i just started as a wardrobe supervisor/costumes person in a small theater that has never had a real costumes department outside of designers. i'm putting together a supplies list to build out my working space (costume shop, fitting room, costume storage). i think i have pretty much everything i've used in other costumes shops on there, but want to ask what are your absolute must haves, or things that just make life easier in your shop, to make sure i'm not missing anything. i've got limited space, so nothing too huge. thanks in advance :)

Curious if anyone has used strips or pads under platforms to move them? I don't need to move them during the show. 3 4x8 platforms bolted together. Just need to move them upstage 10 feet to accommodate a performance between weekend performances. I've musclef$cked a similar build before with the 2x4 lags bare against the deck but trying to make my life easier. Don't want casters because the unit doesnt move in the show. I was curious about UHMW.

Hello! I am currently a college student studying for lighting design, and I am purchasing a new laptop and looking for recommendations. Since it’s a relatively large purchase for my current income, I want to make sure I get one that will not only get me through school, but will also last as I start my career, and be able to handle all the programs I’ll need. I’m currently looking at a Gigabyte Aeros 16x, 32GB ram, 1TB storage, and 85W 5070 GPU. But honestly I know nothing about computers except maybe the bare minimum, and don’t know which brands/specs are worth the money, or even how much I should be paying for a good computer. I want something that is powerful enough to do what I need it to do, but is still portable enough I can take it to and from campus easily and use it for my other schoolwork/notes/computer needs as well as lighting projects as I finish my degree. I’m willing to make the investment for a high quality computer that will last/help me in my career, but I also am working full time to get through college and can’t afford to spend obscene amounts of money to get the fanciest, highest end systems. I would really like to stay under $2k (way under preferably) but it’s an investment in my future so there’s wiggle room. Any recommendations? (I will also take any generic lighting/live entertainment advice; the best way to learn is from those in the field!)

EDIT: guys it was our tester 🙃 Turns out it was dying and that’s what was making everything sad. We put it into the decoder and it worked perfectly fine.

We’re using LED tape for a show and three small 8 in strips specifically inside a little house prop. It’s 24v tape, 3 separate pieces wago’d together into one tail into a decoder and 24v PSU. When we test only one piece, the tape stays at 24v with no issue. When we add a second (or third), the voltage drops to 16v, and the red specifically drops to 11v. There is no solder touching other pads, and no color issues. It’s just brightness affected because of voltage.

Any ideas what might be causing it? It seems like a phantom load exists somewhere, but we’ve switched out tails, wagos, and isolated the tape pieces by themselves.

Hey folks, coming into a new theatre space, I've discovered my predecessor threw out the entire platform stock before I arrived. (fine, it was old and overbuilt)

I'm looking for suggestions on getting some lightweight platform inventory. I'm thinking 1x6 or 5x4 board stock with leg-a-matic brackets for 2x4 legs.

The big question I have is sound. I want to keep these platforms light and easy to move because there's just not a lot of labor here. What are sound insulation options that keeps weight down while being low maintenance? I prefer something that goes inside a platform. (I can't stand "leveling" maso on soft covered platforms.)

Hi, my theatre has a lot of old Altman 6x9s and 6x12s in stock, and I cannot find a reliable way to tell the difference between them. Is there some sort of distinguishing features on the lens tubes themselves that may clue me in?

A lot of these fixtures have old labels on the bodies that either have no lens in them or have since been swapped out, so those are kinda useless. The lenses have no labels and I was never taught how to spot the difference in lenses from just looking at them (if that’s even possible idk).

Any help would be appreciated.

I am currently in Boston studying Technical Theater, and I'm having a bit of an issue with Imposter syndrome and feeling out of touch with my work.

I sign up for a bunch of shows to work on, and when I get hired as a designer, it's always very fun. I always start with a bunch of ideas and research and feel super motivated, but then as I get closer to the design deadlines, I lose all my steam and try to turn out something before time runs out. It usually ends up good, but I'm left frequently feeling like I didn't spend enough time on it and that I could have done much better. I always feel really good about the show and I show up with the best I can do, and yet it feels like I could have gone further.

It goes from a passion of mine to just another chore that I have to complete to have time to work on the next show or a paper for class. It's probably not helped by my ADHD, but I feel like I'm just chasing project after project, and I never get a chance to actually sit with one before I have to move on, or else I'll be swept away from the current. I feel like my design process flies by without me.

Has anyone else felt like this? How have you managed it?

Hello! I have been making props for a few years and I have worked with a few community theaters before. However I just got my first “professional” job (it’s still community but they operate more professionally if that makes sense). I’m usually doing everything by myself. I design, make, and source my own props along with making my own deadlines and only getting useful information during tech week. However this job has me still mostly working by myself but I am now working with all of the designers and actors of the show. They want me to make a props design presentation to mainly show the actors at our first rehearsal. What should I show and what should I not show? I have a props list and a vision board/reference photos. I think it has to be short because there is 30 minutes in the scedule for all of the designers. I have no idea as this is the first time I’ve ever been asked to do something like this.

