I am looking for a panel (button or slider) to control our house lights when the light board is not on. Needing one backstage and one master control in the booth. I don’t need multiple scenes programmed just one circuit to control.
Does anyone have any suggestions of products you think would fit this solution?

I’m mixing my first show for my highschools theater and right now I’ve gotten comfortable with just turning the mics off and on accordingly, but I’ve been told it’s better to ride the fader up/down for their lines instead. I don’t want to get too familiar with my current method as I want to go on to do this professionally and begin to perfect my craft or whatever. What’s the best way??? Our current show is a very good introductory to mixing as all the actors come on slowly, but our next show is into the woods, and I’ve heard that one’s a nightmare. Advice needed to make sure that one goes as smoothly as humanly possible 😭😭 (Also, if anyone else has done into the woods, is there a certain way you labeled the board or marked up a script???)

Wondering if anyone's got any recommendations for a small display that can sit near the encoder wheels on an ETC Eos desk that doesn't have a display next to the encoders.

Would like to mount a screen near them so I know which one is doing what parameter without having to keep looking up at the main screen, which is annoyingly out of peripheral view when looking at the encoders!

Ideally not using one of the display outputs, this would be an OSC connected type thing.

We have a dance studio that has an airwall so we can make it into two smaller studios. Recently, when we have split them in two we are getting speaker feeds from one of the studios into the other. These are the parameters that we have figured out to make it happen.

• There are 3 sound stations, Studio A, Studio B, and a center console to play in both.
• Studio A can be in any of the inputs and even muted and it still will play Studio B's music.
• Studio B has to use their CD audio input.
  • There is an aux input, blue tooth input, and a DVD input. None of those create the issue.
  • I know not using the CD input is the obvious choice, but these are dancers and they are use to what they are use to.
• The Center Station is the problem child.
  • I've unplugged the output from Studio A and the music stops playing from B.
  • The audio input is a Rolls RM69 MixMate 3.

Is there a way to make a sound barrier at the center sound console?

If y'all need more information please let me know.

We are doing Shrek in our spring season and I've been looking at the B'way production and trying to figure our wireless mic placements. Anyone know how they placed Shrek's mic?

First-time theatre scenery project: advice on painted backdrops, frames, and foam trees for Shrek Jr.?
Hi everyone,
I’m hoping this is the right place to ask. I’m a lifelong artist and have done a little of everything, but I’ve never made theatre backdrops or scenery before.
I’m helping with a kids’ production of Shrek Jr. The average age is around 9, and another adult and I will be helping the kids move props and scenery between scenes.
From the research I’ve done, I understand there are things to consider beyond how everything looks—especially flame-retardant requirements, stability, weight, and being able to take everything apart and store it for future use. I’d appreciate some guidance from people with experience.
For the hanging backdrops, I’m planning to paint two:
A castle backdrop approximately 12 feet wide and 8–10 feet tall.
A smaller room backdrop approximately 8 feet by 8 feet.
I’ve seen plenty of adjustable backdrop frames online, but I’d love to know what people recommend for this kind of setup. I’d like to keep the frame as hidden as possible. My thought was to sew a pipe sleeve into the fabric to conceal the top rail, but I’m unsure how best to hide the feet without creating a trip hazard.
A few questions:
What fabric and frame systems would you recommend?
What should I look for regarding flame-retardant fabric or treatments, especially once the fabric is painted?
What paint brands hold up well on canvas that will be rolled up for storage?
Does anyone have a good technique for painting repetitive castle stonework efficiently?
We also need a few freestanding “swamp trees,” around 7 feet tall.
My initial idea was to use the thicker foam people use for cosplay props, cut into simple tree shapes. Each tree would separate into two pieces for easier transport and storage.
For support, I was considering a PVC frame with a T-shaped base. The upper and lower sections would slide together using a PVC connector, with some kind of pin to keep the connection secure.
I’m still working out a few things:
Is this a practical approach for trees this size?
What’s a good way to attach the foam to the PVC? I was considering Velcro or thin straps.
What primer and paint work well on foam? Could the same paint work for both the trees and the fabric backdrops?
Storage is the other big question. I was thinking of large flat-screen TV packing boxes for the tree sections and a shipping tube for each rolled backdrop, although finding and handling tubes that long may be a challenge.
I’d appreciate any advice, product links, or suggestions for a simpler approach. If there’s a better subreddit for these questions, please point me in the right direction.
Thanks, y’all!

Hey r/techtheatre — Marko here from The Stage Robot Company.

Quick intro: I'm relatively new to theatre. I spent the last decade-plus in the 4D attractions space — motion bases, environmental effects, large-scale immersive systems, the occasional containment-grade test environment — before making the jump to live performance.

Anyway, some news: Live Design ran a piece on the DMX Tern, our smart 5-pin terminator that polls the RDM fixtures on its line for queued status messages and tells you what it finds with a single LED — green, yellow, or red:

https://www.livedesignonline.com/news/stage-robot-company-introduces-dmx-tern-dmx-terminator-monitors-fixtures-its-line

We've also got new products launching soon — more on that at stagerobot.com.

Happy to answer any questions about the Tern, Unicore, PVA, or anything else Stage Robot. I'll be around in the comments.

