While there may have been mist on the streets of NY, the clouds were clearing at 36th Street Studios last Tuesday night.
Shawn Robinson of Bernhard Link Theatrical spoke from his personal knowledge and experience dealing with electrical panels in the city. His first words were safety, his last words were safety, and in between we learned the ins and outs of everything from feeder and fuses to lugs and leads. Al Ridella from 4Wall (who so kindly donated most of the gear) gave his input on the subject as well.
And then we got some hands on time. Wine, cheese, and networking followed (Don’t worry, the panels weren’t live!).
Thank you to everyone who attended, BLT, and 4Wall. Stay tuned! April’s Tinc Tuesday event will be announced soon. Head over to the contact page if you’d like to sign up for our Tinc Tuesday mailing list.
You see them on practically every job site. You know they are important, but you also know they can be dangerous. Which parts are safe to touch? What do the individual components do? How does it all work? Sure, it’s smart to be hesitant but it’s smarter to know how it all works.
Join us as we demystify the electrical disconnect. Bernhard Link Theatrical’s ETCP Certified Electrician Shawn Robinson will discuss all things disconnect – types, breakers, fuses, and safety. He will also demonstrate proper tie in and out procedures, as well as explain what tools are needed to do the job.
If you’ve ever been curious about that big box of copper, join us!
THE DETAILS
36th Street Studios
260 West 36th Street
Between 7th and 8th Avenue
3rd Floor
Tuesday, March 30th
6:30 PM – Doors
7:00 PM – Seminar and Discussion
8:30 PM – Wine, Cheese, and Networking
$20 Cash or Charge at the door (We’ll provide a receipt for tax deduction purposes)
Wonder where Ryan Kirk has been? Read all about it below or click HERE
by David Steinberg
Ryan Kirk, cofounder of Tinc Design & Productions, a full-service staging, lighting, video and audio company dedicated to the performance and special events markets, was recently invited to be Guest Artist at Virginia Tech’s Department of Theatre & Cinema where he served as production stage manager for Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” and taught an Advanced Stage Management class. Both Kirk and his Tinc partner Lance Darcy are graduates of the university’s Theatre & Cinema program.
“The Skin of Our Teeth” was “a big undertaking, their main stage show of the year,” says Kirk. “I was able to bring the perspective of a professional stage manager to the production, although all the design, lighting and projection was done by the students. The play featured a lot of video and projection with many projection surfaces being set pieces.”
Greg Justice, a professor in the department who directed “The Skin of Our Teeth,” says, “I truly love academic theater when it is a win/win situation for all involved. Having Ryan Kirk as alumni guest stage manager for Virginia Tech’s production of ‘The Skin of Our Teeth’ has succeeded in being a win/win for the entire program.
“First, the Department of Theatre & Cinema got to honor one of their own by inviting them back to the place that helped them get their professional start. Second, the production Ryan was involved in benefited from having a professional stage manager with several years of experience at its helm. Finally, current theater and cinema majors who were both in the production and taking the Advanced Stage Management class from Ryan benefited from his knowledge, background and first-hand experience of working both as a stage manager and event planner in New York City.”
Justice selected Kirk when offered the opportunity to have a guest alumni stage manager for “The Skin of Our Teeth.” “Although I never had the opportunity to work with him while he was here as an undergraduate, I was always aware of his quality work with other directors,” he reports. “My choice of him for this challenging and difficult play of Thornton Wilder’s was perfect. He made my job exponentially easier, and he has aided in building an ensemble that includes over 200 contributing artists. It has been a pure joy.”
Kirk took a very practical approach to his Advanced Stage Management class, enlisting his personal experiences in the field to help students see the industry’s big picture.
“I stage managed theater all through college but have been primarily handling production management for events since we opened Tinc,” says Kirk. “So it was very cool to bring a lot of things to the students from the events world that they normally wouldn’t have access to. At the same time, it served as an introduction for them to other avenues – opera, dance, event and production management – that use the same skill sets they’re developing. They learned that there are a lot of different ways to use their theater skills.”
Kirk explored many practical areas with the students: what to expect when leaving college, the life of a freelancer, how to market yourself, how to handle referrals. He even had them make up business cards and invoices.
“The project culminated in a more in-depth look at production management,” he explains. “I had them do preproduction on a mock event with everything from budgeting to booking and scheduling. The students had fun and learned a great deal in the process. It was a class that was truly unique to the school.”
“The students and faculty here at Virginia Tech have been so impressed with the approaches and tools that Ryan has introduced in his capacity as Guest Artist. He has us thinking about stage management in a whole new way,” says Patricia Raun, Director, School of Performing Arts and Cinema Head, Department of Theatre & Cinema.
“We have deeply appreciated the professionalism, maturity, organization and calm that Ryan has displayed. He is a great role model and mentor for our students.”
