This is a subject that is very close to my heart, so this will be a long post.
I am a volunteer Tech Director at my local church and Community Theater, and I think this age range is ideal for learning tech! At the church, we produce a touring full-scale musical (set, lights, sound, live
orchestra,
etc.) with the youth (13-18yrs old - about 40-60 youth total) every year. Five years ago when I first got started, Tech was an after-thought (the "main" groups were the choir and the
orchestra). So, a few years ago we decided to make Tech a focus of the group and started holding routine classes to teach the kids about Tech. It's still a growing program and several of the youth are even in Tech Classes in school, but as a touring show many of the things we do are different - building a set that is light enough to setup/teardown every night, sturdy enough to survive going on tour and cheap enough for a non-profit to afford them presents unique opportunities!
As for engagement of the youth, I can wholeheartedly agree with giving them real work/tasks. Of course, sometime this requires extra supervision, so getting some other adults (or experienced, older tech-savvy youth) can be helpful. I try to start our year out with a scavenger hunt with a few teams competing. Each team is given a list of "clues,
etc." to gather (e.g. What is the box label on the Sound
Mixer? or Where is the rolling Follow Spot stored? or What is the church's callsign for the backstage radios [hint: it's written on the box with the radios]). Alternately, at each key location (we have about 5), there could be a bucket with a variety of items - they have to bring one back. This serves the multi-faceted purpose of being fun, good team building, introducing the new team members to the various areas where equipment (e.g. knowing which location is called "the black hole" or "the garage") is stored and then the items they retrieved (e.g.
NEMA 5-15 cord-end cap, XLR-1/4"
adapter, PAR56 lamp,
DMX cable,
etc.) are used as a discussion starter to introduce some of the things that will be discussed that year.
So, we start with basic training on specific topics:
- Lighting - discuss lighting lamp designations - why is it called a PAR56...what other lamps are there? what's the difference between the glass
envelope designations and bases? Why can't I just string plugstrips together and connect all of the lights into one wall
outlet? How many lights can be connected to a single
dimmer pack?
- Sound - What is a
mixer,
amplifier,
monitor vs PA, what's the difference between a
condenser and
dynamic microphone - how do you properly setup and prep a wireless mic pack, or fit a
microphone headset/earset on an actor). What are the names of the various connectors (
XLR, 1/4", Speak-On,
etc.) and where/how are they used? Why are 1/4"
instrument cables thin, but 1/4"
speaker/
monitor cables thick?
- This approach also allows good cross-training between these areas. Things like: Why is a 3-pin
XLR mic cable different from a 3-pin
XLR DMX cable.
Next, we'll un-pack and prepare the light
system (it's on
portable tripods): adding any newly purchased instruments, testing everything, and label/re-label as necessary - this is also used this as an opportunity to discuss each light type (
dimmer vs
RGB LED,
etc.), experiment with what they can do and how to properly set them up (e.g. LEDs don't go on a
dimmer pack, terminating the
DMX bus,
etc.), how to set the
DMX address, what is the
channel mode for an
LED instrument?
Later in the year, the team will work on actually constructing (and painting - admittedly, my least favorite activity) various set pieces. This includes using
power tools, learning the proper names of tools, and even how to use their body properly (get your arm straight and your shoulder behind the drill when trying to drive a 3" wood screw in to a 2"x4" - this will allow you to press hard enough to keep the
bit from slipping).
Finally, we start actually holding rehearsals for that year's production. This includes a LOT of setup/teardown (the life of touring show without a fixed performance/rehearsal space).
The Tech Team members become the leaders of the setup/teardown for the rest of the cast/
orchestra - showing them how to unbox, setup and cable each piece of equipment, and then ensuring during teardown that cables are coiled (correctly - over/under, and then tied/velcroed neatly) and equipment boxed correctly (and in the right boxes) - so that it can be located during the next setup. Some jobs are small: Get out the battery powered script lights and ensure they are all working. Some jobs are more challenging: Get out the wireless mic bodypacks, set them to the proper channels for the
venue, ensure the beltclip and
gain switch are correct, then unpack and attach the
microphone.
We even designated a "box owner" who was responsible to ensure that all of the given items (yes, we made inventory lists) are in their box before it is closed, and that it is packed neatly and securely.
During all of this, I'm looking for who will be Follow Spot operators, who will be
Stage Hands, who will assist with the lighting or sound
system setup and teardown (remember, with a touring show, this is an every time activity) - even who will run the Light
Console (for now, I'm still running the sound
mixer during shows, but I'm always looking for someone who is interested/capable).
Bottom
line/TL;DR: Give them responsibility that is commensurate with their age/experience, then let them run with it (providing a
bit of supervision to keep them on the best path). As they have success in owning something, they often want to do more and "move up the food chain" of responsibility.
Best of luck!