r.a.t.s

[gareth]

Apropos of nothing much, I was reminded this evening about rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft and the very niche internet sensation that was Frank Wood. Surprising how much of the archive is still out there, if you look for it...

[musht]

Congo blue...

Frank kept the conversation lively, that's for sure.

[sandall]

On 8/5/2024 at 1:11 AM, gareth said:

the very niche internet sensation that was Frank Wood

Frank used to be quite prominent on the old Green Room forum, but he might have disputed the word "niche"🙂. A "beard & sandals"(though more usually barefoot) eccentric, & something of a polymath, he was extremely knowledgeable, & always happy to share that knowledge. - when you got into an argument with Frank you really needed to know your subject.  In my early days of theatre lighting I probably learnt more from Frank than I did from Mr Pilbrow.

Never a great believer in rules ("for the observance of fools, & the guidance of wise men"), especially on smoking before it was banned - you could tell if Frank had lit a show recently by the number of dead cheroots tucked into scaff-ends on the grid.

[david.elsbury]

I once upon a time had a “WWFWD” shirt I scored from the Stagecraft Mailing List

[TeeJay]

He dabbled in the Theatre Sound Mailing List for a time as well ... you always had to admire the conviction of his beliefs, possibly through gritted teeth sometimes 😉

[Ynot]

Have to admit that FW baiting was a fun pastime....
😄

[sandall]

As a BBC engineer in the days of (sometimes gross) over-manning he had more time on his hands than many of us🙂