Crewing in performing arts
Crewing is as old as live theatre from Greece. In the middle ages, a “conducteur de secrets” accepted the audience’s money to see the show, and fed performers their lines when they have forgotten them. In the Elizabethan times, stage keepers were employed to move props.
A crew contains skilled workers who help with the finest details, making sure the show runs smoothly. There are technical roles where the work happens before shows, such as costume designer, choreographer, or set designer. However the stage crew has work to do during and after/ in between productions.
The backstage crew has two categories: one of them is the crew physically being backstage with the actors and those who help the show from a booth or elsewhere but still, inside the theatre.
THE HOUSE CREW
Stage manager:
The stage manager is the leader of the backstage work. Their job is to “call” the show, communicating with every department and signalling when it’s their turn to step in. Actors usually have contact with the stage manager prior to the show to set up microphones, lighting and sound.
I worked together with stage manager Josh Jarvis , on our murder mystery show, who on the day of the performance came see us to make sure that we are ready to start the show in time, with our costumes and makeup on. During the show, he stood in the upstairs booth and called lighting and sound queues. We , actors, also had direct communication with him via headphones when we had to go at the back which was very noise. He told us when the next actor was required on stage and also warned us if we were too loud and started disturbing the performance with our noise level on stage.
Light board operator
Light board operators are in charge of the lights and visual effects. They must know the script well to understand when light changes happen. Practicing with lights and sounds team called tech rehearsal.
Sound operator
Sound operators are in charge of microphones, making sure that they aren't damaged, replace any batteries and report any faulty wires. They run electrical music and sound effects on the show.
William Eldridge, light board operator
Josh Jarvis, stage manager at work
THE BACKSTAGE CREW
Run crew
At bigger shows, usually there’s one person on each side of the stage. These can be the head carpenter and the assistant stage manager. They keep a close eye on the show and talk to the stage manager via headsets. They also micromanage the rest of the run crew, who would physically help with scene changes e.g. moving furniture, raising actors in the air for flying scenes or change gels on standing lights.
Props head
This is the person in charge of all props. Props have to be at an easily accessible and organised spot and replaced or restacked if needed during the show. They might even needed to be handed to the actors at the back if time is tight. The props head is responsible for putting everything back where its needed at the beginning of the next show. If anything is lost or broken is must be quickly replaced.
Wardrobe/dressers
We know about costume designers , who make the plans for dresses and the costume constructors, who make their visions come through prior to the show. But there are also dressers present during performances to help actors with quick changes, sometimes even multiple of them helping the same actor. They are also responsible for any quick repairs required during the show.
Here is an example of a large cast and staff list of a huge theatre company. If we take a look at it, we can spot that there are about a 100 names on the list and many, many roles. There is a stage manager, a deputy stage manager and even an assistant stage manager.
The stage manager is responsible for communicating with all departments in a theatre production. They know the technical sides of the show and act as a messenger between the director and the cast and crew. They coordinate rehearsals and oversee the technical department and responsible for calling cues during performances.
The deputy stage managers job is to record any changes made to the script. Help stage manager coordinate a technical and dress rehearsal of a production. Take directions from the stage manager and let all the technicians, sound and lighting know when to begin the performance. They also follow the script throughout a performance and cue any technical changes.
The assistant stage manager listens to the stage manager and helps with setting up the rehearsal space. They
support actors and the creative team e.g. helping with costume changes or managing props and setting up the backstage, making sure everything is ready for the actors to use. They also help with maintenance, such as making sure costumes are washed between performances and ready to wear again. Assist with technical rehearsals, helping to coordinate cues and transitions between scenes, as well as assisting with any technical elements as needed. They run errands, pick up supplies or deliver messages between the Stage Manager and other members of team.
Crewing in our production and my role
Please click the icon to access the file.
As you can see, our crew for our next show is quite small, fits a small production. The stage manager listed and appointed the most important crewing jobs , including prop, costume and tableware management.
My role is tableware management and I will be telling you about my job in more details below.
