My theater tech life
Last night, I had a rather interesting night of doing theater tech at IB. Instead of our normal Thursday lineup, we are hosting the first Queer Qomedy Festival (no, that's not a typo). I have to say that working last night was pretty darn awesome. The stand-ups and the drag queens were not only a joy to watch and to work with, but it was fun, even if harrowing, to help those shows just go off to a pleased audience.
Someone asked me before why I like doing theater tech. After all, you're not in the spotlight, you often get crappy jobs like running cables or fetching props, and it does involve some actor static since, face it, some performers are insane talking piles of douche. At the same time, there is something nice about being part of a show, even if your part is best served by being an invisible hand that shines a well-timed light at the right spot or makes that darn phone ring. Those parts may not have all the luster of the spotlight, but they have their own rewards. Plus, I don't really enjoy the spotlight as much as many, and would rather render that onto someone who wants to play Caesar.
I think it also does give an interesting perspective on things. Because I'm a bit removed from the action, I can feel a bit more objective while being not as dispassionate as a critic. Most of the action of teching is just watching people perform because you have to pay super-close attention to aspects of the show that normally get occluded by that fourth wall. Did the player find his or her light? Are they mangling the script and paraphrasing or, worse yet, jumping lines, thus throwing off everyone else? You see things like that, and I think it's kinda neat because it reminds me of how much art there is in all aspects of the show. And seeing it all come together is, to me, more enjoyable than being plopped into the audience to just watch the end result, even if the end result is really impressive.
One of my biggest regrets from college is that I didn't explore theater when I was there, especially since UVa had such an amazing drama department. I felt overly intimidated by it, honestly. My high school had no drama classes, thus put on no plays while I was there, and there wasn't many outlets for people wanting to explore this field in a town with zero live theater venues. The only time that I had done anything was doing the Forensics team in high school (that's the speaking kind, not the dead body kind). I went as far as State doing oratory on semi-automatic gun control (and was ripped to shreds by a judge who called me a "left-wing wacko" for saying that we should have some controls in place -- yay rural Virginia!). I wrote humorous and serious speeches. I did dramatic poetry readings. I even acted all the parts of a one-act play once. These things were the best way that I could stop being the kid that cried and hid under his desk in sixth grade when asked to read his book report in front of the class. That kid is part of who I am still, but as get older, I start to realize more and more than shyness and modesty can keep you honest, but hiding in your room, safely in your metaphorical womb so that you touch no one and no one touches you is not the way I want to live.
Once in a while, I think I will venture onto the stage in a very limited way just to prove to myself that I can. That's another reason that I am staying so involved in productions, because I'm learning by osmosis. The tutelage of vlvtjones has been invaluable as well. I hear her voice when I think I'm acting unreasonable, and that's a good thing. I have a long way to go, and feel like I'm over a decade late from where I want to be, but at least I'm doing it now. And it's not too late. Maybe I can finally channel that sense of overwhelming stage dread into something useful, be it in tech, at karaoke, or just in life.
Someone asked me before why I like doing theater tech. After all, you're not in the spotlight, you often get crappy jobs like running cables or fetching props, and it does involve some actor static since, face it, some performers are insane talking piles of douche. At the same time, there is something nice about being part of a show, even if your part is best served by being an invisible hand that shines a well-timed light at the right spot or makes that darn phone ring. Those parts may not have all the luster of the spotlight, but they have their own rewards. Plus, I don't really enjoy the spotlight as much as many, and would rather render that onto someone who wants to play Caesar.
I think it also does give an interesting perspective on things. Because I'm a bit removed from the action, I can feel a bit more objective while being not as dispassionate as a critic. Most of the action of teching is just watching people perform because you have to pay super-close attention to aspects of the show that normally get occluded by that fourth wall. Did the player find his or her light? Are they mangling the script and paraphrasing or, worse yet, jumping lines, thus throwing off everyone else? You see things like that, and I think it's kinda neat because it reminds me of how much art there is in all aspects of the show. And seeing it all come together is, to me, more enjoyable than being plopped into the audience to just watch the end result, even if the end result is really impressive.
One of my biggest regrets from college is that I didn't explore theater when I was there, especially since UVa had such an amazing drama department. I felt overly intimidated by it, honestly. My high school had no drama classes, thus put on no plays while I was there, and there wasn't many outlets for people wanting to explore this field in a town with zero live theater venues. The only time that I had done anything was doing the Forensics team in high school (that's the speaking kind, not the dead body kind). I went as far as State doing oratory on semi-automatic gun control (and was ripped to shreds by a judge who called me a "left-wing wacko" for saying that we should have some controls in place -- yay rural Virginia!). I wrote humorous and serious speeches. I did dramatic poetry readings. I even acted all the parts of a one-act play once. These things were the best way that I could stop being the kid that cried and hid under his desk in sixth grade when asked to read his book report in front of the class. That kid is part of who I am still, but as get older, I start to realize more and more than shyness and modesty can keep you honest, but hiding in your room, safely in your metaphorical womb so that you touch no one and no one touches you is not the way I want to live.
Once in a while, I think I will venture onto the stage in a very limited way just to prove to myself that I can. That's another reason that I am staying so involved in productions, because I'm learning by osmosis. The tutelage of vlvtjones has been invaluable as well. I hear her voice when I think I'm acting unreasonable, and that's a good thing. I have a long way to go, and feel like I'm over a decade late from where I want to be, but at least I'm doing it now. And it's not too late. Maybe I can finally channel that sense of overwhelming stage dread into something useful, be it in tech, at karaoke, or just in life.