Theater Problems & Technicians - (Performance Tips) by Rand Woodbury

From: the forthcoming book ILLUSIONWORKS 4 Written By: RAND WOODBURY (who works for Carnival Cruise Lines - 21 years) Offered Exclusively For Magiczine

I have a reputation for being hard on theater technicians. I am presumed to be this mean guy. And I can be. Why? And what is the real story? It’s actually very easy to explain.

When I stand up in front of that audience on a Carnival Cruise Lines ship, for that period of time, I am Carnival Cruise Lines. I don’t have to like the pressure, but I must understand the responsibility. And I am actually very proud of Carnival and the product that they offer. It’s a great, cost-effective product. And it is the less costly way to take a fully rounded vacation. You pay one price, usually less than a hundred dollars a day, and you get; your meals (as many as you can endure), your room, everyone cleaning up after you, activities and great entertainment. OK, relax, this is not a commercial. I’m just stating the obvious.


Now, if everything goes to hell during a performance, do you think any audience member is gonna’ think, “Oh, this is a disaster because of tech Joe in the light booth?” Nope. It’s MY face on that stage and MY name in the program. It is such a ‘bigger’ picture than the mere possibility of embarrassment. It’s the possibility of getting the blame, for what you had no control over - and wasn’t even your responsibility. And that is why I just don’t do magic conventions. Everything is rushed, often acts are ruined because of technical problems. Give me a controlled environment every time! Why? Because then I can concentrate and focus on my actual objective; entertaining a bunch of people that are expecting to be entertained. Nothing is worse then being on stage, while worrying about whether the technicians will screw this up. It’s a hindrance before the show has even begun. It’s a problem that can keep you from performing your actual job.

On my DVD, one of the extras is a brief spot of a technical problem that I made funny. I didn’t put it on there to be vindictive or mean spirited. I did it for two reasons. The first reason is to show by example how to make lemonade out of lemons. How to proceed when you are at the very beginning of your performance and your microphone is dead and not working. The second and main reason is that it was really funny. And by making it funny, it’s entertainment - not a disaster! And this situation could have been avoided if the sound tech had merely taken a second to make sure the microphone was working properly, prior to the performance. In actuality, it was not a technical problem. It was human error that caused this situation.

Do technical mishaps occur? Do lights burn out? Do sound boards crash? Absolutely times three! However, I have discovered that most technical problems happen because of human error or … for lack of a better word … laziness. And now before anyone says, “What the heck?” My major was technical theater and I was in college seven days after I graduated high school. And I was working as a professional lighting technician, in a theater (on the side - at night) a few weeks after I got to college. Am I perfect? No. Did I always check what I was personally responsible for? Yes. And now (today), I have to double check that any new technicians have made all there pre show checks. Like it or not, it’s what I have to do. Why? Because it’s the wise thing to do. Now, obviously if I have worked with a tech and I know he knows his gig backwards and forward I don’t pester them with the obvious.

Carnival has trusted me for over twenty years to provide a superior product (show) and I hold that responsibility above all others. (If you are a professional you have to.) However, I can’t do it alone. My shows are over an hour long (now) usually and I never leave that stage except to be in the audience or to magically appear. And though rare, when technicians don’t take care of their responsibilities and things don’t happen on stage (the way they should) - it’s not that I suffer - it’s that the Carnival guests don’t get the very best. And that does piss me off; that paying guests don’t get a great show. Pre-show checks take so little time and yet they can alter an entire performance. And what eats at me the most is that I don’t ask technicians to go above and beyond their required tasks. I’m just asking that they do their jobs and take care of their required responsibilities. No more, no less. So, what to do? How do you avoid what can and will happen? Two words: preventative maintenance.

If you are going to make performing magic your living make sure to rehearse everything and check and double check everything. Ask to be alerted to: what lights are down, what speakers are down, whether video feed cables are working properly and do a thorough microphone check. Check the mic levels on stage, backstage and in the audience. So often magicians or illusionists get so caught up in the props and the boxes that they lose sight of what will allow them to present them properly. Without the lights and sound functioning correctly you are dead in the water, before you even begin. Think and function in the world of preventative maintenance! And ask your technicians to do the same. Don’t just ask them. Ask them to show you.

The technicians that are good are obvious. The technicians that are lazy and bitch about everything - I just have no time for them. And for the technician that needs improvement and wants to improve, I ask them to double check everything. And the ones that become really good usually comes back and say, “Thanks for riding my ass. It taught me to be responsible for my gig and take what I do seriously.” And that is music to my ears. It’s easy to allow ourselves to get lazy. So, rehearse, be prepared and double check everything. Why? Cause it’s YOUR name and YOUR show and YOUR reputation. And if it all goes bad because of the lights and sound YOU might get the blame. Yes, that possibility does exist … that you might get blamed for something that was not your responsibility. So, you have to make it YOUR responsibility and therefore so you can focus on your actual job; pleasing the people in the audience come show-time.