LAMDA Rep 4: Lighting on "Journey's End"

June and July 2015 

My final rep at LAMDA was to be a part of the Lighting Crew on "Journey's End" and "The Low Road." As with my Sound rotation, we prepped the hardware for both shows as a team and then I was assigned, with a partner, to operate on "Journey's End". Also, "The Low Road" required Stage LX crew to move practical lights throughout the show, so we ended up working on both shows. 

We began our preparations for the show with a refresher course on electricity via online videos presented by Dave Austin. My Fight Night Flyman joined me on this adventure, and the combination of our very low sleep rating with the brilliance of 80's/90's educational videos was almost too much to take in. When Dave demonstrated the push and pull of electrons, neutrons and protons from within an aquarium, complete with passing fish, we stifled our laughter as best we could until he pulled out a table tennis racket and smashed a proton "through" the glass. Any composure we had remaining was lost! 

This moment will live on as one of my favourite LAMDA memories;
at least our education has been entertaining! 

His methods are different, but Dave Austin managed to teach us a few things...
whether or not I remember any of this is a different issue... ugh. Science. 

Our time with Dave Austin prepared us for the most important part of prep work: cable testing. During Sound, we used a cable tester which ensured that the XLR and Speakon cables were wired correctly, but it does not test for current flow, as speaker cables do not carry power. Lanterns obviously need power, so in Lighting, we perform a Portable Appliance Test (PAT) on each of the 15A/16A power cables. This is a British safety requirement for public spaces and the little green sticker is a common sight throughout Britain. 

PAT Testing the cables consisted of two parts: First, manually opening up each plug and socket to check the wiring is correct and in good condition, as well as checking the overall condition of the cable. Second, plugging the cable to the PAT unit to check resistance etc is within the acceptable range. On the very long cables, 40m+, we often saw confusing results as we didn't have room to completely uncoil the cable for the test! My tutors gave me an explanation as to how a cable could fail one part of the test and pass the other, but I'll be honest, I only remember that it had to do with length. Lighting is basically science, which I was never good at, and added to that, I was trying to wrap my head around it after the insanity of Fight Night. My tutors were very patient with my foggy brain!

In addition to my foggy "Fight Night Brain", I contracted a cold shortly after we got into the venue. Happily, we were at The Greenwood again, where we could fly the onstage light bars down to the floor for rigging. During the focus session, however, we needed to climb up to the lights, in the dark, and point ("focus") them on particular areas of the stage to fine tune the design. I learned that I may actually have a small fear of heights! Actually, it was only on the extension of the Zargess ladder though. I was fine on the Tallescope, so maybe I don't fear heights so much as I need to have greater trust in trigonometry. 

Focus Notes - The lantern, where it is, what colour of gel is on it and where it is pointing. 

My favourite part of working on Lighting was programming on the Lighting Desk. During the plot however, my cold hit full force and I was basically useless. My brain was a fog and I'd lost my voice, which doesn't seem like a big loss for a technician, but it meant that I couldn't shout to my partner during the rig check, and was inaudible over the headsets. . So, my lost voice meant I couldn't be heard from the stage to call out lanterns for the rig check and my foggy brain meant that I was slow to turn them on when they were called to me. See? Useless. 

I armed myself with tissues, cough syrup, lozenges and hand cleanser so that by Tech I felt much better, with a bit of voice. I was happily clicking away at the desk for the rig check, when my tutor came over and said "Well, you're feeling better!" It was great to have the concentration to do the part of the job I really enjoyed. The LD (Lighting Designer) sits between the desk and the director, relaying the creative request into a technical instruction for the programmer. This is when everything starts to come to life; the actors in costume, on a full stage with props, and  Lighting and Sound pulling it all together. Each department brings their best to make theatre magic! (Yep, I said "theatre magic". I like cheese.) 

The set for Journey's End was amazing. The show takes place during WWI and the set creates a series of trenches increasing in height behind a bunkhouse. The main action takes place within the bunkhouse and when the actors leave for the field, we only see the tops of the heads above ground before they disappear into the unknown. This was especially effective during battle scenes, which were never actually seen by the audience. We only hear the shouts and explosions, and see the reactions of the characters left onstage to bear it. Our favourite part as Lighting operators was during 2 large battle scenes, where we discovered the best way to "show" an explosion was not to program a fancy effect, but manually operate a set of lights in time with the explosions created by Sound.  We would listen for the "eeeeeee....BOOM" of particular explosions and flicker the lights on and off appropriately. It was good fun and it also meant that each performance was unique, depending on which Sound operator was throwing the explosions and which Lighting operator was responding. 

http://q2qcomics.com/comic/q2q197/
Our LD had a 15 minute transition that was cut to 5 ... and I still had to check the screen each time. 
We teased him for his "subtle and artistic" vision :-)

Our LD's response to our sass :-) 

Our last day of Technical Rehearsals for Journey was a very special day - my 30th birthday! It feels surreal enough to be 30 years old, but celebrating it in a theatre in London made it even more so. And, the proud Canadian that I am, I made it clearly known that it was an incredibly important day for me AND my country. :) 

Happily for me, I have great friends who humour me, and my LD loves Canada. He made a red and white moving light show effect in my honour. My Fight Night Flyman and fellow LX team-mate even tried out a recipe of Nanaimo bars to give me a Canadian treat. Our LD tried one and said it was the most Canadian treat because it "tastes like kindness." 

