Put it on the list
- Thread starterhslighting
- Start date
" and " 
" emoticons probably should have been prominently displayed...
When seeking reimbursement from any entity in my school district, including the drama booster club, keep all receipts and pay in cash. Apparently the free airline miles, 1% cash back, or any other credit card reward aren't okay. Coming from a planned purchases on behalf of the program at Home Depot and Lowes.
bishopthomas
Well-Known Member
Here are your options: 1. Get your teacher to buy it or reimburse you for it. 2. Buy it on your own and eat the cost. 3. Do without. Personally, I would only go with number 3 if 1 and 2 are completely impossible. I'd rather have the right tools for the job, even if it means paying for them myself. I've been doing things that way since I was 15 working in a no budget church (which I eventually turned into a slight budget after becoming technical director), and now am doing it as a business owner. I'll always find a way to not have to go with option 3.
marmer
Member
How do you "do without" if you have cables to tape? Duct tape, cheap and nasty as it is, costs money too. I'm in the minority here, I guess. I'd either go to the assistant principal or counselor I was closest to with a roll of gaff tape, explain what it is if they didn't know, and say something like "Mr. Smith is so busy, is there something we can do to help him out so we can get some more of this? For safety?" If the answer from someone with whom I already had a reasonably friendly relationship was "No way, no how, budget cuts." I'd bite the bullet and buy it myself. One roll at a time, and I'd keep a close eye on it. The reality, unfair as it is, is that teachers and students frequently have to buy class supplies with their own money and no hope of reimbursement.
Not all, up to 250 bucks. You better believe I took that every year! More importantly, it just knocks 250 bucks off regardless of your deduction type.
hslighting
Member
Yeah currently im just using my ultimate focus tool to split the stage pins so they fit together like a glove. For taping down cords... I dont tape them down. Once it becomes a trip hazard ill find some non residue tape or just put down a strip of cardboard over the cord and tape it down with duct tape.
shiben
Well-Known Member
Those black rugs that schools seem to have in abundance work excellently for covering small numbers of cables with very little problem...
iLightTheStage
Active Member
I concur with the use of mats when tape is in short supply.
And back to the main question: another good reason to use gaff instead of duct is that duct more easily pulls paint off of surfaces. Besides improper painting techniques, I've seen many a stage with missing paint because outside groups used duct tape. So you can save on maintenance budgets by using the proper tape. Also, if using white gaff, you can more clearly label things than with a silver-shiny duct tape for safety.
AEGProduction
Member
The use of mats is what I typically go to if I am at a school and need to cover lots of cable (In which would require a whole roll to cover). Schools typically have these things stacked up somewhere, and I usually have no problem at all getting the maintence crew to bring me a few (Especially if I say its for covering a tripping hazard).
As for duct tape... If anyone rents equipment from me, and brings back cables with duct tape on it, I charge full price for the cable, and make them take it. It takes me 2 hours to even attempt to clean a cable with duct tape on it, and usually I still have some residue left over, or the cable feels slimy to the bare hand. Under no circumstance would I ever use duct tape to cover up cables unless I knew I was going to throw the cable away after. And I have seen a company or two use duct tape on a HS gynamsium...pulled the veneer right off, and got handed a HUGE repair bill...no good.
As for duct tape... If anyone rents equipment from me, and brings back cables with duct tape on it, I charge full price for the cable, and make them take it. It takes me 2 hours to even attempt to clean a cable with duct tape on it, and usually I still have some residue left over, or the cable feels slimy to the bare hand. Under no circumstance would I ever use duct tape to cover up cables unless I knew I was going to throw the cable away after. And I have seen a company or two use duct tape on a HS gynamsium...pulled the veneer right off, and got handed a HUGE repair bill...no good.
What the OP needs to do is to get a quote from a vendor that has all the questions answered.
vendor name
mailing address
street address
city, state, zip
phone #
fax#
item quanity
item discription
price per item
total
shipping
grand total
I would suggest getting just two things Lamps and tape. keep the total cost as low as you can.
The idea is that you hand the teacher a document that they can clearly see the bottom line cost.
the teacher can then hand that off to administration for approval and processing. With any luck a week or two later a box with tape and lamps shows up.
vendor name
mailing address
street address
city, state, zip
phone #
fax#
item quanity
item discription
price per item
total
shipping
grand total
I would suggest getting just two things Lamps and tape. keep the total cost as low as you can.
The idea is that you hand the teacher a document that they can clearly see the bottom line cost.
the teacher can then hand that off to administration for approval and processing. With any luck a week or two later a box with tape and lamps shows up.
Synchronize
Active Member
Here's little trick I picked up in school when there was no room in the drama club or music department budget for stuff like lamps, tape, and batteries. Go find the building manager/building engineer. Whoever is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the building. Fixtures, microphones, etc. are usually owned by the school, and not specifically by the department so that everybody can use them. If this is the case, it's the school's responsibility to service them. You should at least be able to get your lamps from the school's facility management budget (which is usually obscenely large). Tape might be a stretch, but worth a shot.
shiben
Well-Known Member
Or just use your lamps until they die, and let them die. Made do until nothing works any longer, or you can not even with one color light the stage. Do not hurry this, but eventually, someone will go hey, I guess we need to buy some more lamps, and with luck, you can get your tape issue solved then too. Was just loading in a show that used a case of tape a week, be glad you are not them, eh?
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