The creative team for “The Skin Of Our Teeth” included, Dylan Amick as Assistant Director, Bill Barksdale as Technical Director, Donnie Brooks on Projectors, Kate Burnham as Prop Designer, Jessica Carson as Lighting Designer, Amanda Cox as Dramaturg, Shaozhou Cui as Photographer, Carly Erickson as Assistant Stage Manager, Kevin Frazier as Assistant Lighting Designer, Theresa Harmon as Costumer Designer, Gregory Justice as Director, Ryan Kirk as Stage Manager, C.J. Mellides as Sound Designer and Head Electrician, Jackie Mullen as Assistant Stage Manager, Cara Rawlings as Fight Choreographer and Acting Coach, Adam Ressa as Scenographer and Jane Stein as Dinosaur Designer.
“A Fashion Show” at the Union Square Ballroom was a flurry of activity. See for yourself! Designer Ecliptica had a videographer along for the ride. Anything you see related to sets, lighting, power, backline and design were all Tinc.
Lance Darcy’s latest article appears on-line and in print in Live Design Magazine. Read the article below or Click Here:
Trust is an important aspect of the event production business, though it is seldom explicitly addressed. Once you boil off the artful language, renders, schedules, rosters, budgets, proposals, and contracts, what’s left is very simple: One entity trusts another to perform a function for financial remuneration, the product of which is either tangible, as with production elements, or conceptual, as with design.
The event production business begins with reputations, and we are judged by our canon of prior work. When a producer or event planner chooses a production company to handle technical aspects of that particular meeting, event, fashion show, or product launch, he or she trusts in a smooth execution which acts to protect a reputation. A good reputation in this industry equates to dollars in the bank. In my 10 years in production and design, I have found that trust matters most in three areas: ethical behavior, pricing elements, and equipment selection.
Ethical behavior covers four points. First, safety is a priority and action must be taken when unsafe practices crop up. I recall a production manager beaming with pride as one of his riggers stood on the top rails of an extended Genie lift, the unsecured outriggers serving more to decorate the precariously balanced base than protect it, while he hung a point in a school gym. “Isn’t he amazing?” the PM asked. In this celebration of machismo, safety and common sense were in short supply.
Second, clients trust the company will hire ethical subcontractors, if any are required, whose pay practices are clear—rates, hours, and expectations delineated. This should exclude, for example, employers who misclassify employees as independent contractors, pay on a 1099 instead of a W2, and skirt employment taxes and insurance. Production companies must also guarantee that subcontractors carry necessary insurance and pay the requisite federal, state, and local taxes. Illegal or underpaid workers create problems we should all avoid.
Third, clients expect that their clients will be dealt with ethically by a production company. Underhanded behavior, like stealing clients, is bad news for everyone. We all agree on this, but the reality becomes a gray area. What is the correct protocol, for example, when a client of a client is unhappy and comes directly to you next time? For disreputable production companies, the answer is probably, and unfortunately, more predicated on the dollar amount of each relationship than ethics, but it’s still a breach of trust and shows a willingness to abuse the relationship—another reputation damager.
Finally, clients trust a production company to value all intellectual property and act ethically with it. An audio colleague once bragged how he gave investment advice to various people based on the pre-released financials of the companies for which he did A1 work—an obvious breach. Clients also do not want their sensitive data at risk, and that means being smart and sensitive about data storage and transmission. Today we contend with jump drives, computers online 24/7, and email, all of which are not secure. Is the laptop running the presentation password-protected? Is it tethered to anything? Did someone seriously just email me the company’s private presentation file over the hotel’s public, free Wi-Fi?
Trust is important in how production companies price a job, as well. Pricing should be transparent. Years ago, I worked for décor lighting companies that priced elements “creatively.” A dance floor wash would have an arbitrary price based neither on the cost of the gear nor the labor to install it. Ultimately, somebody was paying $2,000 for four ellipsoidals for a two-color wash. Some might call that extortion.
It’s hard to speak about pricing without discussing equipment—using the correct amount and type. During a fundraiser I recently attended in New York, a not-for-profit organization rented a video package suitable for Madison Square Garden in a comparatively dinky venue with only 300 guests. Was a 12-screen video package necessary for a 20-minute presentation?
Listen to the needs of the show, and put those needs above all else. Specify the gear the job needs, even if that equates to less profit. Production “by the pound” is a poor way to do business in the long term.
Trust—it underpins our relationships and makes doing business possible. Usually, unless betrayed, a client never realizes how important trust is. If you trust your production company, never let them go. If you don’t, then perhaps it’s time for a change.
“The Skin of Our Teeth” was “a big undertaking, their main stage show of the year,” says Kirk. “I was able to bring the perspective of a professional stage manager to the production, although all the design, lighting and projection was done by the students. The play featured a lot of video and projection with many projection surfaces being set pieces.”
