A Day in the Life. No Billy Shears

We don’t have a Billy Shears but there is one down the street. For how long is anyone’s guess. What we do have is a big crew and a complex show. Complexity is the norm on a big production show regardless of the number of techs and artists. The shows share an underlying technology core that scales with the size of the show. Much of that depends on the age and generation in which the show was created. Some of the shows are 25-30 years old. The technology has been updated but the scale doesn’t really change. Artists and tableaus (what is known as a part or act of the show) come and go but the gist of the show stays the same over the run.

Right now there are more than 20 production shows in town from several producers. A production show is a type of variety show. It may or may not have different acts. It may or may not have a common theme. It may or may not have a linear storyline. It will comprise a show with varied elements showcasing different talents and the technology used to present those talents. They range from 300 seat showrooms to 2000 seat purpose built theaters. While the Quebecois circus shows are the most well known there’s afternoon borsch belt kitsch for blue hairs, illusion production shows, adult humor cabaret, basic circus, mega circus, TV type talent shows and topless/burlesque shows each with unique requirements.

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I was recently at a manufacturer’s product seminar and as is the case most of the industry events or places I go many people aren’t certain of what it is we do. They know we do sound. That’s a given. As production shows go, particularly cirque nouveau style shows, it’s something that those doing rock/pop concert tours, corporates or event theater may not fully appreciate. I didn’t before I came to town. It’s a mixture of all of that including some broadcast technology. Those most familiar with the style are people from cruise ships and theme parks. They have general production shows though usually not near the scale.

When someone from outside the production show world comes to work on a show they need to acclimate to how a show like this operates and what’s expected. And just as importantly what’s not expected. Back in the olden days when I was doing rock tours I was largely left to my own devices on how my day went. I knew how big the rig was, what the day schedule was and what I needed to have done at a specific time. There was repetition but due to the variety in rooms, load ins, etc I had (and needed) a greater deal of flexibility to achieve the task. Having a different local crew at each venue changed things from day to day. Adaptability while being more or less consistent is a key in one of live events. Here repetition, consistency and precision are paramount. The repetition bores the hell out of some people.

Modern musical theater is fairly similar to what we do. As those productions have evolved they’ve incorporated the same technologies we’ve been using for the last few decades. In the audio world with the advent of the “jukebox musical” (where the music is adapted from current popular music) the band and audio requirements for those Broadway shows are more akin to a production show or a concert. Technically it’s scope and scale that differentiate what we do from a Broadway style production. In terms of art it’s significantly different.

While they pack the Broadway rooms with a buttload of gear our stage house alone is larger than many Broadway theaters. We are an outlier, one of a handful of spaces like this in the world. Most larger production shows in town have a larger performance footprint than a Broadway show primarily because they are purpose built. On Broadway the rooms are generations old, historical monuments in many cases and the shows have to built around the parameters of the room. The theaters are as iconic as the productions staged in them. Here we tear down the old room and build a new one often specifically for a particular show. Or in some cases replace them with convention space or a food hall. Such is the price of evolution.

Our goal is to have as few variables as possible. Artists vary in and out of rotations as do the techs but the show is the same. Hence the need for consistency and repetition. The life of a production show is often times longer than any other form of show. Sure, the Stones have been gigging for 60 plus years but it’s not the same show the whole time. We run between 10 and 30 years in some cases. It works out to about 450 or so shows a year.

The artists longevity is largely determined by physical health and/or injuries. Some artists become techs or go into one of the support roles. For most artists it’s a brief stop over from whatever sport they came. Those with a circus background tend to be circus artists for life. Sometimes several generations of circus artists.

Many of the crew stay for a long time. Some stay a few years, if that, before going on to something else. Sometimes for more upward mobility other times for another challenge or out of show biz altogether. Some disciplines recruit non entertainment people. Automation, fabrication and some riggers. Some of us come to finish our careers in a relatively stable. predictable environment. There is a great deal of institutional knowledge in us gray beards as well as a ton of technical knowledge and experience. If we haven’t seen it or done it before we’re in a position to do it and not freak out. I’m not the only 40 plus year experienced tech on the show. I’m not the only one in the audio department with that many years logged.

An audio department can consist of three to six people per shift depending on the size of the show. Prior to the pandemic some of the crew counts were higher. In a structure that is familiar to theater our role responsibilities are call “tracks”. A track is a set schedule of tasks to be performed over the setup and course of the show. For audio the tracks are usually reserved for the techs on stage or the “deck tracks” as mixing is pretty much mixing. Or rather operating. It’s far and few between you get to determine the artistic balance of the mix. You replicate what the designer wants and fire the cues and sound effects at the appropriate time. One similarity to concert touring is the monitor mixer (if you have a band) mixes monitors just like on tour.

