Your first technical experience

[back_ache]

Rigging and OPing "of Mice and Men" school play on an old rheostat board that took two of us to lift, three of us to operate and drove the dog in the production wild (it never occured to the director to bring it to any rehersals).

 

The director thought I would have been a natural to play "Lenny", looking back I can't say I disagree with him.

[ankersandrew]

aged 8 my dad was stage manager and my mum was wardrobe mistress

[GridGirl]

First technical experience was going to "help" my dad run lights for a primary school production (the principal of the school was a friend of his!) aged six :D

 

First paid job was when I was at uni; volunteer work on student productions turned into paid work in the uni theatre when the manager realised I could run the lighting desk....

[graffa]

Hi,

 

I'm only at secondary school (last year), so this might not count, but my first show with me as the lighting operator/designer was Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in Year 8 at the age of 12!! It ran for 5 performances. (Not that big I know but I was still only 12)

 

Graham C

(graffa)

[Guest mattladkinlx]

First experience - designed "Blood Wedding" aged 10 for Sudbury Youth Theatre.

 

First Paid Experience - designed "Rough Cut" aged 13 at The Riverside Studios Hammersmith

 

Now 17, still studying and lighting (have a portfolio of around 40 designs) and have also branched into sound, set, props, costume and stage management!

[mostlyharmless]

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

At least you didn't accidently come in with spanish flamenco music 30 seconds into a dance meant to be set to pink floyds 'the wall'... Thats what happens when you do sound for a night after running lighting/movers for everyother performance..

 

First technician thing, must have been pressing play on a CD player at school, or swiching on radio mics for actors..

 

Never done any paid work though..

[mrcog]

First technician Experience : Year 6, pushed up faders on a 6 way board. I thought I was in charge and did all the lighting despite having not rigged it or even wrote the lighting cues.

 

First real Lighting experience: I was Noah Claypole in Oliver, I only had one scene so all the spare moments I was behind the lighting desk helping my best m8 who was doing the lighting, I wanted to but I had auditioned before they wanted crew.

 

First real Show: Fiddler on the roof (2005 Christmas time) I was assistant carpenter (age 13)(at school, but all of my shows have been) I was then follow spot for the first 3 nights and was Desk Op on the last night

 

First real design: Return to the forbidden planet (2006 before Christmas) I designed the lighting rig with what we had and then staff hired in 4 mac 250+'s and they then rigged them, I rigged everything else and Was Op for it

 

First C*ck up: I was in charge of rigging lighting for a performance of My fair lady and one of my team, after showing them how to do it twice and checking all of the ones that they do, they then rig a patt 23 upside down and halfway during th dress the gel frame fall out and I received a b*llocking from the directer.

 

First payed show: None yet although I might have one in Cambridge this summer, designing, figging and opping a dance show I think.

[Guest Ails]

My 1st tech exp would have been at roughly 12 I basically ran tech side of thangs the only other time I had help was on large shows. I did not have to endure the rain at breaks for years was the bonus for doing it and lets face it that was a lot of days

[entersoundman]

Level-rider at a school open evening! still using the same sound desk! - (and making the same mistakes!)

[Rowan]

Oedipus Rex at my old school in 1994. an 18 way pulsar 2 preset desk and a TOA powered mixer.

 

Moderation: Personal chat removed - PM would be better for this

[Paul Roberts]

First stage experience - The German Officer from Alan Ayckbourn's 'Ernie's incredible Illucinations' at school in 2003. More or less got pushed into doing it, but it did turn heads when I walked around the school after the dress rehearsal wearing an SS uniform. Happy days.

 

First technical experience - Doing some rigging and patching with a sixth former for a school production of Oliver in February 2005. At that point my interest in lighting was starting to kick in a bit but I couldn't really do much as I was playing the part of Bill Sykes.

 

First proper technical job - Sound op'ing for a dance show at Clwyd Theatr Cymru the week before last.

[johnlinford]

My first technical experience was as a stage hand in a school production of Oliver in 1998. Having got the bug I've been doing it pretty much ever since, and veered towards sound at a relatively early age. I started doing paid gigs for bands at the age of 18, and have done freelancing for bands, production companies and installation work since then on a part time basis while being a student. I've now just graduated from University and going in to the big ol' world of freelancing full time (making the contacts has helped a lot...) and am currently at the desk doing the sound design for one of my Edinburgh shows.

 

Hopefully see some of you at the Fringe!

[tom_the_LD]

First "tech" experience was when I used to run 1 sometimes 2 (or on the odd occasion3!), radio mics for school assemblies.

 

First Show: Oliver when I was in year 7. Running 8 radio mics. Also counts as first annoyance with cast, as I didn't realise until the first night (they had only improvised until this point and no-one had told me), that a jug of water was to be throne over my uncovered £350 Sennheiser lapel. :D

 

First paid experience: Playing drums and keys in "Return To The Forbidden Planet" in Novemeber

 

First lighting experience: Year 8/9 for the youth group of a local am-dram club

 

 

 

EDIT: For the rercord I am now at the end of Year 10, going into Year 11

[holly]

Fly postering with my dad don't know how old I was spos you could say I started in marketing, then I went on to selling merch when I was 12 at weekends and school holidays if the band was in the uk. All paid! Even if it was only a fiver

[ceecrb1]

The earliest I can REMEBER was me and my sister, around 5-6 years old getting paid 2pence a weight, to move the ballancing weights for a seated camera jib! (Also seem to remeber that we didnt get paid and it was pretty impossible for little kids, parents are cruel!)

(feels like I still get paid that!)

 

Always been doing things, all my life, from runner, camera opp/ast, Ast floor manager for bbc, sound, lighting, video, repairs, projection (old style 35mm film presentations and new), autocue (tv and conference) ...

you name it I've probably had a go at it!

 

Father had his own television and conference production company, now retired <so house filled with dormant kit in flightcases>

My mother is one of the 2 scottish freelance autocue operators/companies

(the 2nd doesnt have kids so some people might know who she is)