My pre-production job
The stage manager appointed me to take the glasses from their cases and move them inside a lidded box. The show isn't on for another month so we have to make sure that we keep the glasses safe. I cut the thick bubble wrap to size and individually wrapped each glasses and used some masking tape where the two ends were, making sure the wrap wont slip off. Then neatly and tightly placed them next to each other, leaving no gab , so they can’t roll around and smash inside the box.
On these pictures you can see the "bottle prep". I went through the script and highlighted all the drinks mentioned in the play while Emily was researching the drinks mentioned. Some of them are old brand names and nor me or Emily drink alcohol so we had poor knowledge on them. We wanted to know what colour were the liquid is inside them and what type of bottle these drinks came in. Now we know that "bitter" is a mixer or Cherry B is a sweet cherry wine. After this we checked the types of drink bottles we already had and noted down any missing ones. Then we started cleaning the bottles with washing up liquid on the outside and inside too, making sure no alcohol left inside and we carefully rinsed all soap bubbles out of them as well. We then let them air-dry and placed them inside a box that had a lid to keep the dust out. Between each layer of bottles we put a sheet of bubble wrap to stop them from breaking. Finally, I scraped off some of the Thatcher labels of the beer bottles and cello taped "Bull’s Eye" labels on. This drink is close to the Landlord’s heart so we wanted to make sure that it was presented in the show to add to the feeling of realism.
My in-between productions job
My role in-between productions include washing the glasses that actors used and drunk from, making sure they are clean, dry and ready to use on the next show. Refilling the alcohol glasses with water and squash, depending what they are supposed to imitate and checking all glassware for any damage while also safely disposing any broken glass.
Washing the glasses and drying them between productions
Refilling the glasses / This is my non-alcoholic cocktail for Maudie, made out of cranberry and orange juice with reusable ice cubes and an umbrella for decoration. Just like it is written in the script.
Cocktail and "spirits"
Moth and
Maudie drinks
Glasses
Coke and
alcohol free
beer
Beer
(iced tea)
Spear glasses
Washing up bowl for pouring liquids
Bottle openers
Spear drinks
Bin for chucking
wine bottle
My post-production job
After all the shows are done, my job is to clean all bottles and glasses and store them safely in a clean and dust free container so it is sanitised and it can be used next time.
Extra crewing
In a small company, it happens that crew members often need to pick up more work and end up doing multiple roles. I did some resourcing, I bought the paint for the bar.
I ended up using the paint I resourced and painted the bar taps. They came as bare, unfinished and stood out too much. The deputy stage manager wanted a stain like finish, so I watered down the paint to make it thinner, this way we can still see the wood grains and it gives the taps a vintage look.
The day after the show was our last day on HNC so I helped with tidying the prop room and taking everything off the bar. Some of the things we binned, some of them shared between us and some we kept in boxes for the years to come, under the stage manager’s direction.
Evaluation
I enjoyed being part of the crewing team and although washing up isn't a very exciting job, it was rewarding to know that the actors are safe and they can actually drink from the glasses because they are clean. I specially enjoyed making the drinks for them. I believe the pre-made drinks made it easier for the lead actors (Landlord and Landlady) to quickly and effortlessly serve the pub guests. Having filled glasses also meant that the actors performance was more realistic and believable because they weren't just pretending to drink but they used their drinks as crutches.
On the first show, I got an extra backstage role of having the headset on me to help the stage manager communicate his instructions, changes or worries with the actors during the performance. I appeared on stage only roughly 40 minutes after it started so it was a nice responsibility to have while I was waiting for my turn. I helped with opening the curtains for them, checking if they got their props, giving them positive talk before they went on stage while also passing messages on between the actors and the stage manager, for example when a table had drinks spilt on it or when an actor got drink all over her shirt, I let the stage manager know that I am helping her get changed.
Now that I see how important backstage work is , I would like to do more in the future. Perhaps, even stage management but for that I feel that I need to learn a bit about lighting and sound in the theatre because my aim isn't to give orders, I want to be able to help out and be a role model, just like our stage manager, Josh Jarvis.
Risk assessment
Please click on the picture to view the general risk assessment made by our stage manager.
Personal risk assessment
