What do you wear/carry backstage?

[teqniqal]

Two more items:
Gloves - protecting your hands is very important. I see a lot of stagehands wearing the name-brand gloves (Dirty Rigger, Mechanix, etc.) which are mostly synthetic materials (read: plastic). Leather generally has better puncture resistance than these products offer. A larger consideration is that plastic melts when it gets hot or catches fire. Not what you want on your hands should something go horribly wrong. Also, keeping some disposable Nitril gloves for cleaning-up messes (blood, chemicals, paint) is a good idea. Of course you need to keep a list of which chemicals the gloves are compatible with handy! Some thermal gloves for handling very hot (lights) or very cold (Dry Ice) is handy, too.

Knee Pads - Keeping nails, screws, tacks, metal shavings, nuts, and other shrapnel out of your knee caps is a good thing. An if you work in a theatre that has bar-grate or expanded metal decks on catwalks and gridirons, this can save a lot of pain.

 

[josh88]

I was given one of those shirts at USITT and I have to agree on separate shirts, work is hot enough anyway and that thing is thick, basically two shirts sewn together. Maybe if I'm working outside and its still spring weather, otherwise its too warm.

 

[cdub260]

Gloves

That reminds me. I keep a pair of weight lifting gloves in my back pocket. They provide good protection for my palms without hindering my sense of touch.

 

[Blake]

For pants I recently picked up a pair of black cargo pants (not denim) from Walmart (down know the brand). They aren't particularly thick or strong, no more so than skinny jeans. But they are very versatile. Not to hot on warm day, warm enough on cold ones, strong big pockets use em all the time. A week or two ago (2 shows ago) I went a cast party that turned into a pool party, I didn't get the memo but I ended up just rolling up the pants and they were dry in about 30 min.
I wear black tee shirts, usually inside out because plain black shirts are hard to find in above large or xl. Or a button up black shirt if I need to look better.
Sent from my Galaxy S3

 

[shiben]

When on a show site, I always have 2 sets of things: The things on my person, which is an adjustable C wrench by Crescent, a leatherman supertool 300, and a Coast LED flashlight. A friend of mine got the ratcheting ultimate focus tool, and another has the flat focus tool, and both of those seem like they would be upgrades to the wrench (Although a lot more money... Hey my birthday is coming up in a few months I guess...)

I also have a nifty selection of tools and equipment that I bring to all sorts of gigs but that usually live in my vehicle or backpack: A harness and lanyards , A PMI Advantage II Helmet in Matte Black with a Petzel Headlamp mounted on the front, 4 types of safety glasses (tinted and not, for both over glasses and over contacts use) some wrenches, screwdrivers, nut drivers, crimpers and strippers, multi-meter (Ideal makes a nice one that has a NCV detector, and a clamp meter but at a reasonable price. Its also True RMS), wire cutters. I carry it all in 2 setwear pouches and a Husky belt loop on a 3" leather belt that I bought because there was a skull on the buckle. I also have a Screw Gun (but if I had to buy one now, I would get an impact driver) and a socket set. For clothing I tend towards Dickies pants (both cargo and carpenter) in brown or black (depending on the gig) or grey/black cargo shorts for those long outdoor slogs (although I have been known to do certain gigs in a Utili Kilt [especially carpentry gigs]). I also have some 5.11 TDU pants in black and Khaki that are nice but a little heavy for a lot of things. I go with black t-shirts from gigs or those ones that come in packs of 5 at target/walmart/etc. Over that I throw a dickies or craftsman work shirt in black, or a Khols store brand black button up. The Apt. 9 brand has some nice shirts that are more stylish than Dickies, for those hotel ins/outs. I usually grab FG gloves from Home Depot every few months, but I also have a pair of setwear hothands which work great for focusing lights. I have a high visibility hoodie and vest (Craftsman), but most places seem to not like people having those on their show sites. If they want a color other than black, they either put it in the call or give you a t-shirt. For Hats I have my Safer Venue (USITT Swag) hat, or a few baseball caps, or for outdoor gigs, a boonie hat and Shemagh in one of several colors I have (my favorite being black with white skulls and details). Also obligatory sharpies in Black, Pencils in Normal and Red, White china marker, 4 colors of highlighters, some normal black pens, and a waterproof notepad