Who is the Tech Director

[achstechdirector]

I am a Technical Director and YES I know what tech director means but I was wondering what other's thought the responsibilities of a tech director are?

We are revising our theatre staff and eliminating some staff, while in addition we are redefining roles.


Please Help

[DaveySimps]

For our organization, our TD is responsible for everything in the shop. Essentially they take the set designers vision and bring it to life. They do all of the drafting for the carpenters, order shop supplies, supervise shop staff, staff, rigging, and items such as that. He also take on a lot of the special effects items that may be needed in a show, depending on exactly what the effect is.

In many organizations, the TD also is heavily involved in scheduling, production budgets, and supervising staff in other departments. Since we have a Production Manager (me) I oversee all of the technical staff (including the TD, and do all of the budgeting, hiring, and scheduling. Many organizations often combine these two positions with much success, depending on the size of the company and budget.

~Dave

[Sean]

Originally Posted by achstechdirector

I am a Technical Director and YES I know what tech director means but I was wondering what other's thought the responsibilities of a tech director are?
We are revising our theatre staff and eliminating some staff, while in addition we are redefining roles.
Please Help

What sort of environment are you talking about?


--Sean

[Charc]

The okace I interned at was LORT D.

They had a PM, an APM, and a TD.

The TD was in charge of the shop, and did some sort of meeting type stuff, but in many respects he didn't interact with/oversee other departments of production.

More about your work environment would be helpful though.

[achstechdirector]

SORRY

My theatre is a high school that is middle size

my responsibilities include:
Set Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
House Manager
Supervise all crews (other than actors


I also do alot of the traditional stage manager responsibilities

[Footer]

Originally Posted by achstechdirector

SORRY
My theatre is a high school that is middle size
my responsibilities include:
Set Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
House Manager
Supervise all crews (other than actors
I also do alot of the traditional stage manager responsibilities

Then... why are you "eliminating" some staff, sounds like you need more people, not less.

[frozenozzie]

At my high school, the original role of the TD was to be in charge of anything tech-related, including scheduling, choosing of crew heads, design, etc.

It's been quite redefined at our sudden lack of a TD in the formal sense, since our previous quit due to various reasons, one of which was his moving. We don't much see out TD anymore, besides on paper and for general supervision in the shop. However, our tech department has taken a hit due to this, so even if it becomes overwhelming at first, I hope you're able to keep track of all of your crews so that doesn't happen at your school as well. Granted, I'm sure you're a much better TD than our previous, so...

I'm impressed that you manage house as well. It's unfortunate that you much eliminate some staff, but perhaps - if your house system would make it possible - teach a student or two how to run house? It's been working well at my school for awhile, but again, I don't know how your house is run so it may not work.

[Marius]

Speaking as a college TD there are generally two species of Technical Director. Out in the 'real world' the TD is in charge of the shop, and makes sure the set gets built, transported(if necessary) and loaded in/out properly. Of course, other duties may or may not be added depending on the situation. In educational theatre, the TD is often responsible for every tech related aspect of the show, in addition to the occasional design requirements, building maintenance, and whatever else the other members of the dept. don't wanna do. About the only area I have made it my policy to give a very wide berth is house management.

Hope that helps.

Rick T.
Eckerd College

[gafftaper]

There are vastly different answers to that question. In the most elite theaters a T.D. is primarily a desk job and he/she is unlikely to ever even touch a piece of wood. It's about working with designers, budgeting productions, making sure the right staffing is hired, solving technical problems, etc... there are many other people who handle the dirty work. As Marius just said, at the other extreme is Educational theater where it is often just about everything technical. In the middle there are a wide variety of other options. Unfortunately, there just is no one answer to your question.

In your case being a high school student. It means something entirely different. As you are given an amount of responsibility but you have very little real authority. There is an adult staff member who is your supervisor and has the real authority. We've had some discussions in the past about high school student technical directors. While most of us older folks were just as busy as you are now in high school and we fondly remember those days. But the truth is, what you call be a technical director has very little to do with what the position is like in the real world. Some people get a little offended by students calling themselves T.D.'s because in "the real world" it's a position that you work hard for MANY years to reach. It's earned with a lot of hard work and knowledge that would blow you away. I'm 38 and I've been the head tech person at a college for five years but it's only in the last two years that I've really felt comfortable calling myself a T.D. I just didn't feel like I had really earned that title.

I like suggesting you call yourself a Student T. D. That helps keep the confusion down a bit. Like I said I think everyone on this board has been a high school tech student and when you use the term Student T.D. we know exactly what that means, we know how hard you work and how dedicated you are to serving your school. We've all been there. At the same time it makes it clear what your position is in terms of knowledge and experience.

As for job descriptions...
When I was teaching high school I worked very hard to distribute the jobs as much as possible. In my opinion it's not good for the program or for you to have one student in charge of so many jobs. You should be trying out a wide variety of theater disciplines in high school (maybe you'll find you like running sound a lot more than designing sets, you should learn all the positions and have a chance to try them all out). I also built a mentorship system where every Jr. and Sr. had a Freshman or Sophomore working with them to learn their job. I didn't have a Student T.D. I had a team of four students who were my most trusted and skilled technicians. They met together with me and we broke down tasks into their various specialty areas and had teams handle the work.

[Marius]

Originally Posted by gafftaper

I also built a mentorship system where every Jr. and Sr. had a Freshman or Sophomore working with them to learn their job. I didn't have a Student T.D. I had a team of four students who were my most trusted and skilled technicians. They met together with me and we broke down tasks into their various specialty areas and had teams handle the work.

What a great idea. If I ever get any tech students(the tech side of our department was decimated a few years ago, and I'm only just starting to rebuild it) I'm going to try that.