Not his Saturday shift, which ended at 3 a.m. Sunday, just two hours before his start time. Not the 90 minutes of a break that he spent in the hospital with not much of an injured wrist.
"Stagehands heal fast," he joked, waiting backstage to unload one of seven two-ton tractor trailers packed with gear for Sunday night's headliner, Kings of Leon.
13 comments:
It's always interesting reading about the various ways that IATSE locals are portrayed in the news. We go from the negative press that they've often gotten in NYC at various venues and then the praise that they have in this article. It's nice to see some positive praise for people that do a lot of unrecognized work in our industry.
There are a couple things that irritated me with this article. The praise that the workers were getting for putting in 14+ hour days is highly misplaced. It's not a good thing that stagehands are having to put in 14+ hours over more than 10 days. That's not a safe instance and should be worked on so that this doesn't happen.
Also, the stagehands being told to leave an area as a performance was starting is a good thing. Gallo's comment about it being atrocious they were told to leave and that they build the stage gives them right to be in the audience is irritating. Yes, they work very hard to set up the stage but that's their job, it does not give them the right to watch a free show.
This is an interesting viewpoint to see how stagehands are viewed city by city and event by event.
Wrong Attitude! It will never be a good situation where extreme sleep deprivation is the norm, the required, or the desired. Beyond being dangerous and harmful to the body in the long term it is a stupid thing to enjoy or be proud of. Often at CMU similar words are uttered with pride "I haven't slept in 2 days". In theater it is overlooked as the show must go one. But that's bullshit. If you need to re work the schedule or hire more people so that you can give everyone a proper amount of time to sleep than so be it. There has to be a way for the show to go on without making 200 people dangerously sleep deprived. On a separate note does Kanye go out of his way to upset people? I think he has a list somewhere of people he is trying anger and is checking them off one by one.
Is this article advocating sleep deprivation and extremely long hours which create dangerous situations and lead to accidents? Although I know that the theatre business is physically exhausting to everyone, especially stagehands, the hours seemed unreal. If they were in a union, there should be restrictions on how many hours they can work.
I understand Kanye West not wanting the stage hands to see the show for free, but for the amount of unsafe work they did, a free show isn't much to ask for.
It is very nice to see that stagehands are being recognized for all the work they are doing. Being a stagehand is not an easy job between the hard labor and the long hours. Being noticed for their work gives a little more motivation to continue doing their job. Most of the time people focus on the performers and they don't think about all the work that goes into making them look good. Tour shows move around so often and the stagehands need to build and disassemble the set in a limited time frame. They also have to deal with rules set by each performer and their security, which is unfair.
I have very mixed feelings about this article. Yes, glorifying sleep deprivation in an environment that requires alertness and attention is bad. But this is their job. They chose this. You cannot take on a stagehand job and not know that it is going to be hard work. Heading into a tech week, I know sleep is going to be a rare commodity. But I can pull a 14 hour day, because I love what I am doing. Being a stagehand does not require you to suppress your life; it requires you to adjust and adapt. Stagehands can still do many things, like - as the article showed - have a relationship, have fun, and, yes, sleep. The job just requires some flexibility.
I am glad that the stage technicians are being brought into the spotlight for a change. However, I'm not sure if I agree with glorifying the sleep deprivation. It is unhealthy to keep working into all hours of the night then repeat it day in and day out. Everyone needs sleep in order to properly function in everyday life. This article seemed sort of unreal with all of the hours that it suggested. The life of a stagehand is rough and thankless, but if it's your passion, it's something you have to be ready for. The hours are long but the feeling is priceless. However, the same goes for sleep.
One of the most striking parts of the article to me was that 9000 hours were spent on the job. Although there were 200 stagehands on the job, that is a huge number of hours in such a short time. I don't know what the rules are for turnaround and days off for IATSE as there are in Equity, but I would assume they're less strict. Many of the stagehands interviewed in the article sound exhausted, pushing themselves past their limits. When working with such heavy and dangerous equipment, this sounds like a nightmare. It is insane how many days it took to set up the project and I would hope that it was not the same people working everyday.
