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Watch your back

ruinexplorer — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 01:58:36 GMT

There was a time where I was young and considered myself pretty much invincible. As a child, I would crawl onto the roof of the garage and then jump off down to the lawn just to have that exhilaration of �flying�. Later on, as I grew up in the Rocky Mountains, I found that the easiest way down from climbing was to jump. Mind you, there were plenty of times where I underestimated the distance. This along with crazy mountain biking trips, full contact medieval styled combat, and many other joint jarring activities all with no injuries only helped to fuel this notion.
Of course, we all get older. My first wake-up call was when I was in my mid 30s and was involved in an automobile accident (another driver ran a red light and hit me quite squarely in the side), I received my first taste of not being quite so indestructible. I actually had to go to physical therapy to relieve the strains in my upper back and neck. At first, I figured that I would just get over it like I always had in the past. I also had noticed that it would take me a bit longer to feel better after some of the heinous calls with extremely long, grueling days.
That�s when I decided it was time to start playing smart. I didn�t shy away from offers of help or actively sought help on heavy lifting projects. I took necessary breaks instead of working through just to get things done. I started eating healthier and paying better attention to my posture. Although, I still don�t have a regular exercise routine (other than walking). Most importantly, I generally tried to work in the best means possible.
Of course, nobody�s perfect. In fact most of us are far from it. I was working on a project outside of my full time job. It was eating a lot of my free time. I did not realize just how much of a toll that the stress had on my body. While loading in some of the equipment, I lifted a Pelican case with about 35 pounds of gear. The problem was, I was in a somewhat confined area, so I twisted in the process. That was when I felt the pop in my back. However, it didn�t seem that bad at the time; I blame the adrenaline. So, I continued with the rehearsal that I was a part of (in a bit of pain) and then went to do my full shift. Well, by the time I got home, I just wanted to lie down, stretch, and then ice my back. That�s when I realized just how bad it was.
You see, if I worried every time a joint popped or a muscle was sore, I think I would be a total hypochondriac. On the other hand, if I listened to my body telling me that I had pushed too far, then I might have not lost three weeks of work. I have only been in that much pain once before, with a kidney stone, but that didn�t last as long. I couldn�t lie down or sit because the amount of pain that I was experiencing as I tried to lower myself down. Where I hurt was the extreme low back, basically the core of the muscular system.
So, the moral of the story is to listen to your body when it tells you that you are about to go too far. I have never had an injury take me away from work before. I plan on never having it happen again. As soon as I am cleared from worker�s compensation, I will be starting a core strengthening regimen. I will also know that there are times to refuse to do some work without assistance. In general, I need to reclaim some of the years misspent on my youth by doing extra to take care of myself now. Overall, I have to remember, I�m not in my 20s anymore. Most importantly, I have to watch my back!

I'm SO ANGRY at Sports Authority!

gafftaper — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 06:17:48 GMT

:mad: My wife gave me a jacket from Sports Authority for my Birthday. She purchased it on November 10th. I've been really slammed over the last couple of weeks with shows so tonight (December 19th) was the first chance I had to return it. Well, it's been 39 days since it was purchased so my receipt was no longer valid. WHAT?!? They only accept returns for 30 days, with the receipt, and it must be unused in the original packaging. SO, my only option was to accept a gift card for the lowest sale price in the 39 days since the purchase. Somewhere along the way, my $45 jacket went on sale for $29.99. So that was all the confused high school kid at the register could give me. I lost $15 and the ability to take my money anywhere I want. That's insane! I have the receipt! Now I don't expect everyone to be like Nordstrom or Costco, but come on 30 days and a receipt is no longer valid?!?! I have a receipt, it proves I paid that much money, You don't just get to keep my money because you feel like it. That's crazily bad customer service and I won't be back. Afterward I returned something to Target and was handed cash without the slightest hesitation. Target Receipts are valid for 1 year.

So, I lost $15 and Sports Authority lost a customer for life, seems like a really bad trade off for them.

