Make a habit of keeping people from putting hands in their pockets, they're more likely to stand and not ask for help, you remind them, if you're working your hands shouldn't be in your pockets. Nicely of course but it makes them get moving and asking people to help set up
If you're entering either a rehearsal or performance either via
FOH or backstage, DON'T slam the door, close the door as silently as possible to not divert attention and disrupt proceedings.
A personal peeve: Lighting guy (Me) arrives early for a rehearsal, parks down the
block:
a; To leave the lot
clear for actors about to attend rehearsal.
b; To make a quick
escape without being hemmed in by actorine's vehicles.
I'm intending to haul out 14' ladder, do one quick touch-up focus on a tight
FOH special,
clear the ladder and exit prior to the arrival of cast and interfering with their rehearsal:
Haul out ladder, muscle into place in
FOH, turn on special to 80%,
switch off
fluorescent work lights, leaving all in darkness other than special.
Climb ladder (violate
safety rules) stand on very top of 14' ladder, both arms stretched over head, in the midst of finessing
shutter cuts.
Early arriving pseudo star enters via rear door, sticks
hand into
pitch black back
stage entrance ( Having seen parking lot empty and all in darkness, assumes he's alone in the building) and snaps on the
fluorescent stage and
house, working / cleaning fluorescents.
192 lineal feet of cool white fluoresents
SNAP ON while I'm standing in the dark on the top step of a 14' ladder with both arms stretched o'er head, staring at a tight special and finessing
shutter cuts.
Not wishing to startle anyone's sensitive artistic temperament by suddenly bellowing:
'Turn the phuquing lights off while I'm focusing on my time 30 minutes prior to your
call time, let alone your scheduled time on
stage.'
I calmly and quietly said: "Good evening." with the intention of making the 'sensitive' pseudo-star aware he was not alone in the building.
The moment I spoke, the 'sensitive' pseudo-star tore me a new anal orifice berating me, a mere techie, for having the
gall and rude audacity to speak to a STAR and startle him within an hour of his needing to be calmly in character and striding the boards.
'Didn't I know anything regarding proper behavior and reverence to talent in a
theatre?'
(I'd about a decade of employment with Canada's Stratford Shakespearean Festival behind me at that
point but clearly I was a rude urchin fresh from the gutters who'd found my way into Mr.
Amateur pseudo-star's hallowed environment and clearly needed to be schooled in the proper ways.)
Jump to today; November 20th, 2019. By pure happenstance, about three days ago I was speaking with an old friend, she mentioned an
amateur production presently in rehearsal and asked if I'd ever met / worked with Mr. Greg Fl...
?
Yes; I'd definitely had the experience and, yes, he was definitely memorable.
There are several lessons in the above including (and not limited to):
- Never break the rules by standing on the very top step of a ladder.
- Always be politely courteous to your associates, regardless of volunteering or being well paid.
- Treat associates as you'd like to be treated.
- And never leave home without your Kevlar undies firmly in place.
Served me right for trying to get in and out sans any disturbing disruptions to the sensitive egos of others.
There are many more lessons; I'll leave them for others.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard