I designed/ran a show in the FringeNYC last summer, and while I agree that the limitations are extreme, it is not horrible assuming that you keep the scope of the piece to the time/resources you have allotted.
In terms of schedule, I'll give you a sample schedule that I had last summer:
7:20-Arrive at theater, sit in
lobby and chat with crew/
house staff
7:30-Previous show ends,
lobby fills, I get squeezed into the corner
7:45-Previous show is struck,
House Staff allows my crew into theater for setup
7:45-7:53 Stage Manager sets the
stage and
props, I load the lighting
console with our show file, hook up my laptop for the sound cues
7:53-8:00-Chat with SM,
House Staff, Enjoy life
8:00-House Opens
8:15-Show Starts, we had a 30 minuet time slot for a show that was 27 minutes. I had 3 places where I would cut the show if time was getting close, though I never had to.
8:45-Show is over,
house is exciting while SM and I
strike/
restore
9:00-We walk out of the theater, next show walks in behind us.
It is an insane schedule, but assuming you don't attempt to
load in a full set, it is quite reasonable. Audiences expect minimalist shows, its fine. Any complexity that is required in the show must be pre-programmed. The show I did last summer was run off of
qLab (both lighting and sound) and the
qLab file had something in the range of 130 cues. I believe I averaged one
cue every 14 seconds. However, all of this was programmed over the course of a month long rehearsal process, so our one hour of tech was more then enough. Lighting cues were also prewritten in
blind while I sat in starbucks between the festivals
load-in time and when I had my tech time later that evening.
In terms of jobs, it seems like the best way to do it is to work for the festival its self. The technicians who worked for the festival would get hired out/sold to shows that required a technical person, and I believe they made somewhere between $10-$15 an hour and a very decent show price, while those of us hired by shows got more of a thank-you then any real financial reward.
Would I take the job again: Yes, I would, but only if the show fit the space. My show worked because the SM and I could
load-in and out the show within 10 minutes if we weren't pushing ourselves, and 7 minutes if we needed to hurry. My
load-in required:
- Pull Gel in Side Lights (it was lavender, which didn't work for my show)
- Load Lighting Show from Disk
- Wait until house opened to play pre-show music
Strike was just taking my stuff out and then putting the
gel back.
Easy, fun, good NYC credit, and I met some very nice, fun people.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Oh, and some photos from that show can be found here.