Category: Technical

A Gothic Tale Lighting Plot.

In preparation for our show A Gothic Tale, a lighting plot has to drawn-up and sent to the technical staff of the Lincoln Performing Art Centre (LPAC) before the date of the performance. A lighting plot is scale drawing of the stage and the position of the lights needed for the show. The drawing communicates what lights are desired and where the lights should be placed in relation to the stage. Our lighting plot is as follows: A Gothic Tale Lighting Plot. To create this document we had to go through each scene and decide what how we wanted to light each specific section of the stage. We also used the LPAC’s lighting rig document (LX Bars & FOH Slingco Lighting Positions) to aid us in our own lighting plot to create a document that would be easy to follow for the technical staff.

On the day of the performance I helped rig and focus the lights while referring to the technical documents Kate and I produced. I have learnt from this that, even though our documents were accurate, more lights are needed to create some effects. For example on our lighting plot, light ten and eleven are used to create a wash over the bed. While trying to focus I quickly realised more lights were needed to create the effect that I intended. If I ever needed to draw-up another lighting plot I would take this into consideration.

A Gothic Tale Show Report

A Gothic Tale Show Report

Date: 19/05/13

Audience: 110

Show up: 7.28pm

Show end: 8.40pm

Total time: 1hr 12min

Crew:

PM – Kate Dawson

SM – Alex Urbanczyk

DSM – Robert Bull

Notes:

Cue 35 – LX53 Came on too quickly, actor was not ready in place on stage.

SR spot came on too early with LX60 instead of LX61. Actor still used spotlight at appropriate time and LX61 kept SR spot on. 

Technical Documentation – After (and Pre-Show Checks)

I am extremely pleased with the results of our technical documentation and feel that the hours spent creating and developing them have been well spent.

We used a ‘Progeny Theatre’ layout, font and format to ‘brand’ our documentation, which gave them a professional look as well as used previous examples of other Theatre Company’s work as case studies for our own documents. The response to our documentation from the venue has been very positive and, as such, the LPAC are prepared for our arrival, which is now at 9am on Sunday 19th May.

All technical documentation can be viewed here.

Myself and the Stage Manager have produced a Performance Day Schedule which underlines the ‘desired’ performance day schedule. However, due to the recent date change (we were originally booked to complete our get-in the evening prior to performance day) we are aware that, because we are a’ tech-heavy’ group, our get-in may over-run and have planned our day accordingly.

We have completed a Pre-Show Check-list of all technical requirements and I am confident that we are fully prepared for performance day.

  • Technical Documentation – completed and sent to venue.
  • QLab file – completed 3 weeks prior to performance and has been kept up-to-date. Saved on memory stick to transfer to LPAC Apple Mac.
  • Sound – all files saved in numerous locations in case of file corruption.
  • Props – sourced and stored in venue.
  • Set – finished and stored in venue.
  • Costume – completed and stored in venue.
  • Actors – briefed on Risk Assessment and Performance Day Schedule.
  • Budget – up-to-date and with £30 left for last minute expenses.

Kate Dawson

Word Count: 251

Technical Documentation – Before

Technical Documentation is produced as a way of informing receiving theatres of a theatre company’s technical requirements. Without such documentation the venue would be unprepared for a company’s arrival and, as a consequence, the get-in process would be slower and less efficient, meaning that time would be wasted which may have been used for technical/dress rehearsals. Maximum use of time is a valuable factor for our theatre company as we have limited time to complete the get-in, which starts at 9.00am, before the performance, which begins at 7.30pm.  Therefore, producing technical documentation which is thorough and well-explained is vital.

Despite our theatre companies amateur status, I feel it is important to produce documentation which rivals that of other professional theatre companies. Not only is it a valuable experience for a newly establishing company to produce such material, it also gives the theatre a good first-impression of the company.

As Production Manager, my role is to ensure that all technical elements of this production are completed to a high standard, which will ‘fit together’ to produce a high quality performance. My aim is to produce documentation which is as professional looking as our performance, as well as highly detailed.

The Technical Rider is that which holds the most detail of a company’s performance. It explains what equipment/staging is needed, details on the company and the show they are touring, as well as any FOH/Company requirements. It is my responsibly, along with the Stage Management/Technical team to produce this and other technical documentation.

Kate Dawson

Word Count: 255

Lighting Synopsis.

After going through the script scene by scene Kate and I have created a lighting synopsis for the production. We always had in our minds that we wanted to create a show that was technically demanding. In order to prepare ourselves for the day we have started to create the technical documentation that will aid us for the get-in on May the nineteenth. The lighting synopsis is as follows: A Gothic Tale Lighting Synopsis. When it comes to programming all the lighting and sound cues on the day of the performance we will have a physical document to refer to. This will make the process of the get-in smooth and enable us to complete the programming of the cues quickly so we will have more time to rehearse the cues in technical runs relieving some stress.

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