StageLync: So when there is a major event in a temporary space, like a large ceremony with thousands of cast backstage who are waiting up to 4 or 6 hours before moving into starting positions, they need a chair or 2 or 3. How do they get there?
In 2015 I spent 6 months living in Baku, Azerbaijan, working for a company who produced the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1st European Games. Part of my role was to look after all the FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment) the ceremonies needed and used.
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Chairs are mystical objects that, in any given venue, are stored in the Chair Location, so when you need some chairs for an event you can go to the Chair Location and grab what you need. Oftentimes, they even develop sentience and show up on their own. But I guess it’s true that for an event as big as the Olympics with as many as 6,500 chairs needed backstage, that’s probably more than anyone has readily on hand. I love that those chairs were supplied by a government department from a “secret location.” Clearly there is some kind of Chair Dimension where any number of backstage chairs could be, and Big Chair doesn’t want us regular folks to know of its existence. Counting and placing every single one of those chairs (and coming up short the first time!) must have been incredibly tedious. There are so many individual steps that went into this that it’s no wonder there is someone specifically in charge of FF&E––no detail should be overlooked or just assumed to work out in an event of this scale.
A wild sentence to see, that 6,500 chairs came from a "secret location", but when I think about it more really all chairs come from a secret location. Especially chairs that are already there when you arrive. I frequently think about chairs in a classroom, about who picked them out, what positions they were in originally, if they've ever gone back to those places, how many have been replaces. Recently I needed to set up a few dozen chairs for a student event. These chairs came from a "secret location" of a back storage room, that only a few have a key too and few people actually need to know it exists. I wonder who those students think put out their chairs? Do they think it was a team? Do they know I am a fellow student of theirs? I think it's always important to recognize that no matter what has been set out for you to find, a table, a few chairs, a white, a monitor. Someone's job was to make sure it was there when you needed it and keeping it out of sight when you're done. Especially when you think about large events like an award show, someone's entire job that week was to get chair, bring chair to designated spot, and make sure chair stays in that spot all so we could see Meryl Streep on TV.
I want this job. I would love to manage furniture for venues. I like designing and researching spaces–but something about figuring out many things is needed, finding the best price options, then ordering them, and finally setting stuff up is very appealing to me. I think chairs are an overlooked necessity for entertainment venues especially when it comes to crew and technicians. Many times the amenities and comforts of crew people are overlooked because in the end I think we are conditioned to think that our needs come last when there is a show and talent to be dealt with. The part where she mentioned the chairs had to be carried up stadium steps was funny-terrible but relatable to tasks when you just have to take L and bite the bullet. Interesting read.
I feel like all of the logistics that go into organizing large-scale events like Olympic ceremonies just in general go unnoticed; actually, in a drawing class with Beth, we watched kind of how some aspects of the Olympics played out production-wise, and it was really interesting. Its crazy that there is such a need for thousands of chairs. For performers and crew, I feel like this is just a task that might seem like any other day and just not important to others, but when thinking about the set-ups or just any type of concert setup in general, its so important. The unexpected challenges, like dealing with secretive suppliers or improvising with local crews who speak different languages, is absolutely crazy. This behind-the-scenes look into such a seemingly simple task reveals the depth of organization required to make these world-class events run so smoothly. This work, from counting each chair to negotiating with security guards, just goes to show how hard it is to make sure every detail is perfect and can contribute to this larger spectacle.
This article is fascinating not only because I had never thought this deeply about chairs or how they work with large scale temporary events like this but also because it makes you think about all the other things that must be going into large events like this. There is so much happening behind the scenes at all times and everything must happen smoothly and in a timely fashion for an event like this to function properly. From all the way up in planning to each individual box of tissues being placed on their proper tables, these events have an infinite number of layers to them. This is production management to a scale I’ve never even really imagined. Since these events are temporary, I also am left to wonder what happens to these chairs after the event is over and the chairs are returned. Are there simply stockpiles of chairs around the world for whenever a big event rolls into town?
This article brings up a great point that is often missed by people working around a theatre or even the patrons going to see whatever entertainment is being put on. Chairs are such a big part of our work, because it would be impractical and nearly impossible to stand while working the hours that we tend to work. I did love the sentence about how backstage is usually where people send chairs to be retired and that no two chairs will ever be the same. It's can often be annoying when you are trying to work in a shop and there are a bunch of chairs strewn about that might be in your way. They are, however, always good to have during a break or even sometime nice to have when working if they have wheels to roll around. I remember when I was a full-time carp that it was nice to have a rolling stool; it was the same height as the table, so I could roll around while sanding and spackling for paints. Chairs often end up in our world, but getting such a large order of chairs has to be on someone to coordinate which is such an easy thing to overlook but really makes a big difference.
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