I encourage all of you to seriously reconsider your next purchase at Sports Authority, especially if it is a gift or there is a chance of it needing to be returned.

Two Words: Seven Guitars

Van — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:01:23 GMT

So we previewing August Wilsons "Seven Guitars". It opens this Friday. I thought I'd share a couple of point and shoot photos of what we've got on stage for this one.

Kitchen Window. Found out three days before tech that they had decided it would be a good idea if the window opened.....

The Basement Door, and the upstairs apartment

The Kitchen door and porch. After cutting the handrail on the porch is was added back in the night before first tech.< which is why it isn't painted> The brick wall is Spilt homasote apied to 1/8th" luan.

Here's "The Garden" and a bit of the floor. The Garden is actual bricks stuck together with hot glue. The floor is layers of 1/2" Homasote, ground & Sculpted by hand and flapper disc. After sculpting a generous coating of a latex heavy coating of VSSSD was applied. While the VSSSD was still wet we applied a layer of Homasote Dust, all the leaving from the grinding and sanding. Once the first layer was complete we let it dry then applied a second top-caot in two seaperate colors. Then tning was done with Hudson Sprayers and wet blend technicque.

Here's a close up of the "Dutch lapped Siding". It was milled from 1" pink foam. The strips were then aged with a couple of wire bushes. The whole strip was based with flat-black latex paint then top coated with wet-belnd grays and browns for the aged weathered look.

Here's a little detail under the stairs. A litle bit of Dressing and a lot of paint. Take a look at the stair though, I'm really proud of these. They are built with brand spanking new 2x6, 2x12 and 4x4. "The Boys" spent a day going over them with flapper discs, wire wheels, sanders and rasps to age and wear them down AND for the first time in my career I was asked to put squeaks into a set of stairs rather than remove them.

My "Boys" In Black is my MC and Shop Foreman Mr. Nate Crone, Sitting on the risers is his right hand man Mr. Eddie Riviera. If it weren't for these two My stuff would look like crap!
I didn't get a good pic of Jeff Seats the Scenic Designer and Painter on this show, Neither did I get a good shot of Peter West the Master Lighting designer on this production who made Jeffs set come to life.

Is College for Me?

chausman — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 06:42:35 GMT

Originally Posted by derekleffew

I suggest watching the movies All About Eve and Showgirls (for examples of how NOT TO do it).

Originally Posted by derekleffew

Just found this quote from Tom Skelton's obituary, full text here:

...A genial, witty man, he asked his students at the Yale School of Drama to study everything from French to Picasso to cooking.

"These are all things that make it possible to communicate with the other people you are going to be working with," he said in an interview in Theater Crafts magazine in 1989. "And I certainly don't think you should be studying amps and volts. I don't know very many designers who know very much about amps and volts. You hire an electrician who does."

It jives with Gilbert Hemsley's thoughts (previously discussed in this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/e...tre-major.html ):

The lighting designer is expected to communicate with directors more and more. I don't deal with somebody who majors in theatre as an undergraduate. I want a history major, a communication arts major, or an English major. I want somebody who can talk about the history of the 19th century. It is crucial that students have a sense of time and place. It is impossible to do opera unless you understand the 19th century. Or the 20th. Thank God I had taken a lot of classics at Yale before I talked to Martha Graham. ... You can't get into those wonderful, fantastic conversations unless you do have a knowledge of the world behind you. One foot in the humanities, the other in the technical side. It's no longer Leko, Leko, Leko. A broad education is needed not only of the real world but of the humanities, finances, art, and architecture; then they can be a lighting designer or a person in the theatre.

Agree/disagree? What's more important to a designer, electrical calculations or Picasso's expressionism?

How wrong you (and Footer) are, grasshopper:
If you want to be a box pusher, spot op, ME, or even programmer for the rest of your life, don't go to college. If you want to be a good designer, you need the exposure to non-theatre courses that, minimally, a four-year degree offers.

Thank You!!!

