Lifestyle - Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview High School graduate Josh Long gets several dozen people's immediate attention when he calls out, "Pipe coming in!"
Long and Crestview resident Mike Patenaud can lower some often hefty equipment on the heads of unwary fellow stagehands at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center.
3 comments:
This article is very cute. I always find it funny when authors try to simplify the way theater works so that non-theatre people can understand it. I think this author's attempt here gets the job done, but it sort of dumbs-down the whole story for me. That being said, I could not agree more with Bob Whittaker, the Mattie Kelly Arts Center Technical Director who points out the value of hands-on experience vs. classroom experience. Yes, as students we can learn in the classroom, but we can learn so much more in a shorter period of time if we are actually working on a real application of those skills learned in the classroom. It's also so great to be learning from people who are currently doing the job- if you want to be a rigger, there is no experience more valuable than shadowing a working rigger who can teach you their tips and tricks while on-the-job. The relationship that NWFSC has with the Mattie Kelly Arts Center seems to be providing students with a great way to learn more about theatre as they work towards or progress past their two-year degree at NWFSC.
Hands-on experience cannot be replicated in the classroom, and I think that has been emphasized numerous times across all industries and positions. I think this is a fantastic opportunity for anyone who knows what they want to do by the time they're in college, or even high school. For theatre especially, where there isn't a standardized set off textbooks to go off of, these opportunities are incredibly influential on what the student is going to learn. In an industry where everyone does it a little different, the varied experiences will be tremendously useful. It not only gives them a better idea of what they will be doing in a few years, it provides an opportunity for future employers to recognize their experience and giving them an advantage in the job market as well.
I like the idea behind giving students a hands on training, however having gone through Niceville and dealing with this before the article tends to gloss over the fact that the students are not really doing all that much other than being more hands to get things done. It's really not a whole lot different than our own Stagecraft class and crew. They have dedicated technicians in each field that will do most of the work and then have extra hands to help assist with things. The kids that want to learn and are actively involved with what is going on you use more but the others you just point at and have them hold something. It's also really rough on the tours because Niceville is a one off city so everything is in and out very quickly, which is actually better for the house because 9 times out of 10 the road crew can do most of the work on their own. I was lucky going in because my Head Carp is a local there so he was able to warn us before getting there so we weren't that shocked. It's a good experience for the students but I don't know how much they are really getting out of the situation educationally. You always get what you put in, and many of these students were not putting a lot into what was going on.
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