List of Contributions

RE: Looking for a TD

Posted By Dan Mellitz 05-27-2018 10:23
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I wish I had knew about this sooner lol. I was looking for Technical director jobs not to long ago. Post on aisne.org. Or nais.org. Since you are an independent school I believe you can get on there. I always look there. Also usitt.org. I hAve seen a few schools on there ------------------------------ ...

RE: Full-Time TD

Posted By Dan Mellitz 05-17-2018 14:38
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I think this is a huge issue that many places face. Asking a TD to be part time at a school is insane to me. The amount of time and work that goes into designing, building, maintaining and running a space is way more than part time hours. If the Drama teacher is full time, then the TD should be full ...

RE: Please provide your input on this job description

Posted By Dan Mellitz 05-04-2018 11:35
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I think overall, the job itself is normal, and what most of us Educational technical directors do if not more. But I agree, and I have had this feeling as I look at jobs posted, that any Technical Director job that isn't like at a elementary school level should never be part time. And there are numerous ...

Gates and trees up for sale

Posted By Dan Mellitz 05-03-2018 07:57
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I have a pair of gates I built for Addams Family last year and the trees were built at the same time for Addams and Beauty and the Beast. I then just used the gates for Mary Poppins Jr. I would like to get rid of them both. The gates no longer say Addams since I used them for Another Show . I am willing ...

RE: Looking for Contemporary Language "Midsummer Night's Dream"

Posted By Dan Mellitz 05-02-2018 08:09
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Hi, yeah we open midsummer Jersey this weekend. I am not a fan lol. ------------------------------ Dan Mellitz Technical Director St Andrews School Barrington, RI Www.techiegreenroom.com ------------------------------

RE: Commitment to rehearsals

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-30-2018 07:57
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This has happened to me and my wife more times than we can count. Its annoying, and it makes life so complicated, but I feel contracts won't help. I feel all you will get is mad parents because in the end, they will do what they want, and then they will complain that family obligations come first, and ...

RE: I'm a senior, I deserve it!

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-30-2018 07:52
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I know a lot of people have responded already, but hey, one more can't hurt. I went through a similar situation on high school, but social media didn't exist, so ranting publicly wasn't an option like that. But the question was, did they not get the parts because there were other people better for ...

RE: Apps you can't live without?

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-16-2018 08:04
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If someone wants to send me a full list, or i will find the time to weed, I will add it to my site. ------------------------------ Dan Mellitz Technical Director St Andrews School Barrington, RI Www.techiegreenroom.com ------------------------------

RE: Tacky To Do Same Show As Another School???

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-16-2018 08:01
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Okay, this is something that I think about all the time. The Phenomenon that is every school chooses the same few shows the same year. I wish there was study on this. Inevitably, despite the show being old, new, ancient or redicuolous, everyone chooses the same shows all the time. For instance, this ...

RE: Faculty attitudes towards tech week

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-16-2018 07:56
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I think in some sense you will always have grumpy faculty and the best you can do is what you are proposing and just give them warning, make sure the students know that this is not an excuse to not do the work. For someone reason every school has those few grumpy teachers who just won't be appeased ...

RE: Lord Farquaad costume

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-15-2018 07:41
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Hi, so we had a costume department but we Designed the mechanism with umpire knee pads as the were hard plastic that covered most of the leg and protected the actors knees. The costumer then got stocking and sewed one end shut, stuffed them and but a ball at the knee area to give it some structure then ...

RE: last minute (!) build

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-11-2018 07:52
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These schedules make things really hard. I had to fight a few years ago not to have a whole year that looked like that. And that was with 10 plus shows. So, The sympathy for sure you can get from me! I think like others said, if there is any way to get some of the pieces set up so they can see if, ...

RE: QLab

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-04-2018 06:55
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I love qlab. The free version does not do video on other screens but it does do audio. You can't add effects or anything like that in the free but it's perfectly fine for sound cues. You can absolutely rent it per day at a reasonable cost and if you email them with your education credentials it's even ...

RE: Smoke Machines

Posted By Dan Mellitz 04-03-2018 09:04
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I agree about renting. Unless you see using it again, spend the money on something more powerful to rent rather than a cheaper purchase. But if you want to purchase I still think it depends on a little more detail on the effect. Are you looking for straight up into the air? Does it have to last or do ...

RE: Scene Shop

Posted By Dan Mellitz 03-23-2018 07:18
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I think a lot depends on your budget. When it comes to table saws I believe all schools should have sawstop Saws. These are designed with safety in mind and stop instantly the moment they detect anything related to human skin touching the blade. Panel saws are a bit pricey but once you have them ...

RE: Ladders and Lifts

Posted By Dan Mellitz 03-20-2018 07:37
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I find that it's always up to me as the rd to enforce safety on all equipment especially ladders and lifts. I believe there is technically a law that anyone under the age of 14 can not do anything on ladders or lifts or really even use power tools unless it's in a vocational program dedicated to that ...

RE: Numbering Lighting Cues: Trying Something Different

Posted By Dan Mellitz 03-10-2018 07:05
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Hi, This concept is intriguing but I am not sure how it works with lighting cues. If you have more than 10 cues on a page, you won't line up with your lighting cue numbers in your board. I know you can do 1.1, 1.2 etc in a board, but after 1.9 most boards have to switch to the next whole number. ...

RE: Technical Theatre Activities for Middle Schoolers

Posted By Dan Mellitz 03-03-2018 05:17
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I currently teach Tech theater as part of our middle school art rotation. I think what I have learned is that I need to approach it in a way that is fun and active. The first time I thought middle schoolers I was cautious with them around power tools but I still let them do it. Now honestly I wouldn't ...

RE: Projections: Where To Start?

Posted By Dan Mellitz 03-01-2018 08:12
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I have started to use projection quiet a bit, and its really a whole other world to deal with. Right now, my only option is from the front, but for the most part I am able to project on screens and things built into the set that are not really being affected by the actors. 9ft behind the cyc is not bad, ...

RE: Building Stair Sets

Posted By Dan Mellitz 02-21-2018 00:13
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Honestly, by best suggestion is to just buy the stringers. I know at home depot you can get a 5 stair stringer for $15 dollars or so. You are going to spend more money in the lumber and time to build your own. I really only build my own escape stairs. And that I use 2x8 lumber or bigger and route ...

Dan Mellitz

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