Is it time?

ruinexplorer — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 05:59:47 GMT

I love what I do. I've been doing the same show now for almost five years. This is the first time I have ever worked on a permanent show. The closest I had come to doing so before was about two and a half months on Phantom of the Opera when it made a stop at the theater where I worked. Before this adventure, I worked in road houses or for rental staging companies. Yeah, I got used to seeing something different quite often (even if it all is pretty much the same).

Working on a permanent show is its own adventure, especially if you are not there on day one. Coming into the job, I had to learn the show, the theater, and a new city as I relocated to do this one. So, after the first month, that's when I really got into the groove to see if I could cut the mustard. I loved the discovery of it all, even though some of the equipment was known to me, surprisingly dated. After the third month, I figured that I was in it for the long haul. I started tinkering with how everything was set, judging that I knew what was what. I surprised many of my co-workers that within the next couple of months, I had streamlined the system more than the previous crew had been able to do in the few years that it had been running. To me it was a no-brainer, but I have also come to learn that my skill set is not common among most technicians. After all, video still is a mystery to many, even those who think they understand it.

So, even though I have spent the past few years upkeeping the designer's vision, even being given compliments by him for doing so, I have to wonder if it is time to try something else? I had the opportunity to overhaul the system, which was quite an undertaking. I have had some opportunities to do extra events not dealing with the show, you know to break the monotony. But, does staying in one place ultimately hurt your career, especially when there are many years to come?

We'll see where things go. I probably won't be moving again until my kids are off to college. I guess the frightening thing is that when I worked in a road house, even though the pay wasn't as good, we were always prepared for change and you couldn't foresee an end. When working on a permanent show, then there's the risk that it could end at any given time. With that eventuality, and a flood of technicians all looking for a job at the same time, who will win in the battle of new employment? Those with outside connections or just the right skills? Maybe a combination of both.

Don't mind the ramblings of the older, disgruntled technician. After all, I know many others who have survived, so I am sure that I will as well. :rolleyes:

percent vs. dmx value

chausman — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:01:58 GMT

Originally Posted by derekleffew

But 0% is my almost favorite level, second only to Full, FL, FF, 100%, 255, 65535.

I think this guy agrees with you...

http://monsterawr.com/?p=1560

Another year...

derekleffew — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:03:00 GMT

...another blog post. I honestly thought we'd be on a new version of CB by now, one that didn't have blogs, as they're fairly pointless. But alas, we're not; thus alas, my annual post.

Resetting the alert for next year.

Terms Answers

chausman — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:25:29 GMT

Matching

1: J
2: T
3: F
4: D
5: C
6: N
7: Q
8: L
9: K
10: I
11: H
12: M
13: E
14: S
15: R
16: A
17: B
18: G
19: O
20: P

Multiple Choice
1: A
2: C
3: C
4: D
5: C

Short Answer
1: A teaser is hung at the curtain line, whereas a border can be hung anywhere it is needed.

2: The curtain line is used to separate the apron from the rest of the stage.

Playing with PAR56s & gels -- suggestions?

chausman — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:32:52 GMT

Originally Posted by peaeri

Here's something I tried the other day: Remember those old blue/red glasses used for 3D? Well, if I put two gels in my PAR56s that are close to the ones in the 3D glasses, I get a kind of screwy 3D effect on any object or person the light shines on. That was lots of fun--but not very useful, I suppose. Who knows, maybe it could start a whole new trend: 3D theatre! :cool:

Please read that last sentence very carefully, and think about it. Really think...

Noises Off

chausman — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 23:56:03 GMT

Holy Cow...Noises Off! is insane! We have our set being built currently, and it is nearly 35 feet wide, and the second floor platform is "only 9 feet off the ground". It will just barely fit sideways because of the depth of our stage. It is fun building it though. We've spent nearly 2 grand on wood. We luckily already had tons of casters though. The last time this set was done in this theater, it was done without a central pivot point that had to spin, move, spin, move, etc. to get it to fit. This time, with a larger set, we are trying to give it a central point. It is going to be tight. I'll try to get some pictures, from once we try to move it to show the clearance! Wish us luck... :pray:

Help with "The Wiz"

chausman — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:14:41 GMT

Originally Posted by shiben

You may be right? Its some sort of Amber. Possibly cut 50/50 with N/C

:cool:

Originally Posted by Footer

Hey guys,
Typically we let people learn by trying and avoid spoon feeding. Teach a man to fish as the saying goes.... So let's keep it to helping instead of telling.

