Tech/Backstage Club workshop ideas

[pisquee]

Been employed as a theatre teach at a school for about 6 weeks now. One of my jobs is to lead a workshop after school for an hour once a week. This school has just gone to specialist status dfor visual and performaing arts, and my job is a new creation, with my my jobs previously been covered by normal teaching staff. The drama teacher who used to run the club is more experienced in costume/makeup/set design areas, whereas I am more technician, with my interests in sound, and lighting type stuff.

The mixtures of girls (is an all girls school) changes every week, and there is a group whose interest is definately more towards the hair/makeup/dresser/costume type roles, and a few who are more interested in technician stuff.

Anyways, I am not sure what to do for my workshops, so any ideas/sugestions would be welcome, especially if they are ideas you have used before.

 

The first couple I did were based around a play/script - getting the pupils to study the opening of the script and work out what was going on/involved - what props, character, what technical roles, etc etc ... the next week, the same play/opening, but working out and laying out on the floor the set/scenery/props as described and then comparing with the diagram given at the end of the script.

 

Today I took a load of par cans completely apart and showed them how they fit together, and then got them to do it themselves.

 

I was thinking next week to take apart a rack of sound gear, and show them how to put a simple PA together.

[HobitLight]

Make sure you don't miss out the basics like how to properly coil cables!

 

Taking a PAR can down is a good idea. Show them profiles and fresses too and demonstrate each different type of light and what their uses are.

 

HTH

[Dave SA]

From A sound Point of view how about setting up a microphone into one channel of a mixer, which feeds the masters to a 'FOH' speaker and an aux to a 'monitor' speaker. Explain gain structure, signal flow and show them some feedback. Then you can let them all have a go at getting a good signal through the desk, and have them neutralise the desk channel when done. Nice little excercise and a chance to show them how you like the desk to be zero'd should they ever have to op.

[Rozztech]

For lighting I think it is important you teach the basics first . teach about differnt lantern types beam angles and gobo's .....

 

this is needed as once someone called a Fresnel a par can at my school , not me I must add.

[jonathanhill]

Start with the language and teach them how to tie a bowline, a clove hitch and a sheet bend. Before anything else.

[Aaron-Hill07]

I think this has come up before, have a search around the forum and I'm sure you will find a lot of ideas, until then.

 

Lighting:

~Coiling Cables

~Types of light

~Beam Angles

~Electrical Safety

~Ohms Law basics

~Lighting stage, film, TV etc.

~Backround in lighting history & Progress in technology (A bit of theory)

~Moving lights & Consoles (A bit later on I'd say to save confusion)

~DMX Basics

~Midi Triggering

~WYSIWYG, CAD.

~Lighting Design Symbols etc

 

The list goes on, try to involve what your taking about with things like music festivals. Get some cool facts and its more likely to keep the young audience involved so they dont just get bombarded with loads of lighting information. Cool facts like ''Reading festival uses x amount of these lights and this console''.

 

Good luck trying to think of new things and getting them involved, teenagers are difficult to get interest from so if you do manage, WELL DONE!

[Mr_Jules]

Rather than taking a random play and working on that, why not work towards an event that you'll actually be doing? That way, when it comes about you'll have a ready made crew to assist you though it.

[GridGirl]

Maybe a workshop on show calling? Easiest with a musical, because you can use a cast recording - mark up a script with cues, put the song on the CD player and get them all to have a go at calling the cues.

[Jonny DMX]

Lighting:

~Coiling Cables

~Types of light

~Beam Angles

~Electrical Safety

~Ohms Law basics

~Lighting stage, film, TV etc.

~Backround in lighting history & Progress in technology (A bit of theory)

~Moving lights & Consoles (A bit later on I'd say to save confusion)

~DMX Basics

~Midi Triggering

~WYSIWYG, CAD.

~Lighting Design Symbols etc

 

I think you might end up alienating some people if you go into too much detail here. I do not think that an after school club for girls that have shown an interest in costume and make up will be even the vaguest bit interested in MIDI triggering and DMX structure. I wouldn't even talk about moving lights or TV lighting.

 

I would spend maybe one evening covering all the basic types of lights taking them apart and showing them how they differ and why they differ. I would talk about why you may choose to use one type of light over another. Then in a different session I would talk about why we use lighting in theatre and how lighting could be used to add to a performance and not necessarily just so that you can see the actors. Maybe ask them how they might light some very basic and literal scenes (a night scene, an indoor scene etc)

 

If after than you are lucky and you get one or even two pupils that show more of an interest in the lighting then you might want to go through some of the more difficult things with them. I think if you go into too much detail too soon you will put people off forever.

 

Jonny

[congoblues]

In addition to all of the excellent ideas so far, I think schools sometimes neglect stage management so I would suggest sessions on writing the book, etiquette on cans and FOH/backstage calls, using cue lights, props, set building etc. Obviously this depends on what equipment you have and fitting in with H&S procedures. I'd agree with Mr Jules that it's helpful to work towards a show that the students can see the results of their hard work whenever possible.

