road show

[cisgrig]

I've been involved with taking a show to another city for a couple of performances (community theater you get to do that), but this is going to be a first.
I've contracted with local University to TD (also teach light & sound basic equipment operation) their fall production, which is the class project as well as their entry into a competition among university theater depts. We go to another school set up and do the show, get judged and that's about all I know about that side.
On the Tech side, I am going to document everything on paper. The school is getting the equipment list from the other schools so I'll have an idea of what we have to work with. (we take our own set pieces but no equipment).
You folks that have done this, what are some helpful ideas, comments, to keep us between the ditches.
Thanks

 

[Fred]

It may be obvious, but rehearse putting the set together and taking it apart. Double check necessary tools, bolts, whatever are accounted for (and bring spares).

Depending on the set you are bringing, and how you are moving it, figure out how to prevent screwing up the paint - it is pretty obvious if there is a big primer white scratch accross a brick dungeon that something is wrong...

 

[cprted]

The two biggest issues I see working in a road are 1) lack of communication from the incoming show and 2) tours being surprised by things that are clearly laid out in our tech package. Of course, these two things are pretty closely related to each other.

Go over tech documentation carefully and ask questions if you aren't sure about something or are unclear. It is way easier to sort things out by email two weeks in advance than in the middle of your load in. Also, have a lighting plot already adapted to the new venue.

Basically it all comes down to planning. The more you plan in advance, the less you mave to make up during load in, the happier everyone will be.

 

[Footer]

How much are you taking out? Are you taking a huge set with flying pieces, full lighting rig, costumes, audio, and orchestra or is it just a 16' truck full of stuff and whatever people can cram in their cars?

Also, how many stops are you looking at?

Luckily, lighting and audio gear is designed to go in and out of a truck. It might take some work to get your current gear into touring mode, but it can be done.

Scenery tends to be the area that is the hardest thing to get tour ready. There is a big difference between how you build a set to go onto a stage once and how you build a set to go up and down. If you clear up what you will be taking scenery wise I can give you some really good pointers of how to build it so you won't be kicking yourself at load in.

 

[cisgrig]

will post more details as I have them. Got some material today but to keep this short, will post again later next week.

 

[jwl868]

For the dance studio's recitals and shows, we have to build sets at the studio then move them to the venue (granted, these are small shows.).

A few thoughts after renting trucks over the years:

1. Make sure you know the exact dimensions of the truck’s interior. Each major company has slightly different dimensions and jargon. (That is, one company’s 16-footer is another company’s 14-footer.) (The width is less than 8 feet which is a consideration if your have several platforms based on 4’ x 8’ plywood.)

2. Many of the trucks have humps for the wheel wells, so the full flat length long the floor may not be available near the side walls.

3. Around here, the nominal 14’ trucks (and smaller) are typically gasoline, and the 20’ trucks (and larger) are typically diesel. But not all gas stations have diesel fuel. (In my immediate area, there were only 2 places with diesel. And only one was open Sunday.)

4. If you have a lot of stuff, sketch up how to load the truck – it might make the difference in getting a 14-footer versus a 20-footer.

5. Shop around for the truck rental, and make your reservations as early as possible. Truck rental demand spikes on first/last weekend of each month. (One company wouldn’t even rent me truck for the weekend because they could play a shell game of sorts and get couple extra days of rental fees from a single truck on those weekends.)

Joe

 

[NolaTek]

My 2 cents:

I work with a lot of travelling shows in New Orleans at lots of venues from ballrooms to the supperdome and the biggest hiccup I've noticed is personal freak-outs on site. For a lot of unseasoned theater techs or just someone new to touring, its easy to get flustered when faced with a new set of obstacles at each new venue. I've noticed a lot of people mentioned planning as a huge priority, which it is. However, I cant emphasize enough how important the flow of info is to the rest of the crew/cast/staff is. Planning is great, but make sure everyone who needs to know about lights/sound/set/truck operation/etc. knows as much as possible. A well communicating production staff can overcome huge obstacles. Its also a lot easier to keep evrybody level-headed and confident when they know they aren't on their own on site.

In short: More talkie-talkie = More success!

 

[derekleffew]

cisgrig, do a search on here for ACTF, and also on the website Kennedy Center: ACTF - Regional Festivals. There should be some guidelines/hints/tips. It sounds exactly similar to what you are going to be encountering.http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/members/cisgrig.html

 

[ruinexplorer]

Make sure that everything that you take with you is properly labeled and easily identified. You will undoubtedly be using some of the equipment at the house you are playing in and you want to make sure everyone gets their respective stuff back. This includes every tool, dolly, cable, and anything else that can be labeled.

 

[cisgrig]

derekleffew : just found out, that is exactly what we are doing.
Ya'll are posting some really good ideas, its helping to put the puzzle together

 

[Sayen]

I would recommend doing your best not to use any gear from the local house. It will save time on confusion and lost gear, and I find it to be tacky and a little unprofessional when rentals come through and start asking to borrow small things that I feel they should have supplied on their own - basic things like extension cords or power strips. The audio company I work with keeps extras in the back of a couple of our trucks so we never have to ask a venue for anything. We've even started carrying two fold up tables for venues without decent booth space.

Depending on the size of your load in, think about packing in the order things are set up and struck at the end. I've seen some major tours save hours just by having a load in/load out plan, instead of dumping everything onstage and then sorting through it as they go. But, you might not have that much gear.