Now the OP gets to figure out how to do it!

Two Words: Quarter Flash

Van — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 23:00:59 GMT

Ok maybe it's just one word, but I'm trying a theme thing out here. Final Tech and Invited Audience tonight for No Mans Land. What's the conflict ? Why, I got invited to the 30th Anniversary of Quarterflash ! They are having a big concert at the Elsinore Theater in Salem, Oregon tonight. The acoustics are fantastic. It's an old Vaudeville house and is stunningly beautiful. They are going to be singing all the old hits and according to Marv, Rindy will be wearing all the old costumes from the old days, whichstill fit. Marv will be wearing the same Headband.
Probably one of my fondest "Associations with Greatness" is my friendship and working relationship with Marv Ross. He is a truly nice man, a rareity in the Rock world, with true musical talent and respect for the art of Music. It also happens to be Marv and Rindy's Anniversary so it's going to be quite the shindig.

Two Words: Vomit Rehearsal !

Van — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 20:21:59 GMT

Spent Four hours playing with the actors, Sm's and the Director.... and vomit.
We were told that there was a vegetarian, dehydrated, pea soup that makes excellent vomit for this trick. It's true, it does. Here's what I have found, however. It must be strained through a rather small strainer, at least three times. There is a LOT of floating... Um,.... fiber. It has the consistency of paper pulp. and like paper pulp is tends to clog up anything it catches on. The other 'Ick' Factor? It has an added smoke flavor, somewhere between good bacon and bad beefy jerky. I would like to point out, as a side note, just how Ironic it is that Vegetarian pea soup smells like bacon. If you have to make it smell like bacon to get someone to eat it, well... you get my point.
Discovered a lot of interesting thing about pnuematically actuated hydraulic systems. Things like, the lower the puke level in the holding tank the more volume of air it takes to pressurize the system to the point of..... expellation Anyway, lot's of fun < other than smelling like I just cooked, or wallowed, in a ton of bacon> and the Actors were troupers ! Sitting through a 4 hour rehearsal in pea soup damp clothes, get 'puke' in their face, up their nose, in their mouth and in their eyes and mostly just laughing about it. More later.

Two words: Vomit Machine !

Van — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 02:15:31 GMT

Have you seen "God of Carnage" ? Have you read it ? Is your Theater doing it this year ? Well, we are and this is the first time I've ever been asked to create a vomit rig for a theatrical peice. In the course of the play there are several heated exchanges..... Brief synopsis Ok, one couple is at another couples apartment. There are there to discuss the fact that one couple kid smacked the others kid in the mouth with a sizable stick and broke his two front teeth. One couple wants to know how the other couple is going to handle disciplining their son.... Ok so you can see why there is a lot of heated discussion. So, the visiting couple wife has a nervous condition, she get's upset and projectile vomits all over the place. I mean ALL over the place. and all over at least one other cast member. I can't wait to report on this further, during the run. I'm going to be interested in seeing exactly how many people in the audience start puking when she loses it on stage. During one production meeting I raised that concern. " Oh that wont happen Van!" Ok, glad I'm not on Facilities staff.......
There's a ton of interesting things in this build I'll get some pictures and post them with the designs of the rig and what my thinking was as I put the whole thing together. One thing you can say for this business; It's NEVER Dull !

Very long time since I posted to my blog.

Van — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 01:10:03 GMT

Yes. Yes it has been an incredibly long time since I updated my blog. I have a few moments so why not spend some time on here catching up? I think the last time I posted to my blog we were in the middle of "Long Days Journey Into Night" , a co-production with Sydney Theater Company. Well it went pretty great. Had a fantastic time with the show, met some really cool Aussies that I'd love to work with again, then got the show closed and started in on our "regular" season. We opened with ... Oh heck I'll just copy and paste from our website cause I can't remember all the shows we did.

