Tested: For each of Cirque du Soleil's traveling "Big Top" shows, the technical crew have to build out a fully operational workshop tent to maintain and repair the equipment used on the show. We go into Volta's workshop to learn how each department efficiently sets up and packs up their gear to go on the road.
4 comments:
The title of this article attracted me to read it. Just something saying "travelling workshop" in conjunction to "Circue du soleil" seems fascinating to me.
For long I have been in love with this production- every part of its design, its actors and characters etc. So to get to know something new about it- something related to the design aspect of the show, was fascinating to me.
And as it would have it, it was a delight reading about the travelling workshop that the build crew of the make so that they are always equipped with chances to build or repair anything as and when needed. Just the idea of travelling workshop sounds so much fun and although it must be equally hard to sustain it, it seems like the team is great at that job also.
This show has been considered a legend in the way it has continues to attract different types of audiences for a long time. And now that people have a better chance to know what goes on behind the scenes for this show, it just going to attract more people.
It's something you never think about for big touring shows like this because many of them use local crews, but it makes sense that specialized equipment like concert tours or shows like Cirque would need a full crew to come with them. It's really interesting to me to be able to look into the behind the scenes of what makes all of this stuff work and keep functioning every night. Maintenance of heavily used scenic elements isn't something we generally think about as theater artists, but without crews like them these shows wouldn't be able to run smoothly every night. It's also just really great to me that instead of trying to find the skilled labor in every new city that they just bring their entire crew with them and pay to house them for the entire run. I imagine it has a lot to do with the specificity of the equipment, and the fact that if things aren’t working someone might get hurt, which sounds like a lot of knowledge must go into working these positions.
These kinds of “rigs” are so interesting to me. It’s really cool to see how particular some shows get with their tools in just exactly what they need for a certain production. To see all of the different tools and Items that they know they need in order to keep a show running more than just the typical shop tools and often less. What I always wonder is why this isn’t something that isn’t thought through more carefully or thoroughly, I mean of course it is but looking at some of the stuff that seemed to be in these cases made me wonder how much thought really went into the exact organization and planning for each of these cases. The efficiency in the shops is always an interesting and controversial topic whenever taking something on the road. Now I just wonder where the real threshold would be for the shops capabilities on tour.
Cirque is such a fascinating organization, but it is very closed off. Either you are a part of Cirque and its internal workings, or you just exist on the outside. This title piqued my interest because they honestly don’t seem like a workshop-ey group. Cirque’s operation, especially the portion that travels, is safe and strong because they bring specially trained crew members with them on tour. The running of their shows is of course fascinating due to the hundreds of moving parts, incredible complex sequences, and all of the contingencies that constantly have to be ready to be implemented. All of that being said, I think I know the least about their load-in and strike processes and I think that this would be a really fascinating experience to be a part of. I think this is also a really important thing for all levels of theatre to be doing because I think it gives a greater idea to how much unseen work is done in theatre, and that deserves as much recognition as what is seen.
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