Summary+Response+Paper

 Becoming a professional techie is something I am vaguely interested in. I practically live at the theatre, and I love it, it would make sense to continue in this field. Trouble is, I don’t really know how much different a professional theatre would be vs. our little high school theatre. Lucky me, this project granted me an opportunity to ask some of these questions to professional techies. What I really learned from their interviews is that the job is what you make it, and if you enjoy it and are willing to do what it takes, then it will be the best job in the world. The first person I interviewed was Mr. Richard Hester, the production supervisor and former stage manager of “Jersey Boys”, via email, he sent me back a long email full of information (though sans a couple questions), but I felt it was somewhat lacking. His responses were general, his responses I could have found if I simply looked up technical theatre on Wikipedia, which I did. He made the job seem difficult and hard, with few rewards and a lot of responsibilities. His theatre seemed much different from the unpredictable but joyous theatre I knew. Maybe that’s how he liked it, organized, clean. It was obvious he loved his job, that he worked hard and was rewarded for it, but it also seemed that he may have started out similarly to me, fond of liveliness and pressure, but over time, progressed into a calmer, more organized leader. Not necessarily a bad thing. My other interviewee was Miss Molly Goodman, former Arapahoe student and goddess of technical theatre. Her interview I found much more helpful. She was both descriptive of her jobs and roles in the theatre. I appreciated her personal anecdotes; it made it much easier to understand the life of a professional techie. The sharp contrast between the two people in the same career, but separated by so much time, was interesting to observe. The older, calmer, more experienced man, and the young, passionate relative newbie. Both love their job, both excel at their job, both have different perspectives on their jobs. Both of them I respect greatly and I honestly wouldn’t mind being either of them someday because I am convinced they will both love their job forever. After both interviews, I am still not convinced this is the path I want to follow, but I’m getting there. Both interviews told me that they got started in theatre the exact same way as I did, by chance, whether from rejection from something you wanted to do or a chance offering, they landed backstage and never left. So the question becomes, will I leave? I suppose it’s just fear that it will be different, but of course, it will. As Molly said, “The hardest part of technical theatre is that it is constantly changing. The technology is always changing; the demands of the show are always changing” (Goodman) but then, what career does that not apply to? Technology is rapidly advancing and changing every job out there along with it. The technology changes, but the people really don’t. Actors will always be a time constraint- “ Some actors need to be left alone, some need constant attention and some fall in between. ”(Hester). some people will always be arrogant and egotistical, some people will always be amazing. For instance, at the ITS conference in November, there was a Techie Olympics training session and this nice old techie man who taught me how to tie some special knots, then showed me when to use them and on what. The best part was that I completely understood everything he was saying about battens and show week and how some people work and others don’t. These small references throw into sharp perspective how similar all theatres really are, and I find that incredibly reassuring. So there were no big surprises in these interviews, just hints at a life I know and love. Hints at a life I could continue to know and love. I still don’t know if I want to head down that path, but at least now I know that path looks something like the path I’m on now.

