Just wondering, if the techies out there feel they get the respect they deserve from the theatre community?

Great Question!!!

It has been my experience as a "soft prop" to be very repectful to the tech.  Afterall, they make everything I do look so much better.  I also try to offer assistance every opportunity I have to make their job easier, from set building to strike.  Hope others are doing the same.

As a administrator, I also make sure to provide any asistance needed from funding to simple things like feeding the crew on late working days, and as a director I do the same.

It is my opinion that trust is a valuable tool.  Respect given beforehand yeilds a positive response from those who get little or no recognition.

And always remember, the thirty dollars spent on pizza and beer after strike wins major kudos as does the invite to the after party.

I think it all depends on who you are working with. At the theatre I work with, which I am pretty sure it has many similarities in every theatre, there are those who are ONLY actors, and ONLY techies, and then those who cross over, (Like me--won't EVER happen again, especially being IN and SM'ing at the same time)...

Anyway, there are the actor/techies or Techitors, who understand boths sides and get along with both sides during rehearsals and show no matter what side they are one. Then there are actors, who are ONLY actors, that's all they will ever be and they make it very clear that they are more important than anyone whose NOT an actor, and therefore have NO respect the the techs who have all the power to make them look bad onstage, which they just don't seem to get... Then there are the ONLY techs, who complain about the actors forgetting props or dropping lines, and since they have not been actors they just don't quite understand, but they usually are not too bad.

I know the last show I worked on I was ASM and I got almost no respect, knowone would listen to me. Some of it was because they just didn't listen, but a few I noticed it was because I am a young, and they don't take direction from someone whose younger.

The show I am working on right now though, I am the youngest, by about 25 years to the next youngest actor, who is my co-stage manager, as well as fellow actor. We are both getting a lot of respect, and the actors are really good about listening, well, minus during set changes.... but in the greenroom and stuff they are pretty good because they are all veteran actors and they know not only are my friend and I stage managing, but we are both in the play as well and it's our first time onstage and both jobs alone are a lot of work.

Just for the record, even though off topic, be tech and in the play really BYTES. I learned the hard way... if you do both you can't focus on ONE, and you have got to...one way or another...

Smit

Oh God don't get me started!

(needless to say the above sumation covers years of neglect, actual & implied, physical, verbal & mental, perpetrated by Directors, Actors, producers, and sometimes even fellow techies)....

So in the words of a great man of the theater....

"Oh God, don't get me started!"

(sorry, couldn't help myself)

I think some of the problem stems from the Directors. (not that I want to offend any directors out there) I have worked with a director who admittedly knows NOTHING about the technical side, and trusted my judgement, and demanded the cast and crew work together, best show I ever did!!! We had actors helping us paint, and helping us during scene changes. The best part was they were all willing to do it!

On the flip side, I work more often with this other director who just has no respect for the technical side and it shows, and rubs off on the actors. There is no concern for the set, costumes, props, etc. The cast forgets they need to listen to me as well. difficult at times, but I love what I do, so we make do right?

Who was it that said " Oh God, Don't get me started!" (must be a techie!!!)

I don't think of myself as one of those ac-TORs, and I don't have much tolerance for them.  I also don't have much tolerance, however, for TECH-ies (to create a similar term).  While techies may get less respect than they deserve from the audience (people either don't read the program at all, or don't know to connect a name with a body), I think they typically get as much as they deserve from the actors.  Techies who are polite to the actors, who go through the chain of command (i.e., lodge complaints about actors to the SM, instead of yelling at us directly), who care about the show over their ego, do generally get noticed and treated well by the actors.  But my experience as mainly an actor probably biases me, and I'm sure plenty of techies will disagree.

I am in charge of design and creation of the costumes and sets for our theater company.  The only people I have to please are the director and the producer.  We work together on a common vision of the play that is hammered out long before we cast or begin rehearsal.  We don't expect the actors to design, build or sew...we expect them to act.  I bring in whatever help I need and I am responsible for making sure that they are appreciated by me and understand their role in the production.  It is my job to make sure that my techies are not abused or ignored and to help them understand that when the actor steps into a perfect spot and the music cues flawlessly and she draws a deep breath in a well-fitting costume- the applause is also ours.

Sure I run into cranky actors and slobs and other assorted knuckleheads but hey, that's life.  I remind them that there are no maids in this theater and they usually pick up after themselves.

Being a founding member of this theater has given me perhaps more power than most set and costume designers get.  The actors that we work with understand that if they give me a hard time they will not be likely to work for us again.

