Tech crews (sound, light and staging)
should be like sport umpires in that if they are doing their job well they are
not noticed. At the end of the show when the talent raises their hand toward
the anonymous people at the back of the room or backstage the audience should
be left wondering “who the hell are they pointing too, and why are we clapping
them?”
The transitions will be seamless, the sound
perfect no feedback, no drop-outs. Everything
goes according to the running sheet any the techs talent comes to the
fore when they follow the act as they venture off script. Their flexibility and
ability to go with the flow of the show – or if they were a constitutional
lawyer; “the vibe of the thing” – is critical to the success of a festival
show.
Rehearsals are as much about the technical
requirements as they are the material themselves. I am pleased that the crew
for my show have willing suggested ideas for staging that will add to the
humour of the material. Check out my tech crew’s work for yourself - live for
10 shows during the festival. http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/a-freak-by-any-other-name-darren-freak
Even shows that appear to have the simplest
of stage set ups, a single microphone on a stand and a spot light still require
the tech crew to be paying full attention. Many of the tech team will be
running multiple shows per night and repeating them night after night. By the
end of the season they will know the material nearly as well as the comedians
and yet they will still laugh along as though it was the first time they heard
the joke.
A wicket keeper sets the tone of the
fielding side. In the same way the tech
crew can set the mood of a room for the performer and audience alike.
Here’s to the tech crews working hard on
all shows, here’s hoping we don’t notice any of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment