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@GreyWyvern Back in 1953 when Stratford, Ontario, Canada's Stratford Shakespearean Festival began their inaugural season in a tent on a concrete pad in a riverside park, they began their first performance with the ceremonial firing of a cannon across the park into the river and the striking of a large bell. This was far prior to not only @Billconners attendance but my involvement there as well. The Festival's founders opted to continue their firing of the cannon and striking of the bell at curtain time for each and every performance, twice on matinee days. By the time I arrived in the spring of 1977, the cannon had devolved to a pair of mortar launchers housed in a protective wooden enclosure atop the stage door entrance and guard's enclosure. The bell had been craned into position within the AF of M orchestra loft over the stage in the then 220 degree thrust stage of their primary venue when the building replaced the tent but was still being struck by an IA stage hand cued via a separate cue light from the remainder of the musicians. I've no idea how they cued the firing of the original cannon but by '77 it was being cued via an internal house phone system as distinct from their normal telephone system. The SM calling the production worked from a tiny cramped booth within the rear-most / 7th lighting cove assisted by two ASM's working backstage with one following the script and calling all pending scene changes over the dressing room paging system and a second ASM dedicated to assuring all props were ready and waiting in sequence for actors and IA prop handlers adjacent to the many [Approximately 11] entrances to the thrust stage including its traps and vomitories.
In Canada, we have a politically appointed representative of our Queen known as our Governor General. Two totally different levels of protocol are decreed whenever the Governor General attends a performance: One with additional pomp and protocol if attending "officially" and far less if casually attending with mate just hoping to catch a production when in our area. I suspect our U.S. fellows had somewhat similar differing protocol levels to accord during your recent Obama administration.
Moving ahead to 1978 or '79.
On the production cueing system, a custom system by Montreal based Executone involving speakers being used alternately as speakers and momentary PTT (Push To Talk) microphones, we had all gotten used to hearing performances begin thus: "Stand by house to half, bomb, bell, LX 3 and Sound 2", followed by various acknowledgements and go's. I'm recalling one specific formal visit when all of the additional protocols were in place, including specific music to be performed upon entrance and a myriad of "men in black" with RayBans and earbuds. You wouldn't believe the apoplectic reaction of the gentleman stationed in our cramped LX and sound booth when he heard the routine call of "Stand by bomb" and the equally casual acknowledgement of "Bomb standing by."
Moving ahead several decades. Cueing progressed to ClearCom then wireless ClearCom.
The "bomb" progressed from the original cannon, through the twin mortars, [Redundancy don't you know] to what I've been told is now a pneumatic device releasing a noisy blast of air similar to units employed in fruit orchards to startle birds from devouring ripening fruits. Somehow I doubt the sound is quite the same as the old mortars each with their dual explosions as their initial charge propelled them out across the staff parking and park lawns to their aerial position where they exploded over the river with debris landing on the water to the entertainment of the park's swans and cygnets, or whatever baby swans are called.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
@GreyWyvern Back in 1953 when Stratford, Ontario, Canada's Stratford Shakespearean Festival began their inaugural season in a tent on a concrete pad in a riverside park, they began their first performance with the ceremonial firing of a cannon across the park into the river and the striking of a large bell. This was far prior to not only @Billconners attendance but my involvement there as well. The Festival's founders opted to continue their firing of the cannon and striking of the bell at curtain time for each and every performance, twice on matinee days. By the time I arrived in the spring of 1977, the cannon had devolved to a pair of mortar launchers housed in a protective wooden enclosure atop the stage door entrance and guard's enclosure. The bell had been craned into position within the AF of M orchestra loft over the stage in the then 220 degree thrust stage of their primary venue when the building replaced the tent but was still being struck by an IA stage hand cued via a separate cue light from the remainder of the musicians. I've no idea how they cued the firing of the original cannon but by '77 it was being cued via an internal house phone system as distinct from their normal telephone system. The SM calling the production worked from a tiny cramped booth within the rear-most / 7th lighting cove assisted by two ASM's working backstage with one following the script and calling all pending scene changes over the dressing room paging system and a second ASM dedicated to assuring all props were ready and waiting in sequence for actors and IA prop handlers adjacent to the many [Approximately 11] entrances to the thrust stage including its traps and vomitories.
In Canada, we have a politically appointed representative of our Queen known as our Governor General. Two totally different levels of protocol are decreed whenever the Governor General attends a performance: One with additional pomp and protocol if attending "officially" and far less if casually attending with mate just hoping to catch a production when in our area. I suspect our U.S. fellows had somewhat similar differing protocol levels to accord during your recent Obama administration.
Moving ahead to 1978 or '79.
On the production cueing system, a custom system by Montreal based Executone involving speakers being used alternately as speakers and momentary PTT (Push To Talk) microphones, we had all gotten used to hearing performances begin thus: "Stand by house to half, bomb, bell, LX 3 and Sound 2", followed by various acknowledgements and go's. I'm recalling one specific formal visit when all of the additional protocols were in place, including specific music to be performed upon entrance and a myriad of "men in black" with RayBans and earbuds. You wouldn't believe the apoplectic reaction of the gentleman stationed in our cramped LX and sound booth when he heard the routine call of "Stand by bomb" and the equally casual acknowledgement of "Bomb standing by."
Moving ahead several decades. Cueing progressed to ClearCom then wireless ClearCom.
The "bomb" progressed from the original cannon, through the twin mortars, [Redundancy don't you know] to what I've been told is now a pneumatic device releasing a noisy blast of air similar to units employed in fruit orchards to startle birds from devouring ripening fruits. Somehow I doubt the sound is quite the same as the old mortars each with their dual explosions as their initial charge propelled them out across the staff parking and park lawns to their aerial position where they exploded over the river with debris landing on the water to the entertainment of the park's swans and cygnets, or whatever baby swans are called.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
