Problems on Set

In live theater anything can happen. I am learning this first hand right now. Of the sixteen shows we have put on so far only one has been considered perfect. Problems will arise. It is how you overcome them that matter.

One major issue I have been having is with staffing this show. My employees agreed to the duration of the show, and then they tell me that certain days they can’t make it to work. This makes me short staffed, and then others are expected to not only do their job but someone else’s as well. This has been the cause of some minor mistakes because of job confusion.

Props have also been malfunctioning. One night the magic trick did not work because the platform and stairs did not fit together in time. Another issue we had was with a stilt strap that broke. I cannot send an actor out on stage with a broken stilt strap. Safety is my number one priority.

The projection curtains, and lighting cues have also been an issue. There is a curtain that covers the projector, and this past weekend it completely fell off the pulley system we made for it. In a way this was a blessing because now we know what our error was in construction and we have fixed it. Then, lighting issues occurred when the smpte timecode was out of sync. The lighting cues change automatically because of the smpte timecode on the DVD.

These issues are nothing compared to this last problem be had, and that would be with the fog machine. We pumped out so much fog that it flowed backwards behind the stage and set off the smoke alarm.  I knew right away that the fog was the reason the alarm went off. So I turned off the machine and started blowing a fan to clear the smoke. My actors on stage had no idea because the music was so loud they could not hear the alarm. They finished the remaining three minutes of the show. Then the fire company came and told us that if it happens again that we can no longer use the fog machine in our show. I never thought that I would have to know about smoke patterns and airflow, but now I do.

This has been a very trying experience, and I have learned a lot from all the complications we have had. Lucky for us we still have 21 more shows that we can still make perfect. Despite these complications the audience usually has no idea that something is not quite right. As long as that is the case we are doing a good job.