New lighting board / console / desk suggestions?

[eadler]

Should do a pole but do you think a particular lighting console in a high school could really impact someones likelihood of pursuing a career in lighting?

I don't think a particular console will directly impact the likelyhood but its use will - I've done barely-black-box shows with 4 dimmers and shown interested children what I could do and they've been wow'd and I've seen shows on a proscenium stage with barely a fade in and out. If the equipment prevents the wow-factor, it may limit the experience and desire to learn of those there to do so. If the equipment is obviously mediocre and can create the wow, I'd think that may speak more than if it's top of the line and does the same.

I got into TV partially because I was intrigued by the TRS-80 plugged into my TV set making a wonderful antenna when turned off. If I had seen the same with an antenna, I don't know that I would have bothered to investigate and learn as much.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

It was about cognition vs nomad vs chamsys vs many other consoles in that class - not Eos vs a row of wall box dimmers.

 

[Lyle Williams]

I'm very late to this conversation, but in defence of teachers, theatre tech is often not the objective of ther curriculum.

Their educational objectives could be met in a hall lit with fluoros. Great lights and sound help with motivating students and parents, and also boost the sense of accomplishment.

 

[seanandkate]

I'm very late to this conversation, but in defence of teachers, theatre tech is often not the objective of ther curriculum.

Their educational objectives could be met in a hall lit with fluoros.

In Ontario, theatre technology is baked into our curriculum document:
"Students interpret dramatic texts and use appropriate dramatic forms, elements, techniques, and technologies to present their ideas and achieve specific purposes. " [emphasis mine]

 

[FMEng]

My life would be completely different had I not become interested in sound and electronics and found willing mentors to help me learn. All theater students, both actors and technicians, can learn and grow from the experience. To see someone write that theater tech isn't part of the curriculum makes me sad.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

My life would be completely different had I not become interested in sound and electronics and found willing mentors to help me learn. All theater students, both actors and technicians, can learn and grow from the experience. To see someone write that theater tech isn't part of the curriculum makes me sad.

I generally agree with your views but let's not blame the band director who is not paid to do it. It's clearly a administration priority issue. The sports teams get a speciality coach with pressure formstuents and parents, it takes same kind of pressure to get a tech theatre "coach".

 

[Dionysus]

In Ontario, theatre technology is baked into our curriculum document:
"Students interpret dramatic texts and use appropriate dramatic forms, elements, techniques, and technologies to present their ideas and achieve specific purposes. " [emphasis mine]

Too bad BUDGET does not land with this at all. Ive worked with schools in multiple boards, and very few schools have much of any funding for "drama" in Ontario.

 

[seanandkate]

Too bad BUDGET does not land with this at all. Ive worked with schools in multiple boards, and very few schools have much of any funding for "drama" in Ontario.

Truth. So much (dare I say, too much) depends on the whim of the administration. T'was ever thus. I've been lucky in my school in that we have a great black-box space, I had a background in technical theatre before I became a teacher so I knew what to ask for (because they rarely if ever consult someone like @BillConnerFASTC), and I've had a run of principals that could be convinced that investing in technical infrastructure was important. But, yea, for the most part, the arts across the board is becoming a harder sell. Every year.

 

[NOM115]

I am a parent volunteer at a high school and we have the Element which was easy enough to pick up on. The school does not have theatre instructors and in the past the musicals were run by a choral teacher and an English teacher runs the drama productions. When I first started I picked up on the Element pretty quickly, learning from another parent volunteer who went to college for technical theatre. That being said we both (myself and the other parent volunteer) still took a trip to NYC and went to the Element training (2 of the 3 days) at ETC. You being so close to there I would recommend doing this also which is worth the expense. ETC will give a number of discounts for each class. Being a school we always have students run the board as the idea of the productions are to get them to learn something. They pick up on it pretty quick. You could also create a sub master for the everyday stuff so that teachers or administrators can use the board without any difficulty after being shown the corrector procedure. So, I would also recommend the Element or now the Element 2. If you are at a public school you are also going to have to consider the procurement proceedures/laws for your state and if you would need to purchase off a procurement contract. I have done IT stuff for my department at my regular job and I am not a big fan of used or refurbishied computerized equipment and therefore always purchased new. As a general rule IT type equipment should be replaced on a 5 year cycle although that does not happen very often, especially with specialized equipment like lighting boards.

 

[jazzman1960]

I have read through these posts with a combination of delight and angst. I am the band teacher (and MS football coach and one section of technology) who is trying to convince the school board to do an upgrade for the first time in almost 35 years. The comments about learning new technology along with all of the other aspects of teaching are spot on. Our small district has 13 new programs this year that we are trying to grasp. I have a very good relationship with technology, but at 58, the Yamaha digital mixer we have has way too many levels for me to feel comfortable with. I don't even like Microsoft Access, I want the old Microsoft Works Database. I can make a lot happen with the mixer, but not to the depths it is capable. Yes, I am the ONLY person in the district that can operate it above a rudimentary level (just the other day I got a call to fix a problem because we had set a user defined preset to be a shut down and they couldn't get any sound out because it was in shut down mode) and the only one that can even log in as administrator on it.

I also have had enough experience to know that there are people that have NO business tackling technology, their skills lie in other areas.

So now in the process of shopping for a new console, I absolutely believe that the Element is going to be too advanced for most if not all of the potential users in our district, including students. We are installing a preset box to "dumb down" operations for general use and will hopefully be able to really learn the functions of whatever console we end up with. Being a small district, we don't have a dedicated theater person or anyone with any kind of background in theater tech. Consequently, it falls on the shoulders of people like me to step up and try to do something.

I joined this forum to learn what I can and then bring it back to my school. Thanks for the information thus far and looking forward to more in the future!