I came home to a little pile of gifts from my amazing flat-mates, including a set of "Emergency Moustaches", from the roomie who said "If I know anyone who would actually need these, it's you!"  A friend from church said she went out to buy a cupcake for me and was surprised to find the perfect one! 

I'm very grateful to have so many wonderful people in my life. This is not at all where I expected to be at 30. I've always wanted to live overseas; I never imagined it would happen like this. It has been a great way to start my 30s. I'm excited to see what adventures I find in the next 10 years! 

My roles for 2nd year: 

Rep 1: Production Carpenter

Rep 2: Deputy Stage Manager

Rep 3: Production Sound Engineer 

Rep 4: Placement 1 

Rep 5: Production Manager 

Rep 6: Placement 2 

My home away from home - hopefully we'll be back next year!

LAMDA Fight Night & SM1 Design Exhibition

June 2015 

Before my final role at LAMDA, we had two events: Fight Night and the SM1 Design Exhibition. Fight Night is an annual school event in which the actors showcase their stage combat skins in preparation for their certification exams. The SM1 Design Exhibition is the school event where we put our completed model box projects on display, along with our other scenic art and workshop projects.

FIGHT NIGHT 

Get Outs for LAMDA reps are usually on a Friday, giving us the weekend to recover and prepare for the next rep. Because I volunteered to work on Fight Night, my transition looked like this: 

Friday: Rep 3 Get Out & Fight Night Get In 

Saturday & Sunday: All Day - Fight Night Rehearsals 

Monday - AM: Lighting Prep. PM: Fight Night Dress and Show 

Tuesday - AM: Lighting Prep. PM: Stage Combat Exams 

Wednesday: All day - SM1 Exhibition at LAMDA

Thursday: Get Out SM1 Exhibition 

Friday: First Full Day Lighting

We had a small crew for the show: Stage Manager, Deputy Stage Manager, 2 Sound Ops, Chief LX, LX Op, Lighting Designer, Carpenter/Flyman, and 2 Production Crew, who ultimately became Assistant Stage Managers once we were rigged up. I was assigned the role of Stage Manager and as there was not an official Production Manager, my role became a mesh of the two. My main responsibility as SM was to obtain props and furniture for show, as well as manage the actors and their safety in the venue. Taking on a bit of the PM role, I liaised with the venue staff as needed and was the hub of communication for the technical teams. 

The great thing about working on school events, such as Fight Night, is that they are not graded and, while the tutors are available for general advice etc, we are mostly left to manage ourselves. Also, Fight Night is the only school event held in a public venue, and as such, it is the first time, as first years, that we really test the waters as Heads of Department. 

By Friday mid-afternoon, the technical crew were transitioning their equipment for Fight Night and I was on my way to LAMDA to load a van with props, furniture and weapons for the show. When I returned, the tutors were beginning to trickle out of the theatre, as each department transitioned to Fight Night.  My PM tutor helped us install a rope swing - the sight of him testing it with a gallant "I'll save you!" will forever live in my memory - but then left me with £80 of petty cash and his mobile number. We were on our own. 

I remember walking across the stage at one point, each team busy in their own tasks, where I took a moment to realize that we were now in charge of making this show happen, and that we could do it. We are capable. There was nowhere else I would rather be. Later, our Flyman would confess that in a similar moment, she was looking down from the fly floor, seeing me walk the stage, and thinking the same thing! That evening, Sound balanced, Lighting plotted and we were ready for rehearsals.

Just add Medieval Crown and UV paint to the list of strange things I've transported by Tube.

During the Technical Rehearsals, the actors had time on stage to work their routines while the Tech teams programmed. My two production crew-turned ASMs were invaluable backstage as they assisted the actors with swords and other weapons, while I managed the front with the director and technical teams. I tracked weapons, furniture and props to create a crew sheet for the show.

