my motorcycle club who is 80. 2. You drive on the right in France, probably with a right-hand drive car. Motorcycling on the right is easier. 3. Not riding a bike could be a stickier problem, but you've got five months to learn! Wayne Rasmussen Blair Academy Join the Long Reach Long Riders for the "Out of the Wings and into the Wind" tour. ------------------------------ From: roguerpj [at] mn.rr.com Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 09:33:30 -0600 Message-ID: References:

In-Reply-To: Easy, you get to the theatre for a 7 am call and there is no coffee within a 2 mile radius to the building.=20 rob johnson On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 20:38:02 -0800, you wrote: >For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see >--------------------------------------------------- > >In the middle of a major production, with 1500 people in attendance, all >the power went out, and there was no emergency power. One hour of >darkness. Doom >Maybe not the worst, but close. Ah, another one, a crew member tried to >commit suicide in the middle of a production ... traumatic to say the >least.=20 ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.1.1.1.2.20050206072615.0384a1b0 [at] mail.sdsu.edu> Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 07:34:33 -0800 From: Loren Schreiber Subject: Re: Frank on the Long Reach Long Riders ride for BC/EFA In-Reply-To: References: > > Hey Frank, why don't you join us for the Long Reach Long Riders, "Out of > > the Wings and Into the Wind" ride for Broadway Cares, Equity Fights AIDS? > > >>Point one, I live in the UK. Point two, I can't ride a bike. Point > three, I'm > >>65 years old, and my reaction times are not what they were. Merely details, Frank--and I'm a big picture kinda guy. OK, so the "I can't ride a bike" is sort of big detail--but, hey, the eastern group of riders needs a chase vehicle driver. The exchange rates are favoring you Brits right now. You'd add some international flavor and a diabolical element as smoke billows from the chase car windows. Work with me here . . . Loren "Grits" Schreiber, Technical Director and Long Reach Long Rider School of Theatre, Television and Film San Diego State University http://sapsis-rigging.com/LRLR.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 10:40:13 -0500 (EST) From: murr rhame Subject: Re: Proper sizing of neutrals In-Reply-To: Message-ID: References: Dale Farmer wrote: >> murr rhame wrote: > >> ... Why use three phase at all for stage lighting? At a >> casual glance, a three phase service doesn't seem to have >> any advantage for stage lighting. > Because of the way that power is distributed throughout the US, > heavy power hookups come only in three phase. Yes, there is no > reason three phase is any better for lighting, but since that > is what is economically available, that's pretty much what gets > used. Three phase is very economical for long distance transmission lines and for large electric motors. Even so, nearly every home in the USA is wired with a 240V single phase service. Three phase makes a lot of sense in typical industrial settings where most of the large loads are electric motors. Most theatres probably need some three phase power for air conditioning and other mechanical systems. I'm still curious about the practicality of an all single phase state lighting system. Even if you were limited to 200 amp 240V services, you could use multiple clusters of dimmers as needed for a larger house. Single phase would eliminate harmonics and excessive neutral loading issues with unbalanced loads. I don't know if single phase supply is cost effective for typical theatres. It does seem like it would be worth exploring. - murr - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 10:59:31 -0500 Subject: Re: Frank on the Long Reach Long Riders ride for BC/EFA From: Bill Sapsis Message-ID: In-Reply-To: on 2/6/05 10:34 AM, Loren Schreiber at lschreib [at] mail.sdsu.edu wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > Merely details, Frank--and I'm a big picture kinda guy. > > OK, so the "I can't ride a bike" is sort of big detail--but, hey, the > eastern group of riders needs a chase vehicle driver. The exchange rates > are favoring you Brits right now. You'd add some international flavor and a > diabolical element as smoke billows from the chase car windows. Work with > me here . . . > > > Loren "Grits" Schreiber, Technical Director and Long Reach Long Rider > School of Theatre, Television and Film > San Diego State University > http://sapsis-rigging.com/LRLR.html > > Sure Loren. Pawn him off on the east coast group. Just what we need is some guy driving down the wrong side of the interstate, smoke coming from the sun roof and a bare foot sticking out a window. Yeah, he'll get far. www.sapsis-rigging.com 800.727.7471 800.292.3851 fax 267.278.4561 mobile We stand behind, and under, our work. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <010201c50c66$976e4170$0200a8c0 [at] DESKTOP> From: "Brian Jeffrey" References: Subject: Re: Palm Trees Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 11:12:01 -0500 From: roguerpj [at] mn.rr.com Subject: Palm Trees Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2005 14:13:13 -0600 Message-ID: I am designing a show that will require realistic palm trees that vary in height from 10 to 18 feet. Anyone done this kind of thing before? My first thought is bent sq tube w/ chicken wire attached and then wrap with burlap. Add felt leaves and poof a palm tree. Any thoughts? rob johnson You might want to consider using the heat activated products FOSSHAPE and or WONDERFLEX. You could wrap that chicken wire with Fosshape then activate and let it shrink in around the wire using costume steamer hot air gun. Expect you will no doubt get some mottled texture bark effects, then just spray paint. The FS, if not the Wonderflex might be fine for the large leaves as well. Check out www.dazian.com for a little more info or email me directly and I'll send you samples to experiment with and more info. The Thermoman of Dazian Brian Jeffrey ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 12:01:39 -0500 Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... From: Bruce Purdy Message-ID: In-Reply-To: > What is your bad day at the show story? > Please, only things you personally experienced. Friday, 4th April 2003, the hip hop group "Jurassic Five" was to perform. 