Teaching a new crew, and keeping them interested.

[Frag_Me]

I'm in the upper 6th at my school, which goes as low as year 9 (year before GCSE, for those who don't know).

 

We have a relatively small rig, 30 lights or so which get moved around between 6 rooms. Our most complex piece of equipment is a frog board, we run all the "big" shows and events from it, and for smaller events Alcoras are used. The lights are small fresnel lanterns, as well as a few floods and a couple of profile spots, nothing over 650W except two larger 1kW flood. Generally we get along very well, but (as big headed as it may sound) I'm the only one who has a clue how to use it all. Everyone else takes part for the hell of it while I'm looking at a career in lighting.

 

As things stand, the crew is as such:

 

Me

3 other upper 6th form, fairly competent in terms of common sense and running shows but lacking in the real technical knowledge.

1 lower 6th form, likes his work but is a tit.

2-3 from lower years, wouldn't trust them to run a 1 light rig. 1 of them is illiterate and thus unable to read cues (he didn't tell me this until the night of the show )

 

 

So yeah, without me there the whole plot falls apart generally. As well as training up the existing guys so they can take over from the upper 6th as the knowalls I need to get in some fresh meat from the lower years. The problem is it's so soddng dull when there aren't shows on and when there are everyone (except me ¬_¬) stresses out like a banana at harvest time.

 

I'd like some tips on workshop style things to run, education to give them, things to keep new people interested. When I signed up back in year 10 I was shown how to set up a T bar and then ignored, I just liked playing about with lights so much I stuck with it and ended up running the whole joint a year later.

[alexadamson]

I have found the best way to keep people interested is to outline your teaching plan from the start. Explain that they won’t learn everything in one day/week that it takes time. Previous teaching plans I’ve used are:

 

Lesson One – Health & Safety – There is no point getting them using equipment if they don’t know even the basic rules of a safe working environment. Unfortunately this is probably the most boring lesson to start with, but I find that anybody who returns after the boring lesson is usually worth keeping, if they don’t come back after that, its clear all they wanted to do was play with the equipment rather than learn something. Don’t go into to much detail, cover the things that are relevant to the work you do; ie. Always use safety chains, ensuring all clamps are correctly tightened, the basics or working at height, making those around aware of what’s happening and the dangers involved.

 

Lesson Two – How to Light Something – A lot of the time people may know how to plug in a lamp but don’t know the best situation to use it in. Depending on what you light most whether its plays or music events explain the basics regarding using back light, side, and front lighting. How lighting can create moods, for a really basic example how you would use up lighting for say something that needs to be scary. How important colour is.

 

Lesson Three – Practical Examples – Nothing beats actually using equipment, but by now they should know the correct and safe way to use it. Show them how to rig a single light, how to patch it in and get it controlled by the desk. I’ve found using practical examples works best. Give them a scenario and get them to design and rig the lights for it. Spend as many lessons repeating this with different scenarios.

 

Lesson Four – Planning – Explain how important it is to plan for any situation. If you only have a selected few lights, how best to use them in each situation. Explain the importance of drawing a rig plan and how this helps when you come to design so you know each patch number and channel. Also take this opportunity to show the importance of a well marked up script so that your shows will run smoothly.

 

I’ve found that asking a group what they want to learn or expect to know at the end is also a good place to start. They may be dying to know something that you didn’t think to tell them.

 

If I think of anything else I'll post again.

 

Hope this helps and you get a good working team together.

 

Alex

[Frag_Me]

Thats a really good plan, it seems like a great start when term begins next year. I need a first taster session to grab the initial group of new people, any tips on what might encourage the most people to come back for health and safety the following week while remaining safe and easy?

[patesrichard]

In theory, this seems like the problem we have at our school in terms of getting new people on board.

 

The way we usually do it is via a show at christmas - this is always either Lower School House Drama or Lower School Music (for years 7-9, ages 11-14). An announcement is usually put in assembly asking if anyone wants to help with the technical side of things (younger stage crew, older tech crew). We then have a brief introduction, showing off our kit (more lights, but not as nice a desk, ok sound system). Then, as time permits, we give them on the job training as we prepare, rig, and run the show.

