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Technical director AND set designer?

  • 1.  Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-06-2018 12:29
    I don't want to derail Crit Fisher's post about his school's opening for a TD, so I'll ask here.

    There have been many posts, here and elsewhere, looking for a TD, and the job description, more often than not, includes set and lighting design. And I have to wonder why. The training, skill sets, and interests, not to mention the job descriptions, are hugely different. Just a couple of days ago Beth Rand responded to a post looking for a lighting and sound tech, and made some really good points about people who are interested in one often not being interested in the other. Sure they do it anyway, but often the end result is less than it could be.

    I understand the problem with budgeting, but, from what I've read here over the past few years, it seems to go back to the idea that administrators -- and others -- often don't understand the differences. I would think that understanding those differences would be important in any part of theatre, and particularly so for educators.

    Any thoughts?

    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net
    http://astore.amazon.com/sdtbookstore-20
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-06-2018 13:39
    Hey George,

    Thanks for the post. I’m the resident lighting and sound designer for the school. The TD position open would collaborate on the designs. We have a very talented theatrical community and use guest designers frequently.

    I agree that sometimes the educational higher ups try to cram everything in and it isn’t warranted.

    ---------------------------------
    Crit Fisher
    Lighting/Sound Designer
    New Albany High School
    ---------------------------------





  • 3.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-07-2018 12:01

    As I finish watching the England vs Sweden football(!!! – I'm English – we won, oh yeah, oh yeah) match, it dawns on me that soccer (I'm bilingual) players have different specialists positions. Sure, we can 'cram' them all in under the job description of soccer players, and sure they are each capable of playing different positions, but each player has their specialty which they are suited to and are the most proficient at. The same goes for set players, lighting players, sound players, and, what about costume players(!). Sure, we're all technical theatre 'players' on the same team, but we all have our own positions that make the game work. Sorry to – once again – use a sports analogy, but it seems that's the only thing 'educational higher ups' comprehend.



    ------------------------------
    Beth Rand, EBMS
    Lighting Designer
    School Theatre Operations Coach

    NEW!
    ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

    HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

    "HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

    www.PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-07-2018 13:38
    Okay, Beth, if you want to use sports analogies...   :-)

    Not only do teams have players who specialize in given positions, but they also have coaches who specialize in given positions.

    Just for the heck of it, I just now googled "types of football coaches" and "types of baseball coaches," and it was incredible. In football, professional teams have different offensive and defensive coaching staffs, each made up of several specialties. And they also have several other "specialists."

    Many college teams have the same, and college coaches are often very very highly paid. Now, I don't know if school admins hire all these coaches because they want their teams to be great, or to win (i.e., status), or just because "everyone else does it," but it seems obvious that they're aware that there's a "want" for it.

    And as many salespersons know, people are more likely to buy something they want than something they need.

    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net
    http://astore.amazon.com/sdtbookstore-20
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-09-2018 19:19
    For anyone who wants to look further into George's sage points about coaches, and wants some fodder to present to their districts, refer back to the 

    Coaches pay

    discussion.

    ------------------------------
    Beth Rand, EBMS
    Lighting Designer
    School Theatre Operations Coach

    NEW!
    ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

    HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

    "HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

    www.PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-07-2018 09:51
    I know for my area of the country, we simply don't have the option of hiring someone who actually has technical theatre training. We haven't even gotten to the pay discussion with our administration - it's a mute point because those people simply aren't around. I can't think of a school in my area that has a person working with the school district's theatre program who is college tech trained.

    I read the various posts about technical trained people working in a school district and I drool with jealousy. For the first 25 years of my school career, I had a friend who was very creative who was my 'tech director' (paid a small stipend). He was good with creative designs and led the build/painting. I became the person who dealt with lighting and sound. Over the years, I self taught, took workshops and learned more about tech. Toward the end of my career I was lucky to have a former student come back to the area who had majored in tech theatre in college and he became my tech director (still only paid a stipend, not his full time job). This was shortly after we built a new facility that was highly advanced, so I was very lucky. He moved on to a college position and I have retired, so now the school district is dealing with trying to find someone to handle the tech aspects of their facility. They actually were looking for someone in a full time position, but those people aren't around here. (Of course, what they offering to pay wasn't enough and wasn't going to bring someone in from outside the area).

    Anyway, as I said, I am jealous of those areas of the country where there are enough tech trained people to help with school districts. That is not the case everywhere. (No, there aren't college programs close by that have faculty or students who high schools could tap into). So, it is kind of the chicken and the egg problem - school districts don't pay for a full time position/tech trained people aren't in the area looking for a job. While I would have loved to have different individuals with expertise work with my students on lighting, sound, construction, painting, rigging, design...... the money for all of these people doesn't exist in a school program and the personnel with the expertise aren't even around my area.

    ------------------------------
    Mark Zortman
    PA Chapter Director
    York PA
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-07-2018 12:42
    Crit - thanks for your note. Best of luck with your search.

    Mark - from what I've been reading here, you're right that it's a chicken and egg situation, and worse in some parts of the country.

    However, there are two sides to this. One is that theatre grads are very often willing to relocate to get a good job. It's sort of an accepted mentality in school. In my own case, I was in the National Guard throughout college and most of grad school, but did not re-up because I figured I'd be doing a lot of relocating the first few years of my career, not to mention needing to work summers, which would conflict with the required two-week yearly "summer camp." Turned out some of my perceptions were incorrect, but that's "what I thought I knew" at the time. Otherwise, I would have stayed in.

    But the other side is the budgeting. Over the years in the theatre, architecture, and theme park worlds, I've noticed that very often things don't go in the budgets because of a perception that "we don't need it" or "it's only worth so much." And, also very often, those who are planning the budgets don't bother to talk to those who are doing the work. It happens all the time.

    Case in point. I've only worked for two high schools in all my years of designing sets. A few years ago I was hired by a private one in a very upscale city here in the Bay Area. The design fee they had budgeted was a little on the low side for the type of work involved, but I accepted the job anyway. However, although we agreed on the fee right up front, it turned out that the business office was treating it as an hourly job instead of as a lump-sum contract. So they had somehow decided on how many hours they "thought" it should take, and had divided the lump sum by those hours to calculate the "hourly rate," which was stated in the contract. That "hourly rate" was beyond ridiculous but apparently it sounded okay to them, while I found it offensive that "they" thought a professional set designer's time was worth about as much as a clerk at Starbucks. So I did the job but turned down the following year's show, and it wasn't so much anger as it was self-protection. Although it's too late for this show, I don't want someone calling a client for a reference on me, asking what I was paid, and being told I worked for that "hourly rate."

    I don't have a clue what can be done about it, but I think it's really sad to find this type of situation in a field where kids -- people -- are being trained to be ready for the real world.

    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net
    http://astore.amazon.com/sdtbookstore-20
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-09-2018 19:30

    Mark, one of my former students in my High School Theatre Management online course was also from PA, and he expressed similar experiences. It's terrible that states vary so widely in their CTE requirements and resources, yet all of our students are participating in the same hazardous activities! He did however mention the employment of some technical theatre staff (albeit through extracurricular contracts), and in our module on theatre risk management and safety he shared some local resources. If you're interested in getting in touch with him, please e-mail me.



    ------------------------------
    Beth Rand, EBMS
    Lighting Designer
    School Theatre Operations Coach

    NEW!
    ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

    HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

    "HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

    www.PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-09-2018 17:45

    Hi George, 

    I have to admit, I waited to comment on your posts.  I wasn't going to, but I feel the need. 

    What first caught my eye was your subject title.  The reason it caught my eye is because I am one of those "anomalies".  Yes, I was hired as the Technical Director.  But my job descriptions are pretty much everything the Creative Director doesn't do.  So I handle set design, sound, lighting, prop building, and since we have no money from the school for our productions, I'm also the person who funds the shows up front, so I'm the Producer.  Oh, and I'm the Thespian Troupe Director.  

    My school doesn't have anything in their curriculum for theater.  So we are a "Drama Club".  So on the books, I'm paid as the club advisor.  Same as any other club.  Regardless of the hours I put in or the qualifications needed.  And I know there are many more people out there like me.  I think that's why I was a little confused by your posts. 

    Was this a rhetorical question?  If that's the case, then I say "yes, why indeed don't schools care enough to put more money into theater programs?"  

    I will tell you this.  Our administration doesn't really care about needing different people for different jobs.  They just want the "advisor" to make sure there are 2 shows a year.  And they want to see the auditorium packed so they can justify keeping the Drama Club active.  