Throughout the rehearsal period, our Director (and LAMDA's Head of Drama) was plotting many surprises for the show. One of these was a 2 man, 4 sword, UV fight. Lighting had sourced the UV lights and it was my job to get everything glowing. The ASMs painted the gloves, shoes and swords with UV paint, but even 2 coats wasn't showing bright enough on the swords.  I sought advice from tutors as well as a theatre supply store. We found the solution with white plastic coat base and 2 more strong layers of the UV paint. As we laid the swords under the UV light to "charge" during the interval, we tested the final layer of paint and it was barely dry. It was dry enough though, and the show had to go on! It looked really good, which made the weekend of UV problem solving well worth it.

My Fight Night "Office", completed with drying UV swords and bloodied sheet.

The show was great fun. After the UV fight, the ASMs ran out with brooms to sweep up the bits of UV paint that flaked off during the fight and each pass across the stage was followed by cheers and applause from the audience. When one of our actresses was "shot" off the rope swing and carried away by our "small but mighty" ASM, another round of applause followed. I cringed when I realized I would have to fetch her sword from the stage and face the same. We're techies. We're not used to being noticed or applauded! 

I learned so much from Fight Night. As "Queen of the First Aid Kit", I managed the inevitable knicks, cuts, twists and sprains.  I learned that sometimes the best First Aid is a listening ear, a calm voice and a shared joke about a silly injury. And as far as injuries go, I arrived with 7 ice packs and left with 3; I call that a success!  

I am constantly learning where my balance of kind assertiveness lies and how to manage a team. I have discovered even more ways that I can be completely awkward and embarrassing. It was good reminder that I need to be more confident and that I CAN do this, and do it well. My Head of Technical Training gave me the best compliment when he said that he was so impressed at how calm it was when he walked into the theatre for Fight Night, citing how many he's been to and that it's not a common occurrence! I had a great team! It was a wonderful experience to put on a show and step back to say "we made that happen." 

DESIGN EXHIBITION

Fight Night done, we moved directly on to our SM1 Design Exhibition! As noted in my previous blog, I was very grateful to my past self for completing this over the Easter break. I would not have been able to finish it at the last minute with all of the Fight Night insanity. 

So....Here it is! My set design for "Let the Right One In" in all of it's blue glory! It was just so blue! Blue and silver: these are my colours. During the model making process, the amount of blue in my project became a bit of a running joke, but each time I tried adding other colours, it just didn't work! So blue it was, and blue it stayed.

Three judges interviewed each of us about our designs and selected 3 winners, whose models will go on display in LAMDA over the next year. We explained our creative idea, as well as how we addressed technical issues, including health and safety. For example, I built a false floor in anticipation of a trap door for a "lake" and to have a drainage system for stage blood coming from lockers and rafters. Also, as my set is designed to be mobile, I created a storyboard of how I imagined each scene using the various pieces throughout the play.

During the "awards" section of the evening, they also announced 3 "special mentions". I was one of those selected and I couldn't help but let out a small "yes!" when the special mention was given for the "use of colour"! The three winners were incredibly deserving and we were all amazed to see everyone's final projects. We constantly thought "We're techies, not designers!", but the exhibition proved that we are all creative in our own way.

In the workshop with my freshly completed scenic painting.

Our many projects from throughout the year were also on display. This included scenic paintings, polystyrene sculptures and wooden stools. These are all things that we made in order to learn the skills that we've been applying during shows. It's a great way to show the talent of the technical students, something that is not as easily showcased as an actor putting on a show! The evening was a nice reminder of all we have accomplished in our first year, and all that we can look forward to putting to use in the second year! Onwards!

LAMDA Rep 3: Sound on "Her Naked Skin"

April and May 2015

After "Cat's Eye" & "Merchant", we had a one week break for Easter. During this time, two major things happened. First I went to the Harry Potter Studios Tour!! It was amazing and I completely geeked out. Here I am at Hogwarts!

However, the many White Card Models on display reminded me of my other task: my model box. The project was due in June, but I knew I'd thank myself for doing it over the break rather than trying to fit it in during shows!

When I returned from "Hogwarts", my world revolved around blue and silver paint. My flatmates were very forgiving of my monopolizing the coffee table. I was able to finish it over the break and my future self did thank me for it! More on the finished project later... :-)

 

 
Back from the break, I took on my next rep: Sound. Yikes!

I came to LAMDA knowing that Sound would be my biggest challenge. It's a tricky thing, because I like it when I understand it, but understanding it does not come naturally to me. Plus, when Sound goes wrong, you can't hide it. I'd learned in Film that Sound can make or break a project. People can tolerate a grainy image and good sound, but not a good image and poor sound. And of course, the best take would have a sound issue. It's the worst. I know how important sound is, so I was eager to face that challenge in theatre and conquer it.