We have six tracks in the audio department. There is a music mixer for FOH and a sound effects and character mic-”dialog” mixer at FOH. I use quotes for dialog because it’s a fictional language and several of the characters wear mics. There is a monitor mixer, an wireless/deck tech and a deck tech stationed at the RF mic and IFB locker just offstage. By locker I mean a massive purpose built work area/cabinet. Shows that don’t have a band replace the monitor mixer with a playback operator. There is also a rover/troubleshooter that’s usually the department supervisor. Elsewhere in the business the supervisor would be called the head of audio. The head position has morphed over the years from being a traditional A1 role to being more of admin role rather than technical operations. There is a lead position which is traditional the technical and operations point person. Under previous rule we called that position the assistant head.

In the theater the day usually starts around 6 am. A day crew of carpenters and automation come in to start inspections and routine and/or reactive maintenance. Between 8 and 10 am more day crew with wardrobe, props, more carps, special effect/pyro, lighting/projection and audio. The show crew call time depends on what is happening for rehearsal that day. We aren’t usually called for rehearsals unless the band is called. There is a rehearsal system that uses recorded music. While there are well equipped training rooms some of the apparatus are so big they are only on stage. Trainings generally start between 2 and 4 pm depending on how many and what they are. Some are physical trainings, others to integrate new artists to the show and others to implement new parts or changes to the show.

We usually roll in for a 3:30 call. We have a bit of a meeting then head out for our presets or any small projects we’ve been working on. First up for the deck track is checking the 70 or so IFBs used by the artists as well as testing IFB channels (we have 6). We also have another another 40 or so IFB packs that have a listen only feed derived from various com and talk around channels. What you get depends on what department you’re in. The crew total day and show is around 170 including on call (part time). It takes around 120 crew to run the show. We use about 50 Freespeak wireless packs and over 100 intercom stations being a combination digital matrix in the form of Eclipse and digital PL com in the form of Helixnet. This is where scale and complexity start coming into play.

The RF tech batteries up and looks at the spectrum to see if anything popped up over night or if a nearby event didn’t follow the frequency coordination they are assigned as a condition to work on the property. We’ve condensed the number of wireless channels considerably since the spectrum started being repacked. First we moved the analog BTR com packs to Freespeak (DECT) then started consolidating mics with pack swaps and removing radio mics we could replace with sound effects. We lost another half dozen or so freqs when they downsized the band.

We operate and maintain a 60 channel modulated TV system. There are over 100 TVs backstage where crew and staff monitor the performance. So shots are shared, others are specific to a department or even a single operator position in the show. Most shots are fixed, some use a PTZ camera. Many of those cameras are recorded to network video recorders or stand alone digital video decks. Depending on the shot different audio feeds may be used. Almost always there will be show program and a com channel.

Though we are responsible for all of them during the show audio uses four channels primarily. The main show channel controlled by the calling stage manager, the picture in picture of the music studios and the modulated feeds of the displays for Wireless Workbench/WSM and the Freespeak status grid. Com and cams are the most important part of our gig. We lose the com and cams we lose the show.

The monitor mixer and wireless tech check the mics and instrument packs prior to the preset. The FOH mixing tracks start with preset, a system test at 5 pm. Tone (through the subs) or program is played through each of the 200 plus enclosures and 1900 stereo seat speakers. It takes about 10 mins to step though them on an automated cue list. The monitor mixer checks various feeds as well. At 5:30 band check is underway after a short line check. During the band check the various backup systems also checked.

The band has two studios two floors down under the stage. The band is sometimes on stage during the show, other times they play from the studio or off stage. The band check has the ability to run until 6 pm. Sometimes we have a short rehearsal during that time or we record passages for the artistic producers of new music, pieces for promotional performance or new version of music for review. After that we break for dinner.

Show call is at 6:30. IFB post handles any mic dressing though most artists fit their own mics and all fit their IFBs. Mics are checked as the artists pass the cabinet onto the stage. The wireless track monitors them remotely down in the monitor room. The wireless track has a few guitar changes and is on standby for potential issues on that side of the room. The IFB tech is on standby at the cabinet. Most of the issues are IFB earpieces that break or com headsets that fail. It’s a physical environment so IFB and com take a great deal of abuse. In the grid and down in the pit are 70 plus carps and riggers doing old school push box, pull rope stagecraft. It’s a complex orchestration of movement timed to the second.

The sound effects mixer starts the show about 10 mins prior to show time with what’s called “animation”. That’s the pre show portion where artists interact with the guests and are generally active in the room. Animation take us to the top of the show. Standbys and called and returned and off we go for a 90 minute or so romp. The three mixers start mixing and the two techs start their tracks. Generally it’s pretty quiet.

Which brings us back to the consistency and repetitive part of the equation. We all have home tracks but we rotate tracks. That’s why it needs to be the same, every time, every show. It’s not for everyone but if you’re in the frame of mind where you can do 1000s of shows (I’m at 7000 plus) of the same show it’s a good way to make a living. Particularly for old dogs that have come off the road and want a good, solid gig until they retire.

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