It's not often these days you find technical people to operate your lighting and sound requirements who will do the job for the love of it. Like myself, most seem to do this kind of work for a living and therefore have no alternative but to charge for our services to keep our bank managers reasonably happy... Here though is a bit of a history about one exception...

Paul... yes you know who you are! (now reading this with a silly grin thinking what's he going to say about me - and now looking very worried!). Paul is part of "the lighting crew" he even has his own web site www.thelightingcrew.co.uk for those of you who hadn't realised just how much hard work is put into the technical side of a production ... look elsewhere :-)

Paul has actually proved himself very useful this year (for a change some would say but I wouldn't dare say such things... or would I?) no seriously ... back in January after some three years away down south learning his professional trade, he at last had the chance to do the lighting for a complete show. More of this later ...

Over those years away he planned out the lighting and did all the necessary emailing and phone calls etc, to the rest of the team regarding what lights to hire and what gels to use and so on. He had to plan every last detail as everything is hired in for a production at this particular venue, including the dimming equipment and lighting desk. He never missed a show and used to drive up to help set up the show, sometimes a five or six hour drive, then return south after the dress rehearsal and return the following weekend to see the last performance and help take everything down on the Sunday morning, then once more travelling back south.

Last year the council decided to refurbish this hall and put in new seating and a lovely new leaking roof!!! (don't you just love roofing contractors?) and some money was also available for new lighting bits and pieces. Paul advised the powers the be on what to get and in fact saved them a packet (well got more gear for the money anyway) as he shopped around for some decent prices. He did this all for the love of it completely unpaid (mind I see a nice new car has appeared!!!) well that's government version of events anyway!... Did I say that?

So January 2003, three years of missing the thing he loved most (after Jane, Paula, Stef, Ann, Julie, Marie, Sara ... now who have I missed out???) sorry lighting I meant, his love is lighting, he finally got his hands on a lighting desk in his home town for the week ... Yes!!! Do you ever get the feeling things are going just too well? even though you have worked so hard for so long???

Thursday night, show number five (as we started on the Sunday) tab warmers on, overture in action, lights fade out and curtain up ... We hear the sound of an actor or two but in total darkness (good, so that meant I was actually awake then as I was doing the sound). I look to my left and Paul is sitting there slowly turning green with a look on his face that indicated he was thinking along the lines of "what is this piece of manure doing to me ... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!". Nothing ... was what it was doing ... absolutely nothing!

The producer was at the back and the three of us very quickly decided to halt the show as that was the only option as no one can see a thing. We left the producer to explain to the audience what was going on.

So the show was halted about 30 seconds after it started, and then several wires were changed etc etc but the little darling of a desk wouldn't play ball, so off Paul went to find the council's little manual desk. Can you imagine trying to go from a computerised 48 channel desk with all it's toys to a manual 24 channel desk (excluding any toys) when all the settings are programmed into the computer? Not any fun I can tell you!!! Well, he did it without any panicking and even had poor James working his socks off (for a change!!!) back stage swapping plugs in the dimmers to get as much lighting as close as possible to what it should have been. All this remember on a lighting desk with less than half the capacity of the one on strike! There was no planning this out, he worked it all out as the show went on and though I had a good idea what the lighting should have looked like, even I only noticed a couple of things that were slightly different, which was quite remarkable considering the circumstances (mind it was down to James back stage to swap plugs like he had no tomorrow which he did without fault). One huge benefit of all of this was that "James" was kept well away from the dancers and other younger female members of the cast ... that lad honestly!!!

This is surly a great example of "the show must go on" as the alternative to this would have been 350 refunds, and a lot less money for the local charities, as profits from that week of shows go to charity.

Well done Paul! (OK and James and the rest of you - stop sulking because I haven't mentioned you all by name!) amateur theatre (and professional) needs more people like you and the rest of your troops or else the show would NOT go on ... It's as simple as that.

Till next time ... Keep smiling folks!

Submitted by Joe Mitchell from Soundhire. Soundhire is a small theatrical sound and special effects company. They supply equipment for hire and sales to amateur and professional theatre users.