The two shows for this rep were "When the Rain Stops Falling" and "Her Naked Skin". There were two Production Sound Engineers from the second year and three of us first years as Sound Assistants. Myself and another were assigned to the more "sound heavy" show, "Her Naked Skin", and the other assisted on "Rain". The two PSE's worked together to design a sound rig that would work for both shows, selecting speakers and amps that were appropriate, and laying out a plan for their locations, as well as cable runs etc.

 

While the SM2s designed the rig, we Sound Assistants sourced and prepared the sound effects for the shows. This included rifling through LAMDA's Sound Effects collection on CD and Vinyl, as well as their digital database from the BBC. (I listened to so many clock ticks and clock chimes, I was hearing them in my sleep....)  In some cases, we recorded live sound effects. For example, "Rain" went out to record actual rain, and we made a studio recording of our actresses singing the suffragette song from the play, as well as the actors shouting as MPs. The shouts were played in between live dialogue as cues, and we edited the song into a ghostly reverb to be played at the end of the show.

Though the Sound Assistants sourced for their individual shows, we all worked as a team to prepare the hardware for both. We gathered the appropriate cables, as listed by our PSE's and tested each one before packing it. The time spent testing is always worthwhile and is much preferred to fault finding once the cable is installed in the venue! I liked the cheeky reminder on our cable tester :-)

 

Before we packed everything for the theatre, we set up our sound system in the Linbury Studio at LAMDA to be sure everything was working correctly, and to familiarize ourselves with the cable runs. The PSE's created a rig plan on paper, but putting it all together at LAMDA would make a huge difference when we got to the theatre. We then packed up our flight cases and were ready to go to The Greenwood Theatre! 

The Get In is always an exciting time. I've really come to look forward to this insanity and The Greenwood Theatre was a fun new venue. It's a "flying" theatre, which means that it has counter weighted flying bars in the grid which can be "flown" down to the floor of the theatre, where lights, speakers or set can be rigged, and then flown back out. It was a great opportunity to learn and work with this system. For me, working in these various venues is one of the many benefits of being at LAMDA. It'll be great when they have their own theatre again, but I quite enjoy working out in the city.

The first two days of the Get In are reserved for Lighting and Sound to hang all of the lights and speakers. Then the set is brought over from the workshop and everything starts to take shape. As a Sound team, we then carry out the Sound Balance. This is a few hours for us to focus the speakers in the right direction and adjust levels to ensure the correct "surround sound" effect. It was really interesting to go through this process and discover how little tweaks change the effect. And how we all heard it just a little differently! That's the beauty of Sound - and theatre in general - it's all subjective!

As I've said, Sound can be a frustrating beast, and it wasn't long before the inevitable issues reared their ugly head. However, we pressed on with good humour and decorated our Sound desk accordingly. We even got ourselves a little Smurf mascot!

 Our Production Sound Engineer did the programming with the Director during Technical Rehearsals and operated on the first Dress and Opening Night. We split the other shows between us two assistants. The Mixing desk is an intimidating one and I was nervous that my first time ever operating a show would be on this beast. 

The dress went fine and, as such, I was feeling OK about my first public show, which I knew was not a good sign. With my PSE, I tested the system and the backup before the house opened. We then muted the system so I couldn't accidentally turn anything on while people were coming in. She asked how my nerves were and if I had any questions and then went to the green room to be show cover. The show begins and I hit GO on my first cue, which is a low rumble. I can't hear it, so I pull my headset away to listen and double check my screen. It's playing, but I still can't hear it. My next cue is called and I hit GO. A very distinct song should be playing and it's not. Something is definitely wrong. I realize that the system is still on Mute. I press the button and the song plays. I pray it ends at the right time and I haven't messed it up in my panic. It's fine and I make many apologies to my DSM. But that wasn't all. Later, an alarm sounds as it should, but the cue to stop it doesn't work. The scene change ends, the actors are settled to start speaking, the alarm is still going and I don't know why. Giving up, I hit ESC which stops all of the sound effects, apologizing that the clock tick that should be now be going is not. I realize immediately after that I could have selected it on screen and stopped it individually from everything else. Investigating later, we discover it was a programming issue. So, one was my fault and I reacted poorly to the second. But, I have learned two very important lessons! Ah, the beauty of live theatre :-)

Despite Sound being my most intimidating field at LAMDA, I think that I enjoyed it most of all. My PSE's/SM2s were great HoD's (Head of Department) and my tutors were helpful, patient and good humoured. My fellow SM1s were fun to laugh with as we made mistakes, learned together and helped each other.

It's summer now and I know that I'll be a Production Sound Engineer in my second year. When my tutor said he'd be happy to have me back as an HoD, I said that his confidence that I could do it was enough for me. It seems I'm still on my way to conquering this mountain and I'm excited to see what mistakes I learn from next year!