Balconies

Right, the balconies are a death trap, the floor is covered in sawdust and the wood is very dry. Scaff can be found under the boards on the stage left balcony, try not to let people cut up the long bits. Bedlam has a decent but slightly out of date collection of clamps and two scaff keys, one of which tends to live in the end of one of the bars at the top of the ladder. (One of these is now lost the drainpipe on the right of the main door thanks to a mook in fringe 2002). It terms of the set stuff you need to bin lots a couple of times a year, no one should add to it without asking you but it still fills up without you noticing it. Try to be brutal, keeping stuff because of sentimental value is not a good reason but that' why a lot of it is there so try and get someone else to do it who has no emotional attachments. A no sofas ban is currently in place just due the space they take up but it is up to you. Cutting them in half with a fire axe is very satisfying. In 1989 the university fire officer decided that we shouldn' store anything up there, the place was gutted and he came back and okayed it, since then the crap has built up again so it' probably a matter of time before they complain again.

The tool cupboard lives up here and contains lots of useful stuff, the trick I've foud to keeping stuff from walking is to pick any unattended tools and put them in whether they belong to Bedlam or not, this way you’ve got tools and if people notice that their tools have joined the collective they can retrieve them. The locked FoB tool box lives up here as well. The tools must be signed out by the stage manager wishing to use them, and there is a checklist to be used when the tools are returned to make sure they're all there. Anything missing must be replaced or deposit cheques should be taken. This is a nice general supply of tools, so be really tough about keeping them in order.

The cupboard on the back of the tech box is a useful place to store stuff, it locks and only the key holders can open it.

The wall beside the organ gallery was built in 1989 at a cost of £3000 after being told we needed it by the fire officer. The first EUSA knew about it was when the bill arrived, needless to say they were unimpressed. This is part of the reason we have a finance agreement with EUSA.

The woodwork of the organ gallery is not structurally sound and shouldn' have stuff hung off it.

The flat store was built in 1999 and more in 2002 and moved to a new location in 2006, it just about holds all our flats upright, including the 13’ tall flats which were created for use in the Lyceum, they are useful for people who do shows in the Pleasance theatre. Although carrying them accross town is fun.

The wood storage area is possibly dangerous because there’s lots of flammable stuff exposed. There are two water tanks on the balcony, a large one under the wood store which feeds the toilets and a small one which feeds the heating boiler which is high up on Stage Right. The heating tank makes all kinds of funny noises when the heating goes on and off. For some reason these noises scare actors at 1am.

The Lighting rig is kind of the Tech Manager’s problem but they’ll probably need your help re-hanging it which should be done every couple of years. It hasn’t been done since about 1995 when it took six people eight hours so it should be done soon.

There are loads of trap doors throughout the balconies that hide different things. The scaff store is in the stage left balcony. The carpet store is behind the steps leading down to the scaff store. There is a nice big persian-looking carpet in there which may or may not smell of sardines. The first trap door when you enter the balconies on the stage left side is where scaff legs are kept. They should be taped up in groups of four and shouldn't be cut as they are useful lengths for theatre conversions (they will probably have 'Skinnydipping' written on them). There are vertical trap doors (which usually fall down/open) in the raised bit behind the tech box.

The bulb store is next to where all the lanterns hang on the stage right side of the balconies. This will usually fall under tech manager territory, but everyday bulbs used in practical places around the theatre (cleaning cupboard, office, etc) are kept here as well.

See also Curtains