 

We have also developed a kind of heirarchy for performance nights. First show that someone does will be a job like followspot operator (if we hire a spot in). People then move up to cue-ers or general dogsbody. By year 10 we generally only have about 3 people left from the original group, and they are split into sound and lights, and then get to be assistant ops, and finally op the show themselves.

 

Obviously this doesn't always go to plan - shows in exam months are run by lower people, and people get changed around as time permits. Also, performances in the smaller performing arts space (pentagonal room, 36 patch points around the roof perimeter) tend to be run by younger people as there is far more time to set them up - working in the hall for bigger performances usually means rigging the day before the tech run through, which in turn is the day before opening night.

 

Despite having no upper sixth formers last year, the crew is now back up to strength with 2 year 13s, 4 year 12s, 2 year 11s and 3 year 10s. This gives us lots of flexibility in terms of oping the plays, drama exams pieces, dance shows and social evenings which are run throughout the year.

 

Finally, one more thing to watch out for, which we always check with new people - is their school work up to scratch? Tech work is not allowed to interfere with school work (some happens in lesson time), and bad marks resutls in temporary removal from the crew, at the jurisdiction of the head of year.

 

In terms of post-school work - we are a state grammar school, so almost everyone goes to university. However, the local company CSS seems to like taking people on work experience, and there are a couple of ex- and current crew memebers working with them, which has allowed people to carry on with tech work.

[mac.calder]

Big can of worms. :D for "students" here on the Blue-room. I have no idea about the ages in the UK school system, but I read this as you being a student, wanting to induct other students into the theatre and train them in the technical aspects. The question is not really "can you teach them" - I am certan you can. The real question is "Should you be teaching them". I am afraid to say that the answer is unequivicably "No".

 

Probably the three biggest dangers in the world are electricity, heights and fire. They all exist in lighting - in extreames (well except for fire, they are not THAT common in lighting, but they are still a real risk). It is a very dangerous place.

 

My advice would be to talk to whoever is in charge of the equiptment/department - bring them up to speed on how to use the equiptment if necessary, and maybe write some documentation for them. Let them take on the responsibility of sourcing students, vetting them for acceptability etc, and let them tell you if they want you to train them and what in. Whilst you may be the only one who knows how to use the stuff, you are NOT responsible for it, you are NOT liable for it etc.

[Ynot]

Big can of worms. :D for "students" here on the Blue-room.

Can't agree with Mac more - TAKE GRAT CARE in what you do, and try to enlist some proper adult assistance. That may sound a little patronising, but as Mac says, you're there to learn, NOT to teach, and the rules are pretty strict on the H & S side.

Talk therefore to local theatre groups - am dram or pro's, as well as any supply/hire companies. They may be able to assist in some way, and prvide some sort of general guidance.

 

I've helped out in many schools over the past 30 years, and it can be quite rewarding.

 

Tony

[paulears]

Most people will find this hard to believe, but in some schools - and to be honest they are the ones I'd love to have been able to send my kids to, the process of allowing advanced students of 14-16 to take the responsibility for teaching others is an established practice. To work properly all it needs is the correct attitude and suitable mentoring. Bog standard comprehensive is rarely able to do this kind of thing, and shy away from it. Peer group learning is one of the few areas of my teacher training that I found interesting (most be so dull as to be the equivalent of mogodon!)

 

There are some 14 year olds on the forum who do have amazing product knowledge, and a few also have the conversational skills of young people much older. If they know what a typical 20 year old knows, and can manage the verbal communication necessary being able to modify their delivery to the other kids, then the chances of it working are in fact pretty good.

 

Compare these kids with the 'other' kind. Those who insist in talking in text speak, and spread a little information a very long way - often totally misguided. These are the people who shouldn't be let anywhere near this kind of thing.

 

I'm often guilty of slapping youger members down when they talk total rubbish - but not every 14 year old acts like one. The kind of school where values, attitude and ability are really nurtured is worth it's weight in gold.

[Frag_Me]

Big can of worms. :D for "students" here on the Blue-room. I have no idea about the ages in the UK school system, but I read this as you being a student, wanting to induct other students into the theatre and train them in the technical aspects. The question is not really "can you teach them" - I am certan you can. The real question is "Should you be teaching them". I am afraid to say that the answer is unequivicably "No".