1400 screaming kids. Ice storm outside. Opening acts had performed, then an intermission, whilst J5 prepared to come out. The lights went down and the kids were screaming louder than ever in anticipation. Just as they walked out on stage the power went out! When it became clear that the power wouldn't likely come back on anytime soon, the (local college) promoter tried to address the crowd. Standing on the speaker stacks, lit by flashlights, he said: " I want you to go to the campus gym and ..." Someone in the crowd shouted "I want my money back!" and the screaming started again so no one could hear what the promoter was trying to say about refunds. This cycle repeated itself several times, and we came close to riot conditions. When the people finally started to leave, we had to strike and reload the semi with flashlights and the ghostlight plugged into an extension cord from an inverter in the truck's cab. We bought a bullhorn the next week! By the way, the power went out that Friday night throughout the entire city, and wasn't restored 'till Sunday evening! The good news is I didn't have to listen to that loud crap that night! :-) Bruce -- Bruce Purdy Technical Director Smith Opera House ------------------------------ From: FrankWood95 [at] aol.com Message-ID: <1e0.3511eda4.2f37ae2e [at] aol.com> Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 12:30:22 EST Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... In a message dated 06/02/05 15:33:39 GMT Standard Time, roguerpj [at] mn.rr.com writes: > Easy, > > you get to the theatre for a 7 am call and there is no coffee within a > 2 mile radius to the building. The lead in the musical you're doing calls to say he is stuck in a train from Birmingham due to the overhead lines being down. This half an hour before curtain up, and with no understudy. Frank Wood ------------------------------ From: "Gerry G." Subject: RE: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 12:43:16 -0500 Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Along that line, Interactive Murder Mystery with plot turns and dead end dialogues, 30 minutes before places and no lead suspect (plays multiple roles) 2 minutes before curtain an old member of the troupe walks by the theatre. YES we drag him in, do wardrobe and make up and he learns each scene just before it's played out. Went fine, turned out the missing actor was in jail, never saw him again. Gerry G. -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net]On Behalf Of FrankWood95 [at] aol.com Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 12:30 PM To: Stagecraft Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- In a message dated 06/02/05 15:33:39 GMT Standard Time, roguerpj [at] mn.rr.com writes: > Easy, > > you get to the theatre for a 7 am call and there is no coffee within a > 2 mile radius to the building. The lead in the musical you're doing calls to say he is stuck in a train from Birmingham due to the overhead lines being down. This half an hour before curtain up, and with no understudy. Frank Wood ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 12:45:09 -0500 Subject: Re: piano tuning From: Bruce Purdy Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Fred Fisher Wrote: > For the most part, the very famous > pianists are not hard to work with. I've had a less pleasant time with > local pianists whose ego outstrips their talent. This confirms what I have always said about performers of all types: The more talent a performer has, the easier to work with they are. The ones with the most "Attitude" are usually legends in their own minds. They may or may not be popular, but the usually lack true talent. I think it has to do with working on developing their talent as opposed to striving to become a "Star". I'm sure that there are exceptions, but by and large, the sense of priorities and "character" usually shows trough. > When the piano was purchased, about 11 years ago, our tuner, a couple of > faculty members from the school of music and our director went to the > Steinway showroom in NYC and tried several pianos before deciding on one > they felt would sound good in our space. We got our Steinway concert grand about six years ago, I believe. A generous local woman made the donation, and a "Piano committee" was formed. They too travelled to NYC to select the ideal instrument. Since then, the committee has been a royal PITA! Some of the members don't want us to use it for anything other than solo classical piano concerts. > Finally, we ask the artist to > autograph the harp after the concert. They are happy to do that and > usually comment on their friends who have also played the piano. This is the biggest issue with the committee. One of the first people to play the piano was Billy Joel, and he autographed the harp. Some of the committee members were ready to file a lawsuit for "desecrating" our Steinway! A couple of other autographs have appeared since then, and one of the committee members scrubbed them off. Ironically, the original donor, in who's memory the piano is dedicated, wasn't bothered a bit by the signatures. It's interesting to note that on such issues, the committee is split exactly along gender lines. The women are the only ones that are so upset. (Over protective mothering instincts?) I take similar care in housing and handling the instrument to what you described. I'll have to show your post (Complete with the autograph comments) to the committee. I'd love to see the horror in their faces to the thread about lifting a Steinway with a forklift! Bruce -- Bruce Purdy Technical Director Smith Opera House ------------------------------ Message-ID: <42065D15.5080505 [at] telus.net> Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 11:08:21 -0700 From: "RODOK!!!" Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... References: In-Reply-To: Last spring I directed a production of �Grease� at the Wildhorse Theatre, a reproduction, 550 seat heritage theatre. We were two nights into the run when our Danny Zuko came down with a throat infection and was hospitalized. No understudy... We had just closed �Jesus Christ Superstar� in which a past student played Judas for us after his training at Circle in the Square. He also played Zuko in high school 8 years previously... With some convincing, he agreed to step in and after an afternoon refresher of the material he did an amazing job. <>But on the last show, a Sunday matinee, five minutes in, a dump truck ran into a power pole knocking the theatre off the grid. The wireless mics went dead, the amps died and the lights went out�We kicked open the front and back doors of the theatre, letting in enough sun to just see the stage in shafts of light, leaves blew in through the door with gusts, swirling on the stage like dervishes, the orchestra went acoustic with an old upright piano; and the cast had to project. We made it to the curtain call just as the flashlight used by the music director died on her score. All in all, it was their best performance as far as the acting and singing went. The techs relaxed with nothing to do as they danced around in the booths to the music. The sold-out crowd awarded the performance with a standing ovation, and the group really felt like they could overcome pretty much anything. ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.1.0.6.2.20050206120113.02dd4778 [at] mail.DesignRelief.com> Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 12:12:05 -0600 From: Mitch Hefter Subject: Re: Proper sizing of neutrals In-Reply-To: References: Frank Wood wrote: >In a message dated 05/02/05 22:57:57 GMT Standard Time, >mitch.hefter [at] DesignRelief.com writes: > > > Read the exception (which is part of the Code). If a 3-phase, 4-wire > > portable switchboard is brought into a venue that only has single-phase, > > 3-wire, and the switchboard is not convertible to a single-phase, 3-wire > > configuration, the switchboard will be fed in an unbalanced manner. L1 > > connecting to A, L2 connecting to B, and L1 again connecting to > > C. Therefore, if you have a 100 amp 3-phase, 4-wire switchboard and a > 200 > > amp single-phase, 3-wire disconnect, your neutral could be subject to > a 200 > > amp current if phase B is not running - i.e., your cue doesn't have any > > lights up on phase B. > >This is plain, straightforward, bad engineering. End of story. I shouldn't do >it, you wouldn't do it, at least, I hope not. You have missed the point. The majority of venues portable dimmer packs / rolling racks visit are 3-phase, 4-wire. However, when they come across a single-phase venue, how to you protect the equipment and get your show up and running. Not all portable dimmer packs / rolling racks are designed to be field convertible from 3-phase to single phase. Yes, good engineering would provide for that, but economics plays a factor. The economic impact of making a double rated neutral in a portable gear is much less than making it convertible. This provision in the Code was to address the inevitability of the situation. IIRC, no objections were raised when this was proposed many years ago - just some language tweaks. . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mitch Hefter mitch.hefter [at] DesignRelief.com Member NEC Panel 15 Office: Entertainment Technology / a Division of the Genlyte Group mhefter [at] genlyte.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 12:17:25 -0600 From: Fred Fisher Subject: Re: piano tuning In-reply-to: Message-id: <5.2.1.1.2.20050206115833.019be0b0 [at] wiscmail.wisc.edu> References: > > Finally, we ask the artist to > > autograph the harp after the concert. They are happy to do that and > > usually comment on their friends who have also played the piano. >Bruce Purdy wrote, > This is the biggest issue with the committee. One of the first people to >play the piano was Billy Joel, and he autographed the harp. Some of the >committee members were ready to file a lawsuit for "desecrating" our >Steinway! A couple of other autographs have appeared since then, and one of >the committee members scrubbed them off. > > Ironically, the original donor, in who's memory the piano is dedicated, >wasn't bothered a bit by the signatures. It's interesting to note that on >such issues, the committee is split exactly along gender lines. The women >are the only ones that are so upset. (Over protective mothering instincts?) One concert manager I've worked with said they used to coat the autographs with clear nail polish after and incident when someone cleaned off the harp. We have three "D's" going back to the 50's. A grad student in the Bolz School of Arts Admin here is going to do a paper on them and the signatures. > I take similar care in housing and handling the instrument to what you >described. I'll have to show your post (Complete with the autograph >comments) to the committee. I'd love to see the horror in their faces to the >thread about lifting a Steinway with a forklift! I've never forklifted a piano, but I did help some movers get a D up a staircase 25 steps high. They had a skid to strap it too and we basically pushed it up, gently of course. And slid it down, but then we had gravity helping. One other note, when cleaning off the outside of a piano, never use furniture polish. It will just make a mess of the finish. Just a clean, soft rag, maybe dampened a bit if you want to remove fingerprints. Fred Fisher ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.1.0.6.2.20050205165200.02dd2fc0 [at] mail.DesignRelief.com> Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 12:58:33 -0600 From: Mitch Hefter Subject: Re: 130% Neutrals and the Code In-Reply-To: References: Greg Persinger wrote: >My question is if the neutral in the disconnect is not over rated then why >bother with over rating the grounded neutral conductor between the >disconnect and the rack? . > >Don't get me wrong. I am overall grateful for the guidance that NEC >provides, but there are a few things like this that leave me scratching my >head. > >Mitch or Eddie care to help me understand. > >Thanks. Dale Farmer's summary posted in Digest #286 is well said. The morning caffeine wasn't necessary. I was not on the Code panel when this rule was implemented, and my records from them are not accessible at the moment. But I can postulate (Eddie - you can chime in here): ==== 1) NEC ratings of conductor ampacity are a bit conservative 2) From NEC Table 310.16 -Allowable Ampacities of Insulated Conductors Rated 0 Through 2000 Volts, 60�C Through 90�C (140�F Through 194�F), Not More Than Three Current-Carrying Conductors in Raceway, Cable, or Earth (Directly Buried), Based on Ambient Temperature of 30�C (86�F): 500 kcmil 90 degree C conductors are rated for 430 amps , 600 kcmil at 475. Derate at 80% and you're still shy of a 400 amp applied rating. 