#tech theatre

[sandwhich-lady]

I am begging to know how the projections work in the dome in dimension 20. Like specifically in never stop blowing up, who controls which projections come on and when? Is it brennan? The projections crew? A combo of both? Are the panels an led wall or are they using actually projectors? How many?? How small are those projectors? How big? How are those placed for the image to flawlessly cover the whole dome? Was mapping that a nightmare? Do they use qlab?? How goddamn powerful are those projectors to have such high quality and brightness? Is it a bunch of really powerful short throw projectors? Do they project from the back or the front? How do they do that? I want that job how does one get that job. Anyway shout out to all the tech/art elements of never stop blowing up and dimension 20 in general yall rule

[verystrangehuman]

High school theater is so much fun because literally everyone is unstable as shit, pretty much no one has their schoolwork fully up to date, we’re all exhausted, and there’s usually huge amounts of relationship tattering drama but during performance nights we drop all of that off and if asked, we would all still die for each other. It’s like the pinnacle of non negotiable found family.

[puppy-linux-official]

It’s giving hal 9000

[dedicatedtechie]

[technicalmushrooms]

The world may be full of hate and despair but it’s also full of backstage technicians who secretly are wearing really fun socks under their stage blacks

[enemywasp]

I am always begging people to let me rant about my work btw. Technical Theatre is my passion and I NEED to talk about it. Also I've always got at least 10 complaints I need to get off my chest. Let me overshare. Pleaseeeee.

[frienderbee]

Performers can you Not wait in the wings until Absolutely necessary, the stage hands are trying to copy the choreography. Yeah, sorry, they need the space more :/

[vinecovered-mech]

as someone who went to hs for tech because "it sounded fun" ive never related more to trevor watson. He hates what he does and he hates everyone he works with but he does it anyways and thinks he knows what hes doing.

the only difference is i actually (kinda) know what im doing.

[touch-starved-lurker]

props co-manager fuck yeah

[unexpectedtexture]

Still alive, still FA-FOing the occasional backdrop

[kysmosh01]

15 YEARS OF STARKID!!

Whoahhh who knew me watching AVPM in my tech theater class my sophomore year in high school would lead to where I am now!? Due to the factor of watching Black Friday and NPMD on YouTube I found Angela. Realized that she works for Smosh (that sounds so crazy to say still not sure why🤣) Then that’s when I found my way to Smosh yet again, stopped watching for a while back then for a bit but then came back two/ three years ago!! And now here I am so thankful for this whole journey who knew how much of a blessing this whole journey has been and IT IS JUST THE BEGINNING!? 😍🥹

Thank you so much StarKid, Angela and Smosh I love you and you guys so much 💙

[riveracheron]

how to stage “the tragedy of francis” (MAG 172), but like. in a normal theatre

hi this’ll have to do today @a-mag-a-day

im a theatre technician who, upon listening to the Spooky Play Statement of “Strung Out” got really into the idea of how one would Actually create the technical elements. it seems like an interesting challenge! this was the only theatre related episode with indepth description of the Spooky Stuff but if yall are interested id be happy to talk about Other Episodes and ways you can practical effects your way through the fearpocalypse :)

spoilers for mag 172 and fake blood below the cut!

rules of this:

- i am a technician, not a director. i am assuming that the play as described by jon is the script and that we need a giant spider and hooks and blood. i am not making any choices, simply describing how these effects can be done in a professional theater sense. to that end, i am also only a student; and not an expert.

- we are going as hard as possible. no substitutions, no artistic choices to pare it down, no nothing. this is the magnus archives we’re getting meta enough. alongside that, im not worrying about budget. this is broadway level shit.

- i am not putting a stage on a stage. this is just looking at the Tragedy itself and jon can go sit in the audience for all i care.

cool? lezzgo.

i. the hooks

this is a fly system! it’s mostly used for lowering and raising set pieces. oftentimes, its also used with actors to raise them into the air when flying. shows like wicked, mary poppins and peter pan use this to pull actors into the air to make it seem like they’re flying.

it’s done with wires connected to hooks connected to the actors’ bodies via straps. sound familiar?

they are often hidden with lights, but they don’t have to be- for a play that draws attention to these wires, the designer would probably draw attention to them - at least for when they start to dance around and stuff.

the hooks that attach to francis’ joints throughout the show could be flown in as well, and their costume and more strategic lighting could make it seem like they were attached to them. you can get pretty grotesque with high budget theater and special effects makeup.

ii. the spider

characters that are puppets is not a new thing in theater! one of the most famous examples is Audrey 2 in little shop of horrors- a puppet that has an actor off stage saying their lines into a microphone. the spider would also probably be the same.

there are some motorized puppets like the sandworm in beetlejuice the musical, but most are person-controlled, which works best for speaking puppets as show to show, peoples way of speaking can change from show to show, and the puppet needs to be able to keep up, and motorized puppets can be out of sync.

this video is a good making-of process for a giant speaking monster puppet, and i assume the spider would be the same, just much higher. there would probably be a false ceiling like the false wall above, and the puppeteers would sit above to operate the legs as if they were dangling.

it would probably be also attached to a fly system for easy lowering as the scene goes on.

iii. minor things

- the blood would come from “strawberries”, little packs of blood hidden under actors’ costumes that they can burst when needed. theres also a capsule version that one can put in the mouth and bite down on.

this is an example from the 2019 production of oklahoma, and a good look at blood strawberries and what they do

- the spider-drink would probably be done with. fake edible spiders, lots of scuttling noises from the soundboard and lights that hide the fact that they are not moving, perhaps with strobe or something crazy. the spider rain would probably be the same, but with stagehands pouring spiders down from the catwalks.

- other characters would also be off stage with mics.

- good actors will sell a Lot of this. even if the new hooks and stuff don’t touch them, they can definitely make it seem like they do.

sooooo um yeah! as much as this episode made me sick - i love technical theatre and this was a fun infodump !! take this um. as you will ig. please stage safely !! blood packs can stain and fly systems can be unsafe so please. don’t try this at home. or at least get a professional to help

[le-petite-ivy]

I think it's funny for people to assume the techies know what all the buttons do. Sure, we know what a lot of them do. We know enough to do our job. But, I've never met someone who knows what ALL the buttons do.

[abstractpenny]

I love going off the face of the planet for a month because I've had three shows to design in a row.

One a week for the past three weeks this month (essentially two 60hr unpaid work weeks and one lightly paid work week).

Anyways, we open this week's show tomorrow night! Super fun.

Oh, and then I have a FOURTH show to design next week. And then a week to finish and turn in homework and then the end of the school year.

Rad 😎

[technicalmushrooms]

In her 2008 hit “Circus,” Britney Spears claims “There’s only two types of people in this world: those who entertain and those who observe.” However, there is a third type of person: the elusive, exhausted technician. In this essay I will

[lighting-design-ish]

*slides in* so tell me more about this Backstage Handbook?

It is a great technical manual to have in a tool bag or the like. It is illustrated and very useful and practical. It covers basically everything. It is not exhaustive, so it doesn't include everything you may ever need but it is the most practical manual I have ever come across. It was presented to me by my first technical director, after which I promptly bought my own. An amazon (blegh) link will point you in the right direction, but I am sure many may be picked up in second hand stores.

The Third Edition is the most recent, as far as I know, but any edition would be very useful for those just starting out.