Dancing With The Lord of the Dance

For the Mem Aud crew, The Lord of the Dance show was a success; however, for the production's road crew, it was probably a little disappointing. This show was slightly different from other events hosted by Mem Aud. Normally organizations (like University Program Council) seek shows, but The Lord of the Dance was th opposite. The production actually requested to perform, but only about 1,100 tickets were sold. The crew itself was very satisfied with our crew and Mem Aud's service, but I can only assume it must be disappointing to perform for a smaller audience than usual.

For stage hands and managers at Mem Aud, a show is successful based on how efficiently we get trucks loaded and unloaded and sets built and torn down. The faster we finish, the sooner we get to go home, and when you've spent 12 hours or more at the auditorium, going home is your biggest concern. Because even when the last truck is loaded, and the performers are all on the tour bus, the theater's stage crew usually still has work to do. Normally we don't stay much longer after the road crew heads back to their hotel, but there's always work to do in the theater. We have to restore the stage, and what doesn't get finished the night of the show, gets finished the next day. Often soft goods and electrics have to be restored to what is normally up at the auditorium. Soft goods are the different curtains we use, like the traveler or borders, and the electrics are all the different stage lights.

The work call for The Lord of the Dance began at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday and ended around midnight. The road crew and performers were very nice and polite, which they usually are. It must be exciting to meet new people and see new places every couple of days. I also found it pretty cool that many of the performers had accents. I'm not sure if they were Irish, Scottish or a combination of both, but I was surprised either way.

Well as promised, here are a few more pictures from The Lord of the Dance:

Above left: A copy of the event prep show log. Stage managers have to log all the work the crew completes, and the the time it takes to do it.

Left: The road crew and stage crew unload the floor pieces, which are what enhance the sound made by the dancers shoes.

Right: The first row of floor laid.

Left: Signs hang throughout the
auditorium to direct performers around backstage.

Right: A rack of men's
costumes hang in the dressing room.

Left: This is one of the dressing
rooms used by the female dancers.

Right: A basket of costume shoes
sits outside the dressing rooms on
each floor of the dressing room tower.

A Preview Through Pictures

I'd like to clarify a part of my last post concerning copyright laws. According to Todd, sets, wardrobes and even rehearsals are bound by copyrights therefore so are my photographs. I can take pictures of sets so long as you can't tell what it is. I can take pictures of a rack of costumes, but I can't take a full length photo of a costume individually. The rules I'm constrained by make the artistic process very difficult, but I'd rather be safe than sorry when it comes to legalities. Todd will not be acting as an editor or a censor by pre-approving my photos, but more like a legal consultant. He knows what I legally can and cannot photograph and publish. So without further ado, here are some photos to give you a preview of what is to come from The Lord of the Dance post:

Above: The Lord of the Dance road crew and Mem Aud stage hands unload road cases from one of the trucks. The work call was scheduled for 8 a.m. and the load-in began around 9 a.m.

Above: Road cases lined up along the backstage wall.


Above: Crew members completely unloaded the first truck by approximately 10 a.m.

Introducing Memorial Auditorium

This blog will give a backstage peek of the happenings at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium, the Ohio University owned theater located in Athens, Ohio.

As a student employee at Memorial Auditorium (Mem Aud), I am publishing this blog as an independent project for an online journalism class. This blog is in no way affiliated with Ohio University or Memorial Auditorium. I did, however, receive permission from Todd Coogen, the auditorium's associate
director and production manager, to report on auditorium events from a behind-the-scenes perspective. I do not have permission to disclose information concerning upcoming events that previously have not been released to the public. Also all photographs that I publish will be pre-approved by Todd so as not to violate copyright laws.

With this blog, I hope to serve the university community with a sneak peak into the auditorium, allowing readers to see the work involved in productions from a stage hand's point of view. All published information will be from my observations as a stage hand, interviews with other production employees and research I do on university events. All content published in this blog is controlled at my own discretion with the exception of photographs.

In upcoming weeks, I will publish a number of posts concerning events at the auditorium. Tonight Magic Arts & Entertainment will present Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance Experience at 7:30. A fresh look at this production should be up by the end of the week. I would appreciate comments of what you, the reader, would like to see or learn from this blog.

Far above: The house at Mem Aud from the backstage door.
Above right: The balcony and part of house at Mem Aud from the overhanging catwalk.