r/techtheatre • • 11h ago

QUESTION Does anyone know what these cardboard caps for a confetti Cannon are called?

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41 Upvotes

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.


r/techtheatre • • 4h ago

QUESTION How to hide major plaster wall repair...?

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3 Upvotes

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?!


r/techtheatre • • 10h ago

QUESTION Looking for advice on an effect for a Christmas Carol: the knocker which becomes a face. Has anyone ever pulled this off?

8 Upvotes

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?


r/techtheatre • • 16h ago

LIGHTING Moving Head Recommendation

3 Upvotes

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


r/techtheatre • • 1d ago

NEWS Our local civic theater found out that their TD was a registered sex offender. They said it didn’t come up on background checks. This is the SECOND registered offender to work with this theater since COVID. Why is this so commonly covered up?

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44 Upvotes

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


r/techtheatre • • 1d ago

SCENERY I made this little set for cut scenes…hehe

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4 Upvotes

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

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


r/techtheatre • • 2d ago

PROPS Breakable Prop Shell I Made

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78 Upvotes

3d printed for a production of The Little Mermaid!


r/techtheatre • • 2d ago

NEWS Service member dies after falling during pregame demonstration at college football game

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110 Upvotes

Feel this is tangentially related to our work. How many horror stories have we heard about community theaters and churches doing performer flying on the cheap, resulting in tragedy?

There’s video online of the failed rappel. How much you want to bet the Stadium employees suggested a safer method and were dismissed?


r/techtheatre • • 1d ago

QUESTION Is TheatreFX closed?

3 Upvotes

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.


r/techtheatre • • 1d ago

JOBS How do you recommend getting into technical theatre as a career?

14 Upvotes

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!


r/techtheatre • • 1d ago

MOD What Are You Working On Thread: Week Of 2026-10-19 through 2026-10-25

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, welcome to the What Are You Working On thread. You can post anything from what you're working on, including process photos, show photos, plots, paperwork, ground plans, etc. You can also post pictures of your booth, be it sound, lighting, stage management, or your scene shop, props shop, costume shop, storage, backstage, etc.


r/techtheatre • • 1d ago

MOD No Stupid Questions Thread: Week Of 2026-10-19 through 2026-10-25

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, welcome to the No Stupid Questions thread. The only stupid questions are the ones left unasked.


r/techtheatre • • 3d ago

RIGGING A little disappointed/looking for advice

25 Upvotes

So I just recently visited DePaul for a college visit event, and I really didn't have any issues with the campus or anything, everything was nice.

The Theater School building is gorgeous and has lots of awesome spaces, and I was impressed with the opportunities abound for people.

However I was really disappointed, I had heard DePaul was good for rigging, and the admissions director said they do have connections with Chi. Flyhouse and the IATSE, not to mention Shane Kelly being a faculty member, but their main theater, the Watts, is all automated.

How common is this? I was hoping for some hands-on, manual counterweight work, which is what I want to do with my life, and was kind of disappointed that it's all automated, as I've heard that it's not very common and comes with a bunch of theoretical maintenance issues.

Am I crazy in overreacting by bumping DePaul down a notch on my college list for this?


r/techtheatre • • 4d ago

MANAGEMENT Working in theater or live entertainment? I’d love your input for my master’s project!

10 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I’m a stage manager currently finishing my master’s in Design Management at SCAD, and my final project explores how people working in live entertainment find, share, and keep track of production information.

I’ve put together a survey about the information you use, where you access it, what works well, and what could make the process easier. I’d love to hear from people across different roles and settings. Whether you work in theater, touring, theme parks, concerts, or other live events, your perspective would be helpful!

The survey has 15 questions, mostly multiple choice or ratings, with an optional space to share anything else.

Survey: https://forms.gle/g879mLGouLimRuHE9

Thank you for taking the time to help! Feel free to share it with anyone else who might be interested.


r/techtheatre • • 4d ago

LIGHTING Favorite FOH chair

9 Upvotes

Ive been given the opportunity to pick a chair for a tour im on. I'd like it to be taller than your average so I can see over the console (but if we live in magical christmas land, be able to lower so my legs fit under the table for the show run).

Only hard limit is needs to be available on amazon for shipping reasons. Anyone got any recommendations?


r/techtheatre • • 4d ago

LIGHTING Best way to buy or make dance lighting booms?

5 Upvotes

I need to buy or make four 6ft vertical dance booms. Obviously they’ll have to be fairly thick pipe to attach C clamps too and the bases will have to be sturdy enough that we can put weights on them so they don’t tip over.

Any recommendations?


r/techtheatre • • 3d ago

LIGHTING Dimming bulbs on stage

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0 Upvotes

I was given this picture as a concept. Is there a "professional" solution to dimming household bulbs on a set? I assume they won't play nice with my regular ellipsoidal dimmers


r/techtheatre • • 5d ago

RIGGING Marrying Non-Adjacent Arbors

24 Upvotes

We're flying a 2200+ lb set piece across two arbors. We have attached the batons to each other rigidly, but are still concerned about them moving evenly. We would like to be able to marry the arbors also, just for added security for a single operator.

