"Techie"

[Bryson]

Does anyone else hate the term "technician" as much as me? Today, a client at a conference asked (luckily, not me) a Senior Technician: "So, are you the technician?" :D (To which of course, the reply is "I'm not sure, are you the Turn?" ;) ) He was lucky to leave the building unscathed...

 

See also: Amateurs, a previous rant of mine.

 

I thank you.... :blink:

[gareth]

Personally, I think it's a loathsome term. It demeans what is essentially a highly skilled profession - many of the things that we do on a day-to-day basis have huge potential to cause death or serious injury of done incorrectly, and it takes a not-inconsiderable amount of skill to carry out the job safely and efficiently.

[Chris M]

"Are you a technician?" Whats the problem, I dont understand, no matter wht the name is, it means you still do all the same work!!

[Rachel]

Point taken, but I like it because I see it as a term of affection, and I'm all for nicknames. I can see that it can be used to 'group' people whether they are skilled or not, but I'm proud to be a 'technician'.

 

Maybe it's because I'm just a student and haven't reached my cynical potential yet.

 

Or because I'm short (therefore me being a 'mini-technician' is particularly comical). :D

[Metro]

Ill join with you on this! I absolutely hate the word 'Techcie'. I cringe every someone says it.

[James]

To be honest I have always found the term technician to be accompanied with a certain amount of respect.

 

However I spend almost all my time doing amater productions so this could be another of those Am/Pro things.

 

Could you do a poll to plot the corelation between acceptance of the term technician and professional status?

 

And if the pro's out there realy feal as bad about it as you seem to, would you want us to discourage the use in amater circles?

[andy_s]

I don't really have a problem with the term except in so much as people use it on occasion to indicate a (possibly) bogus degree of knowledge of or acceptance into a closed or semi closed circle. The purpose of jargon, nicknames, slang etc is to exclude those who are not in the club, hence the annoyance when people use it inappropriately. I remember as a student a "technician" song being written by people cleverer than me which included the line "technicians are brave, technicians are bold...." all entirely without tongue in cheek. Maybe its time to take control and reclaim the term "technician" and accord it the respect and honour that proud bearers of the name are due. (perhaps I should add that the song was performed with great gusto at the end of term p...up)

[gareth]

However I spend almost all my time doing amater productions so this could be another of those Am/Pro things.

Most am-dram types seem to have tremendous difficulty in comprehending the difference between a Producer and a Director, so we can't expect them to have sufficient intelligence to be able to appreciate and understand the different jobs that technical staff do. To the typical am-dram, the "technicians" are the folk of little worth who exist purely to create an environment in which the turns are able to massage their incredibly over-inflated egos for one week every year.

 

There are a very small number of amateur groups with whom I've worked over the years who are actually very good, and produce top-quality work without having an enormous ego problem on the side (Tip Top Productions from the Wrexham/Chester area - hats off to you in particular!). But on the whole, they're all a bunch of self-important fools who don't really have the first clue about proper theatre. Grrrrrrrr .... :D

[Paul J Need]

I guess it depends what stage of one's career one has reached.... Most of us I am sure started out as "mere technicians", "sparkies", "Sparx".......... etc. etc.

 

I usually find the people who call themselves LD get the biggest hump about being called a technician.... "NO I AM A LIGHTING DESIGNER ACTUALLY "!!!!!! comes the short, sharp retort. ;))

 

Frankly Scarlet...... I don't give a Castlemaine XXXX what people call me. :D

[James]

Gareth

 

I would agree with you on part but my experiance is that

Most am-dram types seem to have tremendous difficulty in comprehending the difference between a Producer and a Director. so we can't expect them to have sufficient intelligence to be able to appreciate and understand the different jobs that technical staff do.

might be laying it off a bit thick.

 

I have found that - to groups where I am a "technician" I am the person that makes them heard, makes them visable and makes their ideas work. They quite often come with problems that they think are impossible, I do my best to get it to work, sometimes I am successful and they go away with respect and gratitude to their technician.