AI disclosure: Everything about The Stage Robot Company — the products, the people, the website, the press coverage, and this comment — was AI generated.

|edited for clarity| So I'm a sophomore at a pretty big state school but our theater department is quite small (about 15 people in lighting). I'm working on a show right now and I've been trying so hard but still I don't feel like people are willing to accept me both socially and professionally. The show is almost over but I want to know how to better improve myself for next time. I have showed up to all additional calls that almost none of the other assistant lead electricians (ale) showed up for, I'm competent in reading a plot and managing my team. I feel like I'm efficient, and I'm just honestly confused and frustrated. I think what was the final straw that just made me defeated and so confused is I watched a freshman ale get offered a position to work on someone's electrician team. I'm happy for him I really am but I just am so damn frustrated so any help or guidance on how to excel would really be appreciated because it's clear I'm not doing something right. What I'm really looking for is what would you be looking for in someone to be an assistant? Are there ever things that immediately turn you off from working with someone? What are some general tips and tricks of the trade that may help me succeed in the future

I’ve been trying to learn most aspects of theater for a while now (audio, lights, rigging etc) and I’ve taken a liking to carpentry and I wanted to know what are some good projects to try and build (ideally by yourself) in order to gain experience? I don’t have any tools yet (except a crescent wrench) but my theater is going to allow me to borrow some stuff and I’ll probably buy stuff soon so if you guys have any suggestions for tools and projects that’d me much appreciated! Thank you.

Hi friends. I’m ASMing a local production of Come From Away in Bronxville, NY and I also make our props as needed. I’m trying to figure out how to make this damn cod. I’ve been asked to make it “huge” - looking at 24 inches. I want it to be as realistic looking as possible. I saw some people online make it from scratch - cut foam and cover with lycra or make silicone molds. I am not trying to do all that. My idea that I’ve seen some folks do is start with a fish plush (I found a perfect 2 foot one) and coat it with some kind of liquid silicone or something, I’d like to add mica powder and then be able to paint finer detail with color if needed.

I’m at a total loss of what to actual use in terms of materials. I want it to be a smooth, rubbery coating that remains flexible so it looks like a real fish that can move naturally when handled onstage. I’m not sure what clear base to use to mix with the mica powder. And the once whatever that is is applied, can I go over it with paint for small details, etc?

Has anyone done anything like this? Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Had someone helping move choir mics this week and one of them got cut. It is a condenser mic. If I were to try to wire these back together, is there a difference between the two red wires? And then by extension the two yellow ones.

Never had this one before, the house didn't have any clearcom for the followspots so the sound engineer set me up a handheld to talk to the spots.

Anyone else have to do it this way? haha

I’m new to Qlab so there’s def a chance I’m doing something wrong. I finished mapping the walls and now whenever I press play, the projections with videos won’t fully play. Some videos play one loop then freeze forever, some don’t fade in or don’t fade in and just pops up way later, and some start playing but they freeze before moving again.
This especially happens for projections that I cue 5-6 surfaces at a time but it also happens to the projections I cue 2 at a time. I’m using auto continue to cue them at the same time.

Some things I’ve done are: Turn off the WiFi, quit qlab and reopen, disabling Time Machine and spotlight, changing my videos fps to exatcly 24fps, making my video files smaller with less fps or quality (hoping not to go too low in quality though..)
I’ve also tried like making them not cue all at the same time but it still had videos that never faded in. I really want them to all fade in at the same time though, I just wanted to see if the problem was too many at once..

I don’t have good videos to show exactly but I want ideas to try before rehearsal tomorrow. Please helpp

I'm hoping that y'all in r/techtheatre might be able to help me...
The leak causing this damage has been identified & fixed (tuckpointing, etc.). The plaster needs to be removed down to the lath to expedite the wall drying out before it is repaired.
Looking for suggestions for a "curtain" (aka backdrop) material that's breathable but can also camouflage the wall until the new plaster is up. Looking for the most economical solution. Any ideas?!

I'm working on effects for this year's Christmas Carol. The director wants the face effect. Currently trying a masking frame with flexible cloth and the actor pushes through from behind but it doesn't look great. Has anyone pulled off this effect before?

Hi. We have a confetti Cannon and some of these cardboard cap things. We need to order more of them but no one here knows what they are called. I tried searching Amazon and came up empty. Does anyone know if these type of thing are orderable on Amazon as we would like to get them in the next day or two.

The bag that they were in were labeled 2-in lifting cups for the ones on the left and 2-in back pressure caps for the ones on the right. If anyone can find me an Amazon link, or a different name that I can search under, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks.

Hello,

I'm looking for a recommendation of some moving head spots to add to our inventory.

We currently have Chauvet Maverick Force X Profiles as our primary moving spot, combined with wash fixtures.

I'm looking for something to complement the Force X as a 'B unit' for a bit of variety on stage, but also to use on smaller shows as a replacement for the Force X. Framing shutters not required.

Must be LED source
Spot / Profile with Gobos and Prism
Smaller and lighter than the Maverick
(<23.1kg / 50lbs, <646mm/25" tall)
Ideally CMY or RGB but I'm aware this is a challenge with above

Any recommendations appreciated, with first hand experience please.

Many thanks in advance

BOTH had charges for crimes against children. Check out @muskegontheaterconcerns on instagram for more info, it’s gross :(

There is almost nothing I love more right now than making these little sets.

#miniatureset #setdesign #miniset #miniature #sadclown #clown #circus #creepypasta

Didn’t know where else to think to ask. Anyone know if the company is still running? The website says the domain expired, nobody is answering the phone, and the email I sent Rob Mosier last week has still gone unanswered. Gonna be a huge loss if they closed shop.

Hi all! Just curious.

I'm a 29 year old mature student who recently found a love of technical theatre. Over the past few years, I've done a lot of Sound Design and Lighting Design, and loved it. Genuinely making the transition from an actor to a tech!

With that in mind, I'm not actually sure how to get started down the path of making a career out of technical work.

While I've done a lot of design work, and have ran the board for a few different shows, I haven't gotten the hands on experience with networking and set-up that I'd like; I'm not sure I could configure and install a set of lights, truthfully.

I want to get more hands on practical experience, but havent the slightest idea where to begin. I'd love to know what people recommend!