TO UNLOAD OR NOT TO UNLOAD
The old school method of bringing all your stagehands in on the earliest call and then just unloading all the trucks as quickly as you can is, in my opinion, a dinosaur method that needs to go the way of those beasts. I will happily discuss the union rules that contributed to this sorry state of affairs but that is for another time. In fact there are indeed ways to make your load in work within those rules, but again, for another time.
In these days of schedules getting tighter and shows getting bigger, there is simply no room for methods that are not part of solving the riddles of production, which revolve around time and space.
If we look at a couple of the different crew roles and how they interlink, maybe we can find some of these issues that we can help solve.
1. Riggers
Riggers need time and a clear floor to get their job done on time
2. Lighting Crew Chief
Lighting crew chiefs need time and all the motors rigged to get their job done on time.
It is my opinion that stage managers and dock masters are employed to support the crew and directly allocate the resources that the production has provided to build the production. Some see that their job is to empty the trucks as fast as possible and then later on re load the same trucks as quickly as possible and to run over anything that may stand in the way of them achieving those goals. That may sound a little harsh, but people who fill these important roles should be held to the highest standards and so I am not fussed if feathers are ruffled.
For the purpose of this essay, if we can relegate the old school method described in the opening to the trash bin of history, then we can also assume that we are using a system of rolling or staggered labor calls so, then, we know that different departments are in the main starting at different times, and we all understand what our stage managers and dock masters are employed to do we now arrive at the reason for this essay.
In my opinion, crew should understand that their day begins and ends with a truck (or many trucks depending on the show and the gig). The thought process around building a show where time and space are tight (pretty much every day right?) is about order…order of items coming in and going out as well as the ‘no chaos’ type of order. This scales up for the entire production as it relates to the different departments and the times they are scheduled to start work. Crew spend hours in the prep and on the road just working on this order, refining it and getting it to the most efficient level possible.
If your crew are a well organised lot who follow the golden rule of doing the same thing at the same time (relatively) every day, then why would you hinder that discipline by throwing all their gear out onto the floor before they need it or want it? And why would anyone think it is a good idea to fill the floor with gear from departments that are not related to the current call and that wont be touched for hours?
The idea that this makes the day go quicker is just plain wrong. It might get the dock master to a nap earlier but the gig will not go any quicker….in fact it will be slower and more frustrating for the crew. A good labor schedule that brings the right number of hands, loaders, riggers, and forklifts to the situation at the appropriate time should give all the departments the right amount of help, and if their gear comes to them in the order they want it, then we are doing the best we can for our hardworking crews
We put a lot of pressure on our people to achieve the set goals in ever decreasing amounts of time and they come through again and again. Fucking with their day is just plain dumb.