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What's a TD
Overview and Organization
The Technical Director, TD for short, is responsible for the construction of the set, organizing builds, keeping track of hours, Put-In, Strike, and the safety of everyone involved with the show. The TD has FINAL SAY in all matters related to safety, from the set design to props to audience placement.
**INSERT SPIEL ABOUT DELEGATION. IF YOU ARE A FUTURE TD READING THIS AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT, TLDR PLEASE TELL PEOPLE TO DO THINGS AND DONT DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF. DELEGATIONNNNNNN***
TD is a BIG JOB and takes a lot of time. Take this into account when figuring out your commitments for this semester. I believe in you, though!
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Talk to the Set Designer and make yourself a google sheet of set pieces. Label them as you go – TO BE BUILT IN A BUILD (smaller set pieces), TO BE ACQUIRED (chairs and platforms, see below), ALREADY BUILT (yay!), TO BE BUILT AT PUT IN (larger set pieces that can't fit through doors if you build them in the set shop).
Acquiring material
Conferring with Master Carpenter: Look down at your list of set pieces and draw out designs of how you want to build them. Make a big list of wood, luan, plywood, and the like that you'll need. Chat with your Master Carpenter to make sure finalize how you're on the same pagebuilding them and your materials. The TD is responsible for procuring all the raw material for sets. Things like luan are best to be scavenged from the set shop and the office, but a trip to Home Depot and Backstage Hardware usually takes care of the rest of your needs (office wood is mostly useful for panic "oh shit we need x" during builds or put-in). General set shop rules is are you should be leaving as much material as you're using.
Reusability: The next thing you should do is scout out the set shop and/or office to find set pieces that you can reuse, specifically platforms. The platforms in the office have the benefit of being closer, but they are very heavy and overbuilt. The Many of the platforms in the set shop are farther away and overused (meaning there are a lot of old screw holes), but they are a lot lighter. Decide what you think is more importantold, but there are some newer ones and many of the old ones are still in good shape. Still, when reusing older platforms, I would keep an eye out for problematic things such as many screw holes, weaknesses in the frame, disintegrating wood, and similar. . There are plenty of chairs and tables and generic things like that in the set shop that are great for any sort of set. Get in there with a roll of tape and a sharpie and mark pieces you'd like to use for the show with "SE [SHOW NAME] [TIME/YEAR]" (example: "SE HAMLET FALL 17"). This will let other theater groups know what has already been claimed. Furniture in the office is also always up for grabs! There are IKEA tables that are in the office that are good. Budgeting can be hard, don't spend money you don't have to!
If you want things to roll (like platforms or big set pieces like bookcases), you should put wheels on the bottom of them. There are some in the set shop and some in the office. If it is important that these things are stationary when they are being used, (like if someone stands or fights on it), use the orange ones that are (IDK IF THEY'RE IN THE OFFICE OR THE SET SHOP WILL CHECK LATER). They are so much better than all the other ones. If it's less important that they stay still, just use the regular set shop ones. Make sure they're all the same size!
A list of materials should be compiled as soon as possible during the production process so it can be updated quickly and easily- you don't want to spend an extra hour of travel time because you forgot to buy the dowel pins when you had a U-Haul. Make sure you're aware of Home Depot's and U-Haul's hours before scheduling this trip. Home Depot's Pro Desk (for delivery) is only open during business hours. Email out about someone driving a U-Haul. ~prod hours~
Paint can be acquired from Home Depot - the Set Designer, Scenic Painter, and TD should meet before the home depot trip and decide on what colors (and gloss levels) should be purchased from Home Depot (in addition to what's in the cabinet). This should happen several days in advance at least, and it should be made sure that home depot knows what those colors mean. Paint can be more expensive than you think, so be sure to get a sense of what the Scenic Painter wants, what paint we already have, and how much you need/will be willing to spend ahead of time.
Any materials that need to be shipped to campus should be ordered with at least a week's grace period between their expected arrival and Put-In. 2+ week shipping times are normal, especially for heavy items.
Reusing can save money and time. Just be sure to prioritize safety
Paint: Paint can be acquired from Home Depot - the Set Designer, Scenic Painter, and TD should meet before the home depot trip and decide on what colors (and gloss levels) should be purchased from Home Depot (in addition to what's in the cabinet). Paint can be more expensive than you think, so be sure to get a sense of what the Scenic Painter wants, what paint we already have, and how much you need/will be willing to spend ahead of time. You should ideally choose a Behr or Glidden paint for most cost-efficient results.
