Journal Entry #4: How many theatre technicians does it take to load in a Broadway musical?

Monday, November 18^th, 2024. 5:51 PM.

Confidence in my career/choice of major: 50%

Song stuck in my head: Alexander by I Said Yes

                I am not even going to pretend to have written this immediately after I attended the load in. The timeline of these journal entries is all sorts of gunked up, and you know what? That's just fine. I'm totally and completely fine with that and not upset about it, not at all, not even a little bit. However, I will do my best to communicate what I thought and felt at that time. (This includes the confidence-o-meter.)

                In total, I attended three hours of A Beautiful Noise's load in; 7 to 9 PM on Monday, October 7th, and 3 to 4 PM the following afternoon. Before I arrived, I had really no idea of what to expect. I was just excited to see the process of putting together something so complicated in such little time. And, of course, I wanted to "peek behind the curtain," so to speak. It would also be nice to potentially speak to people who had been living on the road, to try and figure out whether or not touring be something I'd enjoy. I didn't really have any questions based on the rider.

                We began our load-in observation by going backstage and speaking to head of props, Clista Jarrett, who has been touring for almost her entire career. Her advice was to try one-night-tours, which she called “free grad school.” She spoke of the importance of respectful communication between touring and local crews, and how people tend to stay away from using gendered terms these days, out of respect. A little ironic considering she kept referring to herself as someone who loves life on the road by using a word that is now generally considered a slur by many members of the Romani ethnic group. Sorry, I just had to mention it.

                Next, Jody escorted us to a dressing room, Stacy and Travis, two of the show's stage managers were set up. Their advice was to not be afraid to ask questions or make decisions while on the road. They also encouraged us to know what is important to us, and know how to ask for it. According to them, it is expected for people to negotiate or ask for accommodations/requirements in their contracts. Do I have the confidence to ask for that? Who knows!

                For about an hour, I shadowed assistant electrician Adriana Aguilera as they worked with local electricians to install fixtures on the balcony rail. They tied thick blue rope around these fixtures to lift them to the balcony, and it made me think about the history sailors have in the theatre. During COVID, Adriana said they did a lot of work with fireworks, which surprised me but made sense. It’s easy to socially distance when you’re working with fireworks. They said that there’s quite a bit of overlap between the people in lighting and pyrotechnics. They said their favorite tour they’ve worked so far has been The Color Purple because it was almost everyone’s first tour, and they all had fun doing touristy things in the cities they visited.

                The next day, I had the opportunity to attend the front of house meeting with representatives from both the touring group and playhouse square. It was neat to observe this meeting, as I hadn't considered the kinds of information the front of house staff and the tour would need to share with each other. For example, they discussed when to open the house - for shows that appeal to an older audience, it's often better to open the house earlier. They went over emergency procedures, which I hadn't given much thought to but are definitely important for all parties to know. They talked about stuffers, which I didn't realize were the responsibility of the FOH team (once I inferred what they were, that is.) We also learned about the illusion at the beginning of the show. The FOH staff was instructed to not let any guests in for approximately 12 minutes, to avoid light leaks that would ruin the illusion. That made me excited to see the show. I wondered what kind of illusion a jukebox musical would use.

                After the meeting, Tony escorted us up to the balcony, and we observed the load in from seats there. There were a couple of people from the local union that were helping to focus lights nearby. If I remember correctly, they were brough in from other Playhouse Square theatres to help, because the normal crew was behind schedule. They basically gossiped about the tour the whole time, which I found equal parts amusing and disheartening. It seems some things about theatre people never change.

                While we were watching, I asked Tony why some people were wearing hard hats, and some weren't. Apparently, everyone is technically supposed wear them, but only the tour management enforces it. I also asked about whose responsibility it was to install the cool practicals I liked so much - props, scenic, or electrics? He asked someone else, and the general consensus is that it depends. It's multidepartmental!

                Something I noticed while at the load in was that EVERYONE had something to say to Jody. Almost every single person who she passed had something to ask, or something to tell her. It was interesting how much she had to think about and have a handle on at all times. Her job seems like such a huge responsibility for just one person.

                And with that, I segue into talking about my confidence in my future career. After the first load in, it was absolutely at 50%, mostly because I was worried that I'm just not cut out for the kind of jobs that are most accessible to people right out of college. I was worried that I don't have enough of a technician's mind to be an electrician or audio person. I was worried that the long hours with no real time to rest would be too tiring for me. I was worried that I'd have trouble socializing with the other people in the company. I was worried that I'd get homesick - just moving two hours away for college was hard enough! I know myself, and I know that a life on the road would be tough for me. I still worry about these things.

                The biggest worry was connections - literally everyone we met wouldn't stop talking about how important connections are. Am I supposed to treat even interaction like a sales pitch for myself? It seems like that's the way to be successful in theatre. I suck at schmoozing, I suck at small talk, I suck at first impressions. Stacy and Travis in particular emphasized the importance of not being afraid to make mistakes, but as a very accident-prone person, I am terrified of messing something up, and then that's forever my reputation and my career is ruined. People talk. I know they do. I heard them up on the balcony. I hate the thought that they could be talking about me someday.