What level of control do you prefer...

[GridGirl]

I'm currently working on a production of Guys and Dolls which I took over three weeks into the run. My lighting operator is extremely experienced and absolutely top-notch, and is always the lighting designer's first choice operator, so consequently knows the designer's style very, very well. I took over from a stage manager (no DSMs here!) who is not musical, so as a result of this the operator and I (both musicians) have shifted a few cues around so that they make more sense musically. Because the operator knows the show better than I do, he has no issues saying to me "I think we should move that cue to....." and I'm happy for him to do this. Also, if I mis-call a cue, often he'll go when the cue is supposed to have gone, and let me know; added to this is the fact that he can see the stage much, much better than I can, and so sometimes if a scene change is going wrong, or something odd has happened on stage, he'll take a cue without it being called and tell me this (although he usually doesn't have to tell me, he hits the GO button hard enough I can hear it over cans!). I'm finding that with this co-operation between us, the show perhaps doesn't quite look like it did during plotting, but the original intentions of the designer have certainly been honoured, and I think that the show is better off for it. Plus it means I know that if something disastrous happens that necessitates me going off cans to sort the problem out (I have no ASMs, the crew consists of me, the LX op and the sound op!), the show would still continue, and chances are 95% of the cues would happen in the right place .

 

What I'm curious to know is whether anyone else prefers to work this way, or whether you think the SM's (DSM's) word should be law, and the operator goes when he or she is told to. I've worked both ways, and I find myself preferring the current situation by a huge margin. Thoughts?

[JimWebber]

Personally, I think it is entirely dependent on the operator, the show, and the SM.

 

I mostly work for amateur groups, and provide a complete service, design and operation, as such, I get to know the show pretty well. Therefore I am in a pretty good position to follow a script, and run the LX myself.

 

I have also been in the position of Opping shows I don't know, and in this position have been more then happy to wait for that magic "GO".

 

You say that you know the operator in question, and the way they work, this trust is invaluable, and I suspect you would be a little more worried with an unkown operator?

 

PS I've never callled a show, and I'm not sure I could. I tend to think along the lines of "Go LX cue 12". However much I try to change it I can't seem to!

 

EDIT - This does not get away from the fact that the Stage Managers word is law and although I may suggest or discuss cue timings, he or she always has the final say.

 

Jim

[dbuckley]

What you've bumped into here is the massive difference between a crew who know each other and are comfortable with a show, and if the cans broke no-one would notice, everyone would do what they do every night, and the situation of a crew who are opping an unknown show to whom the word on the cans is all that stands between success and embarrassment. It's this latter situation where the perfect cans protocol (as discussed at some length somewhere else in the BR) is really important, to prevent any misunderstandings.

 

In decades of amateurville I've yet to experience a DSM calling a show; its always the SM who calls, which is great until the SM needs to do what is the SMs core function, which is preventing the brown stuff interfacing with the revolving fan. Then suddenly the calls dry up, and those left on the cans have to fend for their collective selves. Thus it's best to know where you are and where you're going. Under these circumstances the Lx op usually has a pivotal role, as the person with a script who is sitting down

 

There's only three people who matter in your situation, and they are the people running your show. You all have to do it night after night, so whatever works for you all and makes the night pass painlessly, thats the right answer. Ignore anyone who says otherwise.

[paul the paranoid lampy]

when I was a flyman, the word od the SM is God! I moved nothing until I had a GO from the SM, as couldn't see the stage, even though I was on cans, a turn in the wrong place could spell big trouble, mind you I did nearly fly a small child out on panto, when they were standing behind the gauze, he was playing with the tripping line, and was only just pulled out of the way by a dancer standing next him as the cloth flew out.

 

as for lighting, sound etc, it does come down to the crew involved, each show is very different.

[Pete]

I thing Paranoid Paul has hit a key point, Anything that has the possibility to cause harm should be called by someone who can see the "hazard" and check theres no one in an inappropriate place.

I've known DSMs who go mad when an lx operator hits a cue at the "right" time when they've missed called and also a few who've great fully repaid said operator with a beer in the pub post show!

[paulears]

I suspect that the truly honest answer is that the 'style' of the calling depends on everything! There are some circumstances when the old 'god' heirachy mght be appropriate, but even with big crews and complex shows, much depends on respect of each others abilities. However, the DSM in the tradidtional sense gets the bollockings when the show drifts from the original intentions, no matter who is responsible for the problem. It isn't unreasonable for this responsibility to require obedience. Pecking orders are difficult in some venues/productions. Maybe despite the usual pyramid, somebody lower down has a short cut to the pointy bit! This is always a pain. The DSM job is in my view the worst going. How many other roles have to have 100% dedication to the things happening, all the time? If my DSM does something, I back her up!

[Pete]

Pecking orders are difficult in some venues/productions. Maybe despite the usual pyramid, somebody lower down has a short cut to the pointy bit! This is always a pain.

 

Whats known on some shows I've done as job security!

