Wearing Blacks in Non-Backstage?
- Thread starterDarSax
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I always wear black, no matter where I am, or what i'm doing on a night.
I'm usually on lights FOH, but we dont have a booth. (its just a hall we convert to a theatre for our shows) so I can be seen at any time by the audience. also, i usually end up crawling about on stage at some point during a show to fix something, so its just easier to wear black all the time.
I'm usually on lights FOH, but we dont have a booth. (its just a hall we convert to a theatre for our shows) so I can be seen at any time by the audience. also, i usually end up crawling about on stage at some point during a show to fix something, so its just easier to wear black all the time.
FWIW, typical in touring and Broadway is some form of business casual these days. Some companies that do a more "corporate" product, such as VEE, require either a company polo or collared shirt (be it generic company logo or show-specific), or at a minimum something else business casual with a show jacket over it.
Some venues do require shirt and tie, my first tour advised FOH staff to have a suit as part of their wardrobe in case, although I haven't run into it personally.
Some venues do require shirt and tie, my first tour advised FOH staff to have a suit as part of their wardrobe in case, although I haven't run into it personally.
We don't require any particular clothing for our students beyond "reasonable for the event" Our crew does pretty good at figuring that out. If there is a specific dress code for an event, that gets communicated ahead of time. Generally though, I like to see my crews at FOH dressed at least as well as the audience, and as dark as possible.
Personally, I wear black all the time. I have black jeans, black T-shirts, black Polos and black dress clothes/suit. And yes, I change after the show, before strike. It only takes a few minutes, and beats tearing up an expensive pair of pants. I know it's been a long day when I take home enough dirty laundry to require two loads in the washer.
Personally, I wear black all the time. I have black jeans, black T-shirts, black Polos and black dress clothes/suit. And yes, I change after the show, before strike. It only takes a few minutes, and beats tearing up an expensive pair of pants. I know it's been a long day when I take home enough dirty laundry to require two loads in the washer.
Spikesgirl
Active Member
I'm only wearing black until they make something darker...
Personally, I tend to wear black whether I'm in or out of the theater - no messing around with what goes with what. When we're in the booth, we ask that folks wear a dark colored top, but bottom half is to their liking. Backstage, everyone wears black.
Charlie
Personally, I tend to wear black whether I'm in or out of the theater - no messing around with what goes with what. When we're in the booth, we ask that folks wear a dark colored top, but bottom half is to their liking. Backstage, everyone wears black.
Charlie
howlingwolf487
Active Member
Dress blacks if needed. A nice pair of black dress khakis and a button-down black shirt; a pair of black dress shoes might be a good idea, too.
Admittedly a slightly unsual situation but when working at a large amphitheatre the shirts were matching polos but the colors indicated the role; stage and FOH crew as determined by the artist (usually black), security in white, ushers in yellow, parking in orange and maintenance staff in red (the theatre's color scheme was yellow, orange and red). So it was very typical to see staff in black, yellow, white and red shirts in the house at any time.
I also have the tendency to wear black outside of the theatre as well. Not all black, but, when you have as many black shirts as I do, you just wear them most of the time anyway. I'm also guilty of wearing my steel-toe work boots with dress blacks. That and having my Gerber multitool and Garrity flashlight on my belt at odd times. You get some really weird looks in a college cafeteria when you and your crew are eating in dress blacks, work boots, and a belt full of tools.
I think that no matter where your position is, if you are working a technical position (sound, lights, or backstage), then you should wear all black. Pants and long sleeve shirt. Then, if you are FOH and you have to move around, then during the event/show, you will not be noticed.
Thats just my opinion.
Thats just my opinion.
I always wear full black NO matter were I am. If you're FOH on any board or spot, SM whatever you never know when you'll have to run back stage. When im light board op I like to even wear a tie thats not black it does help the audience so they dont think why is the grim reaper here. When im on spot its still long black pants and long sleeve black shirt, you never know whos going to look up. If I have authority over a crew I will tell them to be wearing black no blue, no just dark color black, sometimes people wear short sleeve blacks i dont like that too much but at least its black. And it doesnt matter if your African American or not wear black clothes. But yes even FOH and FOH should even have button shirt or nice looking shirt.
When I LD/ TD I typically require people who would have to go onstage to wear either all black or the show/crew shirt and dark jeans. Also if no run crew I require an ASM to wear all black so he/she can go onstage if there is a problem. For outside groups I typically wear a school shirt so they realize I am the one they have to listen to. (sometimes stage mothers/ fathers do not like being told that they can not hang a large ans heavy sign with 10lb fishing wire nor can the pin or tape it onto the cyc or scrim. They also don't like me telling them they have to wait until I am available to add weights so the sign doesn't come crashing down and kill there precious little kindergardeners!--- Yes I actually had to say that to get them to shut up and listen!).
My philosophy is simple, but it depends if there are policies in place depending on where I'm working; if so, they take precedence. The goal of a tech should be to blend in. That can mean many things. If you have scene changes that are simultaneous to scenes going on currently, then you wouldn't want techs in black, but in costume. If the gig is outdoors in the middle of summer, then I would dress comfortably casual, borderline formal. If it's indoors, but it's something like a jazz concert in early summer, and I'm mixing FOH, I would probably dress dark, but yet again, casual, borderline formal, but not necessarily black.
