Technical Theatre Copyright © 2000 Robert C. Huber
When people think of show business it is usually in terms of the things that show: actors, and to a lesser extent directors and writers. But most people who make a living in theatre, film, and television are not so visible. They work behind the scenes in relative anonymity. I often tell students that if they find show business exciting, but feel that they don't have artistic talent, that for nearly every job category there is a theatrical equivalent. You may be doing the same boring job, but at least you'll have celebrities as clients! Like to cook? Every movie shot on location hires caterers who specialize in this area. Going to study law? Entertainment lawyers negotiate contracts and package deals every day. Is mechanics your thing? Studios have their own mechanical departments for maintenance, and specialty prop companies build and maintain machinery of all kinds from camera dollies to custom cars. Folks want you to be in medicine? Every set must have a medical professional of some sort in attendance. Drivers, gardeners, electricians, accountants--the list goes on--all have their place in this industry. For those who are artistic, but not as a performer, there is what is called technical theatre in the stage world, and crafts in the world of film and television. These areas include both the art and technology of scenery, props, costumes, lighting, sound, and make up. The entertainment industry is huge. In fact, in southern California it is the single largest employer. If you want to be a part of show business, you can find a place for yourself and your skills no matter what they are. In this chapter we will focus on the world of technical theatre and crafts, exploring such areas as skills, training, job categories, techniques, unions, salaries, and working conditions. As always we will note the differences between the three modes of dramatic art, theatre, film, and television along the way.
Designers and Technicians
In technical theatre it is customary to make a distinction between those who create the ideas and those who execute them. Those who conceive the look of a production are essentially artists whom we call designers. They are trained to use their imaginations in order to come up with ideas, and then to shape and adapt these ideas to the practicalities at hand. Finally, they must be able to communicate these ideas through drawings, models, or other graphical representations. These drawings and models are used to "sell" their ideas and to clearly coordinate them with other designers working on related elements of the project.
When the designers have completed their work it is up to highly skilled craftsmen to bring these ideas to life. In theatre these people are usually referred to as technicians, and in film and television they are more typically called crafts people. Within each discipline "techies" or crafts people have specific job titles, skills, and union affiliations.Training
Most training of designers and technicians today occurs within the Theatre Arts, Cinema, or Television departments of colleges and universities. Typical majors within these programs would include scenery design, lighting design, costume and make up design, and theatre, film or television production. Within these areas of focus can be learned all of the skills necessary for a career. The training of designers includes courses in drawing and painting, computer illustration, art theory, art history, theatre history, dramatic literature, production and staging. In order to fully mature, many design majors go on to complete a Master's or Master of Fine Arts degree. In graduate programs young designers get a chance to put their training into practice by designing sets, costumes, make up, or lighting that is actually used in college plays. The oldest and most prestigious training program for designers has been at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, but there are many other fine programs around the country today.
Technicians, too, are more frequently coming out of college programs. Technical skills can be acquired in a two-year community college professional training program such as that of the Theatre Academy at Los Angeles City College. Others prefer to get four-year training as quasi-designers even though their job target is to work as a technician. It is also still possible to work one's way into the crafts with on-the-job training only. This is especially true in the film and television industries where the crafts unions offer some apprenticeship opportunities.The Design Process
All designers must possess certain shared skills and utilize common processes by virtue of their link to art. All artists have the following variables at their disposal:
While these four variables may seem simple, the skillful manipulation and combination of them can be found in anything from a Frank Lloyd Wright building to a painting by Van Gogh.
Whether one designs scenery, costumes, or lighting, the following standard set of procedures is common to all.
Unions
There is one large umbrella union which covers nearly everyone working in a design or technical capacity in theatre, film, and television. This union is the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. It is commonly just called the IA or by its acronym IATSE (pronounced like the game Yahtzee). You've probably seen its peculiar five-armed Maltese cross symbol if you ever watched until the end of the credits after a movie or TV program. It represents more than 80,000 members in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1893 to represent stage workers, but later expanded to include both film and television. The union is divided into locals which represent particular specialties. There are fifty-eight specialties ranging from those such as Art Directors to the Theatrical Wardrobe Union. A complete list can be found on the Local Union Directory page of the IATSE web site at www.iatse-intl.org. Generally speaking there are separate specialty locals for theatre and what IA calls "moving picture," by which they mean film and television. Sometimes the distinctions get very fuzzy. United Scenic Artists Local 829 in Hollywood represents scenery, costume, lighting, and sound designers as well as art directors and scenic artists in the entire western region. In this business, a scenic artist is one who paints scenery and an art director is one who supervises other designers on a motion picture. Similar locals in Chicago and New York represent artists in their regions. All candidates for membership must take a written test that is offered periodically. Those who pass must then undertake a practical take-home project. Set designers are asked to prepare renderings and complete scale drawings for a set within a specified period of time. Scenic artists are asked to paint samples of various techniques from a paint elevation while being observed by a union representative. Those whose work is judged to meet the standards of the profession are allowed to join after paying an initiation fee.