    Although I regretfully am not college trained with any of my skill sets, I like to think our club can hold their own.  And my students graduate with a base of knowledge they can take to a college and build on what they already know so they can eventually go out into the real world.  

    Do I wish I had experts in all of the above fields to help lighten my work load?  Of course.  Nobody likes having to do it all.  But it becomes a labor of love.  We all know how theater touches the lives of so many students.  And to see many of them head off to university to continue their education in some aspect of theater, either technical or performing, gives me the feeling I've accomplished what I've set out to do.  And at the end of that day, that's what matters most to me.  



    ------------------------------
    Chuck Yarmey
    Advisor/Technical Director
    Wyoming Area Drama Club
    Thespian Troupe 4795
    Exeter PA
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-10-2018 12:31
    Hi, Chuck,

    Thanks so much for your post. As I've said several times here over the past 2-3 years, I have a ton of respect for you folks, and especially for those who are a one-person act. I coudn't do it.

    It's not because "it's too much work," but because I can't see myself teaching something that I'm not particularly interested in. Back in college and grad school, even though I was a tech (and later design) major, I still had to take acting classes, a directing class, a mask and mime class, theatre history, and lots of other non-tech subjects. Yet I don't feel qualified to teach any of those. And the interest just isn't there.

    Your comment about your admins not caring is very telling. And it seems to be coming back as the major problem: a lot of admins don't care. I feel a lot of it is because they don't understand (or because they make assumptions and then behave as if those assumptions were correct), but it's still a problem -- and I'd love to be able to find a solution.

    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net
    http://astore.amazon.com/sdtbookstore-20
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-10-2018 13:29
    The school where I teach does not at all understand the difference between Theatre Arts and Tech Theatre, let alone the nuances between specialized tech jobs. My students are often misplaced in Theatre when they are natural born techies, or in a Tech class when they long to be front and center, onstage. 

    To add to the problem, my school is a high needs, high risk school in a turnaround zone, so it is up to me to generalize in my approach to running, directing, and teaching tech theatre. The kids generalize, though I teach them everything while encouraging them to pick a specialized tech subject they love. This is how it is for many in my district, and honestly it's rough, but it has its benefits as well.


    ------------------------------
    Rebecca Fahning
    Desert Pines High School Theatre/Theatre Tech Teacher
    ITS Troupe 6125, Director
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-10-2018 15:07

    George has a good point. Not only should there be someone for each specialty, most people don't really want to do anything outside of their specialty. Even high school students quickly specialize.  I too had all the training in college, but one course in sets or costumes does not a designer make. And in my case – you really don't want this lighting geek running your sound board! Yes, our students should learn all of the specialties of tech theatre and acting, and yes they will most likely, find what they excel at – just like we all did – but one person should not have to be teaching them all of the specialties.

    The other issue that goes along with specialties, even if you are that gem of a person who can do it all, is Risk Management. During the performance process, for example, there can be students in the catwalks running followspots, students back stage moving sets (and running the fly system if you have one), perhaps a student or two in the scene shop repairing a bit of broken scenery that's needed in the next act, students in the costume room sewing last minute costume additions (remember Sleeping Beauty…), students in the booth running the computer boards, and so on. While it would be great to have teachers/mentors for each of those areas, it would be even better to have supervision (without safety, NOTHING should happen in the theatre). I know that most Drama teachers train their students in theatre safety, and I've said before that I trust a trained tech theatre student over any parent volunteer backstage, but a 'one person show' teacher can't possibly be every where at once. That's a hazard to the students (we'd like to send them off to university in one piece), a liability to the school, and a potential lawsuit for YOU(!), the Drama teacher in charge, should something happen. If nothing else, we need to CYA (cover your 'anatomy'). When we get to the Risk Management and Safety modules of the High School Theatre Operations online course that I teach, more than one of my former students has reported that their administration has actually assessed their situation, and ok'd Drama teachers to be, for example, 'keeping an ear out' for students working in the scene shop while they are rehearsing on stage. !!!

    Of course, there is a LOT more to high school theatre safety than simply supervising, and high school theatre safety goes far beyond lightening a work load (although that would be preferable too!), so my best advice to you if you are forced to be in a situation of being a 'one person show' is to keep records and get as much as you can in writing. If your admin ok's something, send them an e-mail – I just wanted to confirm our conversation yesterday that you'd said it would be ok for my theatre students to use the table saw in the scene shop while I'm rehearsing on stage. If the administration expects you to run everything by yourself, pass the liability on to the administration.