 

I don't agree that most am-dram groups can't appreciate and understand the different jobs that technical staff do but I would say that most groups don't understand the time and effort and expertise that goes into technicaly supporting a production.

 

However this is probably group dependant and I don't supose it helps that very often I end up doing everything for one production - or involved with everthing It is very hard to say I am the sound designer (except I don't do sound) when I'm assisting in the LX focus & rig or when I'm running vids for backstage monioring / projections.

 

James

[Bryson]

I usually find the people who call themselves LD get the biggest hump about being called a technician.... "NO I AM A LIGHTING DESIGNER ACTUALLY "!!!!!! comes the short, sharp retort. :o)

At college we used to have a "game" in which myself and a friend would scream in increasingly loud and ludicrous french accents:

 

"I am Bum-Cleft! I am ze Lightinggggg Designerrrrrr!"

 

 

For the life of me I can't remember where that came from now...something about the ridiculousness of refusing to anything but design the lights, as some of our colleauges were prone to do. So I don't take myself that seriously....it's just, as Gareth says, a derogatory term in most applications.

[NickLee]

I don't agree that most am-dram groups can't appreciate and understand the different jobs that technical staff do but I would say that most groups don't understand the time and effort and expertise that goes into technicaly supporting a production.

 

However this is probably group dependant and I don't supose it helps that very often I end up doing everything for one production - or involved with everthing It is very hard to say I am the sound designer (except I don't do sound) when I'm assisting in the LX focus & rig or when I'm running vids for backstage monioring / projections.

This very true - regarding the "producer/director" point - Gareth is quite correct. A large majority of amdram groups have the director covering both roles, and this is taken as normal. The productions are smaller scale, with less requirement for a specific seperation between the two roles.

 

Amdram, of course, doesn't have the same level of separation of staff because there's no real requirement but I don't think you should dismiss the level of effort, or the professionalism of many people who take part. These are people who work to 9 to 5, then spend 5 to 11 in the theatre. I've done, I've been there and it's damned hard work. For the length of a production, you've no time to socialise, you don't say any of your mates, you don't see your girlfriend - whatever. As I say, it takes tremendous dedication to make these kinda sacrifices, and in the case of backstage crew and lighting/sound crew, it isn't for glory, but simply for the love of theatre.

 

I also agree with the misunderstanding of the role of lighting crew, and the effort that it actually requires; again, if you don't do this regularly, you often don't realise the kind of commitment this involves. I think some amdram "luvvies" can and do dismiss work doing sound and light as something odd, and something that doesn't require a lot of commitment.

 

However, I'll say this - actors in amateur theatre, may be amateurs, but they put in a hell of a lot of work. It is as much being in the play for the sake of it as it is for the sake of the audience, but I know that a vast majority aren't on some ego trip. They do it for the same reason I do amdram LX.

 

Actually, having said this, I've seen some amdram groups in action, and they appear conceited, self-publicising and ridiculous. So your point stands for some groups - just not for all.

 

I could say all professionals are snobbish about amdram without good cause. But that'd be an unfair generalisation :o

 

N

[smeggie]

hmmm, I dont think that it really matters that much, though I think that if you are in a venue where there are a lot of derogatory groups that come in, then if they must use anything, then tech. is the right thing.

 

those groups who are nice are allowed to call us technicians if they want, this is due to a good few having done a show or two in the dark and so know what we do.

 

to those who don't, we insist that they use the nice term.

 

from the

 

:o and not in any way a luvvie

[Bryson]

Ok, own up. Who voted for the Tattoo option? :o

[Catswhiskers]

Hmmm, technician,

When coming from friendly actor thanking you for helping - not a problem. When coming from a twirlie hurling abuse cause her radio mic isn't working ( nothing to do with the liberal dousing of hairspray it turned out to have recieved ten mins earlier :o ) - not a happy bunny.