SoundGirls.org: One of the biggest things I had to learn about when I moved from working in regional theatre to working in NYC was the process of shop prep (also called “shop build” or just “build”). It’s a phase of the production process that is kind of particular and unique to doing theatre here, and there is a lot to learn and money to be made doing this kind of work. Almost everyone who works as an A1, A2, or audio stagehand in NYC takes shop calls from time to time, sometimes for shows that they are mixing or A2ing, and sometimes as an additional hand on another show’s shop prep.
4 comments:
“Shop prep” or build is a process that was new to me once getting to CMU. My high school had a build of course but it wasn’t done in a shop first. My high school’s theatre space is really small so there just isn’t room to keep stuff anywhere but onstage where it is supposed to be. This means that there are many days of rehearsals that are done on half-built sets and such which can definitely create some problems. I didn’t even really consider that there was a better way to do it. The entire timeline of production is pretty different at CMU when compared to my high school but obviously, CMU has the space, time, and resources to do so. I’m pretty sure that my high school only had two saws and they were really janky. Independent shops that execute theatre builds are also fascinating to me, I didn’t know that was something that happened in the industry. This article was able to give me a deeper understanding of what build means for shops outside of CMU.
I've never heard of shop prep before, but from the article, it seems like a really crucial part of the process. On a smaller note, that also makes a lot more sense as to why I always see those big black boxes in backstage areas, or even in film/tv when people are attending concerts. It's also interesting to see the visuals of the process. I hadn't expected that the sound team would have as many supplies on hand as they do, as in the case of the Pelican Case. Having worked on sound in Purnell, it's surprising to visualize exactly what you've been using or borrowing from the shop all in one place. Similarly, it'd never occurred to me that a sound shop prep would involve renting cables. It reminds me of what we learned in class about sound being new - in my mind, those cables are something that every theater would have lying around, but due to the relative recentness of sound departments becoming widespread, it makes sense that cables are something you'd have to arrange for separately.
As a student at CMU, I only recently learned about shop prep and who is involved in performing it. This was a new concept for me because a lot of the work done during this process was completed by faculty at my high school and since much of the equipment we use is somewhat permanently loaded into the space, it was never apparent to me. Therefore, I found this article interesting because I didn’t realize how customizable sound equipment can be and that the term “build” is involved in the literal sense for this process. As a stage manager, I appreciate how clearly this article articulates shop prep because I believe it is important to understand what each department goes through when they are in the process of a production. It makes sense that this is the process Broadway productions go through so that when load in comes, everything is ready to go and there is a contingency plan with extra equipment as necessary.
This article was incredibly enlightening. When I saw the headline I thought it was going to be about carpentry but I was mistaken. After reading, this all makes a lot of sense. I would think in a setting like Broadway, as they say each show is renting equipment and when it comes time for install you want to make sure everything runs properly. It makes me think of a situation like CMU where you might run a cable and then realize it does not work and have to completely re-run it. This is incredibly time consuming. In a situation where everything is labeled and tested, this would prevent that from occurring. It also reminds me of the detailing done in carpentry, with all the instructions there is little room for error. At a price point and time line of such scale this makes sense as it would prevent all that.
Post a Comment