3) From NEC table 400.5(B), 90 degree rated 4/0 cable, typical for feeding portable equipment, is rated at 405 amps for single-conductor Types SC, SCE, SCT, PPE, and W cable - only where the individual conductors are not installed in raceways and are not in physical contact with each other except in lengths not to exceed 600 mm (24 in.) where passing through the wall of an enclosure. There is quite a size difference here for the same ampacity. The reality is that the Code permits "pushing the envelope" for the portable single-conductor cable *. No head room. Therefore, since the neutral in our application can run overloaded, we need headroom and that is provided via the 130% rule. Many manufacturers do this by providing for double neutrals - i.e., one cam type connector for each phase and the equipment grounding, and two for the neutral. 6 cables instead of 5. ==== * Shameless plug time: Prior to the adoption of table 400.5(B), the development of the SC series of cable, and permitting of G & W cables in our types of venues, and permitting of single-pole separable connectors (e.g., cam type connectors), much of what we do regarding portable power was illegal. Substantial effort by the USITT NEC Committee and subsequent addition of more entertainment industry representation to the panel has resulted in the business continuing to move forward. Without these efforts, you would be feeding your portable rolling racks with lots of very heavy inflexible multi-conductor 'SO' cable. Now that the 2005 NEC is out, proposals for changes for the 2008 edition can now be accepted. You can make proposals directly, or work with the USITT NEC Committee, or both. Information can be found at: http://www.usitt.org/standards/NEC2005.html . . . ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mitch Hefter mitch.hefter [at] DesignRelief.com Member NEC Panel 15 Office: Entertainment Technology / a Division of the Genlyte Group mhefter [at] genlyte.com ------------------------------ Message-ID: <42067328.9010203 [at] hillinteractive.net> Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 14:42:32 -0500 From: Howard Ires Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... References: In-Reply-To: once upon a time all this happened during a show i worked... opening a 45' trailer that's supposed to have a 40' neon sign in it, and all we found was 1/4" of glass shards at the bottom. the shop that builds the elevator reads the elevation as 10'0" but the shop that builds the deck reads the elevation as 100". the set catches fire at the Forrest in Philly. the producers fire the leading man with no understudy, forcing us to cancel performances at the Kennedy Center Opera House. the producers re-hire the star and fire the director while we move the show from D.C. to NYC. and after all that the show was a hit & ran for two years at the Lunt and many more years on the road. go figure. ---------------H Dale Farmer wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > --------------------------------------------------- > > The other truck is late, the driver just called. > He's only a block away, but he's going to be delayed. > He rear-ended a police car. > A parked police car. > In front of the police station. > > > --Dale > > > What is your bad day at the show story? > Please, only things you personally experienced. > > > > ------------------------------ Message-ID: From: "Waxler, Steve (waxlers)" Subject: RE: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 16:05:43 -0500 I arrive in Vegas, late due to airline screw up and find my 5 man IA crew just sitting there and waiting for me (2 hours) because the hotel double booked the room we were supposed to be loading into. Worse yet, we had already scheduled double shift crews because we did not have adequate time to move the show in. Now triple shift? With one supervisor? Oh, well. Steve Waxler Technical Director College Conservatory of Music University of Cincinnati ------------------------------ Message-ID: In-Reply-To: From: "Erika Smock" Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 15:01:44 -0700 here's one, on opening the stage manager gets hit on the head with a metal pole and goes to the emergancy room. this after 3 other technican already went to the emergancy room during tech week. >From: "Dr. Randall W.A. Davidson" >Reply-To: "Stagecraft" >To: "Stagecraft" >Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sat, 5 >Feb 2005 20:38:02 -0800 > >For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see >--------------------------------------------------- > >In the middle of a major production, with 1500 people in attendance, all >the power went out, and there was no emergency power. One hour of >darkness. Doom >Maybe not the worst, but close. Ah, another one, a crew member tried to >commit suicide in the middle of a production ... traumatic to say the >least. > >-- >Dr. Randall W.A. Davidson, Risk International & Associates, Inc. - >www.riskit.com Latest workshops for Educational and Entertainment >Industry Performing Arts Personnel (Riggers, and Public Assembly and >Educational Technicians) www.riskit.com/workshops International >Secondary Education Theater Safety Association (ISETSA) - www.isetsa.org > >-----Original Message----- >From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of Dale >Farmer >Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 8:33 PM >To: Stagecraft >Subject: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... > >For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see >--------------------------------------------------- > >The other truck is late, the driver just called. >He's only a block away, but he's going to be delayed. >He rear-ended a police car. >A parked police car. >In front of the police station. > > > --Dale > > >What is your bad day at the show story? >Please, only things you personally experienced. > > > _________________________________________________________________ Don�t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.2.0.14.0.20050206135816.03a78c78 [at] localhost> Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 14:08:08 -0800 From: Jerry Durand Subject: Re: We Ride!! Gas Mileage In-Reply-To: References:

At 03:52 PM 2/3/2005, you wrote: >There is a pretty >good possibility that we will have a chase car, at least for the western >group. They have some long desert stretches to run through. Pretty, but >dangerous if you get stranded. I was crossing the desert (major interstate highway) on my bike some time back and had a blowout. Another biker was behind me and stopped to see if I was ok (fine as could be with a flat in the middle of the desert in the summer). He said he'd send help from the next service station...he didn't. A couple of other bikers stopped, but they couldn't help because they had to get on to the next town. A couple of hours later an air-traffic controller and his wife were driving by. He was planning to keep going, but his wife pounded him into submission. They took me to a bike shop and let me crash on their floor. When I got to the next town I stopped in a bike shop for some parts and the guy said "That was you out there yesterday? I passed you but had to get to work here." Moral: Be prepared, you can't depend on ANYBODY helping you, even a bike shop guy who could have had me towed and charged me a lot to fix it. And, where was the highway patrol? ps: I did NOT punch the guy in the shop, but wanted to. ---------- Jerry Durand Durand Interstellar, Inc. 219 Oak Wood Way Los Gatos, California 95032-2523 USA tel: +1 408 356-3886 fax: +1 408 356-4659 web: www.interstellar.com ------------------------------ From: "Dr. Randall W.A. Davidson" Subject: RE: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 14:11:26 -0800 Message-ID: <002201c50c98$ce0bf6a0$8d90fea9 [at] DrDoomsComputer> In-Reply-To: Ooh. Something wrong here? doom -- Dr. Randall W.A. Davidson, Risk International & Associates, Inc. - www.riskit.com Latest workshops for Educational and Entertainment Industry Performing Arts Personnel (Riggers, and Public Assembly and Educational Technicians) www.riskit.com/workshops International Secondary Education Theater Safety Association (ISETSA) - www.isetsa.org -----Original Message----- From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of Erika Smock Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 2:02 PM To: Stagecraft Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see --------------------------------------------------- here's one, on opening the stage manager gets hit on the head with a metal pole and goes to the emergancy room. this after 3 other technican already went to the emergancy room during tech week. >From: "Dr. Randall W.A. Davidson" >Reply-To: "Stagecraft" >To: "Stagecraft" >Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sat, 5 >Feb 2005 20:38:02 -0800 > >For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see >--------------------------------------------------- > >In the middle of a major production, with 1500 people in attendance, all >the power went out, and there was no emergency power. One hour of >darkness. Doom >Maybe not the worst, but close. Ah, another one, a crew member tried to >commit suicide in the middle of a production ... traumatic to say the >least. > >-- >Dr. Randall W.A. Davidson, Risk International & Associates, Inc. - >www.riskit.com Latest workshops for Educational and Entertainment >Industry Performing Arts Personnel (Riggers, and Public Assembly and >Educational Technicians) www.riskit.com/workshops International >Secondary Education Theater Safety Association (ISETSA) - www.isetsa.org > >-----Original Message----- >From: Stagecraft [mailto:stagecraft [at] theatrical.net] On Behalf Of Dale >Farmer >Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 8:33 PM >To: Stagecraft >Subject: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... > >For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see >--------------------------------------------------- > >The other truck is late, the driver just called. >He's only a block away, but he's going to be delayed. >He rear-ended a police car. >A parked police car. >In front of the police station. > > > --Dale > > >What is your bad day at the show story? >Please, only things you personally experienced. > > > _________________________________________________________________ Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 17:26:23 -0500 Subject: Re: We Ride!! Gas Mileage From: Bill Sapsis Message-ID: In-Reply-To: on 2/6/05 5:08 PM, Jerry Durand at jdurand [at] interstellar.com wrote: > Moral: Be prepared, you can't depend on ANYBODY helping you, even a bike > shop guy who could have had me towed and charged me a lot to fix it. And, > where was the highway patrol? > > ps: I did NOT punch the guy in the shop, but wanted to. now, ya see? If that had been one of us LRLRiders, we'd of stopped, whipped out a roll of gaff tape and viola'. Problem solved. When Greg broke his throttle cable outside of El Paso last year (this is west Texas we're talking about) It took a couple of backstage types and a pair of vise grips to get him back on the road. If necessity is the mother of invention, then the father is the knowledge that it's 50 miles to nowhere and it's starting to get dark..... See? I told you the ride was fun. Bill S. www.sapsis-rigging.com 800.727.7471 800.292.3851 fax 267.278.4561 mobile We stand behind, and under, our work. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <000b01c50c9a$f338a5c0$0600000a [at] BRUTUS> From: "Jon Ares" References: Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 14:26:49 -0800 I'm sure lots of people have 'truck' stories... Years ago I was LD for a show that was coming to Portland on 2 40-footers. One truck showed up on time (half an hour early, even!)... the second? No idea where..... eventually the dispatcher finds him... he stopped for the night in Creswell, OR (south of Portland).. when he woke up, either looked at the wrong itinerary, got his wires crossed, ran out of methadone, who knows... instead of continuing north to Portland he heads south to Phoenix, AZ. He was in Sacramento by the time the dispatcher found him. (8 hrs from Portland.) Another: in college with a touring show. The cast had to help unload the Ryder truck. One actress twists her ankle in the process.... all blocking changed for her - she spends most of the time sitting now. Sometimes with her cast foot elevated, sometimes having to cross with a cane. She eventually sued the college, but I have no idea how it came out - I was gone from there before the case went to trial or settled. -- Jon Ares Program Director, West Linn HS Theatre Arts www.hevanet.com/acreative www.wlhstheatre.org ------------------------------ Message-ID: <001301c50c9b$5b1e8c40$0600000a [at] BRUTUS> From: "Jon Ares" References:

Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 14:29:43 -0800 PS: The lost truck of course was the one with all the First In parts: deck, drops, rigging, etc. -- Jon Ares ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 17:43:49 -0500 Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... From: Bill Sapsis Message-ID: In-Reply-To: Took a truck loaded with a set to NYC for an industrial at Windows on the World at the WTC. Staying at my brothers place in Queens. Got up at 4:30 am to drive over and get the truck parked on the dock. Truck wouldn't start. Finally found a tow truck in big enough to haul my truck over to the WTC and leave it on the dock. Left it there all day. Dock master was really pissed. When I left the site at the end of the day he was on my right ear as I walked to the truck, started it on the first try, and drove off. Bill S. www.sapsis-rigging.com 800.727.7471 800.292.3851 fax 267.278.4561 mobile We stand behind, and under, our work. ------------------------------ From: "Jonathan S. Deull" Subject: RE: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 17:45:37 -0500 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: You want some truck stories... Then there was the one about the stagehand who insisted on putting his motorcycle on the tail of the electrics trailer... But maybe we shouldn't go there just now. Tough crowd. Jonathan Deull Clark Transfer, Inc. www.clarktransfer.com ------------------------------ From: FrankWood95 [at] aol.com Message-ID: Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 17:46:25 EST Subject: Re: Proper sizing of neutrals In a message dated 06/02/05 18:13:00 GMT Standard Time, mitch.hefter [at] DesignRelief.com writes: > You have missed the point. The majority of venues portable dimmer packs / > rolling racks visit are 3-phase, 4-wire. However, when they come across a > single-phase venue, how to you protect the equipment and get your show up > and running. Not all portable dimmer packs / rolling racks are designed to > be field convertible from 3-phase to single phase. I think that there's transatlantic confusion setting in again. Let me define my terms. "Single phase" means a single phase supply at the local line voltage: 120V for the US, and 230V for the UK. Under these conditions, I see no problem. Each rack is expecting to see a single-phase supply, or maybe each segment of each rack. No individual dimmer expects anything other than the local line voltage. Depending on the nature of the racks, this may be difficult to implement, but the principle is sound. To each dimmer, a single-phase, line voltage feed. Each and every dimmer is connected between a phase conductor, and a neutral. Which phase is irrelevant to the dimmer, although not to the overall phase balance on the site. The current in the live conductor flows back through the neutral, and the neutral must be rated for this. Frank Wood ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: <2cc04f5ced3418d52861d035ebe69c70 [at] dejazzd.com> From: Greg Bierly Subject: Re: Proper sizing of neutrals Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 18:20:22 -0500 > The advantages of fuses are: in the event of a problem or an > overload, the fuse feeding the bad phase will open and you will lose > 1/3 of your lights. Unless of course Murphy's law applies and 9 times out of ten you lose the phase with the control electronics on it. Then you still lose all your lights anyway. Greg Bierly Technical Director Hempfield HS ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: <2185b93d30eda3765c1da948cfde633f [at] dejazzd.com> From: Greg Bierly Subject: Re: Welding Shop Equipment Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 18:23:58 -0500 I was very excited to begin metalworking here for stagecraft. I purchased the Millermatic 175 and had it all but set up when maintenance decided that they would not install the power connector feeling it would be just too dangerous. Maintenance wound up buying my virgin millermatic and are installing a garage bay away from the carpenters "woodshop" bay. Go figure. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <000b01c50ca4$a14b1770$80fea8c0 [at] Fred> From: "Mike Rock" References:

Subject: Re: Welding Shop Equipment Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 17:36:06 -0600 > Maintenance wound up buying my > virgin millermatic and are installing a garage bay away from the > carpenters "woodshop" bay. Go figure. Sounds like the problem we had. Maintenace didnt want us welding in the shop we were told we had to go down to the metal shop. The project was far too large to be carried to the other end of the school so we had to go with plan B weld outside. Got lots of odd looks from the track and football team in the process. ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References:

Message-Id: <04dfe5db51fe63c04932db7d165d7fc2 [at] dejazzd.com> From: Greg Bierly Subject: Re: Welding Shop Equipment Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 18:44:56 -0500 > The project was far too > large to be carried to the other end of the school so we had to go > with plan > B weld outside. I was willing to do that but still no dice. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 19:06:12 -0500 Subject: Re: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... From: Greg Williams In-Reply-To: Message-Id: <13B7ADDC-789C-11D9-9D82-000393DB9BBC [at] appstate.edu> Bad Day/Good Outcome 7:45 a.m. - My student crew and I are ready, the crew from The Acting Company is ready, the truck is nowhere to be found. Many phone calls later, driver is found in Corbin Kentucky eating breakfast... about 6 hours away. About 4:15 pm, he makes his first attempt at our dock (anyone who ever toured to the roadhouse in Boone, NC would remember that curve!). About 4:45 pm we stop his elebenty-seventh attempt, and lay the ramp out, where it barely touches the dock. Reinforced the ramp from beneath, called in more crew, "Midsummer Night's Dream" went up with full staging (including raked deck) at 8:05. My students got a standing ovation from the touring cast and crew. -=Greg Williams=- Production Manager, Valborg Theatre, Appalachian State University ------We're at it again!!!