 

Probably the three biggest dangers in the world are electricity, heights and fire. They all exist in lighting - in extreames (well except for fire, they are not THAT common in lighting, but they are still a real risk). It is a very dangerous place.

 

My advice would be to talk to whoever is in charge of the equiptment/department - bring them up to speed on how to use the equiptment if necessary, and maybe write some documentation for them. Let them take on the responsibility of sourcing students, vetting them for acceptability etc, and let them tell you if they want you to train them and what in. Whilst you may be the only one who knows how to use the stuff, you are NOT responsible for it, you are NOT liable for it etc.

 

Yes, that's me there. I'm the person (in my capacity as a student) in charge of the crew and equipment, and I know more about our gear than the HOD does.

[Bobbsy]

This has been discussed in here before, but the main problem is that virtually all drama teachers approach the subject from an academic/acting/directing point of view. Drama teachers with technical skills (or even a vague interest) are few and far between.

 

...all of which makes me think drama students who DO want to learn the technical side are often short changed. Even withing the A level programme (as opposed to the BTEC), it's possible to nominate technical options but rarely possible to get any significant help from the teachers.

 

Bob

[patesrichard]

...all of which makes me think drama students who DO want to learn the technical side are often short changed. Even withing the A level programme (as opposed to the BTEC), it's possible to nominate technical options but rarely possible to get any significant help from the teachers.

 

Bob

 

Oddly enough, one of the common factors with our entire crew is that none of us have done drama GCSE or A level - our school doesn't allow you to do the technical side. The tech crew are completely seperate from the drama department - they have to ask for help/to borrow the kit.

 

As paulears said, students teaching students can work increibly well - provided there is nothing being taught that the students are compenent enough to teach. We often design/rig/run entire shows where the only adult we speak to is the director, asking what they want in the way of lighting and sound. In the case of Junior House Drama, the directors are sixth formers, so there is barely any adult involvement at all! The one exception to this is rigging - the school has sent the nine most senior tech crew members on a ladder/scaff tower/tallescope training course, but they insist that when using ladders and the tallescope we are supervised by an adult who was on that course, and the caretaker has to check the scaff tower before we are allowed up it.

 

That being said, we are a Grammar School, not a Comprehensive, so there is a lot of trust between staff and students. We keep the lx box locked to stop people fiddling with the kit (I.e unplugging the sound system, or pressing random buttons on the Seck 1282 desk), but we safely leave the mobile stands, pulsar minipacks and associated lights parked in the corridor, out of the way. This trust extends to the extent that for music concerts the tech crew are allowed to borrow the yamaha recording desk and AKG mics from the music department and set them up, use them, and pack them away unsupervised.

 

Finally, we seem to act as first line H&S people - keeping the director in check when he wants to block fire exits with mroe chairs etc., and ensuring the basics like cables are all tidied away/taped down securely. Having said that, the real H&S people normally spot a few more things that need doing before opening night!

[Johnno]

At our school I'm the Senior Science Technician and also have responsibility for audio-visual stuff.

 

Before I started there were a few yr11s doing the stage by themselves and well into it from what I can gather as I think some went on to college to study it. I don't know how safe they were but I believe they were mostly just left to it, including using a somewhat unsafe tower.

 

I've just been rewiring our FOH spotlights. Several of them had been rewired before using ordinary white pvc mains flex that was cooked to a crisp. I don't know who did it or when but they clearly didn't know what they were doing.

 

I advertised for "Stage Crew" last term and got twelve yr8/9 volunteers. I start training them in two weeks. I haven't yet decided what we're going to do.

[Bobbsy]

My daughter's school is a bit different, in that most (though not all) the people in the "Tech Club" are also studying a drama course. In the A level programme, they ARE allowed at certain points to select a technical option (there's a short list of what sorts of thing they can do) instead of a performance one...and they're marked on what they do.

 

With that exception, it sounds similar since the students are pretty well independent in terms of how they handle tech matters. This, alas, is inevitable since there are no teachers who know anything ABOUT the tech side of theatre.

 

However, this is where you and I may part company. I don't thing this is a good state of affairs. I return to my thought that the students interested in technical theatre are very much being shortchanged; though they do an adequate job of most things, there is a LOT they could learn if there was somebody there with the skills to teach them. Some of the holes I've found in their background knowledge is quite worrying....

