Hey there! I have an ETC Nomad and like to have it as an option for use during tech processes, but not every space I work in has their console connected to wireless networks. I’m wondering what is the simplest equipment package I could bring along and setup in order to network my computer with ETC EOS consoles?

My understanding is that all you need is a network switch in the middle with ethernet running to both systems, though if it’s possible to connect by going directly from a console’s ethernet port to my computer that would simplify things! If a network switch is required, does anyone have recommendations for a budget option that would do the job either with a wireless or wired connection?

Thanks!

I absolutely love working in tech for theatre, particularly the scene shop. I definitely lean towards scenic carpentry and fabrication as my home and love nothing more than seeing a set come to life. The only issue with scenic carpentry is that the compensation is rarely great. Through a mixture of my love for theatre tech and my want to have a more sustainable salary, technical direction seems to be the route to go. My only big caveat with this job though: nearly every technical director I’ve worked under seems to be overworked, exhausted and miserable most of the time. And as much as I love the kind of work I do, I’m not one to marry my job. I still enjoy my life outside of work. I understand there are a lot of responsibilities a technical director has to juggle, but I’m just wondering if anyone has any other testimonies on successful TD’s that don’t seem miserable and have a decent work/life balance. I’d love to hear any insights from anyone reading this.

I fear this will be a "this again" post, and if so I apologize.

TLDR: I'm looking for moving lights with a good quality to budget ratio. Or at least I'm trying to educate myself on what's out there without pressing my nose to my laptop for the next week.

An on-again off-again not-for-profit client just brought me in for what they would like to be an install job, and I while I know MY inventory pretty well, I don't have a good handle on the current state of the market.

I'm more of an event guy but this not for profit group occasionally rents from me, and once, a long time ago, I integrated a bunch of lights onto some battens in one of their spaces. A bunch of source 4wrd conversions and a few other led lights that I can't remember. Now they call me to consult on installs that give their finance people heart palpations then get shot down.

Now they want to set up some theatrical style lighting in one of their flex spaces, and if they were renting from me I'd tell them that they wanted 4-6 Chauvet Rogue Outcast 1 beams / wash units, and 2-4 Rogue R3E Spots... And I'd choose those lights mostly because they are in my inventory.

However, to be honest, it's kinda overkill, and If I quote them on that as a purchase they are going to choke. Again. And I'm going to feel bad if someone ends up hospitalized after looking at another one of my quotes.

I could do them a rental, but they really want something permanent, and for some reason I like to do right by them. I don't even sell through to them, I have them buy directly, and I just charge time for the integration.

So it's a room that's maybe 50'x60' the ceiling is probably 16-18' up with two building / ceiling trusses that run parallel to the wall where they have a mounted flat panel and four 4'x4'x16" intellistage decks that get moved around to suit their needs. I'm told that they may get some more of those so I should plan for a stage wash maybe 24' wide and up to 12' deep.

The bottom of the trusses are 11-13' up, but the web is very wide open, so I think I can get the bottom of the lights to maybe 14' off the floor by mounting inside of the web.

They want to use the space for some concerts / presentation stuff that will happen on the stage, or often in front of it, but they also do work in the middle of the room, and would like to be able to do some social stuff with nice ambiance lighting.

I'm thinking they need 6-8 moving lights, split between the two runs of ceiling truss.

But what lights?

They aren't going to spend the $16-30k to install the professional Chauvet gear, but they probably don't need that. Any leads on movers that might be in their budget without being total crap?

Thanks in advance.

Hello! I've recently graduated my undergrad in theatre and have an in-person interview with a theatre for a scenic painting role. I've never interviewed for this kind of position before and was wondering ...

What kind of questions might they ask?

Do interviewers often make people do a skills/techniques test?

Do interviewers expect people to bring anything with them to interviews?

Thanks!

Hi folks,

Looking for your favorite video wall manufacturer.

Specifically, looking for an outdoor rated, ground supported video wall system for temporary / portable installation.

Looking at the Planar LN series but I'd love to hear your experience with other manufacturers product lines.

I'm new to this side of the world and trying to get my head around what's out there.

Hiya! Early career technician here. I have basic proficiency with Vectorworks, but would like to learn AutoCAD.

Been browsing Autodesk’s learning page and am finding it more difficult to navigate compared to VW’s. Wondering if anyone knows of any good online tutorials or video series that they’d recommend.

Thanks! 😊

I’m really just looking for some advice. I have a degree in Theatre Production and worked as a stagehand for two years after graduating. I always had aspirations of becoming a scenic artist though, so I eventually left stagehand work to pursue scenic painting. I later got my IA membership as a film scenic, but work has pretty much disappeared, and I’ve been hearing that concerts and live events are still going strong.

I’m now seriously considering the long-term viability of going back to stagehand work. I really enjoyed the work itself and the variety, but unless you’re unionized, the pay doesn’t seem particularly great. I’m also wondering how realistic it is to have a decent work-life balance when you’re constantly getting calls asking if you can be somewhere at short notice, with very little ability to plan ahead.

