LD at Large

There are two main ingredients that I need for every gig; the local crew I work with and my “go-to” guy. I believe there is an art form to working with people and getting the most use out of each person based on their individual persona. The word “stagehand” covers a broad spectrum of people all over the world.

In the concert and theatre worlds, the lighting techs are often fortunate to work with IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), or union, stagehands. These crews have been around the block and are pretty familiar with most gear that crosses their paths. They build different shows constantly, so they get to work with just about every gadget, light fixture or P.A. that’s out there. On the contrary, touring crews constantly set up the same light rig and P.A. every day. They don’t always see all the advantages of how other people may do the same job they do. You can learn a lot by watching some IATSE guys work.

Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out what my actual job is. For the last 20 years, I thought I was a lighting designer. After this week, I’ve pretty much realized that I am not just an LD; I wear a whole lot of hats at gigs. And I’ve been doing this more and more over the last five years, so much so that I am at a loss for words when trying to describe my title.

Let’s face reality: Video elements have become implanted on most touring shows and all the industrial shows I work on. If you’re an LD and you haven’t jumped on this wagon yet, you’re late. I am not a huge fan of all this technology. I still prefer good theatrically- lit scenes as opposed to high-tech gadgetry, but I would be ignorant to ignore it. It’s fun. But why am I picking and choosing video content, let alone creating it now?