Our new show

[chriscave]

Now im really confused because about three months ago I found that our school would be doing A chrismas carol for their show. Now as it is the original dickens one I would not expect much technicla however I had a briefing with our technical director and director and they said what we needed and the tech director said he would need a crew of at least 10 1 sound 1 lights 1 visual and 4 on stage now mabye its just me but id think that a dickens book/play would be fairly basic in terms of tech. If anyone can enlighten me please reply

[paulears]

You're probably missing the context - technical requirements for 'old' stuff can often be very heavy. In fact, you've probably forgotten that the bigger older shows like My Fair Lady, Oliver and even things like Oklahoma and South Pacific have really big scene changes and loads of set props. So a street scene, a London Street in 1800 whatever will have all sorts of things like carts, lamp posts, signs, benches that kind of stuff and you might have 30 seconds of blackout to get it all on or off - hence the need for a big technical team. technical doesn't always mean electronic type technical, it can simply mean stage crew. The Director may know what's coming and you don't - yet?

[Jram]

he would need a crew of at least 10 1 sound 1 lights 1 visual and 4 on stage

 

That's only seven...

 

Could depend on the set, props and/or effects (such as the appearance of ghosts) - I'm sure you'll find out.

[mrcog]

Well, you could easily have a crew of ten for a very simple production. I did a christmas carol a few years ago but it was very simple becuase it was a year 5/6 play that I was asked to help out with.

 

However, SM, DSM, Board Op, Sound Op, Visuals, Runner, Follow spot (not really nesasary iirc) plus 3/4 stagehands for set moving and theres 10 already. And yes, from what I remeber it is a very 'set heavy' production, moving from inside into the streets a good couple of times. Yes, you could cut back on set and probably manage on a crew of 3/4 but if youve got the people then why not do it the easy way, with a good team of people.

 

Just my 2p :unsure:

[Bobbsy]

A lot comes down to the "vision" of the director as opposed to the show itself. Certainly, "A Christmas Carol" lends itself to some very elaborate lighting and sound effects if the director chooses to go that route. Think about the book for a moment...Dickens story is full of ghosts appearing and disappearing, people flying though the night sky from one place to another, the sound of chains clanking, clocks chiming etc. etc. Yes, you can do a simple version but you can also get pretty elaborate.

 

Not the same thing, I know, but one of the most sound intensive shows I ever worked was "Scrooge", the musical version. Besides the usual mics and reinforcement, I had literally hundreds of effects cues--indeed there was a pretty much constant "soundscape" in the background and several scenes with principle actors playing opposite effects I was generating. It was fun!

 

Bob

[gareth]

Old doesn't equate to technically simple. Think RSC ... :)

[rooftop]

There's probably a bed that moves around the stage in a ghostly fashion by no apparent means - there's one of your least favourite crew out of the way for a couple of hours