 

This is not meant as a put down of the skills that students have. Considering how little help they get, some of the things the can do are impressive. What IS meant is a criticism of a school system that provides plenty of help for students who want to "tread the boards" but practically none for the technicians who light them, mic them or build the sets.

 

Bob

[Ynot]

At our school I'm the Senior Science Technician and also have responsibility for audio-visual stuff.

OK - I take this to mean that you're employed by the school, yes?

Before I started there were a few yr11s doing the stage by themselves and well into it from what I can gather as I think some went on to college to study it. I don't know how safe they were but I believe they were mostly just left to it, including using a somewhat unsafe tower.

This frightens me a little. I look back about a hundred years to my own time at school :D - I'd been following my old man around since I was about 11 or 12, and 'thought' I knew a lot about lighting (and considering what the school had access to in the olden days, I maybe did) so I ended up as lighting-technician-type for the 2 school plays they did in my 4th & 5th form years. I had a fair amount of freedom, supervised by (surprise surprise) the physics teacher, who, to be honest, had Ohm's law off pat, but very little else in the way of theatre knowledge. The thing was, however, that I never felt as though I needed to be in charge of the school's kit or labelled as the school's top-technician. Life, however, is much different these days! There are FAR more H & S nuts out there who want to restrict what students can/should be allowed to do, and with the expanse of kit available now, I'd actually support a lot more of those don'ts than I might have done 30 odd years ago. As has been demonstrated in 'that' other thread, there are 14/15/16 year olds out there who THINK they know enough but patently DO NOT. There are also (in the minority, I have to say) teenagers who do have MUCH of the right knowledge and SOME of the relevant experience, BUT CANNOT legitimately take on the responsibility that many of them crave. it's just too risky. There's too many dangers involved, and to be frank, having a student of what can only be limited experience teach another student successfully is a recipe for disaster in all but the exceptional cases. It's not enough to know the subject - you have to know how to properly pass on that knowledge without missing anything important.

I've just been rewiring our FOH spotlights. Several of them had been rewired before using ordinary white pvc mains flex that was cooked to a crisp.

I trust that you a) used proper heat resist cable and b) had the lanterns fully PAT tested immediately, yes?

[mac.calder]

There is no doubt that students teaching each other works. My main issue is with the subject matter. Sure, teaching them to use a desk is a fairly safe topic. Teaching them how the system works is also fairly safe. But then you enter the mine field.

 

Hanging lights - whilst second nature to us, it is not uncommon to see "newbies" etc hang lanterns incorrectly and in an unsafe manner. Now, even though you may teach them the correct way (repeatedly), I can almost guarantee that within the year, they will have forgotten - safeties will be stacked on a table in the corner of the store room, powerleads will be gaffered to lx bars, then clamps will be clamped over the cables etc.

 

Power - another can of worms in and of itself. There is visual inspection prior to commisioning a light, there is safe loading of circuits etc.

 

and that is just the tip of the ice berge

 

From my possition, half a world away, talking to you without meeting you face to face and seeing your work, I can only go on what you have written - your style tells me that you are a responsible sort of person etc, and I would probably feel confident in your work if you were working under me. However, you yourself said

 

When I signed up back in year 10 I was shown how to set up a T bar and then ignored, I just liked playing about with lights so much I stuck with it and ended up running the whole joint a year later.

 

Now I would like to think that this is an ideal world and you have been taught a lot more - either self directed through text books, common sense and 'fiddling', or through a mentor etc, however this is often not the case. Some of the practices that you have devised due to your lack of suitable instruction may be extreamly dangerous.

 

It is a bit of a "rock/hard place" type scenario. I HATE the idea of students being "Responsible" for kit without some form of faculty oversee'er, however from my experiance half a world away, the technical aspects of theatre are quite often overlooked, and without students taking a lead, it will be non-existant. However I believe that the safety and well being of students is top priority - students teaching students in such a risk filled field gives me the heebee jeebies.

[Jammie300]

I don't suppose anyone could put up a teaching plan for sound. I will be looking for someone in the near future to find.

 

Jammie300