Recent content by bobcatarts

Due to architectural villainy, my black box has stairs to the second floor offices and support spaces that cut through an upper corner of the main performance space. With effort, smaller groups people can sneak down sufficiently quietly during performances but larger groups or the ignorant/rude...

Many thanks! The prices are better than I expected, too. Stage pins were a decent "fix it now" solution but this will be great for the future.

I discovered a good last-minute substitute for bullets that needed to be handled on stage.Female stage pin brass looked pretty good, even up close, and has just the right clink when jostled together. The festival in my venue is sharing a firearm and blank ammunition. One show needed both but...

Sketchup world and Real world of my set design for Biography by S.N. Behrman, and the set with the lighting design and practicals up and running. Since the show is about an artist, the idea was to make it look sort of like an art gallery, and the panel walls look sort of like notebook paper...

Thank you all for the very useful info! Most of my need for these groups is educational - I have no desire to try and circumvent licensed professionals who can it legally, safer, faster and cheaper than I could hope to. Do it right the first time, etc. This is a bit of a brave new world for me...

One of my many hats for my day job is consulting for Arts facilities we help develop; because I'm the "technical guy" to our non-theater people, I'm asked about everything from ventilation, power requirements, lighting, plumbing, IT, Audio/visual- you name it- that artists or venues use or need...

These look great! I'm totally taking this idea for my own future rifle needs.

Two important points from this: More money in the program doesn't always equate to better outcomes. Also that vocational training and academic training, even in a specific subject like event production tech, aren't mutually exclusive. In high school I had to learn on cold-war-era analog...

Fiddler on the Roof - the haunting scene - How to make a bed rock (like a car with hydraulics) AND spin, but be rigid and stable before/after the moment? With little budget and no power/control cables? Solution: On top a central support column, a ball and socket (maybe CV transmission? it's...

I see some evidence of food/beverages in the booth even though there is a big sign prohibiting it. That said, there has been no issue so far (knock on wood). I make it clear to all of my resident companies and renters know: You break it, you bought it. We're all adults though, generally...

I'm (also) the facilities manager for both of my venues. Much of this may be covered by school building maintenance, but some of us are on our own! Outside the performance spaces, please consider the following: -Clean/replace filters and service HVAC -quarterly -Pour a full pitcher of water...

The only inspections for sets I've ever heard of involved Actor's Equity - and that had more to do with angles of rake, or slip/fall protection, etc., so more design than fabrication. Fascinating. I'm glad parents pulled through, however, and everyone learned a valuable lesson about life. Or...

If the breaker was identified as the problem (assuming it wasn't tripped? I know nothing about ELTS's) then it's time for a work order to bypass it. I would argue that it's clearly a safety issue, and the breaker is preventing the safety equipment from operating properly, and anyone standing in...

The problem was worse than I thought: It didn't have a lamp at all. My predecessor appears to have ordered a lamp, however. I found it in another dusty cabinet, but either ordered or received the wrong one (got the POA-LMP47 instead of LMP99) and just silently tucked it away where someone would...

Re: Hundred(s?) dead in Brazil nightclub fire I just gathered all the fire extinguishers in my venue for their annual service - something that hadn't happened in 4 years prior to my being hired last year- and found 2 without pull rings, including one that had been discharged where it sat...