De27192 you just aren't getting it man, Tons of people have access to the audience. Very few have access to the booth. That scenario while not likely is just one of many. Such as the In school suspension class being moved for the day to the theater. Now you have students who are likely bad eggs in the same room with the
console. Those same students likely got put into the suspension class due to destroying other school property. Now you have one teacher for a group of kids lets say 5-10 in a very likely scenario that the thing is gonna get damaged.
It's not that I'm not getting it. It's just, you're blanket-banning something on the basis of very specific circumstances. The argument seems to be that no school
theatre in all the lands can put their
desk out in the audience, because someone
might plug a popcorn machine into a
dimmer and try to program the
channel; or someone
might bring a load of suspended students into the
theatre who will inherently trash the lighting
console. No allowance has been made for the fact that these things
might not happen, or that actually, they
might happen but you could actively do something to mitigate the chances of it happening. That is what the OP was asking...
how can I make this work? Not simply
why not?
The reason touring shows put it in the audience is simply because its easier for the ONE LD to see if he has a light out in the rig. He doesn't have time between shows to check every light. He doesn't have someone on
deck seeing if all the lights come on when they should. So he's out in the
house so he can see the rig he has to keep exactly the same
venue to
venue. I know for every tech and every design day the
console could be in a different room for all the designer cares. He just needs to be able to communicate to the
programmer what he wants.
Sorry but that's factually wrong. That is NOT the one and only reason people have the
console in the
house. In many theatres, which have their
FOH positions in bridges and masked booms; and who fly headers in front of all their lanterns; you cannot see any lanterns whether you are in the
boom or the
house. If you want to check lights work, you are better putting the
console on the
stage. After all, that's where they're all pointed. There are many reasons people put the
console in the
auditorium... some just don't like being stuck in a dim soundproof box and prefer the comfort of a big airy
auditorium. Some like to be able to communicate directly with
stage, rather than over comms. Whatever the reason, you should respect the wishes of the people working in your
theatre. The whole reason you rig the rig as it is, is because that's
the way they want it... why not set control up
the way they want it too?
In the world you get problem people and solution people. Problem people find problems and say "we can't do this"; solution people take problems and find a solution so they can say "we can do this". Don't be a problem person. It doesn't get anyone anywhere. Be a solution person. Take the problems you've
identified with having the board in the
house, and work out a solution. If you're worried about students dropping it... put it in it's box and/or carry it yourself? It's not a big
desk. Easily carried alone. Or put it on wheels. Make a nice wheeled
desk for your
console. You can add an arm for your external monitors and a drawer for keyboard and
mouse... then you can just unplug the
ethernet and the
power and move it wherever you want it. If you're worried about unauthorised use or deliberate vandalism, put it in a locking case. Get the set dept to knock you up a plywood case with a hinged lid and a simple clasp lock... job done. Still worried about vandalism or even theft? Put it back in the booth when you're not using it. It's a few minutes of work. If a few minutes of work in the morning and the evening makes someone happy for the rest of the day, I consider that a good economy. Whatever you do, don't just sit there and say NO. It helps nobody and there's generally no need for it anyway.