------ Check out the Long Reach Long Riders cross country fund raiser for BC/EFA at http://sapsis-rigging.com/LRLR.html ------------------------------ In-Reply-To: References: Message-Id: From: Richard Wright Subject: Re: Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 16:19:09 -0800 You know it's going to be a bad show day when....your actor is missing. Well, on a slightly different note.. as it was not opening night but... How about an actor, in a cast of four, who goes fishing on his weekly day off and due to poor directions and description of the river does not come back. He never did. My friend Alan was never seen alive again. His body was found in a log jam weeks later. The show closed for a week and then reopened. He is long remembered in our small summer town. Richard Wright On 6-Feb-05, at 4:06 PM, Greg Williams wrote: > For info, archives & UNSUBSCRIBE, see > > --------------------------------------------------- > > Bad Day/Good Outcome > 7:45 a.m. - My student crew and I are ready, the crew from The Acting > Company is ready, the truck is nowhere to be found. Many phone calls > later, driver is found in Corbin Kentucky eating breakfast... about 6 > hours away. > > About 4:15 pm, he makes his first attempt at our dock (anyone who ever > toured to the roadhouse in Boone, NC would remember that curve!). > > About 4:45 pm we stop his elebenty-seventh attempt, and lay the ramp > out, where it barely touches the dock. > > Reinforced the ramp from beneath, called in more crew, "Midsummer > Night's Dream" went up with full staging (including raked deck) at > 8:05. > > My students got a standing ovation from the touring cast and crew. > > -=Greg Williams=- > Production Manager, Valborg Theatre, Appalachian State University > ------We're at it again!!!------ > Check out the Long Reach Long Riders cross country fund raiser for > BC/EFA at http://sapsis-rigging.com/LRLR.html > ------------------------------ From: "ladesigners [at] juno.com" Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 02:34:11 GMT Subject: Re: Proper sizing of neutrals Message-Id: <20050206.183506.12571.29252 [at] webmail05.lax.untd.com> Not if you have them on a UPS, or put the control electronics on the same back-up generator that feeds the exit lights and fire annunciator. /s/ Richard Unless of course Murphy's law applies and 9 times out of ten you lose the phase with the control electronics on it. Then you still lose all your lights anyway. Greg Bierly ------------------------------ Message-Id: <6.0.1.1.2.20050206202410.032fbfa8 [at] mail.hiwaay.net> Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2005 21:49:51 -0600 From: Scott D Trites Subject: Why not use single phase for stage lighting Actually, we all use single phase for our lighting, but it is coming from a three phase, hopefully balanced, source. That is why it is important that we split our lighting loads up between all three phases. Here are some comments from some one who works at a utility company. Sorry for delay, but I get the digest form. /snip From: kim.hartshorn [at] plattsburgh.edu Subject: Why not use single phase for stage lighting A large lighting rig on single phase could cause a significant headache for a local utility company...exactly how I am not positive of but would enjoy learning if anyone out there has the answers. My guess is that, in concert with the thread on over-sized neutrals, current draw and back voltage issues may start to crop up at the substation level. Probably a single lighting rig could be dealt with but by random luck and uneven phase loading from somewhere else might be enough to shutdown a substation /snip This is a balancing on the power system problem AND a protection problem at the same time. If a single phase load gets too large it is difficult to balance out with the loads on a given line segment. In addition, the larger it gets the harder it is to protect the line segment. The power companies use fuses, breakers, and other devices to protect their lines from faults. Depending on the load, different devices are used. It can and will impact the power line operations. And there is the potential to shutdown a substation, or burn up equipment some where on the power system or in the building. /snip Wanted to know what the hell we were doing to his power curve or some such.Never really figured it out....we repatched in a different configuration and redid our feeder cables in figure eights instead of stacked loops and the issue went away. The power guy thought it was the stacked loops that did it. /snip The stacked coils were acting like a big inductive (read motor) load to the power system. These can cause a dip in the power factor on the power line, and has to be balanced by other devices on the power system. This is something that the utility company plans and schedules for on an hour by hour basis. And when it gets out of hand it can also trip protective devices up stream. As far as the reduced neutral discussion. Most utility power lines use a reduced neutral configuration, but these lines have to meet or exceed the National Electric Safety Code (NESC) not the NEC. And the utility power lines also suffer from heating issues on both of their overhead and underground lines. The heating effect is a function of the current squared times the resistance of the wire, this is expressed as watts. In addition, both the consumer and the utility have voltage drops on their lines. This is a function of the current times the resistance, expressed in volts. There are constraints on the limits of size of the voltage drops. Typically, not over 5% on the power system up to the delivery point to the consumer service point and 2-4% on the consumer system. As others have noted, using larger wire sizes can mitigate some of these issues. Additionally, using higher voltages can help mitigate some of them also. That is why many large buildings use 480Y/277v and step it down to the 208Y/120v close to the load inside the buildings. ------------------------------ From: "Ronnie Thevenot" Subject: RE: You know it's going to be a bad show day when.... Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2005 21:42:37 -0700 Message-ID: <000001c50ccf$732a1af0$6401a8c0 [at] ronnie> In-Reply-To: I was a lighting technician on a show. The week prior to the show I had = a root canal. When the show opens my gum slowly started to swell... after = a few days, it swelled more and more. By the last night of the show it = looked like I had a grapefruit in my mouth and I was vomiting my anti-biotic in = the booth's bathroom. Had my mom bring my some vicodin... but couldn't keep that down either. Halfway through the show someone gave me a ride home... Almost went to = the ER. Missed strike though... Kind of a mixed blessing. The worst part is it just started swelling up again when I was working another show... I was worried about a repeat. Having surgery soon. Ronnie Thevenot ------------------------------ From: "ladesigners [at] juno.com" Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 05:20:12 GMT Subject: Re: Why not use single phase for stage lighting Message-Id: <20050206.212042.23070.29912 [at] webmail04.lax.untd.com> And that is one of the reasons that the Pacific Intertie was built to send 800,000 volts of DC from Washington State to northern Los Angeles. The 238,000 volt 3 phase AC feed from Hoover Dam just wasn't enough. /s/ Richard There are constraints on the limits of size of the voltage drops. Typically, not over 5% on the power system up to the delivery point to the consumer service point and 2-4% on the consumer system. As others have noted, using larger wire sizes can mitigate some of these issues. Additionally, using higher voltages can help mitigate some of them also. ------------------------------ From: BKHAIN [at] aol.com Message-ID: <20.3dfe0e48.2f386b36 [at] aol.com> Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 01:56:54 EST Subject: A bad show day 1983. A community theater production of 'Absurd Person Singular' (three acts, three different kitchens). Someone decided to take this 200 miles down the road to another community theater for a one night run as a fundraiser. I was the young and inexperienced lightboard operator for both productions. The volunteers at the second theatre started putting Act III together on the stage first. When we got there at noon of performance day they were still putting that set together. By 4:00 we were working on Act II set. Half hour before show we are literally 'nailing together' Act I. Just a general wash for lighting... I'm at the back of the second balcony in the lightbooth. The show starts and two minutes into it all the lights go out. The intercom is powered through the lightboard so that's dead too. I scramble to the basement where I'm told "...they're working on it...." Back up to the theatre and the lights are back on. Then off, then on, then off -- six or seven times. The cast ad-libs the first couple times but really it's hopeless after the lights go out the four time. A circuit breaker is replaced, now leaving the sound person without power and the show goes on. Act I set change is about 45 minutes... (remember it was nailed together...) Act II set change is better; only about 30 minutes. We packed up and drove home in a snowstorm. Ben Hain bkhain [at] aol.com ------------------------------ Message-Id: <7394BC6B-78E3-11D9-B1A7-000D933CFFEA [at] earthlink.net> From: Danielle Maul Subject: Re: Bad Show Days Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 03:37:07 -0500 Hello All- This happened many years ago...... I was Head Electrician in a 900 seat road house in upstate NY. An IA show was coming in and the house was not IA. I was, and a few other locals were, but not enough to fill the call. This one guy was, who worked in NYC alot, and was making nice with the BA, promising him work out of NYC. So; the BA puts the guy on as House ME for the show. The first thing he does is show up late for the call. Next: he's the House ME, he's supposed to tiein. He forgets the neutral, and blows half the fuses in the 96 rack. So, now, off he goes to find weird fuses, on a Sunday, in Poughkeepsie. Next: he finally shows up about 4:30. He's missed the majority of the call, wandering around no-man's land, looking for fuses. He's found enough of the right one's to get things going. But now we're all cut, for dinner, until the show-call. Next: I discover that, because he's the "House ME for the day", his show call is running House Lights. I've been put on as Curtain Puller (for a 1 Act play) to placate me. The curtain and the house light location are literally one foot away from each other. Off we go for dinner. Next: At 25 minutes to 8pm, the guy still isn't there, and It's already been disscussed, I'm doing both jobs. He rolls in just after the show has begun. The final thing: is when we're finishing up the truck pack. He throws (literally flings) the Performer into the back of the truck. (Anyone who worked with these knows how persnicketty these were and their cases weren't very roadworthy either...) How awful would it be, to be this guy, on this day? Danielle Maul ------------------------------ Message-Id: In-Reply-To: Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 09:18:14 +0000 From: Dorian Kelly Subject: Re: Periaktoi >I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with these >3-sided beasties. What sort of units did you end up using for the >actual turntables? How large were they? Most importantly, where did you >find them? There is a perfectly good mechanism out there, available free of charge practically anywhere - and thats a scrap washing machine. Take the drum and bearing mechanism out complete and bolt it down, drum opening facing up. There you have a wonderful free rotating system thats ready to have flats bolted to the existing holes in the drum. You might even want to motorise it using a suitable external motor and the existing belt drive. I have used these for everytng from periaktoi to rotating barbers chairs for Sweeny Todd and never any tears before bedtime. Dorian Kelly Illuminati Creative Technology 3 Gladstone Road, Colchester, CO12EB, UK +44 1206 798076 mailto:dorian [at] illuminatiarts.demon.co.uk ------------------------------ End of Stagecraft Digest #287 *****************************