Backstage Pass

When going to a live performance like a Broadway show, people are so amazed by what they see. The magic of the show and the beauty of the actor’s performance thrills the audience, but what about what they can’t see?  What is truly magical is what happens backstage or behind the scenes. When Broadway Shows go on tour they travel all across the country visiting many different cities in different states. Depending on the type of tour it is the show may be at a venue for an extended period of time like 3 weeks or more commonly they are there for a one night only show or for a few days.  

(Picture of a load in)

What I find amazing is the one night only shows. The company comes in that morning to the venue and depending on the show they usually start “load in” between 5am-9am.  Trucks full of lights, audio equipment, set pieces, props, costumes, wigs, instruments, and many other things are unloaded at the venue.  To go into detail about the whole process of load in would make this an extremely long blog.  Instead I added a video of a load in that happend at Gallagher Bluedorn last year.  The load in was of the show West Side Story and is shown in a quicker time but it shows just the amount of work that has to be done in a day.  

All of these things need to be finished before the show starts that night. This part I find most interesting is that the majority of the crew that is working this show is the local crew that works for the venue. Although there are professionals that travel with the show like the head electrician, the audio engineer, etc., at least 75% of the crew is local. This means that more than likely you have some untrained personnel or at least people that are unfamiliar with the show that are making the show happen.    

I had this experience recently when Memphis came to Gallagher Bluedorn and I was put on wig department.  I have worked shows before but I knew nothing about wigs whatsoever.  This same circumstance happens at almost every stop that the tour takes.  A new crew is provided for each show, that means they need to keep teaching the local crew at every venue they go to.  There may be more trained people depending on the venue but in my case I had never done wigs before and was not familiar with the show. I was given a 20 minute run-through of how to change a female and male wig, we then did a 10 minute walk through of all of the changes I was in charge of during the show and then I was on my own to figure it out. The traveling crew is there to help for some parts but ultimately it was my job to get all the different changes done.  

This example is true for all areas of the production like wardrobe, spot light, audio, and props.  The crew is given a quick run through of what their job is and then they are expected to understand and get all the timing right.  If anything goes wrong the audience will notice so it’s up to the crew to get it right. After the show is over the “load out” begins.  Everything that you set up that morning gets torn down and put back on the truck to be moved to the next venue.  The night usually ends between 1am-3am which is when the road crew leaves and they move onto the next venue and do it all over again.  

When going to a show most people don't think about all of the work that happens before, during, and after the show. I just wanted to share my small bit of knowledge to hopefully get people to appreciate the work that the backstage folks do and to open their eyes as to how impressive it is that shows happen perfectly night after night with completely different crews working it each time!  

Thanks for reading!

-PerformingArtsPatron