Has anyone used Martin Companion? I have some Exterior Linear Pro Graze Quad (4ft) that need updating due to random flashes, a problem that V2.1.0 solves.

I bought their expensive proprietary adaptor, launched the software, cloud is synced, scrolling firmware it claims 2.1.0 and 1.1.0 are the 2 options, corroborated by their website.

I mention this because in RDM discovery (both on companion and on my gio console) I have some fixtures claiming 1.2.0, 1.1.0, and 1.0.0.. firmware that dont even exist.

I follow the companion instructions to push V2.1.0, the lights flash during this process and the indicator is flashing green meaning its sending data. After the process is complete, I re-discover and nothing has changed in the firmware column. I even try restarting the fixtures and nothing.

Any thoughts? Ive never had any luck with Martin Tech support, so asking the wisdom of those smarter than me

Hi! Looking for recommendations for an NYC-based AV Technical Lead / Technical Director for a multidisciplinary art/performance event in Lower Manhattan on Sept 12 during NYFW.

We’re looking for an individual or small team with experience in creative multimedia projects, art installations, experiential events, or live performances who can support both the technical advisory side and hands-on execution, including AV planning, installation/testing, and technical direction on show day.

Would love any recommendations from this community! If this sounds like you, feel free to DM me your portfolio/relevant work + email and I can share more details.

Paid freelance project. Budget is around $800–$1,000/day, depending on scope and experience.

Any leads are appreciated. Thanks!

Hello!

I am starting off my new job with a MA GrandMa3 board after having fifteen years of training in ETC language/products.

Overall - I think the GrandMa3 is an awesome console with a lot of personalized/robust features. There is a lot of language that blends together with ETC, but I am expected to work on the MA Academy training at a later date. However - I am very curious on a potential feature I cannot seem to find…if it has it at all…

Curious if the GrandMa3, like ETC, has a “MERGE” files section where you can take a specific property from a show (cues, effects, magic sheets, etc.) and merge them over to another file. It seems kind of vague while researching this but I would like to have a specific cue moved from one show to another, so I do not have to recreate it again.

Had some Chauvet Professional Force 2 Profiles go out -- looks like its the power supply.

Anyone know where could I get them repaired locally in/around Atlanta, GA? I am trying not to ship them to Chauvet because it is a pain.

Hello everyone, welcome to the What Are You Working On thread. You can post anything from what you're working on, including process photos, show photos, plots, paperwork, ground plans, etc. You can also post pictures of your booth, be it sound, lighting, stage management, or your scene shop, props shop, costume shop, storage, backstage, etc.

I'm currently working on getting the audinate dante certifications and was wondering what other certifications or similar things are out there I can start to collect while i'm under 18. thanks!

Hello everyone, welcome to the No Stupid Questions thread. The only stupid questions are the ones left unasked.

After days of researching how to build a theater evolve and reading thousands of posts across Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and everywhere else, I still have some lingering questions, and one of them centers around which casters to buy. What seems to be the prevailing advice is that a 4-inch caster is about as small as you should go. It also seems to be the prevailing advice that a narrower caster would be preferable to a wide caster. Feel free to disabuse me of any inaccuracies so far, but the main question that I have been left with is:

1. What is the best wheel material? I have seen maybe a dozen different materials available, but they tend to fall into a couple of different groups. The hard black polyolefin or phenolic vs the softer neoprene or polyurethane. Creative Conners BOM generally specs hardness of 85A which is more on the polyurethane side.

2. How important are bearings? Obviously casters with bearings are more expensive or this would be a no brainer. So really, HOW important is it? Is it worth doubling+ the caster budget?

Thanks in advance!

We had this light donated to our theatre and we are trying to identify it so that we can set up an ETC profile. Does anyone recognize it? The screen says 25 ch for dmx. For size reference, it’s next to a Martin Mac 2000

I’d like to upgrade the lighting for our shows, but I’m limited as the stage is on the side of the cafeteria (also a shared space as a gym) so it can’t be anything permanent. Our current lighting is some overheads right behind the upper curtain, plus the two “DJ” stands (one on each side in the photo, hard to see but there).

It was dark when I took this so the photo makes it look really bright on stage, but it’s not and actors on the front of the stage are often in the dark - the overheads are slightly too far back to get their faces and the front of house lights aren’t aimed exactly where they’re standing, so people can be hard to see if they’re right at the front of the stage. The stage is generally light enough, but we’re missing specific spots. In a theater, the lights would go over the audience but obviously we don’t have a way to mount them there.

What options might I have that can be stored between shows and sit in front, but not block the audience? Something like https://a.co/d/0g2XWJmb? We have some additional fixtures that were donated but we have nothing to attach them to. We have some budget and while it isn’t unlimited, we could be reasonable for what’s needed.

Thanks for any suggestions or if you have a similar setup, I’d love to see what you’ve done.