One time I was thanked by the director in the program - "without her we would be naked on an empty stage".  Perhaps techies and actors would do well to remember that. 

Okay, so now you got me started??. I will try to control this rant and keep it to less than a three act.

First let me lay out my bonafides?. First and, at this point of my life, foremost, I am a direc-TORE, doing from three to five shows a year.  I have done many stints as a pro-DUCER (sometimes under the guise of ?technical director?.  I am also an act-TOR as often as the opportunity arises. But at my core, my first and longest running role in the theater is that of techie. I have designed, built and dressed more sets than I can count, designed, set and run more lights and sound than my knees and my butt care to remember, helped with costumes and props and SM and crewed my way through more black on black outfits than would fit in my closet.

Now, I fully agree that there is often a level of ?expected animosity? brought to the table by many techies, but I believe that, by and large, most techies are just as hard working and dedicated to their craft as any director or actor. They too derive a great deal of pride from a job well done.  And sadly, that is the sum total of their reward.  Directors, sometimes paid in cash, sometimes paid in accolades and mementos, are always able to bask in the glow of a successful production.  Actors, as always, reap the rewards of their labors through the adoration of the crowd. But the boys and girls in black often get short shrift and no notice.

Let?s consider, yet again, their contribution.  Think of your favorite period piece. For me it?s probably 1776.  You get the average turn out of auditoners (and for a mostly male show with a minimum of 23 men that?s a real scary thought) But, bravely you persurver to put together the right pictures, blocking and expression to transport the audience to Independence Hall over two centuries ago.  Think of that picture for a minute.  Now? Let?s do a little techie subtraction. 

Take away all the gorgeous hairdos of the period.  So half your guys are bald and the rest are sporting their favorite, if not flattering, hair cut.

Makeup gone? Subtract your ability to put that slightly younger actor into that older part with a ?believable? appearance. (Times that x2 for the slightly older actor who needs to be younger) 

Remove the fantastically detailed costuming that shows the social positions and economic status of our different principals. And their they stand in their favorite jeans or the golf togs that should be buried in the style grave yard that is their very own closets.

What difference that lights that usually enhance the pictures set by the director are gone or merely set to work light positions.  I mean the mood and time that they provide are already ruined by trying to perform such a well known picture in front of black curtains sitting on folding chairs. 

But hey, there?s a bright side. Not much scene change action takes place here anyway!

So, for those who may have harbored any doubt, this bland picture of a classic exemplifies that tech is extremely important to the process of transporting your audience.

Yet, time and time again I have seen them, at best ignored, and in other cases abused. Now I know that most of us would say, ?hey not me?? or ?It?s not like that in my theater?  And I would say good, I?m glad. But also I would advise, look closer.

I know directors and actors who think that tech is just there. Or they are the folks who want to be involved but aren?t good enough to be on stage. Actors are too important to help turn a set piece.  Actors are too important to carry on and off that small hand prop that only they use and must appear at the scene?s beginning and be removed at its end. I have seen directors and actors verbally chastise these volunteers because something wasn?t just the way they thought it should be. Of course said director/actor probably failed to make it clear what they wanted before hand.

One that personally happened for me was during construction of a set for Ten Little Indians. We had been given a set design and instructions that the stairs should come in from stage right and that a wall near the bottom of the stairs needed to be fully reinforced as an actor was to ?bounced? off it and the statuettes were to be broken against it.  My fellow builder and I labored to get the set up and functional in the first weekend. We worked all through the day from eight Saturday morning. By eight that evening we were very tired but very proud of our nearly finished set. In strolls the director (now granted he was young and new to our theater). Sauntering across the stage he proceeds to tell us how he really wanted the staircase about a foot and a half to two feet further stage right than it was.  I looked at my fellow builder and we both descended our ladders, gathered our tools and proceeded to leave.  I said to this director ?You know, you were welcome to have direct input on the set construction at 8 o?clock, but that was 8 o?clock this morning not 8 o?clock tonight!?  It was NOT a pleasant experience over all for me or my fellow techies. It was however a valuable learning experience.  I think everyone should have to do some time in the techie trenches.

I have seen numerous occasions, like the afore mentioned,  where these techies come in all through the weekend and late into the night to ply their craft on the stage and its accoutrements to create the place and feel of the show. Then after what is often an equal time worked on the show as your average actor they are forgotten when the plans are made to go out after a show, or not invited to the parties, or remembered in the program, or given even the slightest personal acknowledgement and thanks by the actors or directors.

