A theatre by any other name...

Hey guys. Sorry it's been so long since my last blog. Things have been really hectic around here the last couple of weeks. For the last couple of weeks I have begun attending rehearsals for "Jesus Christ Superstar" which is being produced out at The Muni here in town. http://www.themuni.org/shows/2010/jsc.html Tech week started on Sunday and we open this Friday so my days have been pretty busy as of late. I have been at my internship from 8-5 and then I'm out to the Muni site from 5-11. At my internship last week we had an event called Pork Meets Cork on Friday that was held out in the Park across from the Museum. Monday we set up the stage, that took a good part of the work day being outside and getting everything pieced together. I learned quickly that setting up lighting and sound for a "rock" type concert is a lot different than doing it for a theatrical show. A little overwhelming all in all but a really great experience. We have also been doing occasional performances of "My Front Porch" and "One Destiny" which I have talked about before. For both of those I have been running light board. "My Front Porch" is just simply a flat wash that is static throughout the entire piece but "One Destiny" has about 39 cues through the 30 or so minute show. It is an amazing piece and I highly recommend coming down to the museum to see it. The actors are really talented and then there is a question and answer section after the performance that gives out a lot of extra information that visitors might not have picked up on in the museum.

One Destiny: The Trials and Tribulations

This week we began working on setting up for a two man show titled "One Destiny." The cast consists of Ed MacMurdo and Patrick Russell. Patrick is one of the regular actors down at the museum, mainly acting in "Ghosts of the Library" and Ed is the Attractions Coordinator in the Shows Division of the ALPLM. The show is directed by Phil Funkenbusch who is the Director of Theaters at the ALPLM. We are using some new boards for lighting and sound so I have been having to figure out how to operate the boards. For lighting we are using an ETC SmartFade 4896 which is similar to the light board that we have at school only it's all squished into a very small area. Basically one button does a lot of different functions so it's taking some time to get used to. The sound has been a rather interesting experience.
At the museum the sound room and lighting room are on two opposite sides of the theater, one on the left of the projector room and one on the right, and so we have had to run XLR cables from the sound room to the lighting room so that we could have both boards in one room so that one tech could run both if need be. So first off Jeff and I had to untangle cables from a mass that was taken out of one of the old exhibits that had been in the Illinois Gallery. http://www.alplm.org/museum/il_gallery.html And I thought some of the knots we've had to get out at school were bad...I was sadly mistaken. So we get the six cables untangled and then it comes time to run them from the sound room to the light room. This task wasn't to bad because it simply involved putting the cables up in a basket type contraption that runs through all of the rooms that are above Union Theater. Once we got all of the cords figured out and got everything sorted out, we thought, it was time to work on getting all of the boards set up and hooked up to the floor mics. Now the channels that we thought we were using were 9-12. Once we get everything working for the tech rehearsal yesterday we realize that the far SL mic wasn't working and nothing we tried fixed the problem. After rehearsal was over we began to investigate why the connection wasn't working, only to find out that we were actually supposed to be operating on channels 8-11 so we had soldered the wires onto the wrong channels. Well once all of that got sorted out everything began to run quite smoothly. Tonight's rehearsal went great. I have gotten to run the light board so far, and like I said earlier I am still trying to get it all fully figured out but it is rather simple to run once you understand all of its functions. I am predicting that if I am not working on other small projects, I will be running the lights and sound for most of the performances of this as well as "My Front Porch," which is another short piece that will be performed in the coming month. These two shows are mostly done in the summer and run anywhere from 1-2 times a day in the Union Theater. http://www.alplm.org/museum/storyteller.html
I also will be helping run lights for an upcoming event called "Pork Meets Cork."
It is going to be a rock concert that will be held out in the Union Station Park across from the museum. We will begin setting up the stage, lighting truss, and sound equipment in a couple of weeks and the event is being held on July 16th. I will have more about that event when it gets closer and we are beginning to get everything set up for it. Needless to say, I am sure that it is going to be a very exciting experience.

Through Lincoln's Eyes

This week has been particularly busy due to the Horrace Mann Institute having presenters all week. Yesterday there was a discussion over in the ALPL (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library) which I helped to set up equipment for. We set up the Tricaster, which works for web casting and such events as that, and I helped in hooking up the sound board and video equipment for that event. I have also been helping in setting up audio equipment for an event that is going on tonight at the ALPL. I am going to be running the sound board for a Banquet dinner that is marking the closing of the events for the day. That is tonight at 6:00 and it will be my first time running the board by myself so I am rather excited.

Another project that we have been working on is getting the Mackie sound board and FX mixer set up for the upcoming production of One Destiny that will be going on in the Union Theater within the Museum. One Destiny is a two man show where the characters discuss whether or not they could have changed history and saved Lincoln. http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/performances-events/daytime-programming/one-destiny

I have learned rather quickly the routines of the museum and how the technical department functions. They do so much more than simply running light or sound and doing backstage type of work. There is still a lot left for me to learn but I am learning fast and learning a lot.

The Beginning of a Great Summer

I have learned more in these last few weeks than I ever could have imagined. First off I am working with some great guys. The technical team of the museum is made up of Sam, he's my boss, Jeff, Tony, and Ed. All of the guys have been here for atleast two years and they are really talented at what they do. I have learned quickly that for this kind of a job position, as much as a theatre background helps, being a trained electrician is a bit more handy. I am learning fast around here though. So far I have learned a lot about how to built electrical boxes and how to create my own wiring units. I have aided in soldering XLR cables together as well as putting togethere electrical outlet plug boxes and getting those set up for display lighting. I have also gotten to help setup sound and light boards for numerous events. Today we had the Young Ambassadors from Brigham Young University sing for us in the museums plaza. We have also hosted the choir from Monmouth and I aided in getting the sound equipment set up. I video taped a training event that took place here a few days ago. That was a very interesting opportunity because the talk was about third person interpretation for those working at historic sites. Seemed rather appropriate that I got to record it and sit in on the session. I have been working from 8:30 - 5:00 Monday - Friday and have been having a great time.