Ordering online: Any materials that need to be shipped to campus should be ordered with at least a week's grace period between their expected arrival and Put-In. 2+ week shipping times are normal, especially for heavy items.
Masonite: Masonite is the material used to cover the floor in Sala. CAC has decided we can no longer paint the floor in KLT. There is a set of masonite in the office that is cut to cover the stage in KLT if the set designer wants it to be painted. NOTE FROM 2023: Post covid while there is Sala masonite, I have never encountered KLT masonite. Also, we are no longer allowed to paint inside Sala, so painting the masonite requires taking it outside. This significantly increases time, so masonite designs need to be considered with this in mind. I would strongly recommend doing designs with something like masking tape that can be easily applied and removed, if possible.
For the walls, we have tried hanging up linoleum and painting it, to moderate success. Masonite is the material used to cover the floor in Sala. CAC has decided we can no longer paint the floor in KLT. There is a set of masonite in the office that is cut to cover the stage in KLT if the set designer wants it to be painted. For the walls, we have tried hanging up linoleum and painting it, to moderate success. It was a pain to get it to lay flat, so it might be better to screw masonite to the wall. Edit this wiki if you try that, I'm curious. NOTE FROM 2023: I have no idea what this means. What walls? KLT walls? Currently we are not allowed to attach anything to KLT walls with screws/do any alterations to KLT of this nature.
The masonite is now kept in La Sala, in the audience riser closet. Never cut masonite unless Most of the masonite is now kept in the office or in La Sala. Never cut masonite unless you can't help it. You can always paint "not-stage" a different color than "stage" to make up for not cutting it to the right size/ shape. Audience supplies are also kept in La Sala – find someone who knows how to assemble audience to help you out, but there are more instructions lower in this doc.
Gaffe Gaff and Fire retardant: Gaff tape and flame retardant can be purchased from Backstage hardwareonline. E33 also sells high-quality Gaff. Flame retardant is ~$25 per gallon of paint. MAKE SURE you have enough of both gaffe gaff tape and flame retardant before Put-In. Additionally, make sure that fire retardant is added to each gallon of paint as it is opened. ProGaffe tape is better than ShurTape.
Make sure you have 5+ sharpies. They're really useful and people need them to measure things to cut and such (although colored pencils also work for this). Worse, people never return them to you when they're done with them, so it's hard to get by with just one or two. We also now have pencils (they are wide and in a cylindrical case somewhere. Make sure the sharpener exists.
In general, make sure you know where everything is being stored. Organization: In general, make sure you know where everything is being stored. There can often be so many small components that they are hard to keep track of and easy to lose, so be sure keep things in at least a semi-organized state and ensure that people communicate to you promptly where things are placed and if things are ever moved around.
Sala door signs: We have nice black luan signs that we use to block light in Sala by where audience comes in, and MTG has matching ones that we use to block the other door. If we want to borrow the signs that block out the windows from MTG, we should contact them in advance. Black trash bags also work, although they don't look as nice. We share them with MTG, and they are passed between the two offices.
Builds
The TD should begin scheduling builds as soon as possible. This varies from show to show, but builds should start at the latest the weekend after final set design is due (you can always start earlier with set pieces that you know will happen no matter what!). Put the time you want to have your builds on the build calendar (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eknzAu2E1UHNJsdC8K2D3sX_Mn4nj92i-tLh4QF0eY4/edit#gid=21) so we don't overlap with MTG, as well as on the show calendar so that you don't overlap with builds for other departments. Ignore the generic where it says we build Saturday mornings – that's outdated. A good amount of time for builds is generally 3-4 hours per week, but you may need to put in extra hours for particularly extensive sets. Always overestimate the time it'll take to build something. Try to make sure you are having sufficient build time early on so you don't have to be trying to finish everything yourself during or right before tech week. You may want to alternate days builds happen, so people with other conflicts have a chance to go.
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- That it meets fire and safety regulations
- Any platforms more than 4 feet off the ground require railings, and railings must be 42" tall.
