Real-Life Communication
With so many people working backstage, knowing who needs to do what,
and when they need to do it, is important. There are also several levels of
workers, from the producers and director to the people who clean up the stage
after a performance. Theater technicians also work with the performers.
"Getting
to work with such a variety of people and personalities is unique to the theater
industry," says Samantha Hindle. She is the head of sound at a theater. "On
a daily basis, I interact with creative types, from performers and designers,
to fellow technicians who work with and develop new technologies, and everyone
else in between."
Tempers can flare with so many people working on
a big project with little time. Each department wants their task to have
top priority. They don't always understand that they have to wait for another
department to finish their job. So knowing how to communicate with people
who may or may not have highly technical knowledge is important.
You're
the lighting designer for a large theater. Part of your job is using physics
to calculate the weight distribution of your lights on the overhead trusses,
which can only bear so much weight and stress. You've figured out the maximum
number and types of lights you can install, along with their exact placement.
Then the director says he needs more light in an area of the stage.
Without
using complicated physics, how can you make the director understand why you
can't add more lights?