food and drinks in the control booth

[Markovich]

I usually do, No cans or open containers, must be in a capped bottle. Food is fine but nothing near the equipment. If you don't know what your doing there, gtfo there. Don't touch anything if you don't know your touching. Wait for specific instructions.

that kinda stuff. but I got this from my day job as a substitute teacher. but among my respected peers, everyone knows the rules, its unspoken but well known.

 

[Koopdaddy]

We do not allow food or drink while operating equipment. We just dont want the risk and I can't stand people touching equipment with dirty hands.

 

[hosko]

I think rules in high schools are very different to the professional world. I think its perfectly acceptable to have a no food and drink rule when you are dealing with students. However try calling a show for 2 hours plus and trust me your throat is going to pack it in and I'm going to need a coke. Having said that cans are completely idiotic, they should be capped and kept no where near equipment. For water I like the CamelBak style bottles where you need to suck the water out, prevents water from spilling if its knocked over.

 

[Blake]

Definitely agree with hosko!

Sent from my Galaxy S3

 

[derekleffew]

... For water I like the CamelBak style bottles where you need to suck the water out, prevents water from spilling if it's knocked over.

I've long felt that console operators, and in fact ALL technicians, should be required to use only spill-proof "sippy cups".



But possibly more because of their infantile behavior than anything else.

My main venue has a rule: No food or drinks on the arena floor, ever. (For board and spotlight operators, being chained to one location, we look the other way.) A rule which sadly, applies only to house crew, and is readily broken by every road crew member.
.

 

[hosko]

IMy main venue has a rule: No food or drinks on the arena floor, ever. (For board and spotlight operators, being chained to one location, we look the other way.) A rule which sadly, applies only to house crew, and is readily broken by every road crew member.

I must say being part of the road crew, no one will get in the way of me and my coke Ahh references to the good old days

 

[gafftapegreenia]

ETC sippy cups sound like great LDI'13 swag, or USITT '14.

 

[JohnD]

If only this came in stealth black.....
Drinking Helmet Blue

 

[MrsFooter]

Oh lord, if I couldn't eat and drink behind the board I would have died of starvation by now. Sometimes it's because we didn't have time for a meal so my only chance is to eat during the show, sometimes it's because this event has been running for six hours now with no end in sight, sometimes it's because I'm bored and found a half bag of gummies in my purse. I've eaten everything from fast food to Chinese (with chopsticks) to a full plate of catering behind the board, because that's what needed to happen. And as for drink, same thing. Fast food cups, can, glass pop bottles, cups of coffee...I've partaken from them all. (Two rolls of gaff stacked make a great cup holder.)

However, I would like to point out that the reason that I have absolutely zero qualms about eating and drinking behind the board is because I'm a professional, and it's my board. I'm fully aware of the consequences if I spill stuff on the board and I act accordingly. I'm very careful with my food and beverages; all products with any viscosity (drinks and anything with any kind of sauce) stay on a side table a full arm's length away from my console, and sticky/greasy fingers get wiped on a towel before they come into contact with any keys. And as a result, we've yet to have an accident. (Knock on wood.)

In your case, I don't think the no food/drink rule is out of line. Students and volunteers may be well-intentioned, but without the threat of unemployment hanging over your head it's easy to forget what you're doing and have an accident. Though I would make an exception for water bottles. Even with my own lax rules I don't drink nearly enough water, and dehydration runs rampant among our staff. Allowing water (in the appropriate container) would go a long way towards keeping your staff in good shape.

 

[emoreth]

Oh lord, if I couldn't eat and drink behind the board I would have died of starvation by now.

Yup. Where I work, we get dinner at about 30 minutes til show because that's when the band is (supposed to be) done rehearsing. If things don't go smoothly, we have just about enough time to throw together a plate of food and get back upstairs. I have eaten an entire lasagna dinner while running the switcher.

On the other hand, we have lost a monitor console to a cup of coffee (disposable, with lid) that had been placed on top of the booth wall. As a result, drinks are not allowed where they could spill into gear, with the exception of things like water bottles that have secure lids. I use water bottles with pressure valves that only open when the bottle is squeezed, in part because I don't want to have to worry about protecting gear vs. staying hydrated.

 

[Jakepugh15]

Hey all - so, here's a question for you all. When I was doing theater/tv/etc work in college, we had a simple rule - don't break stuff. That meant, don't spill your coffee on the avid. We were pretty much allowed to have food and drinks in control rooms, editing rooms, stages, etc because well, a lot of times we would be in a studio or editing room all through the night working on a project. However, in my church we have a few volunteers in varying stages of their teens, and so I decided that there's no food or drink in the control booth. Frankly, we aren't there for more than a couple hours, and they can step out to have a drink if they need to.

I initially thought it was a good idea, but I'm second guessing myself. What do you all do, especially for those in middle school / high school environments. I know college/pro is very different.

Well in my booth, i have a waffle maker, microwave and a cooler... And were at a high school... It's only me in the booth usually, But if im training somebody during a run of a show, i dont usually care. People who work in the booth usually are smart enough not spill or leave crumb's all over the board...

 

[danhr]

Waffle maker??

 

[Jakepugh15]

Waffle maker??

i like waffles... haha... im usually at the theater at 6 in the morning to start a load in... so might as well make breakfast there.

 

[JohnD]

Hmmmmm, I'm wondering if you could take a NFG waffle iron, the ones which are about 8 inches in diameter and two Par 64's........I mean you can sauté and wok on a Par 64.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

What, you don't just microwave all your food like I do?

 

[GoboMan]

At our theatre there is no food allowed in the booth. As for drinks, only water is allowed in a closed container (travel mug with snap-on lid, water bottle with screw cap, etc.) The only exception to the food rule would be cough drops or small hard candy. Basically, we don't want our techs enjoying a huge burrito dinner in the booth.

I also do sporadic work at another theater across town, and their rule is a lot more strict. They don't allow ANY food or drink (not even water in closed containers) in the booth, and ONLY water is allowed in the house and on the stage.