Also, black is a very general term. My show blacks consist of black dress pants, formal black shoes(black tennis shoes if dress shoes do not fit the situation), and a black collared shirt with a black tie. If I'm going to be mixing FOH, that's fine, but if my goal is being a heavy-lifter on stage between scenes, then I would want to be in more plain clothing than formal.
Let's face it though, what's more distracting during a show if you're an audience member sitting two rows behind the FOH mixing position? Is it when the technician is wearing black, or when he's dressed as a fellow audience member would be? I'd think it'd be more distracting if he's wearing all black. Everytime he moves I'm reminded that he's an employee, doing a job, and I might even be curious what knob he's about to turn. If he's dressed to blend with the audience, he doesn't stick out as much when he's reaching over to adjust a fader. Maybe that's just me though. Another variable is house lights on or off. If it's off, then so long as he's not wearing bright white, he's probably fine, if it's off, then he's probably more distracting wearing all black.
What about indoors/outdoors? If a show is outdoors, does it matter? I supposed it depends, but if it's some outdoor nighttime concert, attire is less noticeable than if it's a daytime Shakespeare gathering.
It also depends on the venue. If you're goal is to blend in, and you're way to get to the followspot booth includes walking through the lobby, but once you're at the booth, you're 30' above the audience and behind two panels of tinted glass, then I'd say it's more important to be dressed as nicely and less obviously than all-black as you make you're way through the lobby 10-minutes before the show.
That is why I believe that the simple philosophy of blending in is the best for deciding what to wear.
Also, black is a very general term. My show blacks consist of black dress pants, formal black shoes(black tennis shoes if dress shoes do not fit the situation), and a black collared shirt with a black tie. If I'm going to be mixing FOH, that's fine, but if my goal is being a heavy-lifter on stage between scenes, then I would want to be in more plain clothing than formal.
Let's face it though, what's more distracting during a show if you're an audience member sitting two rows behind the FOH mixing position? Is it when the technician is wearing black, or when he's dressed as a fellow audience member would be? I'd think it'd be more distracting if he's wearing all black. Everytime he moves I'm reminded that he's an employee, doing a job, and I might even be curious what knob he's about to turn. If he's dressed to blend with the audience, he doesn't stick out as much when he's reaching over to adjust a fader. Maybe that's just me though. Another variable is house lights on or off. If it's off, then so long as he's not wearing bright white, he's probably fine, if it's off, then he's probably more distracting wearing all black.
What about indoors/outdoors? If a show is outdoors, does it matter? I supposed it depends, but if it's some outdoor nighttime concert, attire is less noticeable than if it's a daytime Shakespeare gathering.
It also depends on the venue. If you're goal is to blend in, and you're way to get to the followspot booth includes walking through the lobby, but once you're at the booth, you're 30' above the audience and behind two panels of tinted glass, then I'd say it's more important to be dressed as nicely and less obviously than all-black as you make you're way through the lobby 10-minutes before the show.
That is why I believe that the simple philosophy of blending in is the best for deciding what to wear.
I totally agree that you should blend in with you surrondings, and given that it was worded as "non-backstage" I assume that would be FOH, in which case you should be dressed as the audience is dressed. In my market, Chicago, I find that a black polo and jeans is about average. Also, as asked by one person, that is something you can wear to a strike.
kimberlite
Member
Mostly, I agree with everyone else's postings that it depends on the show, venue and house staff.
For the record, though, I have supervised many students in university houses who ask this very same question, a lot. I always tell them they need to be prepared to go onstage by wearing all black. I remind them that even though they are the followspot operator and no one can see them, someone might go home sick or not show up and suddenly they have to come down from their location and help out, etc. Non-union scenario obviously. But, IMO, it's always good to be prepared for anything (within reason), it's a part of our job.
For the record, though, I have supervised many students in university houses who ask this very same question, a lot. I always tell them they need to be prepared to go onstage by wearing all black. I remind them that even though they are the followspot operator and no one can see them, someone might go home sick or not show up and suddenly they have to come down from their location and help out, etc. Non-union scenario obviously. But, IMO, it's always good to be prepared for anything (within reason), it's a part of our job.
For my school's the formal ballroom event, everyone FOH wears dress blacks. For some people on makeup crew, it meant black dresses, for others it meant black suits, black jeans and a nice shirt, something which blended in, but also meant that if you had to blend in onstage as opposed to in the house, you were prepared. For strike, most people changed, as we had to wait for the ballroom to empty anyways.
[The audio designer actually wore a black dress and fake leopard coat during the show
]However there's other performances where even being "non-backstage" still doesn't mean you're seen. For example, one local performing arts center has the lighting booth raised above normal audience eye-level, and nothing can be seen above the shoulders of the LD/LBO. In that case, they could wear whatever they chose, though it's ultimately a shirt that is dark and clean.
IMO, it depends.
You'll know what feels right, and if you don't, you're not going to be in trouble if you're in black.
Did he receive many compliments on his ensemble?
scubadiver305
Member
personally i think that if you are going to be in the booth or in the FOH you should at least wear a black shirt for obvious reasons, but black pants are optional and unnecessary (and dont always look the best). anywhere FOH no matter where you are you want to be professional and if your only blacks are an inside out black shirt with a bunch of writing...i think blacks might not be a good choice. but a dark polo or shirt will work just as well.
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