New Band Teacher Thrown into teaching Technical Theatre

[Fireguy551]

So my buddy is a Band teacher and his district, in their infinite wisdom decided to force the band teacher to also teach technical theater and be the TD for the high school shows. Naturally he is freaking out and realized today that he is way in over his head. I work for a Broadway house so naturally he views me as being the expert in teaching technical theater and so now I am here asking for help.

Does anyone know of any websites or literature that would help him get a grasp on things?

I am going over to his school this weekend to show him how to use the fly system light board (assuming is a normal brand) and sound board (assuming its an analog console).

From what I understand he is in charge of building the shows and teaching a tech class where they try to build the sets. He is also in charge of maintenance and all the equipment as well as teaching students use them for the shows.

This weekend I am going to show him all the safety stuff I can think of as well as help him start making rules for using the equipment.

As far as curriculum I know nothing and I haven't worked with anyone ages 14-18 in a shop ever so I am in over my head there and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Robby

[LekoBoy]

Why not tell your buddy about this place?

[Fireguy551]

Originally Posted by LekoBoy

Why not tell your buddy about this place?

Oh he will be forced to

[Hughesie]

Its the fly system and basiclly all the OH&S that scares me, is there anywhere near him that does short courses in OH&S, something like that would be benficial and although your experience is fantastic for teaching the basics its the fear your going to walk away and remember that you have forgotten to tell him something that seems so basic that would help him so much and may save lives.

Example for counterweight fly system, if your flying something and one of the ropes is lose you have a weight problem in the cradle.

THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS EXAMPLE AS INSTRUCTION, I AM NOT TEACHING YOU HOW TO OPERATE A COUNTERWEIGHT FLY SYSTEM I AM OFFERING ONLY AN EXAMPLE. THIS INFOMATION MAY NOT RELATE TO YOUR SITUATION SO DON'T TAKE MY WORD AS LAW.

Ah, that should cover it

[Marius]

Tell him to get a copy of Theatrical Design and Production, by J. Michael Gillette and The Backstage Handbook stat!

[waynehoskins]

Oh wow, how fun!

Teach him the basic principles, give him some good reference material, point him here.

I'd probably spend more time doing hands-on safety stuff like how to work the counterweight system and the tablesaw. The rest is moderately trivial.

Good luck!

[jwl868]

My thoughts:

1. Get a book or two (or three or four) about technical theater. (Technical Theater for Nontechnical People by Campbell would be a good start to get a broad picture. Then, get some of the Stagecraft Handbooks.)

2. Get organized – figure out what you know and what you don’t know (and remember that there will be many things that fall into the category of “what you don’t know you don’t know”). The divisions on the CB board are a good place to start, but you’ll also need rigging, costumes, and makeup. Safety is an issue and is embedded in each of the disciplines.

3. Seek help – maybe the students know what they are doing. There may be other teachers in the school that can help, or teachers in the lower schools. (There is the issue of compensation and contracts, but there should be some way to manage that.) Also, if he’s doing the technical side, there must be someone doing the acting side and/or directing. Maybe that person has technical experience.

4. Look around and get familiar with the place. Find out what the equipment is, how it works, when the last time it was maintained, are there manuals,….

5. The light at the end of the tunnel may be a locomotive. Ninety percent of everything is below the water.


Joe

[waynehoskins]

Originally Posted by jwl868

There may be other teachers in the school that can help, or teachers in the lower schools. (There is the issue of compensation and contracts, but there should be some way to manage that.) Also, if he’s doing the technical side, there must be someone doing the acting side and/or directing. Maybe that person has technical experience.

Good point. Surely somebody's been doing this before now, in some capacity. Maybe figure out who that is, and get them in on it.

[themuzicman]

Just make sure he lets his student's know that he is no credible expert on any of it...

I would hate for the high schoolers to think his word is THE word. I've been in that position, and it is very misleading for kids to think they know it all, when an amateur has been teaching them.

Good luck to him though, massive undertaking.

[Sayen]

How involved and long term is the arrangement? Is this something he should start learning about, or just a temporary survival situation for the school?

All of the books listed so far are good resources.

A great resource is Stagecraft 1, A complete Guide to Backstage Work by William H. Lord. Basic forms and an overview of technical theater.

For rigging, the Stage Rigging Handbook by Jay Glerum is good. It won't really teach him rigging, but he'll understand what he's looking at in a counterweight system.

A great beginners audio and lighting textbook is Scene Design and Stage Lighting, by Parker and Wolf.

I thought I had some other basic resources, but I can't find them in my office, which means students have scampered off with them.

A great starting tip might be to remember that every production doesn't need to be a full Broadway show. If rigging is new to him, then he doesn't need to fly anything. Just set the proper weights for a rep plot (nice wash over the stage) and curtains, and keep it simple and don't mess with it for the time being. Minimalist sets can be just as effective as giant constructions, and they're much safer if he doesn't know what he's doing.