When You Receive a Plot

Anecdote: This checklist was created while putting together the setup for an outdoor stage that would be used for 6 weeks. 5 lighting & sound interns including myself worked together for the better part of an entire morning making sure we got everything on this list.

Premise: When you're the ME and need to figure out what to order from the rental place so your LD has everything they need, there are a lot of things to remember. Anything that doesn't add up, keep track of by making a note on the page and inquire asap.

Image from Disney's "Tarzan", 1999
Nothing like having your jungle man tell you what's what.

First, Paperwork

You'll have received the paperwork (channel hookup, instrument schedule, gel cut list, etc.) from your LD. Compare these against each other to make sure they all line up. Does the instrument schedule stay Unit 1 gets a cut of R39, but the channel hookup says R339? Make a note to ask about it. Check all the channels to unit numbers, dimmers, gel colors, and every last element that's included there.

Then, the Plot

What do you need to make it work?

Compare and contrast the paperwork to the plot. Mark anything that doesn't add up.

Checklist below

Cable? Socapex? Feeder cable? 2-fers? Adapters?

Dimmer rack?

POWER?

Pipes/Truss/Additional rigging positions?

Color?

Gobos?

Gel frames? Gobo holders? WHAT SIZE?

Sidearms?

Barn doors? Top Hats? Half hats?

Safety chain?

C-clamps? T-bars? Cheeseboros?

Lamps? Lenses?

Connector types?

Specialty instruments?

Include general notes with your order when you contact the rental place.

ex. "All lighting fixtures to be equipped with 3-pin stage connector, c-clamp, and safety chain."

Take the tech table/booth into consideration, too. You'll need power there, protection from harsh weather, headsets, console & monitor, and some lighting to see your script & console by.

Helpful Things

Consider everyone who needs power. Lights, sound, SM, video, hazer positions, LED and moving light positions, etc.

To find out exactly how much cable you're going to need, use a piece of string cut to scale, and mark out 20ft, 10ft, and 5ft on it. Hold one end of the string to a fixture drawn on the plot, and use it to find its way back to the power distributor. This will give you the length of every cable that will be laid out to power your lights. (See figure below!)

Bring your notes to the LD all in one batch to prevent bothering the LD with 5000 phone calls for 5000 questions.

Theatre Maintenence Day

After every show closing in college, we would have a Theatre Maintenance Day to restore everything to as it was. One year, I was in charge of creating the list of tasks to complete, and assigning tasks to members of the theatre honors society, Alpha Psi Omega, based on what they were good at and what they liked. I grouped the tasks into categories for simplicity's sake, to make sure that all members had something to do. Each member had to put in an hour minimum to complete their maintenance requirement, and over a 4-hour period, all jobs were usually complete. 

Actors’ maintenance

Clean/dust book and model shelves in the Green Room

Scrub out microwave and two fridges

Wash windows & mirrors in Green Room and dressing rooms

Scrub out dressing room showers & sinks

Vacuum green room

Clean & vacuum under seat cushions in Green Room

Help organize Costume shop (sort crates and fold)

Take show props out to prop storage

Clean chalk boards

Scrub water fountains

Tech maintenance

Organize light storage, organize box of used gels

Organize cable storage

Scrub drafting tables

Dust/scrub clean the electrics

Assist with any light bulb changes in green room or dressing room areas

House maintenance

Clean up trash in the house from the last show

Dust framed photos on the walls

Sweep and mop all rooms, stairwells, and lobbies

Clean/ organize concessions

Do a sweep in the orchestra pit under the mainstage

To sweep and mop fully, remember to get into all corners of the room AND move all furniture out of the way to get underneath where it normally sits.