             NEVER on my show.  That?s my vow and I have tried so hard to keep it.  I know what we would be like without the tech and by god I will appreciate it!

             Ok enough.. If you have persevered to get to this point God Bless You?.But I did warn you in my previous note?.

             God, don?t get me started!!!!!

Not that I believe her position for an iota.... I would have still had to say... "Mabye so, but if she could hack it in "REAL" theater than she wouldn't be stuck here with us"

But hey, don't get me started...

Shatcher took the words right out of my mouth. It is what I tell my cast at the start of every show. How would you like to be " . . . doing a show on a bare stage, in the dark, naked with no make up?" I do think the director sets the tone. At the first rehearsal I take the time to introduce the my tech people and the cast to each other. ie. Mary was the lead in our sold out show last year. She will be playing the part of Diane in this show. John is doing lights for us. John designed lights for our beautiful production last fall. I am excited that he will be lighting our show. I include all of my tech people in notes, and ask them if they have any suggestions about how the show is running backstage. I am often surprised by what I learn when I ask.

When I was doing The Christmas Carol last year I took a minute at notes to tell the costumer how much I appreciated her hard work and how beautiful the costumes were. The cast gave her a standing ovation. She and I both burst into tears. It was as moving a moment as the standing ovation the cast got opening night.

As for the actress who couldn't be bothered to learn the names of tech crew. She wouldn't be working with me either.

My tech crew is invaluable. They are who are with me from show to show and sometimes from theater to theater. I couldn't do what I do without them.

Linda

Linda....I like how you work.  I have worked with directors who included me in the rehearsal and note process and I appreciated it.  No one works well in a vacuum.  One of the hardest parts of costume design has been working alone for months feeling that I was there alone - that maybe it wasn't actually going to happen - that maybe I was moving in the wrong direction.  When the rehearsals start I need to see how my work "performs" on stage.  I hope all directors learn from this and include everyone in the critical rehearsal process.  I try to attend as many rehearsals as possible...adding components as they are ready...not waiting for the end to have "tech" rehearsals.  On big costume shows I bring my trunk and sewing machine to the theater and work while the rehearsal is going on.  On a few big budget projects  we even made "rehearsal clothes" so that the cast could work through their blocking wearing big skirts or short tunics or whatever they needed to move in character.

But I wandered away from the topic....thanks to you and all other directors who include the tech people in notes and rehearsal as equals.

 I did not realize it but I, thankfully, am involved in a "small" theatre group.  Those of us who are predominately actors also cross to the tech side in building sets, painting, constuming, and virtually everything else but lights and sound.  We are blessed with some (read "a few") truly wonderful folks who, when they are not in the production, are more than willing to help out backstage.  Accordingly, we, for the most part, have a wonderful appreciation for the magnitude of work that goes on behind the scenes to create a successful run.

Our lights and sound folks are top notch "amateurs" that can match virtually anything I have seen in professional theatre, having developed their skills through their desire to make their contribution to the show. 

I became involved in theatre by going to rehearsals with my 14 year old son who was assisting in the light and sound booth.  By the time he was 16, he was in charge of the lighting for "Fiddler On The Roof".  He asked the director for a lighting plot and was told to "play with it".  When he asked what she meant, he was told that she had seen some of his work on other productions and she wanted to see what he could develop.  As a sixteen year old, this was a lot of pressure, but he took it on and was highly successful with only limited changes from the director.  A local review commented on the wonderful lighting in the production. 

Following the opening night, the director told him that she had developed a lighting plot prior to his question to her but she wanted him to become more than just a button pusher or slider operator.  He now is involved in theatre at college and still supports our group when possible.  I think the director's willingness to trust her instincts about him contributed immeasurably to his desire to excel.

We fully appreciate our techs.  They are as much (or more) a part of our contribution to the community as the actors or director.  During curtain call, we always recognize our techs by name. 

Sometimes small seems better since you get a full understanding of all the things that go into making a show.

In our family, my son and I are techies, my husband and daughter are actors.  I enjoy the backstage, and love giving encouragement, water and 'the go-ahead' to my family.  I have no desire whatsoever to go out onstage. 

When I was trained as a Director I worked in the scene shop. I also had to run lights, build props, make costumes and every other job involved in putting on a show. When I Direct, I make sure to give them a pat on the back and say "Nice Work". I aslo make sure that my cast knows that it takes everyone, not just them, to create a great show. I make sure to tell them that backstage, the Tech's are in charge.