 

I run one group of younger students that is very structured and one sixth form group that are very much more supervised trial and error sessions. I also open the sessions up occasionally for a couple of the older ones to lead their own if it's appropriate. (Great for those weeks when you're just too busy to organise the session!)

[MarkPAman]

To interest all of them, how about a session exploring how make up & costumes change their apperance under different lighting?

[PDD]

It's a difficult one indeed. When I started at my current job in a school I did similar 'educational' workshops for the 2 x 1hr per week sessions that I have with my 'Theatre Crew' students. I very quickly found out that, although they were very happy to work hard when it came to shows, they considered the weekly sessions to be "off-timetable" therefore they weren't at all interested in learning anything.

 

Since then, they do work hard, and I'm sure they do learn things, but I try to make it indirect and very much practical. It is never pitched as teaching or "learn this".

 

To the OP, why don't you see if you can have a quick chat with the teacher who did it before you? I had a similar situation where I inherited several participants interested in costumes and set design, whereas I was/am more into lighting and technical so lost most of those students fairly quickly - which was a shame. (Although we're thinking of creating a new group for those interested in costume, as that tends to be a more production-only event.)

 

...I've waffled-on as usual ;)

 

P.S. <subliminal> Join STSG </subliminal>

[Krais]

As an amateur LD I often have a student help rigging, and then usually running the followspot. There are a number of things which I try to teach them as we go, but really feel the school should be covering:

 

Basic safety, especially working with scaffolding and ladders and a get-in environment

How to interpret a basic lighting plot

Lantern types

How to hang a lantern, daft as it sounds, if you don't tell them you'll end up with shutters left closed, cables dangling, hook clamps not tightened and safety bonds missing or not used.

Running cables - we have quick get out times, so not coiling cable around bars a dozen times is a major issue!

Focusing - what knobs do what!

Patching and DMX

Desk operation

 

Fun as moving kit is, there is never time to spend explaining what I'm doing with it. I would think a few hours teaching how to programme some basic chase sequences with the desk they have available to them would break the boredom!

[djtom29]

I am currently in the same position, I have been at the school for 5 years as a student, and now since our music teacher (who runs his own PA hire company, and is a very 'good' lx and sound tech) has had to leave, Myself and a friend have taken over his role of training students for when we leave. One thing I have found over the years, is that having 2 different teachers training me has been useful for when I come to run my sessions. When I first started learning, the sessions were very “do this and then this and that makes it work” orientated, and I didn’t really learn anything from it. However, when my old teacher came along, he didn’t run them like this, he was more, “this works because…” and because of this, I found that I actually learnt more off him than I did with the first teacher.

The first session that he ran, and that I ran this year, was just a simple introduction, getting to know everyone, and what they are particularly interested it and there experience. The first few sessions were very theoretical, involving names of equipment, what each one does, and the terms used in that area. After that, he regularly got bands or musicians in and we had to put what we learnt from the theory in to practise. This is what I feel I learnt most from, as it aloud me to make mistakes, without them being to serious in a real show situation. Also we now have people interested taking responsibility for morning assemblies, which is varied as some times it involves a simple power point being shown, or others (like this mornings) it’s a live musician with 2 acoustic guitars, singers, full stage lighting and extra PA! We also are a visual and performing arts collage, and have sometimes been on trips to other theatres and venues to see real life examples of this industry.

Overall I would say start with the basics, coiling cables, looking after equipment and also how to work professionally in a show environment. I’ve found if you teach someone how to use something, it isn’t as effective as if you teach them what that piece of equipment does, and when you would use it. A lot of our old tech crew were taught how to make something work and now struggle when they come to use other equipment.

Ps, sorry for waffling on a bit, just something I struggle with as well.

[robhall3192]

I have grown up in our school under the instruction of other 6th formers, and now they have all left along with the old head of drama, I have been left in charge of all Stage things. Our new head of drama is really keen to have a professional crew going and the school is paying to upgrade alot of equipment and spaces, although this was last done when I joined the schoolo 5yrs ago. Anyway, I am now in a position of Head of Stage and Tech opperations, however this is only on a voluntered basis, and no pay given. Out of intrest how many school technicians get paid ?

Often I end up working with GCSE and Yr13 groups during my free study times, whilst having full time AS subject study. With my stage crew we invested in a pack by Skip Mort, where it has 3 sections for Beginers, Intermediate, and Advance. It comes with a study DVD to assist sessions, and has kept the younger kids intrest alot more. Now we are working towards Grease and I feel they are fully equipped.

My 2 pence is that start from the basics and work up. Take what you have been taught. Think about the simple ideas behind LX SFX etc. Our crew has been together since September and we have only just finished all the basics of SFX and LX, but I believe I could hand them a show and they would be able to design and understand concepts.

For workshops, do one off specials where you plan a light show or organise a chance to work with another drama group in the school. This way they could work with friends, but also intergrate their knowledge into Drama lessons.