Your first technical experience

[PDD]

First technical experience... School production of 'Joseph', 1993 (age 13) - lighting op. (although I thought myself much more as doing ALL the lighting, whereas in reality all I did was push the faders every night!)

 

First paid work... I think it was a last minute board op. "fill in" for a local theatre, c. 1997/8

 

First "unpaid" work (as in I was expecting to get paid but never did)... LD & production management (of sorts) for some rubbish that went to the Edinburgh Fringe, 1998

 

First "real" job... well discounting casual work & placements throughout uni, my current job is my first full time job. Still a naive young newbie!! :blink:

 

 

P.

[deranged-angel]

First lighting experience:- follow spot for my school play. I only did it cos I didnt get a part and I wasnted to still be involved. (Dont get me started, im still very bitter I didnt get in) Didnt really think much of it, I didnt think 'ooh, this is what I want to do' I just kinda forgot about it until I was offered a module in tech theatre in uni. Took it and really liked it.

 

Then did some bits and bobs in uni.

 

First Paid Job:- Ass.tech manager, fringe festival 2003.

 

Now employed as workshop assistant/ technical support for wigan pier on a freelance basis.

 

Never walked out of a tech job but have walked out of 2 travel agencies (I had good reasons) and been made redundant twice. Plus I've had endless amounts of temp jobs. And I'm only 22!! Ah well.

 

Em

xxx

[erroneousblack]

First ever fumble with a girl was... 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Last week? :blink:

[Freddie]

First EVER experience: Non-speaking king in reception christmas play (I never got a chance to use my primary's 3ch PAR rig )

 

First stage experience: Theseus in MSND (abridged) St Helens Theatre Royal - Oct 2004

 

First technical experience: LX op on Grease (Nov 2004)-Sirius 24

 

First technical f*ck up: Playing first 5 secs of wrong track for GCSE expressive arts performance last tuesday

:blink:

[Andy!]

My first proper acting experience: Shakespeare's Midsummer Nights Dream, At UCL Bloomsbury.

[the kid]

As the boundrys have expanded then First on stage was a bird in primary school

 

Paid work - does 4 cans of beer that you don't drink count?

[mikienorth]

First technical (of sorts) job. Assisting the DJ with the lights at a high school disco aged 10 (mum teaches there)

 

First Regular unpaid work, Lighting Tech at a local AmDram theatre, 250 seat pros arch fixed bars, not bad. Other members from same place and time are now commercial directors, TV sparkies, Local radio technicians, and Local Casuals.

 

First Paid, and incidentally overseas gig. Tour of Switzerland for a Pink Floyd tribute as Laser and projection operator Aged 22.

 

First Regular Job (by hours) in this field, Hotel Tech For Thomson Hols 2003, hello Light Console, I remember you.

 

Current job, Deputy LX at a large NW receiving venue, Aged 24

[safetygeek]

First paid job in the theatre:

"Here's a couple of packets of sugar soap; there's a bucket and rag over there; cold water in the cleaners store; now clean all accessible parts of the cream coloured, metal structure" of The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester - 1986

 

First paid job with appearance fee as Stage Technician:

"Yeah I'd like you to wear these black tights, slick your hair back and camp it up while doing the scene changes - £25 a week extra in your wages" Nicholas Hytner, Director, The Country Wife - Royal Exchange, Manchester

[Jamtastic3]

First technician experience:

Being a lighting designer and operator for a school dance show Nov 2003, using a Sirius 24 - ah classic. Loved doing the show. My main concept - 'Mmm it's dance show, lets just flash lights'

 

First paid technician work:

Designing, setting up and operating lights for a Salsa dance night at the same school, beg of 2004. Got 50 quid for it and loads of food and beer!

 

First and current regular work:

Being a lampie in a nightclub/ live venue, 2004 onwards. I Like lighting for live bands because its freedom to do what you want, and clubnight stuff is like nothin, get chases and scans going, thats it.

 

*N.B. Ok so my first experience was only a couple of yrs ago, but I mean I'm only 18 and someone's got to start somewhere and sometime. I've done a few school shows and stuff during the past 2 years and I am now doing a technician course at college. :P

[PaulDF]

First lighting experience:

West Side Story back in 1993 when I was 16. My job was assistant lighting tech. We didn't have a lighting desk back then hence it was a laugh with a piece of chopped up brush shaft in each hand and one taped to our knees to operate the old resistance bank sliders. Much more fun than pressing a button on a desk!!!

The show paid for a new Sirius 24 desk + betapacks and I got promoted to spotlight operator. :)

[Mr.Si]

First Own Paid technician Experience:

Sometime during my 2nd or 3rd yr at uni - sound engineering in a pub gig for some of my friends from the Christian Union.

 

First Experience doing sound:

Cambridge Community Church (C3)

 

First Semi-Pro Stage Experience:

West Sussex Boys Choir 1990 ish

 

Current Paid technician Stuff:

My own sort-of part time company thing - Fathered Sounds doing stuff for local church youth events etc

 

Past Voluntary Pro technician Stuff:

Soul Survivor 2003, Guilfest 2003 Stage 2

 

Main Job:

Acoustic Consultant

 

Other stuff I wish to add:

I have a long way to go, and so much equipment I really "need" to buy

[thebigcheese]

Hi, as someone who is fairly new to backstage theatre I would be interested to know what your first experience was doing this sort of thing.

 

For me, the school I am at had a list of things for us to do as after school clubs etc, and I had put my name down for what I thought was football. In fact I has signed my self up for the school's tech team. Turned up and realised what I had done, felt too embarrassed just to walk out so I thought I could stay till the end and just not turn up ever again.

 

At the end of the session I had successfully learnt how to record cues in the board and after watching a 5 step timed display I had made decided that I would turn up the next week. Four years later and I still attend.

 

What was your first insight into the world of theatre?

 

[This post merged into existing, very similar, thread - Mods]

[Ynot]

What was your first insight into the world of theatre?

Jeez! Not sure I can remember back that far......! :unsure:

Let me see......

I used to go down to the local am-dram society (who were based at what became my own secondary school) with my dad when I was around 10 or 11, then started actually HELPING him around 13, lit my first school play "Thunder" (based on the lives of the Bronte family) at 15, continued with the dram soc awhile, trying to fill father's shoes firstly at 16 when he had an accident and lost the sight in one eye (day before tech!) and then after he died when I was 17.

(breathes!)

So I suppose my first REAL taste of theatre was either that school play or the variety show with pops - they were both in '77 or '78, if I recall aright....

I do remember I enjoyed both! Never really looked back.

[Renal]

Mmm...

 

My first 'go' at it was being Lx Op for my Fresher Play at school, I'd made the mistaking of asking if I could "help out backstage or something..."

 

Ooops

[Bobbsy]

Hmmm...

 

First ever experience: helping my dad with his marionette puppet stage (including quarter inch tape playback and homemade lights constructed from large orange juice cans) when I was about 8...say 1960.

 

First paid gig: Humper helping to rig for OB coverage of Canadian Football Leage games in Calgary while I was still in high school (I lived near the stadium)...1969/70.

 

First paid theatre gig: One of two "do everything" techs for summer tour of "Salad Days" in 1971...show was done by fellow university students when we managed to purloin a government grant. 1971

 

It's all be downhill since then.

 

Bob