Ah, Wilderness!
By Eugene O'Neill
Not bad sort of a interesting piece. Our resident Scenic Designer, Jeffery Seats, played off the design used fo LDJ, and had the show set in a tattered theater, sort of, many pieces brought in and out by actors,

The Hillsboro Story
By Susan Banyas
An Original, and despite the fact that we have a Hillsboro, Oregon, right next to Portland this show was about Hillsboro, Ohio. The Author wanted to relate some unique insights into the Civil rights battles of the 50's and 60's from a young white girls perspective. Very presentational, incredibly interesting and at time very heart wrenching. We toured this one through several schoold out here and then through Ohio.

Mars on Life - LIVE!
By Susannah Mars
Susannah is a treasure ! She inheireted her mothers operatic quality voice and her father's < Kenneth Mars>, gift of comedy. This was a fun set, kinda had a 1970's ranch home look to it. Not a whole lot of bells and whistles, some snow, a light up rolling cook counter. Mostly just god music and guests.

Superior Donuts
By Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts is from my home state of Oklahoma. Superior Donuts is about a donut shop in Chicago. If they had told me that the show could have sold out and that taking it apart and saving it for a remount in the Summer was even a remote possibility I would have built the thing completely differently. As it was Actors weren't available for the remount. Which is really good since I would have had to re-build 60% of the show. Really cool interior.SPFX ? How about a front window that starts the top of the show broken, gets covered with a peice of plywood, during a scene, with no blackout, without the audience knowing, then changed to a new piece during intermission? Oh, or my favorite, and thank you oh so much Mr. Letts, At the top of the show the shop has been broken into, and scrawled across the back wall of the shop is, in bright red spraypaint no less, "P**SY " and, in the script, one of the characters has to paint over it as part of the clean up in full view of the audience.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore
By Martin McDonagh
If you've seen this show then you know where the nightmares begin. three blow to bits cats, one live cats, three dead bodies, gallons of blood, 30 some odd rounds shot off every show, a guy hung upside down, by his ankles, for an entire 10 mintue scene, an cell phone that gets shot right in front of the audience, richocheting BB's being shot at a dopey brother by a psychotic sister...... and the list goes on. Beautiful set. Still cleaning up blood. BTW DO not attempt to paint over ReelFx blood, it will soak through every form of paint known to man.

Jack Goes Boating
By Bob Glaudini
Didn't have timne to build this one. Got the drawings 3 weeks late. Then they asked me for a boat. A rowboat. A rowboat that looks just like the ones they rent on the lake in Central Park. Oh, and we want it to " Glide" onstage. One Invacare wheelchair, acquired on Craigslist for $50, and a lot of ingenuity later and we have just what the doctor ordered. Oh yeah , and a murphy bed.

The Cherry Orchard
By Anton Chekhov, Adapted by Richard Kramer
Really cool set. Really big screw up by Rosebrand, no I really wanted that ground cloth in ONE big piece, not two seperate pieces. The whole set was a room turned on its side. the actors were walking on one of the "walls" which had a set of french doors in it, which they walked on, and then opened, to reveal a 9"deep pond. The Stage was raked, so the depthe of the pond hole was about 14" at the upstage side and 12" at the downstage edge. I was asked, during a production meeting, how I was going to get the water to be 3" below the doors at both the DS and US sides. I said I'd rent a black hole.....

Ah Summer! Yeah A break ! Oh wait I promised I'd build As You Like It for Portland Shakespeare Project. 15 sonotube trees, and 5 roll up screens. Oh yeah and that movie I agreed to build props for ? Three "cell phone jammers" one "C4-Bomb" to blow a door open, One gigantic < 30 pound> C4 bomb with a count down timer on it, One "gitmo" toture device, and several assorted light up geegaws...... What Summer ?