    So, if anyone is able to address this with their administrator, as well as addressing the educational issues of being a 'one person show' and the need for qualified educators (and not to mention your pay level for all the hats you wear!), remember that the words "risk management" and "liability" go a long way to helping your cause.

    So, it's not only about our own work loads and students receiving a vocational education, it's also a HUGE safety issue. Admin needs to be educated that ALL the benefits of having "highly qualified" specialized teachers (vocational education, and most importantly student safety) far outweigh the risks associated with the alternative. For examples of high schools that are actually achieving this (role models that you can present to your admin) please check out http://www.presett.org/gold-standard-schools.html.



    ------------------------------
    Beth Rand, EBMS
    Lighting Designer
    School Theatre Operations Coach

    NEW!
    ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

    HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

    "HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

    www.PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-11-2018 02:06
    I just wanted to weigh in on this discussion.  I am the typical "one man" production company present in the majority of high schools around the country.  I teach 3 levels of "drama" or acting classes and 2 levels of technical theatre classes - all in a single day - EVERY DAY.  In addition, I direct all after school productions and am the sponsor of the Thespian Troupe, which, as everyone knows, means the state festival, regional festival, end-of-year awards banquet, scholarship and college auditions, leadership camp and directing all club functions throughout the year.  I have been doing this for more than twenty years.  I know there are many many teachers out there that do the same thing.  In addition to teaching, club sponsorship and directing, it means that we design the sets, lights, sound, costumes, props and build everything while teaching students how to do each of these things.  I would KILL to have a TD that could take some of this burden off of my shoulders.

    I should also mention that I come from a world of professional theatre, where I worked with tremendous teams of people that each had their own function, from the directors, designers, technicians, management and actors.  I am well aware of how a professional company functions and as much as I would like this world to be a reality in high school; I just don't think that will ever be the reality.  

    I attended ITF for the first time a few weeks ago and my eyes were opened to so much more.  There are schools that have budgets of $150,000+ each year and I exist on $3,000 - $5,000.  Of course, everything is through fundraising - whether it is my very small budget or the humongous budgets of the "mainstage" schools.   Administrators and school districts do not, for the most part, support theatre programs financially and sadly, they never will.  I think it's a waste of time to groan and complain about administrators that don't give money to the theatre programs or support them the way that that they do for sports programs.  Let's face it:  the majority of administrators come from a coaching background and that is where their loyalties will lie.  But all is not lost.  From what I learned at ITF, the key seems to be two things:  community support and publicity.  As a teacher in an urban area where there is a lot of competition, these two things seems very daunting, but not impossible.  Communities like winners and that is why they go crazy for sports, so it is up to us to let our communities know HOW our students and programs are indeed winners.    We are often so busy producing and directing that I think we forget to let others know of the great things we are doing.  The schools with large budgets are in that position because they worked to get there, not because anything was handed to them by an administrator.  It is entirely possibly to build a program that can pay for multiple people in professional positions:  to have a TD AND a set designer AND a lighting designer AND a sound designer, etc.  However, that takes building a program one step at a time and that may mean hiring someone who is capable of being a TD and  set designer for now.  It also takes people that are willing to give their time and expertise, even though it is not the best paying job in the world.  At ITF I met a set designer that was willing to give his time to a high school program while earning a paycheck at a professional company at the same time.  His amazing skills helped that school rise to a more professional level.  Sometimes we are lucky enough to find people this like and sometimes we are not.  I know that I give so much of my time because I love kids and believe in the value of educational theatre and I learned at ITF that there are a lot of us out there and we just have to breathe, stop doing everything, and find others that can and will help.  

    All in all here's the deal:  Educational theatre functions differently than professional theatre.  As much as we would like to have professionals in every position like a professional company; it's not really going to happen.  We CAN build and expand our programs to include many professional technicians, but we we will never be in a position where we can hire people the way a professional company can.  We will continue to rely on people that are willing to serve as a TD AND a set designer, etc.  That willingness will have to come from people that believe in the value of theatre education and know that their skills and expertise are furthering the art as a whole through educating young students that will carry on the art itself into the professional realm.