- That the exits are wide and straightforward
- That the entire set can be seen from booth
- That it fits in la Sala and/or KLT (It's also helpful if it fits in 491/ 407, since anything larger tends to be pointless, since blocking is never done in rooms larger than 491/407), with room for backstage, the entrances and exits actors need, enough audience room.
- Likewise, it should be able to fit backstage/through the wings if it has to be there. Check where the set designer put the back curtain in KLT.
Meeting with CAC
The TD is responsible for meeting with CAC to get final approval for the set design a week or two before Tech Week. Our current contact at CAC is Meredith Sibley (mfsibley@mit.edu). The producer should also attend this meeting, and it can be helpful for the set designer, and perhaps the lighting designer, to be present. The producer is in charge of scheduling this meeting.
The primary purpose of the meeting is to assure CAC that the technical elements of the show are safe. The meeting typically consists of a short summary of the set from the TD/set designer, including any particularly challenging or unique set elements; the light plot from light designer; the weapons plan from the props designer; a production safety, and a work safety plan. See the sample documents here.
- where the set designer put the back curtain in KLT.
Meeting with CAC
The TD is responsible for safety meetings with CAC and EHS. Our current contact at CAC is Meredith Sibley (mfsibley@mit.edu), and our current EHS contact is Alice Ursella (aursella@mit.edu). The producer should also attend this meeting, and it can be helpful for the set designer and the lighting designer, to be present. Either the producer or technical director should schedule these meetings. Two meetings generally occur: a preliminary sets and safety meeting soon after the set design is finalized, and a second meeting for lights much later on, usually a week before tech week.
The primary purpose of the first meeting is to assure CAC and EHS that the technical elements of the show are safe. The meeting typically consists of a short summary of the set from the TD/set designer, including any particularly challenging or unique set elements, the weapons plan from the props designer, a production safety, and a work safety plan. EHS now requires a 3D CAD of the set (or at least, photos of a CAD). Vectorworks tends to be terrible for 3D CAD, but it is useful for lights and showing general layout, so you should still have a vectorworks set design even if it isn't what you use for the 3D CAD. This meeting is also when we request tables, chairs, costume racks, Germans (the large audience risers), and butterflies (larger but shorter risers). You will need more tables than you think, ask for 15 + number needed on stage. They are used for booth, changing room, and keeping backstage tidy. If you want a fancy ticketing table, ask for one or two of the tables to have a maroon skirt. This is also when you should ask anything about the MEWPs (Mobile Elevating Work Platforms, i.e. lifts for reaching high spaces). It can be useful to have both the Genie and Skyjack (2 different kinds of lifts we have at our disposal) for Sala to make things go faster.
The second meeting is similar, but for lights. You will need a lighting plot made in vectorworks, a cable plot, and an instrument schedule. You should also ask about picking up the genie and skyjack keys at this meeting.
Examples of documents for both of these meetings can be found in the Technical Director Samples drive hereThis is also when we request tables, chairs, costume racks, Germans (the large audience risers), and butterflies (larger but shorter risers). You will need more tables than you think, ask for 15 + number needed on stage. They are used for booth, changing room, and keeping backstage tidy. If you want a fancy ticketing table, ask for one or two of the tables to have a maroon skirt.
If you're in Sala, you also need to ask for the Sala and Genie key keys at this the meeting. Genie is the lift that exists that is helpful for lights hanging. Meredith will either give it to you now (if you mention it in the email) or will let you know when you can come pick it up and drop it off.
Sleep
No seriously. You will be up late on Saturday putting up scaff (if you're in Sala), and seriously. You will be up early on Sunday for put-in. During Tech Week you should expect to spend 3-4 hours per day putting up audience or finishing set pieces, on top of PSets and rehearsals (although there is some work that can be done during rehearsals, anything noisy has to be done earlier or later in the day).
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- Put-In is usually the Sunday before tech week, lasting from 7am - 11 pm.
Each actor and Ensemble member is required to complete a number of hours, usually 8. Details on this have varied from show to show – use your best judgement. If membership is particularly large, for example, you could only require 6 hours. - Email out a google form asking for everyone's availability and what they are comfortable doing/skill level doing so
- Heights, power tools, painting detail work, sewing, carrying heavy things... things like that
- Dietary restrictions/pizza preferences
- Email department heads, asking:
- How many hours their department will need
- How many people they need
- When they think they'll need them
- The rule for department heads is that they should arrive at 7am when Put-In starts and should stay until their department is over or until they have completed their 8 hours, whichever is longer.