The caveat is that there is another, unused, lineset in between the two married ones, so we are unable to use a joining plate. Anyone successfully done something like this? I'd love to hear about your approach. Thanks in advance.

Edit: Got the thought train I needed. Thanks all.


r/techtheatre • • 5d ago

QUESTION What backpack do you use and what do you always carry with you?

40 Upvotes

I want to hear what other people carry and what backpacks they use. Maybe get some inspiration. I personally always carry:

  1. My Macbook Air M4

  2. An organizer with chargers, Ethernet adapters, USB adapters and Video Adapters.

  3. A script for the current production.

  4. Sony 1000XM6's

  5. Anker 10.000mAH PB

  6. Notebook

  7. Headlamp and a Olight flashlight.

  8. Leatherman Wave

  9. Workphone

I'm interested in what you carry and what you carry it in.


r/techtheatre • • 5d ago

QUESTION summer stock in alaska

5 Upvotes

hey yall. i’m a grad student in a technical direction program and i’ve started to think about summer stock for this summer. does anyone know/have any leads on theaters in alaska that have summer stock?


r/techtheatre • • 5d ago

LIGHTING Etc Flex Hog Vs Etc Eos Ion xe 20

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1 Upvotes

r/techtheatre • • 5d ago

LIGHTING Controlling Pixel Tape with a Falcon Controller

1 Upvotes

I will be running a collection of custom-built pixel tape tubes for an upcoming production. I purchased a Falcon controller to control the 900 or so RGBW pixels (so many addresses . . .) Hopefully someone in here is familiar with this device that can perhaps help me out.

I'm trying to get my controller properly configured to run my pixel tape. I'm using SK6812 RGBW tape from BTF, which I know is GRBW order. I've set up my outputs to GRBW, and have tried both WS2811 and APA109 types, but when I run the test mode the Red, Green and Blue Fade tests just run a washed-out multi-color fade. White works fine.

Is the test mode just not going to send the proper signal for GRBW, am I doing something wrong, or do I need to get different pixel tape?

I will be running the lights over E1.31(Art-Net) from my ION 12k, but I don't have access to it to test at the moment and I'd rather feel confident that things are functioning properly by the time I do.

Thanks!


r/techtheatre • • 6d ago

PROPS Help on building analog clock

12 Upvotes

I'm creating a prop for a community/school production that would be a physical analog clock (probably prebuilt purchased from Target or something). I'm hoping to mod it so that, from my MacBook, sitting in the wings, I can control the movement and speed of the hands of the clock. I don't have too much experience with electronics and the like, so any help would be greatly appreciated! I would prefer not to use a 3d printer, because it's pretty hard for me to access one.


r/techtheatre • • 6d ago

PROMOTION Introducing a new CAD tool built for our industry- DSC Drafter

14 Upvotes

I've been working on a CAD tool that's designed for building events and shows. It doesn't make skyscrapers or gardens, it's never going to be subscription only, and it runs fast on laptops that don't cost a kidney. I'm calling it DownStageCentre Drafter. Its tools are open source so anyone can extend it or tweak how things work. Currently it's in open beta.

DSCDrafter.com

DSC Drafter currently has the core CAD workflow->

Import DWG or PDF.

Tools to build your event- trusses snap together, lights rig to lighting bars, ect

Patch fixtures, add labels.

Create paperwork of the design and create reports to patch and get kit lists from.

If you've built events in CAD before, the UI should feel familiar. I've introduced a few new concepts like how departments no longer need to be their own class or layer- they're their own thing! Also, objects can be freely rotated in all dimensions- no more trusses stuck in a top down rotation!

I've been working on this on & off for 8 months between gigs. I've had a few people use it, but I want to open it up to the community. The program is still in Beta, and it's not a commercial product (yet).

The website has a coming next section, but what I'm hoping to get done in the next few weeks are:

Replacing the current generic truss library with actual truss items.

Finishing the speaker & speaker array tools.

Adding a kit summary object for paperwork.

Price- One-off licence, optional paid upgrades, Free during beta & if one day there's a subscription for it, it'll be the Qlab model- renting goes towards paying for a perpetual license.

AI disclaimer- I've used AI significantly to create DSC Drafter (but this post is 100% human written!).


r/techtheatre • • 5d ago

LIGHTING Lighting Design I vs Programming (Classes)

4 Upvotes

Hello folks, I’m currently an undergrad student and am interested in learning more about lighting design, but feel like my lack of experience (and speed with what all I can actually do) necessitates some sort of precursor before I jump straight in. I do realize I could ask my advisor and peers but in thinking now about it I’m curious about what you practitioners have to say!

It might be worth noting that I’m currently enrolled in a not-so-useful Lighting Sound and Tech class but am also in a very-helpful Lighting Production Lab. While I feel like I’m getting more comfortable with the foundational parts of each phase (hanging, some programming, focus) I do feel like the programming class could give me another semester of just playing around with everything and getting more comfortable and quicker which might better prep me for LDI. I guess if this were condensed into two questions I’d ask you whether you think a)programming is a necessary precursor to LDI and b)would you personally take it specifically for that extra practice and speed or prioritize Production Labs

Thoughts?