Shop Structures

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USITT Presentation

Transcript of Shop Structures

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Scene Shop Structures:Commercial, Regional, Educational

A Technical Production Commission Session

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Overview

• Responsibilities of Scene Shops

• Typical Regional Operation

• Typical Commercial Operation

• Applying the Commercial Structure to an Educational Environment

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Panel Bios

• Jean Burch

• Shannon Nickerson

• Joel Krause

• David Boevers

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Panel Bios

• Jean Burch– Project Manager, Chicago Scenic Studios– MFA from University of Missouri – Kansas

City

• Shannon Nickerson

• Joel Krause

• David Boevers

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Panel Bios• Jean Burch• Shannon Nickerson

– Technical Director of the Kirk Douglas Theatre, Center Theatre Group

– MFA Technical Director 2006, Carnegie Mellon

• Joel Krause• David Boevers

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Panel Bios

• Jean Burch

• Shannon Nickerson

• Joel Krause– 3rd Year Grad PM, Carnegie Mellon– Associate PM, Williamstown Theatre Festival– Currently Seeking Employment

• David Boevers

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Panel Bios

• Jean Burch

• Shannon Nickerson

• Joel Krause

• David Boevers– Technical Director, Carnegie Mellon– Technical Production Commission Project

Leader for Commercial Theatre Outreach

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Scene Shop Responsibilities• Bidding/Budgeting• Technical Design/Engineering• Scheduling• Materials Research/Purchasing• Technical Drawings• Prototyping/Samples• Troubleshooting• Interdepartmental Communication• Crew Supervision• Crew Training• Building & Installing Scenery• Time and Money Tracking• Quality Control• Safe & Secure

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Disclaimer…

IT DEPENDS

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

“Egalitarian” Regional

ProductionManager

TechnicalDirector

PaintCharge

PropMaster

MasterElectrician

CostumeShop

Manager

SoundMaster

SoundMaster

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

More “Traditional” RegionalProductionManager

TechnicalDirector

MasterElectrician

CostumeShop

Manager

SoundMaster

PaintCharge

PropMaster

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Scene Shop Staff

• Technical Director

• Assistant Technical Director

• Master Carpenter

• Carpenter(/Welder/Rigger/Stitcher)

• Handlers/Traffic/Runner

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

TD/ATD/Master Carpenter

Technical Director

Assistant Technical Director

Master Carpenter

Carpenters

Technical Director

MasterCarpenter

Carpenters

ATD

TechnicalDirector

ATD

Carpenters

Master Carpenter

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

“Typical” Task Breakdown• Bidding/Budgeting• Technical Design/Engineering• Scheduling• Materials Research/Purchasing• Interdepartmental Communication• Technical Drawings• Time and Money Tracking• Prototyping/Samples• Troubleshooting• Crew Supervision• Crew Training• Building & Installing Scenery• Quality Control• Safe & Secure

Technical Director

Assistant TechnicalDirector

Master Carpenter

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Advantages - Regional

• Defined structure & roles

• Clear lines of communication

• Dedicated personnel

• Production “esteem”

• What people tend to expect

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Questions?

• If nobody asks anything it won’t be a very long session

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Commercial Shop Production• Owner• Account Executive• Estimator• Production Manager• Project Manager• Purchasing Agent• Technical Department Heads• Drafter• Job Lead• Shop Personnel

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

The Client Factor

• Working with a client vs. working with your designer

• Facilitation vs. Design

• Owner

• Being a client of an outside shop

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Some Department Heads• Carpentry• Metals• Paints• LX• Automation• Rigging• Soft Goods• Rentals• Traffic

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Typical Commercial Relationships

Owner

Account Exec(s) Production Manager

Estimator(s) Project Manager(s) Department Heads Drafter(s)

Job Leads

Shop Personnel

Purchasing Agent

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Task Breakdown(Estimating, Drafting, and Purchasing Rolled into Project Management for Clarity)

• Bidding/Budgeting• Materials Research/Purchasing• Technical Drawings • Technical Design/Engineering• Interdepartmental Communication • Time and Money Tracking • Scheduling• Prototyping/Samples• Troubleshooting• Crew Supervision• Building & Installing Scenery• Quality Control• Crew Training • Safe & Secure

Project Manager

Job Lead

Department Head

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

OR – Really It Depends• Bidding/Budgeting• Materials Research/Purchasing• Technical Drawings • Technical Design/Engineering• Interdepartmental Communication • Time and Money Tracking • Scheduling• Prototyping/Samples• Troubleshooting• Crew Supervision• Building & Installing Scenery• Quality Control• Crew Training • Safe & Secure

Project Manager

Job Lead

Department Head

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Advantages - Commercial

• More Resources

• Flexibility

• Scalability

• Specialization

• Distribution of Responsibility

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Questions?

• Making any kind of sense?

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Applying Commercial Structure to Educational Theatre

• Schools typically use a Regional Model

• Could a school operate with a Commercial Model?

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Historic Problems• Not enough bodies – gaps• Very long project commitments• Problematic assignment overlaps• Projects without support• Just plain boring assignments• Crew time not best work time• Too much crew time – not enough project

experience• “Lone Wolf” Technical Directors

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Goals• Less Crew Weeks• Less Busy Work• Shorter Project Commitments• Better Projects• Better Collaborators• Putting the right resource in the right place

at the right time

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Structural Changes

• Change from TD/ATD/Master Carp to Project Manager and Job Leads

• Change assignments from projects to calendar weeks (crew heads and crew members)

• Establish daily scheduling meeting

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

“Crazy Scheme” Schedule

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Task Breakdown• In practice often left to the students and often

varies by personality and ability• In theory should be:

– Anything that happens on paper should be the Project Manager

– Anything spanning projects or departments should be the Project Manager

– Building and installing scenery should be the Job Lead

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Advantages - Successes• Less Crew Weeks – maybe not• Less Busy Work - yes• Shorter Project Commitments – yes and no• Better Projects - yes• Better Collaborators - yes• Putting the right resource in the right place at the

right time - yes

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Advantages - Successes• Nobody has to take on a project unsupported• We’re able to take on additional projects on the

fly• We’re much more able to integrate non-Drama

students into production• Generally, faculty are very up to date on

productions

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Unintended Consequences – Negative (Things to Fix)

• Resume killer

• “Non-scheme” people have difficulty figuring out who they should be talking to

• Reduced investment in the production by technical direction students

• When it goes bad, it goes really bad

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Unintended Consequences - Positive

• Really good new assignment for Production Management students

• Formed a company of sorts

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Future Plans

• Address the unintended negative effects

• Refine distribution of tasks

• Find a way to alternate between Regional Model and Commercial Model

• Migrate the shop structure to other departments (paint, LX)

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Questions/Discussion

• So, any thoughts?

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Contact Information

• David Boevers

dboevers@cmu.edu

• Plug for my website:

http://cmuptm.blogspot.com

Great source for entertainment industry news

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Thank You

Scene Shop Structures: commercial, regional, educational

Scene Shop Structures:Commercial, Regional, Educational

A Technical Production Commission Session