I really like the clear comparison between being a tour stagehand and a member of the armed forces. Much like being a soldier the lifestyle of a tour stagehand is rough and unlike any other. Both professions consist of hard labor intensive work and minimal sleep. The lugging of heavy equipment in the hot sun day after day and the short power naps taken in the midst of "warfare" like noise, completes the picture.
When we go see a touring concert, its easy to appreciate the lighting effects and the amazing rig set up for every show, but I think we often forget that such work has a profound effect on the people who set it up all day and strike it every night. Touring stagehands live lives incomparable to any profession other than those in the midst of combat. Although the fruits of the labor consist of good wages, I think there should be a little more appreciation for the insane lifestyle they have adapted to just to make sure the show goes on.
Having had the opportunity this summer to work a couple gigs as an IASTE 3 overhire hand, this article was a somewhat humorous perspective.
The issue of 12-14 hours days is very real. On the "biggest" shows, sometimes there simply are not enough stagehands available to swap out labor between calls. This leads to the same crews working back to back calls. It's a tough decision to make, because on one hand the pay is extremely appealing, but there are certainly hazards associated with all that overtime.
In my anecdotal experience, it went something like this. I had a 11pm-5am call Saturday night. As I was leaving in the early morning hours of Sunday, the call steward was still soliciting volunteers for the next call, which began immediately after. It was a tough decision, on one hand the overtime pay was great, but god I was so tired. I ended up deciding to just go home, but I can see how a lot of the stagehands in this article would want to keep working long hours
I liked the point of view that the article gave, and I feel like there aren't too many things on the green page that show the stagehand side of things from the perspective of the stagehands. I feel that this type of work can be very appealing for some, and as Ben says the overtime opportunities are incredible, but it also seems like a very self-destructive way to work. I liked how the article ended with the breakdown of the number of hours and cost of the event, and I thought that the discussion of the stagehand-roadie relationship was interesting. Also, I felt bad for the stagehands being asked to move by security guards, but as Tyler said above, they're not entitled to watch the show for free. My favorite part about the article was the relationship between the two stagehands who met there last year, and the fact that stagehands would set up hammocks beneath the stage.
I totally agree with all the comments! Are people really saying it's great that people need to work that much? So much that they are dropping like flies by the end and can sleep through the loudest of noises?!? Although it was nice having a perspective of a stagehand, this article may not be the best in my opinion. I really do appreciate Ben's comment. I would have never thought about the people choosing to stay longer and earn the overtime or not. It definitely adds to what to think about on this subject.
It's interesting hearing contrasting stories about stagehands. One one hand, I hear lots about how they stand and don't really want to do anything, question management, and other seemingly ridiculous things. On the other hand, I hear how hard they work and how perseverant they are at their jobs. Both situations seem like typical manual labor situations. They work difficult hours because they need money to survive. Construction workers, roofers, and other union workers all do it. Whether one side of the story is more true than the other, the union workers that set up shows are hard workers earning money to survive. The work they're doing is really difficult but how glorious is it to be that sleep deprived at work?
It's lovely to read about the appreciation and respect that this article is giving to stagehands. Yet, it seems to be romanticizing sleep deprivation in a way that I cannot seem to understand or necessarily respect. I truly believe that first and foremost, health is most important. It almost relates to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Mental and physical health are a priority, a must, and I don't think much can't be built on a shaky foundation. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to must make sure the foundation is sturdy, and to realize that our bodies are our most important instruments. I respect the fact that often this sleep deprivation is necessary, but then I would question authorities in not finding a way to adjust this schedule to incorporate a certain amount of sleep. I think it's very vital that as a society, we realize that "working hard" does not go hand in hand with "not sleeping" and that sleep deprivation should not be glorified. We must first satisfy our most primal need, in order to exercise success in other aspects of our life. We must be alive and able to function before we can fully utilize the maximum extent of our capabilities.
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