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Safety Training
Training commences with staff shortly before technical rehearsals begin. All crew receive theatrical intimacy training prior to the beginning of technical rehearsals. Additional job training is provided by staff and is arranged directly with the student to ensure proficiency and confidence in the operation of assigned theatrical systems. All crew positions will receive specific training in the space they are performing in. Typical crew positions are light board operator, sound engineer, dressers, props, and deckhands, with additional positions filled as required to execute the performance. All crew must wear black clothing whether working backstage or not.
Technical Rehearsals
Technical rehearsals occur in the week prior to the show’s opening. Technical rehearsals typically begin on a Thursday night and continue to Friday night from 6–11 p.m. Saturday is a long day, with the schedule being 10 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–10 p.m. Rehearsals on Sunday may be as long as Saturday if the show is complex. Monday night is off, with Tuesday and Wednesday adhering to a ‘performance schedule’ where crew arrive at 5:30 for a start time of 7 p.m. As every show is different, the technical rehearsal schedule varies. It is important that you make the above times available so that you can fully participate in the show!
Performance
Performances are typically held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with a 7 p.m. curtain, though a matinee may be scheduled on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Performances can be just one weekend or maybe two weekends. Your ‘call’ as a crew member is ‘one hour before half hour’ to curtain or whatever time you need to prepare and check your equipment. Don’t forget to sign in on the ‘callboard’ found between the green room (Wright 102) and the backstage entrance, perform your preshow duties, and get ready for the performance! Anything can happen and you need to make sure whatever happens, the show must go on!
Catalog Description
The following is pulled directly from the official course catalog.
Catalog Course
Meet the Staff
Susie Owens
Position Title
Production Manager
Department of Theatre and Dance
- Theatre and Dance
Susie Owens is in her fourteenth year as Production Manager with the Department of Theatre and Dance. Much of her time here has been spent renovating and upgrading theatrical systems as well as managing an evolving season of diverse productions in the various performance spaces of the department. Prior to her arrival at UC Davis, she was a touring stagehand specializing in scenic automation for The Phantom of the Opera, Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, and The Lion King. During her time on ‘the Road,’ she was also the Head Electrician of the Peter Pan tour (Broadway. Gershwin Theatre 1998) as well as the Head Props on A Chorus Line and Fiddler on the Roof. A forty year member of IATSE 50 (the stagehands local of Northern California), Ms Owens is also the Production Manager of Broadway Sacramento’s touring productions.