Its hardly an issue moving it around in the building is it?
Yes.... It is...
As a high school
auditorium manager, I can tell you that it would be a very high stress situation for me to move my brand new
ION into the
house. First of all Issues in transit. There are many wires that can get caught while carrying things, and IF something falls and breaks, it is my neck on the chopping
block. Secondly, once the
desk is out in the
house, it is open to any of the risks that technology in a high school is susceptible to. Actors playing tag, students looking for a place to 'study', directors cup of coffee. Then you have to look at other
auditorium users. How many meetings do my guidance councilors schedule in the
auditorium per year? Dozens. And they don't care what we have going on either. Now I suddenly have a last minute junior class meeting in the
auditorium at 7:00 tomorrow morning and I have a light board just sitting out in the open.
How about the fact that over 25 people have keys to the
auditorium and only 4 of them are in the fine arts department.... 5 people in the entire district have keys to my booth, and only two of us know that we do. Me, and the day time custodian. At least three times a week I find an unlocked
auditorium door. I have NEVER found my booth door unlocked.
Something happens to the
desk and this person could LITERALLY lose their job. Crazier things have happened, and it is not too hard to find someone who believes they are qualified to replace you. Would I risk my ability to provide for my family so that a student's job could be a little easier? Nope.
This is not even addressing the fact that Thomas's TD may have no clue as to how the board is connected and how it all works. It's BRAND NEW, and a HS TD has a lot more on their plate than taking the time to learn how to disassemble and reassemble their Lighting board.
Thomas, I respect where you are coming from, but the benefit will never outweigh the risk in this situation. This is my 7th year as a HS
Auditorium Manager and I program EVERY show either from the booth, or over
headset to a board op. Learn your
plot, learn how to
call commands, find someone who knows how to read and train them on how to program. It will start slow, but once you find a rhythm you will be fine.