[GridGirl]

Plus it means I know that if something disastrous happens that necessitates me going off cans to sort the problem out (I have no ASMs, the crew consists of me, the LX op and the sound op!), the show would still continue, and chances are 95% of the cues would happen in the right place.

 

I think I may well have jinxed myself by making this comment; last night I was informed halfway through the second half that a whole row of the audience was being dripped on. I told my operator that he was on his own, and legged it upstairs to find the air conditioning compressor steadily dripping water onto the floor. I am now even more thankful for my operator, as I was able to leave him to run cues while I mopped up the water and found a bucket....

[digitalangel]

Leaky roofs are never good! :** laughs out loud **:

Although I'm am-dram, I've done various approaches with various crews, right from the ops following my word to un-called shows where the ops have their own cue-books.

With my current crew, we've settled on what is my preference. I have a lighting op, a sound op, a followspot op and a small stage crew. Each op runs his own book and I run a master book with all cues. Although I don't call, by curtain up I know the show well enough to know if a cue is missed, and we're all on cans so I can check they haven't fallen asleep!!

This means I can pace up and down backstage (I'm not one for sitting still) and keep my stage crew in order.

I have a great respect for my current crew, which is why I'm comfortable letting them do their thing. With past crews I've not been able to do this so much.

[w/robe]

Putting the cat among the pidgeons

 

the show perhaps doesn't quite look like it did during plotting,

 

You and the board op may be brilliant at your own jobs but if you want to do lighting design then feel free to change careers, otherwise you should be doing your damnedest to make the show as similar to how the lighting designer originally plotted the show as possible.

 

whether you think the SM's (DSM's) word should be law, and the operator goes when he or she is told to.

 

The DSM's word should be law, she is the one co-ordinating all aspects of the show, no-one else has all that information. People still have a duty of care to the cast, crew and audience so should not take a cue that they know would put someone else at risk, so a fly man would always check that there is no one under what he is about to fly even if the cue is given. But there may be a reason that she does not call the next lighting cue ie. she does not want a black out as someone has just stumbled on the get off treads. The op could question this 'haven't I got a cue coming up' but not go with out her OK.

 

If the DSM is not incharge and ops are calling their own cues why are the company paying a DSM?

[GridGirl]

the show perhaps doesn't quite look like it did during plotting,

 

You and the board op may be brilliant at your own jobs but if you want to do lighting design then feel free to change careers, otherwise you should be doing your damnedest to make the show as similar to how the lighting designer originally plotted the show as possible.

 

Yes, I agree with this to a large extent, but I have never worked on a show that doesn't change rhythm or pace over the course of the run. I don't think that any two shows are ever the same - there are just too many variables - and I think that cues should be flexible to accommodate this. When I said that the show might not look quite how it did during plotting, I don't mean that we changed the way lighting states looked, more that the cue points got shifted slightly or cue timings changed so that they worked with the altered rhythm of the show. Also, the SM who originally put the cues in the book and the lighting designer are both non-musical people, so musical cues were often a bit vague - we tightened them up and did things like put cues on downbeats to start a song, rather than on an actor's move which was never in the same place twice.

 

whether you think the SM's (DSM's) word should be law, and the operator goes when he or she is told to.

 

The DSM's word should be law, she is the one co-ordinating all aspects of the show, no-one else has all that information. People still have a duty of care to the cast, crew and audience so should not take a cue that they know would put someone else at risk, so a fly man would always check that there is no one under what he is about to fly even if the cue is given. But there may be a reason that she does not call the next lighting cue ie. she does not want a black out as someone has just stumbled on the get off treads. The op could question this 'haven't I got a cue coming up' but not go with out her OK.

 

If the DSM is not incharge and ops are calling their own cues why are the company paying a DSM?

 

Generally, I'd also agree with this. But, in this particular case, I said

 

added to this is the fact that he can see the stage much, much better than I can, and so sometimes if a scene change is going wrong....

 

I was calling the show from an audio feed and a less than brilliant TV monitor feed of the stage - I couldn't see the extreme sides of the very wide, shallow stage (don't ask, a better camera is on the list of things to buy!). The operator could see the whole stage and I couldn't; obviously if there was something happening in the wing that I could see and he couldn't, I'd tell him to hold the cue until the problem was resolved. But if it was a mid-scene cue that went with an actor's movement on a particular word, and the actor decided to move on a different word, chances are the LX op was going to be able to see that better than I was, so in that situation I was perfectly happy for him to take cues - particularly if it meant the actor didn't walk off into the dark - so long as he told me, which he always did. In most situations I do think the DSM's (or SM in this country!) word should be law, but there are exceptions to every rule. I was lucky to have such a great operator - with a less experienced, less capable person on the desk, I know I wouldn't have been anything like so relaxed about the way the cueing of the show worked.

[Psychedelic Theatre]

For all my school shows I am lighting designer & board op. because I'm the designer I know exactly what I want and it's all written in my script. (I pretty much have the same script as the SM because I've designed the show so need the blocking etc).

