Technician vs Techie

Is it better to be called a Techie or Technician?


  • Total voters
    533
Good for you, [user]Radiant[/user]. My distaste for the "headphone ranking system," and specifically for the terms used at the lower levels, kept me from actively participating in Control Booth.com for at least 2.5 years. Other professionals I have attempted to persuade to join have mentioned similar opinions.

I had assumed the use of "Jr. Techie" and "Techie" in the system were to push technicians who abhorred the term to participate more and raise their level... :twisted:
 
I had assumed the use of "Jr. Techie" and "Techie" in the system were to push technicians who abhorred the term to participate more and raise their level... :twisted:

For some strange, unknown reason, I was under the same impression. Of course, at first I didn't even notice the headphone ratings.:rolleyes:
 
Depends on the setting. Though, I use techie rarely, it's a matter of professionalism. I don't use "tech" much either. More often than not, I'll say technician, op, operator, engineer, rigger, designer, what have you. I don't much like techie or tech much though. There's an obvious difference though depending on how you use a variation. For example, "I'll send a tech out tomorrow to look at your system," versus "Mark is one of our regular techs."
 
I don't care. I may choose not to respond if you say it with derision. Or I may respond in kind. As long as the check clears.
 
i like job specific titles. They don't have to be formal as i have to explain to non theater folks what i do no matter what i call myself.

I use versions such as "lighting guy" and people will still confuse me with "sound guy".


One show i high school we had a "Director of Miscellaneous"
 
I think Techie is cute, and as a high schooler, it doesn't bug me. The main thing for me is, that I have the respect of my peers. I'm a SM who does a lot of tech work. I recently went to a workshop for 3 days and was appalled by the "techie/actor" hate. At both of the High Schools I attended I didn't have that problem. Therefore, I preferred to be called a Stage Manager or a technician because I am not "above anyone". We are all together in this thing.

Hayley
I
 
The techie/actor hate is huge in highschools, but in bigger shows, you stop hating actors, and just realise that most are just annoying. Without actors well, life would be easier, but, people won't pay money to see you make moving lights look pretty for 2 hours.
Nick
 
I'm in high school and I like being called a Technician (or "Venue Technician").

Smarter then a Roadie, More Professinal then a Techie
 
a trained person in lighting, sound etc. working in the field is a Technician - often shortened to Tech. Here in Canada using the title Engineer can get you into a whole heap of trouble as it is a protected title only individuals who are licenced by the Provincial licencing bodies can call themselves an Engineer. Anyone else can expect to be taken to court and fined.
 
I like it!

For the record, I change my vote to Technician. It was a long time ago when i voted techie. Growing up and taking my job much more seriously has really given me more pride then being called a techie can deliver.

True dat. I was ok with techie when I was starting out, now I dislike it. Someone I know refers to them-self and I as techies. Whenever I hear this, I cringe mentally, since I know that she doesn't just take all the work she does for granted.
I take what I do - even when it's for a small school show - seriously, so I generally don't like it when people give me a unsuitably amateur title.

I guess I'm ok with techie, at least for now. Really I'd rather be called a lighting tech, a lighting designer, electrician, somethings that defines the job. Tech itself just seems a little awkward to say, it needs a qualifying word before it.
Indeed. Especially when pluralizing; it lends itself the awkwardness of a word like "sixth."
 
Well, I don't know...as a scene shop assistant working under the TD, I don't get to hear the word "techie" or "technican" when i'm working... "useless" seems to be the word uttered often.

:grin:
 
PeytonJr, it's funny, at the time I wrote that quote, I was ok with being called a techie, but now, just a while later, I actually don't like being called a techie. I will tolerate the uninitiated called me a techie but otherwise, through no conscious process, I have gained distaste for the term.
 
The techie/actor hate is huge in highschools
I do my best to minimize this. Since I'm an actor turned technician, I think they all listen when I talk about the relationship between actors and technicians. My point is always that the technical aspect is just another character in the show. Actors need to learn to train themselves to stay in the moment, but also notice when they're not in the light or close enough to a mic. Technicians need to train themselves not just to mechanically throw cues, but also to focus on the show and stay in the moment with the actors. There are no "sides" to take; it's all a vital part of the show.
 
Back in the day, and by that I mean a few years ago when I first started working in theatre, I didn't mind being called a techie. Then I was talking to someone and said, "I'm a techie." It sounded stupid and unprofessional. So I started calling myself and my coworkers technicians. It really doesn't bother me when they call themselves techies but I just think "technicians" sounds more professional and less childish.

Also, this whole tech/actor hate thing in high schools is so unfortunate. I usually got along with all of the actors I worked with, except for one but that's an entirely other story. It seemed that whenever another tech would complain about actors being "stupid" or whatever that it was totally unfounded. There was this whole thing between new/incoming actors and younger/inexperienced techs where both groups thought that they were better than the other which is completely untrue. In an attempt to stop this I reprimanded every tech who decided to bash actors because that is unacceptable.

However, I was lucky to have a few technicians work with me who knew the value of actors. There was also a good number of vet actors, and some new, who realized that their job cannot be done without technicians. With the help of these people the problem of tech/actor hatred was almost completely dispersed by the end of the year. I trust that the people who are staying next year will do the same thing. Or at least I hope that they will. Being in theatre isn't really all that fun when you can't get along with people you work around.
 
I let a little bit of good natured joking go on, but I won't tolerate the actor/tech hate thing with my crews and casts. When the two groups are separated we talk about supporting the other group. I pitch it as the technicians need to respect the actors and help them feel safe because onstage, it's the actor themselves that gets judged, not their work or a particular skill. For the actors, I teach that the technicians don't get a bow or public praise for their hours of work, and unless the actors are going to do all of their own work they had better learn the words "thank you." I think it also helps in high school to get everyone together to work on projects (sets), so they're working side by side.
 
At my school we call each other by the title you have for the show (LD, TD, Sound Engineer, etc.) but the cast calls us techies. One of my friends came up with a very good response to this name which is "Actie". Lets just say that they have stopped calling us techies. I have a few cast members that work with us on lighting and set building, but for the most part they have nothing to do with us until the week before the show. The last time someone told me that tech does not matter in a show, he broke his wrist during opening night of our performance of Anything Goes.
 
At my school we call each other by the title you have for the show (LD, TD, Sound Engineer, etc.)

Wait, let me get this straight.... so your saying conversations go something like this...

A: Good morning Lighting Designer!
B: Hey Assistant Sound Engineer how are you doing today?

For my other response above... I like to be called by my name ;)
 

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