- Once you have this information, you want to start making your scheduling spreadsheet. There are fantastic examples from earlier shows – if you don't have one, for some reason, contact the previous TD.
part of the spreadsheet from She Kills Monsters (summer 2018) credit to Cami
- Scheduling is hard. The most important thing is that you want to make sure there are no "dead" hours, meaning you want to make sure there are always enough people on a task at a time to be getting things done – if there is an hour where there are only 2 people assigned for sets, for example, not much is likely to get done. You also want to pick out sets/lights people who are experienced to help lead what is happening during that time – remember, you won't be building during Put-In.
- At the same time you're doing this, make a checklist of things that need to be done and when you think you can do them. This is extreeeeeemely useful, so don't slack on this. I split time into a few sections: FIRST THING, MORNING, AFTERNOON, and LAST THING. First thing is stuff like getting things from the set shop and setting up a tool area, morning is things
- New members probably won't have skills. That's okay! See where they'd like to go, and help them learn from upperclassmen. You might help find the next lighting designer or TD...!!!!
- Remember, the sets people there in the morning will be doing runs from the set shop to bring set pieces over. They should have the full list of set pieces for this.
- If you have a competents sets person in charge of this that lives in EC, you might want to ask them to go to the set shop first instead of space to get things ready for when friends come.
- You're going to want to designate someone you trust as Put-In-Assistant TD (if you don't already have a formal Assistant or Co-TD). If, let's say, you need to leave space to deal with something in the set shop, this person should have an idea of what needs to get done such that they can tell people to do things if other tasks get completed. Sit down with them a few days prior to Put In so that they have a sense of the Put In so they can effectively lead in your absence.
- You're also going to want to schedule someone to be the TD's assistant – they're in charge of ordering food and taking attendance when people arrive. There is a term job for the food master who should be in charge of food, and the SM is a good choice to replace them when they leave. Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, Dominos for lunch. (according to older versions of thie wiki we used to get cookies in the evening... I'm jealous)
- Once the schedule is done, send it out to everybody so they know when they're scheduled.
- Make sure everything is ready to go – first aid kit, tools, list of set pieces in the set shop...
- If you're in Sala, you need to construct scaff the night before. Contact the lights team to do this, or it can be a last-minute chance for prod hours.
- The night before, send out one final email to everybody, reminding them of these things:
- You should have your prod hours done by put-in. If not, email the TD to figure something out.
- Check the spreadsheet again to ensure they know when they're coming in and what they're doing
- Wear closed toed shoes, clothing you aren't afraid to get covered in paint, and tie back long hair
- If you hear someone yell GROUND CREW, stop what you're doing and go to move scaff. Everyone is ground crew.
- If you are uncomfortable with what you're doing, you should tell the TD and they will find you something else to do
- If you ever are looking for something to do, ask the TD
- HYDRATE OR DIEDRATE
- If you're on lights, bring an adjustable wrench attached to your belt.
- GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP. If you don't get 8 hours before put-in, you're gonna be reeeeeeal sad.
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Running pre-strike in the week between the two weekends of shows or during the second weekend of shows will make strike go MUCH more efficiently. You can offer post put-in hours for this/offer to let actors make up prod hours for this. Try to clean up everything that won't get used for the show/strike, and move it all back up to the office/set shop. For example, return all the paint supplies and most power tools/saws to the office, but remember to leave behind the drills and their batteries so the set can actually be taken apart. In addition, to expedite the process, try to come up with a list of tasks ahead of time.
You don't need to make a strike plan as intricate as the put-in plan, but a concise strike plan could be useful for making sure things run efficiently (it's easier to tell people what to do if they know where to go).
Delphine Kaiser's vision of an efficient strike:
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Mike Katz - Former TD for MIT Theater Arts, possesses an endless supply of awesome beard and terrible puns. He's still in the area, and knows everything. Email: narishkup at gmail dot com
Becki Gray - TD for MTA (As of 2023 MIT Theater Arts is now MIT Music Theater Arts), bcgray@mit.edu