    ------------------------------
    Jeana Whitaker
    Theatre Director
    Mesa AZ
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-11-2018 13:18
    Hi, Jeana,

    Thanks so much for your post. You put a few things in perspective and even made me realize I may have been guilty of making an assumption.  :-)

    So, about that assumption. Although a TD can be far more efficient as a full-timer, there is no reason for a designer (sets, lights, costumes, etc.) to have to be a full-timer -- and I may have come across as advocating that they should be. Ixnay that. In my own case, I have been hired by two local high schools (my only two high schools) over the past ten years or so strictly as a set designer, on a one-show contract.

    In one case, the drama teacher contacted me because she liked my work elsewhere, and we agreed up-front that I would come in and talk to the cast and crew about our concept for the show and how the set design developed. In subsequent jobs for this school, I also showed the kids my final SketchUp model so they could visualize the set, and they really enjoyed that experience. This teacher used me not only as a designer, but also as a small part of the education process.

    The other high school pretty much just wanted a set designer, which was okay too. That was a huge two-story set (required by the script) which included a two-level firehouse with a fireman's pole, a cantilevered balcony, and two projections, and was completed in five Saturdays with two parents and a TD leading the process, plus lots of kids.

    I've also designed for a local college several times (also on a one-show contract) and served as a judge in their annual high school theatre festival. Our agreement here is that I come in 2-3 days a week to hang out in the shop, build or paint a piece or two, and generally interact with the students. It's worked fine every time.

    What I'm saying is that there are designers out there, like me, who are willing to help. You just have to be careful how you look for them. All set design programs (most of them are just tech programs) are not the same, so just hiring someone from the local college may not be the best way to go. Look around, interview them (really interview them), examine their portfolios carefully, make sure they understand your budget and limitations, and ask for 2-3 references.

    In a lot of cases, you can hire someone who's not local. Of course the designer will need to be there in person sometimes, but a lot of the work can be done by phone or email, or through Skype. Sketches, 3D models, shop drawings, painters' elevations, and so forth can all be transmitted electronically. And, as far as checking up on the work, I've had companies email me photos lots of time. It works fine.

    So yeah, in a lot of cases designers don't have to be full timers. If you take that load off the TD, along with some of the money, you may be able to afford an outside designer now and then.



    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net
    http://astore.amazon.com/sdtbookstore-20
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-12-2018 20:43

    George, you hit the nail on the head – twice!

    First, none of the high school theatre technicians I've ever worked with are full time at any given school. There is usually a pool of 7 to 12 technicians (a few lighting, a few sound, a few stage/rigging), and each event usually only needs 2 or 3 (or 7(!), as in the school mentioned on the Gold Standard Schools on my website). I've seen up to 5 – usually for supporting student crews during musicals.

    None of these professional technicians could survive on the hours from any given theatre, so they all have other endeavors; they either have 'day jobs', also work at other high school theatres in the area, are professionals from the community, or some are college students. And yes, that makes scheduling a pain, when you don't always have first dibs on your techies, but it's do-able (I should know, I did it for 7 years).

    Even a certified CTE (Career and Technical Education) teacher - which are technically required when students are doing any tech theatre, during or after school(!) - may not be full time. 

    Second, yes, in some cases, a designer doesn't always have to be on site. I myself offer remote Rep Plot design services, and I could likely also 'blind'-design for a play remotely if it came to it. And it can be cheaper – if the designer is not putting in the hours supervising the install or, as is often the case, providing the labor themselves, then it's likely they won't charge as much. The same could go for a costume designer or a sound designer. It all depends on the theatre and the production, but - as long as the Drama teacher has student crews to provide the 'labor', and as long we have CAD and the internet, as you say, the school theatre can hire someone who's not local.



    ------------------------------
    Beth Rand, EBMS
    Lighting Designer
    School Theatre Operations Coach

    NEW!
    ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

    HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

    "HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

    www.PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-13-2018 14:55

    George and Elizabeth - thanks for pointing out some new ideas and avenues for me to consider.  I love these discussions because it really helps me look beyond my school, my community and my circumstances.