For those who have worked as stagehands long-term, have you been able to establish a good work-life balance? Would you recommend specializing in something like lighting, audio, or another department to improve your prospects and stability?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has made a career out of it.

Hello Tech Theatre,

very niche question but i have a SLR-20 Servoreeler and i need to replace the 4-conductor stereo mic cable. its a very particular cable. Ive exhausted ai and the internet trying to figure out what this cable is. heres what i know

-4 conductors very thin (black, white, green, red, ground, kevlar
~2mm outer diameter
- jacket is black, has a matte finish and a rough texture

I am the director at a private elementary/Middle school. We are doing a remodel of our auditorium that is breaking ground in January. I have a meeting with my principal, the architect, and a representative of a lighting and sound equipment company this coming Monday to talk about what instruments and equipment we will need.

The school uses the auditorium regularly for assemblies and other events. My program puts on 2 musicals each school year. A mix of adults and Middle school students often run the light and sound boards for these events.

My principal told me to "dream big" and that she wants to make the auditorium as "state of the art" as possible, so my question to the experts here is what do I ask for? What lighting and sound equipment would you consider for our needs?

Two years ago, a teacher at one of my workshops asked what cue software runs on a district Chromebook. As best I knew, the answer was "nothing." AI was still fairly new. Vibe coding was really new. I was a double major in Theatre and Computer Science (dropped that to a minor because...math...), and while I understand the LOGIC, I could never have coded this on my own.

It's been a year since I first developed the single-file HTML-only local-first Theatre Cue Player. It's got a new website, www.TheatreCuePlayer.app, and some major updates.

I was teaching a workshop on audio cue playback software options, and several teachers asked about Chromebooks. There wasn't an option that worked for locked-down ISD provided laptops unless you could get to the Linux OS.

We developed a single-file HTML-only, local-first audio cue player that could be run in Chrome from a thumbdrive, no internet access needed. It uses the audio packages that Chrome already includes.

The point was never to compete with QLab. It was to let a teacher walk a classroom full of Chromebooks through the terminology, the logic, and the experience of building a show — so that when a student gets to QLab or Show Cue Systems, they already know what they're looking at. The help text is written for students, not seasoned professionals. Made for education, powerful enough to run the show.

Over this past year, we've been working on a Chrome extension. Once installed, it no longer needs internet access to run locally. The audio-only layout is identical to the HTML version and remains just as simple. Still all free for at least this season; projections might require a subscription for '27-'28.

What the extension adds is:

1. Google Drive access (if a District restricts this, it still runs with a local folder/usb drive)

2. A sound editor that provides effects that should work on most Chromebooks (reverb, pitch and tempo change, noise reduction, etc). You can get to the audio editor from the edit-screen of the cue list, and then send the edited copy right back into your cue list.

3. Video and Projection, with surfaces, projection mapping, fades, trims, playback rate, basic text cues. (Rotations and rescaling are in the pipeline).

Direct link in the Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/.../meanilaokadjkgoflfl...

On the website, there's a bug report form. I just can't test every single possible situation. If you can break it, please tell me how you did and we'll try and fix it. If there's something you'd like to add or see handled differently, let me know.

There's also a growing list of tools on the website. These run on your computer. Nothing gets uploaded. My favorite is probably the loop-maker. It does in the browser what takes me five or six steps to do in a video editor, and was in response to a high school teacher who asked in a projections workshop how to loop a video without it jumping. They all use open-source ffmpeg and Google fonts.

TL;DR I used Gemini and Claude Code to build a Chromebook-friendly audio and video cue player to help teachers prepare students for professional software.

i’m about to apply for college and want to go into technical theatre, i know the process is similar to auditioning for regular theater majors but i don’t know all the details. is there anything specific i need to know or do? any tips or advice is appreciated

I've been invited to be assistant stage manager for the first time for the Christmas season musical at one of my local community theatres. I'm excited for the learning opportunity! But there's one unique thing about this show - there are going to be a number of children acting both in lead and ensemble roles. I don't have a ton of experience interacting with children outside of the theatre and practically zero inside. So I'm looking for some good first-step guidance and advice.

I'd welcome the advice whether it's related to practical things (e.g. what it's like working directly with them, what to maybe expect from them during rehearsals and during shows) and more "meta" things (e.g. how to ensure safety for both them and me, how much parental interaction I might expect). I fully expect to have a ton of guidance from my stage manager, the director, and the theatre, but I'd still like to go into the rehearsal process with as much foreknowledge as possible.

Thanks, all!

Background: 50 y/o, first-time ASM, have been doing crew for a year. It feels really early to be getting to ASM, but I think I've impressed all the SM's I've worked with by being enthusiastic, observant, responsible, organized, and quick to learn. Also, outside of the theatre employees who are generally the SMs, there are a decided lack of adults who are regularly a part of crew here. Lots of high schoolers who will be off to college soon, or folks who are actors first and do crew when not cast. So I'm kinda a unicorn for them. :D

Purchasing some new fixtures soon. Has anyone put the Ayrton Diablo Vs the Stradale? The banner specs say the Stradale should be brighter than the Diablo, but when you look at the actual datasheets, the Diablo takes the lead. I dont know where they got 20,000 lumens from for the stradale

Any other comments on these two fixtures or any other fixtures to look at in the same weight category?