Production
As we have learned, dramatic art is a collaborative process involving the participation of many artists and technicians. The term production is used in this sense to describe the entire process from beginning to end. The process is similar in all three modes of dramatic art, but there are some significant differences. Let's begin by looking at the traditional production process of theatre, since this is where it all started, and then look at some of the differences between it and film and television production.
Theatre
Production in the theatre begins after the director has chosen or been assigned the script. Some say the production process includes casting actors and hiring designers, while others say it begins with rehearsal. In any case it is a two-track process. The first track begins on the technical side, since it takes designers and technicians longer to design and build sets and costumes than it does for actors to rehearse. Designers meet with the director in a series of production meetings to develop and coordinate design ideas. One of the most important things that happens at the first meeting is the establishment of a production calendar. This is a schedule of deadlines that must be met. Unlike films, the opening of a play is time-certain. Tickets have been pre-sold and a theatre booked well in advance. There can be no delays and no excuses. At some point after the drawings are completed, the second track commences with rehearsals. The actors are shown the designers' models and renderings to assist them in developing their characters and actions. Rehearsals take place in a room or studio in which the floorplan of the set is marked on the floor with tape, and simple furniture pieces stand-in for the the actual props. A typical rehearsal period is about four weeks, eight hours per day.
The director is assisted at rehearsals by one of the most important people in theatre, the stage manager. Once a show has opened to the public, the director leaves and the stage manager takes over. He or she is responsible for running the show including calling all cues, and conducting weekly understudy rehearsals. As stage managers are members of the Actors Equity union they have the power to fine actors who are late for their calls and other infractions.
While rehearsals are going on, technicians are building, painting, and sewing their way to completion on the various elements of the production. At one of the last production meetings a paper tech is conducted. At this session the designers, stage manager, and director write all the technical cues in the script and prepare numbered cue sheets for all crews. When the sets and costumes are ready they are delivered to the stage and dressing rooms on the day prescribed for load-in. Usually the lighting equipment is delivered and installed first to take advantage of the clear stage floor. Then the scenery and props are loaded-in and set up. What follows is usually called tech week. During tech week the two tracks of preparation come together to stage the play. As soon as the set and lights are in place the director, stage manager, designers, and crew conduct a dry tech. This is a dry run in which all the cues are tested and rehearsed without the actors. On the first day of tech week, often a Monday, the actors rehearse on the set for the first time as the crews try to coordinate their cues with the action of the play. It is a start-and-stop affair in which they usually skip large chunks of the play as they move from cue to cue. It is a very repetitious, tedious, and boring process, but one that must be worked through for the show to run smoothly. At the second or third tech rehearsal the costumes are added to the process, and later the make up. These are known as dress rehearsals. After dress rehearsals, test audiences are admitted to the theatre for low-cost preview performances. This gives the playwright, director, and actors a chance to make adjustments for audience reactions. This marks the end of production period and the beginning of performance period, or the run.Film
The essential difference between stage and film production is that the latter takes place in two distinct parts: production and post-production. The production part itself is also different in that it takes place in many locations or studios according to a shooting schedule. Each scene is prepared and shot individually, like a small play. Sets and costumes are not finished all at once, but only as needed. The scenes themselves are seldom shot in the same order that they will appear in the finished film. Actors may do the last scenes first and the first scenes last with little sense of continuity. Many movies go over budget and are not finished within the original time schedule. It is a much more diffuse and flexible process. Once the film is "in the can" the post-production process begins. The film doesn't really begin to take shape until the actors have finished their work. In post-production the film is edited, special effects and sound added, and titles created. We say that film is a director's medium because the director working with the editors has the final say as to what the film will look like.
Television
The production of television is a little like both of the above, depending upon whether it is a TV movie or weekly series. The television movie goes together in the same way a theatrical film does. But a series is much like theatre, only moreso. Series television has a definite target date, but has a much shorter time span to reach it. The fact that an episode is only either 23 or 48 minutes makes this possible. For example, a half-hour sitcom may be written in 48 hours over a weekend in time for a Monday morning table read. During the rest of the week the writer and staff do revisions, the cast rehearses, and any new sets required for the episode are built. Meanwhile, the staff and writers are also plotting out the next script. On Friday the show is taped, as they say, "before a live studio audience." The writer goes home to write a draft of the next week's script as the cycle continues.
Reading Assignment
No textbook reading or quiz today.
Lecture Exercise
Follow the link in the section on Unions to the IATSE Web site.
First, tell me what the reference code APC stands for, and give me the full names of three other specialties you personally might enjoy working in. (Hint: mouse over Local Union Directory link, then click on the link "Local Type Legend")
Second, navigate your way to the APC Web site to tell me what specific crafts (job categories) are represented by APC Local 44 in Hollywood. (Hint: on the Local Type Legend page look for a yellow box that says "Related Links" and click on "Useful Links." Scroll down to find the link to the Local 44's own web site to get the detailed info you need to answer my second question. Once there you will find a list of crafts under Local 44-->About Us)
Note that when submitting the answer start the subject line with:
TH101DE -- YourLastName -- L-15
Next lecture: Scenery