    Although I am the director, the CTE Certified TD, the designers and crew, I DO find ways to bring in other professionals on a limited budget.  I've been very lucky to work with some amazing technicians at local regional companies.  I've hired fight choreographers, lighting designers, and set designers.  I just don't have the budget to pay for a lot of outside technicians YET.  ��


    I was quite inspired by other schools and the things I learned from those teachers at ITF to find ways, outside of my administration, to bring in additional funds.  I would LOVE to be able to hire techs more regularly than not, but I need funding to do so.  Besides the fact that it would help me and my overwhelming workload, I think the students benefit from working with a lot of different professionals.  They will learn more when they have the ability to work with those that are specialists or experts in their given role.  


    However, I'm tired of beating a dead horse, so to speak, and will find ways to raise the needed funds without going through the school administration.  I think it's the only way to get it done.  






  • 17.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-14-2018 16:21

    Jeana, I totally get your frustrations, but I feel I may have not been clear about budgets for staffing. You didn't mention if you have a separate staff member who manages/supervises/oversees in some way all the other events that use your theatre, but if you're like so many Drama teachers, you have hand in that too. Like most Drama teachers, you have your own classes to teach, your own productions to produce, and then you are also acting as a "Theatre Manager" for your theatre for all the other events that come in. (Even if you are not actually working the events and they have full rein, you're still likely having to deal with all the issues involved with other events using the theatre.)

    For anyone who is in the situation of being a 'one person show' for the whole theatre, hopefully the following word will help with the staffing budgeting issues, and that is:

    COMPARTMENTALIZE 

    DRAMA DEPARTMENT

    As the Drama teacher it sounds like you have in the past been able to hire designers, choreographers (dance and fight), and other professionals. These have all been hired to support your productions and come out of the Drama Department budget (whatever that budget is for you). Most of these professionals are usually creating the designs, leading students in the builds and hangs, essentially acting as technicians in their fields (for instance, I sometimes have to hang and focus the lights for my own design in theatres where the students aren't allowed up the ladder or lift), and mentoring your students in the process. Likewise a certified CTE teacher (in the future perhaps) would fall under your Drama Department's domain too – key word: "teacher", and therefore working with the students in Drama Department's tech classes and productions.

    THEATRE OPERATIONS

    But… the 'Theatre Manager' (or whatever term you use – in name only, or in practice) is in charge of supervising (or in whatever capacity you support the theatre's operations– paid or unpaid for your time) ALL of the events that use your theatre. These may be everything from meetings and lectures, to music concerts and variety shows, to your own plays and musicals. In essence, most high school theatres are being run like "roadhouses". Even your own play/musical is 'just another event' that uses the theatre (even though you may have more access than others). 

    So this is where the outside technicians come in. Even if you, the Drama teacher, has to be the person who has to deal with other events, Theatre Operations is a totally separate entity than producing your shows for your Drama Department. These professional technicians (often a pool of 9 or 10 technicians) are there to work ALL of the events that use your theatre (usually 2 or 3 technicians are required for an event), and in the process mentor any student crews who also run tech for any of these events. Theatre Operations technicians should not come out of your Drama Department budget. 

    COMPARTMENTALIZING

    But what if it's all one budget? This is where compartmentalizing comes in handy for working with your admin. Getting them to understand that your Drama Department's plays/musicals are only one event that comes into the theatre, and that the theatre needs to be 'managed' and staffed for all of the other events through the Theatre Operations. Separate, in your admin's eyes, your "Drama Department" from the "Theatre Operations". 

    Even though in reality, you may be doing both jobs and have been given one lump sum budget, it's best to financially compartmentalize them on paper, because this helps your admin understand, and hopefully one day change. There's an exercise we do in my online course in High School Theatre Management, where we create a separate budget for the Theatre Operations – separate from the Drama Department's show budgets. One example of how to separate costs is this: If the theatre typically uses R51 gels for the area lights, and say R23 and R68 for your amber and blue washes, and all events that come into the theatre use the areas and washes with those gels in them, then purchasing replacement gels comes out of the Theatre Operations budget. But then when you come in and you're doing a play that requires R02 gels for the areas and you need R58 and R90 because you need deep lav and green washes, then those "show-specific" gels come out of your Drama Department's budget. (And then when your show is finished, the standard theatre gels are replaced in the instruments, ready for the next event.) Another example is the scene shop. This is Drama Department territory. No other events should use your scene shop(!). Therefore it is not under the Theatre Operations budget. So anything needed for your scene shop, would come out of your Drama Department budget. These are just two examples, but most of your supplies, equipment, maintenance will fall into one of two categories – used by your Drama Department only or used by the Theatre Operations for all events. And so, your show designers and theatre technicians also fall under the same budgetary compartmentalization – the former is for your Drama Department and the latter is for the Theatre Operations.

