It’s been said that the reason a beautiful swan looks so graceful on top of the water is because of the hard work and effort that goes on underneath the water that you don’t see. While the part of the swan you can see looks like a picture of elegance, underneath the surface, it’s feet are working nonstop, tirelessly propelling the swan to where it wants to go. We can certainly draw a parallel from this story to our productions of Array Variety Show and Illusionation, featuring the Magic of Jason Hudy.
Here are 5 examples of the “feet of the swan” doing what they do to create perfection, and make our shows seem effortless to the audience.
1. One of the most graceful parts of Array are the aerial acts. What the audience sees is a man and woman executing perfection, seemingly working as one, both trusting one another completely to keep each other safe while executing dangerous maneuvers high in the air. What the audience does not see is a stage tech who is operating a remote device connected to a very powerful motor located under the stage. This motor is responsible for raising and lowering the cable which runs through a system of pulleys and is attached to the apparatus that the aerial artists are performing on. Needless to say, the person operating the controls is an extremely vital part of this operation, and the performers have to be able to fully trust the person behind the scenes, who could literally be holding their life in his or her hands!
2. There are a number of ropes and pulleys backstage which are responsible for a number of things. It is imperative that our stage tech crew is very familiar with each one of these, and exactly what it is that they operate. For instance:
- There are three separate rope and pulley systems which operate three different curtains on our stage.
- There is also a separate motor which raises and lowers the bar that our kabuki curtain is attached to.
- We have an aerial track that runs from the back of the audience to the stage. It is controlled by two different pulley systems. The first one raises the performer up or down. The second one is responsible for traveling to and from the stage, carrying the performer over the heads of our audience members.
- We also have a back-up system for our aerial rig in case the motor stops working so that the act can continue. This system is manually operated by one of our stage techs who must raise and lower the performers by pulling a system of ropes that operate on a counter-balance principle.
- These are just a few examples of the many different operations backstage that our tech crew has to be familiar with.
3. We pride ourselves on having one of the best lighting shows in town. This happens for several reasons:
- First, we realize the need for top quality equipment that we can depend on to make the show as consistent as possible night after night. From one of the best lighting consoles available to our many different lights, we realize the need for paying for quality rather than hunting for the best bargain available. The old saying, “you get what you pay for” has never been more true than in the theatrical lighting industry.
- We then hire one of the most talented lighting designers in the business to come in and program the lights for each individual act in the show. This usually takes several long hour days, usually overnights since that is the only time during rehearsal weeks that the stage is available.
- Next, our lighting technician, Mike Versocki, who is here on a nightly basis is very experienced in running a show and being able to trouble shoot and fix issues in a moment’s notice should anything go wrong.
- Finally, most of the cues for our lighting is remotely triggered by a program called QLab. Each individual scene is triggered through this program to run in unison with the sound for that particular act. QLab is also responsible for cueing our sound and video as well.
4. No sound, no show! It took us almost a solid year to get the sound in our theater the way we wanted it. Now, we take great pride in the product that our guests hear every night. Our sound man, Shawn, has worked tirelessly on getting the perfect EQ and balance between vocals and music. In fact, this is one of the most frequent compliments we get. He works very diligently directly with all of the vocalists to make sure they sound their best and have everything they need to achieve the desired sound quality for each performance.
Shawn has also set up our show to where it is automatically run through QLab. This cuts down greatly on the number of buttons he actually has to push which leaves more time for him to make sure the show sounds absolutely amazing each night.
5. During a live show, technical issues can and do arise unexpectedly. This is something that all shows have to deal with far more often than you would expect. Most of the time the issues are minor and can be remedied quickly and easily. Some however, are not so small and require a good bit of creativity to resolve the problem. This is a prime example of the swan’s feet paddling like crazy while the rest of the swan looks calm and serene, as if it didn’t have a care in the world.
We are extremely thankful that our stage techs are skilled in troubleshooting and problem-solving and can address any technical glitches that may occur. Our techs are great at quick thinking and adapting to ensure that the show continues to run smoothly while they make any necessary adjustments to lighting, sound, or backstage set elements.
The members of our technical crew are the unsung heroes of our productions! At the end of every show, while the performers are out front talking with guests and getting the glory for an amazing job, our tech crew is hard at work getting everything set up and ready for the next performance. They certainly do not get the credit they deserve, but their hard work and diligence are just as important in creating a memorable experience for our audiences.