 

Usually I run my own cues but when I press GO I will say LX Q16 (or whatever number cue we are on). If there are specific points in the script where things can be a little rough backstage, such as black outs and long scene changes, the DSM will cue me. This means that if there is a problem I'm not going to plunge them into darkness without warning.

 

This system works well for us, and the sound op. uses a similar approach. For cues which are during the 'action' he will cue himself, but if it's during a scene change, or just after a blackout/scene change the DSM will cue.

[gherriott]

As someone who is still a student, and does a lot of amateur shows, as well as working in a professional theatre, all be it small venue, I am on the fence with this issue. At college, I am usually the tech director/lighting designer and operator all in one. The SM is usually on stage, but tends to actually get involved with scene changed constantly disappearing off cans. I feel that as I am in a position of the best view, and also having designed the lighting, I am able to cue myself. I will only hesitate, or wait for cue from the SM if as mentioned in a previous post, the cue is happening during a hectic change backstage, and I am unable to see if the cast/scenery is set.

 

With the professional side, where I am usually only a followspot operator, or occasional LX operator, I would rather have the SM calling the show absolutely, until all crew are familiar with the show. However, if you are solely relying on the SM for your standby's and go's, you can become complacent, as I found during a show, where I was on followspot. I knew there was a while until the next cue, so sort of switched off from the stage and carried on revising for a physics exam next day (probably not the best thing to do during a show), but I had been doing this all run, and knew that the standby was well in advance of the cue allowing me time to get ready. However...this time the standby never came and all I got was a frantic GO FS1! I think if I had to cue myself, I would be more awake, and on time with cues.

 

It is always easy to say that it is the SM's fault for a missed cue, and that you don't press go until they say, but they are only human, with a million things to concentrate on; having responsibility for at least standbying yourself for a cue helps eliminate missed cue's leading to that stuff hitting the fan. Though you know what they say...#### always roles downhill...

 

Anyway probably deviated slightly here, but I feel that it is the responsibility of each operator to ensure they know heir cues, and only use the GO from the SM as confirmation of that cue, not as the be all and end all.

 

PS I agree with the changes of the cue timing to the music...being a musician and having to call the first cues of a show from the followspot bay for act 1 and 2 because I was the only person who could read music in the crew, I know how a change in LX state can look if out of time with the music.

[Light Console]

For Fiddler, the last show I was involved with, I designed, programmed, and to a small extent operated, having one of the pupils actually pressing "Go" for most of the cues. There were 120 odd cues. It was decided that getting kids to the right side of the stage with the right props was more important than the SM cueing 120 LX cues as well.

My view is that the LX operator should be in contact with the SM, but take their own cues. So on this show, I was on cans, and the pupil was on the buttons. This worked well, as we could get clearance to come out of a blackout, but went when the music built, or ended, or cast came on. That said, as I was in the middle, and the pupil was keen, if I said "Can we go yet?" into the cans to the SM, the cue sometimes went and the audience saw a brief glimpse of other stage crew rotating the set! By the end of the run, I was busking on submasters as well as the cues, to add things to what the actors added into the shows.

On the tour, as sound op, I was only on cans for the signal to start, then any bits where we changed from dancers to cabarets which required line checking or a clearance. Any other cue was down to me, and that's how I prefer it!

 

Part of my dissertation:

Having said this, the Light Console had many features that were lost when memory controls were designed, and are still missing today. It is still hard to cue lighting that depends on a live flame and cue on stage. For example, imagine that 3 candles have to be blown out one after the other, and the state on stage must dim each time. Three cues are programmed into the modern lighting control, and the “GO” button is pressed when each is blown out. As is now standard practice, the Deputy Stage Manager (DSM) cues the lighting operator. However, by the time the DSM has passed on the command and the lighting operator has pressed “GO”, there is a delay.

 

Now imagine that one candle looks like it has gone out but suddenly it relights, the DSM has already cued the operator, and the “extinguish” cue has happened. The operator could decide to press the “BACK” button, but has to put this past the DSM, and in the time it takes for this to happen, the candle has been blown out. The Light Console, and an operator on the ball, could cope with this problem without difficulty. The state or special lanterns are selected, and the cue is played. If a candle relights, a quick change of pressure to change the touch, and the lights come back on, ready to go out again. This would only be possible if the operators could make their own decisions.

 

The role of the DSM is very important, they make all of the decisions when the show is running. This was not quite the practice many years ago, and Light Console operators could make their own decisions, and change the lighting when they thought it was right to. The modern way of being cued is basically fine until something goes wrong, either a cue is missed, jumped or something goes wrong with the lighting. The DSM may not know what can be done, and it is here that I suggest that the lighting operator of today should take a bit more control of the lighting. After all, theatre is all about live performance, some good, and some not so good, so why should the lighting stay the same regardless? Lighting can really add something to a dull performance or make a good one even better.