    I realize that you, or others reading this, may be thinking, but I'm having to do all this and the admin isn't supportive of having it any other way. And I don't know if this is exactly your situation, Jeana, but it seems to me, from your statement "I just don't have the budget to pay for a lot of outside technicians"[in addition to designers for your plays as previously mentioned] that you've had to take on the responsibility for the Theatre Operations as well as your Drama Department's operations and that has become one entity in the eyes of your admin – "the theatre". Your Drama Department shouldn't be having to raise funds to pay for the outside technicians, just the designers and other support for your shows directly.

    FIRST STEPS

    So the first step to helping your admin understand the differences is to get into the practice of having your Drama Department's show budgets (designers, equipment, supplies) compartmentalized from the budget for running the Theatre Operations as a whole (technicians, equipment, supplies, maintenance). At first, you will probably be doing this just on paper because you may currently have one budget/"income" provided for you (Excel spreadsheets are great for keeping track of two budgets under one lump sum income). And then, after tracking these two separate budgets on paper, you can then approach your admin, and point out to them that your Drama Department has in the past been having to raise the funds to pay for outside technicians, supplies, maintenance, etc. for all of the Theatre Operations, when in fact your Drama Department is only one of many of the events that use the theatre. 

    If this is not your situation, Jeana, and you do have a separate Theatre Manager who has a separate Theatre Operations budget, then that's great! So in that case, I do hope this has helped other Drama teachers reading this who have been in the situation of having to do - and pay for - it ALL. Hopefully this may be one step towards getting that horse we thought was dead to raise its head.



    ------------------------------
    Beth Rand, EBMS
    Lighting Designer
    School Theatre Operations Coach

    NEW!
    ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

    HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

    "HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

    www.PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: Technical director AND set designer?

    Posted 07-12-2018 20:38

    Jeana, two things struck me about your post. First you wrote,

    "I am well aware of how a professional company functions and as much as I would like this world to be a reality in high school; I just don't think that will ever be the reality…. Administrators and school districts do not, for the most part, support theatre programs financially and sadly, they never will."

    but then you wrote,

    "I attended ITF for the first time a few weeks ago and my eyes were opened to so much more.  There are schools that have budgets of $150,000+ each year… The schools with large budgets are in that position because they worked to get there, not because anything was handed to them by an administrator.  It is entirely possibly to build a program that can pay for multiple people in professional positions…that takes building a program one step at a time…"

    I agree with you, nothing will ever be handed to school theatre programs by an administrator, but as you mentioned, there are some schools who have near professional programs because they worked to get there - one step at a time.  I've worked in several high schools that had pools of technical crews ("coaches" if you will) of 7 to 12 people, as well as a CTE program, and I know of others who are also this way and/or are moving this way. As you say, it takes one step at a time.

    You also mentioned:

    "It also takes people that are willing to give their time and expertise, even though it is not the best paying job in the world." 

    Sports coaches give their time and expertise for little pay, too ($3000 for a season is not much per hour), and I suspect this is funded through the "fund raising" efforts of the teams (be it car washes or ticket sales). But the difference is, their value is recognized, sought out, and supported - albeit possibly not paid for - by the admin. 

    As you are finding, these models are already reality in some schools, where the administrators do support the hiring of theatre staff (albeit do not necessarily directly fund them – although some have gotten to that point), and a lot of people are working to make this a reality as more and more schools jump on the bandwagon. And, like you, a lot of people are learning just what is possible. It's great that you're in on the conversation that is opening a lot of people's eyes as to what is possible.

    Together we can change the 'norm'!



    ------------------------------
    Beth Rand, EBMS
    Lighting Designer
    School Theatre Operations Coach

    NEW!
    ONLINE CERTIFICATE COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL TECH THEATRE STUDENTS (AND TEACHERS) http://www.presett.org/techieacademy.html

    HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Fall session Sept 10th. http://www.presett.org/theatre-management-course.html

    "HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS" and more tech theatre books at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

    www.PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
    ------------------------------