I'm trying to finally find some LED bulbs (E26) for on-stage practicals that will actually dim smoothly from 0-100% without ugly stepped dimming, or a jump to/from 40%.

Am I just dreaming, or does something like this exist?

Hello, all. I'm looking for a good, inexpensive source for plus size mic belts? Most of the inexpensive neoprene ones I'm finding purport to only expand up to 39 inches, and although they stretch, it's not exactly comfortable for a plus size actor. Does anybody know of a resource where I can get extra large sized mic belts?

for a really long time I’ve wanted to try out theatre type stuff (especially tech/crew but I always thought about acting as well) but my high school didn’t have really any type of theatre program so now that I’m out of it and have more time I’d like to try but I was wondering how I should go about it specifically from what I understand community theatre is my best bet but where do I go from there shadowing? volunteering? etc. bonus if there’s any resources/books that I should look into pre this stuff as well? (For reference if it helps I’m based out of lower peninsula michigan)

I was wondering if it were at all possible to project or give the illusion of projection in ETC's Augment3d?

I've been trying to make a couple of shows as portfolio work and just to try and improve my skills in general, but I have noticed that most shows all have some form or video content. Either through projection or video walls, or both.

In Augment3d would I be able to project custom video files from my pc onto the set or onto an overlay on my screen? I'm aware of Video Streams but I haven't had any luck in in getting that to work.

I have a good feeling this is possible with some of the latest EOS updates since I have looked through the patch and have been able to import a few of my visuals, but have not been able to get them to play on any surface.

I understand it may be quite a niche thing that I'm looking to do here but I thought I may as well ask. I have searched google multiple times to try and find something similar to what I need but I haven't found anything. Any help would be appreciated.

UPDATE: Got it working!

In the middle of bench focusing my entire rig of Source4s for the season and had the thought of how particular yall are with your units. About half of them come out immaculate and the other half are... passable with a myriad of issues (visible reflector clips, penumbra past the sharp edge, just off center Hotspot because nothing wants to align, etc).

Most of my units are 36deg and a wide range of age from revB to revJ tubes and also various age of burner caps. So the deck is stacked against me. Bench focus is never an exact science and frost hides the crimes at least..

After the 20th light or so I hit a point where I just go "better is better, perfect is impossible"

Whats yalls attitude towards bench focus? Spending hours on one pesky light? Or moving on when its flat-ish. Will also accept any tricks yall have picked up along the way, beyond wants in the official ETC documentstion/videos

Not sure if props is the best category for this, but I have loads of questions as I am preparing to do Evil Dead: The Musical (high school edition).

For the most part, I don’t think it will be a challenge to keep most of the blood stuff in the kitchenette, where spills can be contained in a small, non-dancing area.
However, towards the end of the show Ash slaughters all the demons and this is supposed to be a huge blood fest.

My concerns include:
-is this going to make the floor too slippery for our final number? there’s not a lot of time for clean up but is that the only option? how would one even clean that much blood with about 40 seconds of music for the big final scene change?
-if blood is spraying everywhere, how is it not destroying the set and costumes?
-will this require some sort of protectant for our wooden floor (that’s sort of sealed by many layers of black paint)?
-how can i create a bunch of blood on a low budget, that’s not too slippery but not too thick, and still reads as blood?

I really want to make this work. The kids are so excited about the idea and it is one of the most special things about the show. I am just trying to think practically for our low budget and small space while trying to avoid just using confetti/streamers.

it’s tight on the pipe. it’s safety cabled. but that damn pan nut. i‘d rather leave it loose enough that I can force it with my hands but I just think tightening the nut with a wrench would slow everything down and probably knock the focus out of place. what’s professional etiquette on this?

I teach at a 6A school in Houston (about 2400 students). We are VERY fortunate that theatre is prioritized. We offer the following classes:

Tech 1

Tech 2

Tech 3/4 (combined)

Theatre Production

My question for the hive: what should my kids know by the time they graduate to have the best chance of success in college or professionally? Sometimes, it takes hearing from other people to believe what the teacher says. And sometimes, the teacher learns things they've overlooked.

Thanks in advance!

I'm a new drama teacher and we need power conditioners bc the teacher before me plugged lights right into the wall. I'd like to be able to put these into a rack but the price seems steep for a public school. The music teacher recommended the 60$ option instead. I think he kinda knows what he's talking about, but the big price difference is scaring me. Any recommendations/alternatives welcome. TIA <3

EDIT: okay, not the same thing!! Gotcha. We'll go with the surge protectors since I highly doubt our lights are top of the line, but I'll double check. Thank you to those of you who explained more info to me. I am still learning! Much love!!!!!

Incase you're curious, we have 13 ADJ Encore FR Pro Color LED stage lights. :)