Tech Manual
01 Sep 2016Production Assistant Tech Manual
1. How to Be a Great Stagehand: Tips and Tricks
Always arrive 10 minutes early for your call. If your call starts at 9am, that means you start working at 9am. Give yourself enough time to clock on, tool up, and get ready for work.
Remember to stay busy during your work call. If you have nothing to do, ask your other crew members and supervisor if they need help doing anything. If no one needs help, keep yourself busy by working on something else like tidying backstage or the storage closets, sweeping or mopping the stage, returning tools to their homes, or organizing gels in the catwalks. If you’ve finished cleaning and your co-workers/supervisor still don’t need assistance, either ask for a break or spend the time getting more familiar with systems that you might not yet understand. If someone walks into the space while you are staring at your phone, book or computer, it reflects badly on the entire crew and building.
Appropriate Dress:
Close-toed shoes
Clothes you can move comfortably in
Full length pants
Appropriate tools for the job (flashlight, crescent wrench, etc)
Long hair is tied back
Do not wear:
Open-toed shoes
High heels
Dangly jewelry
Skirts or dresses
Torn or dirty clothes (unless it’s a tech day)
If you’re working a show call and/or will be positioned backstage, wear all black (or as close as you can possibly get) with black/dark soft-soled shoes. NO shorts are allowed. If you’re working at front of house, wear all black OR dark professional clothes: button down shirt, dress pants, nice shoes.
Communicating:
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you don’t know how to do something, ask. It’s way better to spend more time on something during setup than to do something incorrectly if you’re unsure; we will all pay for it at showtime. Double/triple check everything you do and point out concerns or inconsistencies to the other crew members and supervisor.
Do not be afraid to talk to those renting/using the spaces. Consider the implications of user requests before saying yes or no. If these requests are outside of your domain, bring that question to the right person:
- Can we get access to the greenroom? Yes.
- Can we hang a curtain here? I’ll have to ask my Stage Manager or Supervisor.
- Can we get a 2nd wireless mic? I’ll ask the audio engineer for you.
- Can we get a spotlight here? I’ll ask the lighting engineer for you.
- Can we get a table in the lobby for check in? Yes. Then, go grab a table from 065 and bring it up to the lobby. If you’re short on time, or can’t follow through, reach out to Operations for support.
- Can I peek through the stage door while people are in the house? No. Guide them to look at the video monitor at the Stage Manager Console instead (you have control over the camera, so you could scan the audience to get a feel for how crowded the house is). Otherwise, if they need a better view, tell them to sneak out into the lower vestibule and enter at the lower level entrance.
- Can I get a stage picture through the stage door? Tell them to hold while you ask the person in charge of the event to approve this request. Opening the stage door for any reason other than an entrance will distract the audience, but in the end it’s up to the person running the show.
While lightheartedness and laughter are crucial and help us all get through long hours of hard labor, remember that you’re here to work. Try not to goof off too much while on the clock. Socialize after work.
If you are doing something that could potentially affect the entire crew, announce to everyone what you are doing. For example, if you are working in the catwalks or in a genie, shout, “Working overhead!” If you are bringing in a lineset, say, “Lineset moving!” or “U3 flying in!” Before you turn off all the lights off on stage or in the house, you should shout “Going dark!”. Always wait for acknowledgement from others in the space in the form of “Thank you!” before executing the change.
If there are patrons or members of the cast on stage or in the house and you need to be working up in the catwalks on lighting, check with your supervisor first. It may be better to wait until the space is empty. However, if time is tight, as it can often be, you may have to work despite others being in the way. Make sure those directly below you have cleared the area before continuing to work over them.
If you cannot make a shift for some reason, text/email other members of the crew to find a replacement. Let your manager know immediately. Your shift is your responsibility, so even if you have other things going on, get sick, injured or realize your have a paper due in the morning, you must find a cover because the show must go on. Be very careful when finding a cover because they must have the same skill set you do in order to do your job. Double check with this person the day before the shift to make sure they are still covering for you. If for some reason they fall through, it falls on you. Even one “incident” could put you into suspension.
Physical hazards:
Be smart about lifting heavy objects! If you can’t lift it yourself, ask someone to help. If you are lifting something onto a cart, bring the cart close to the object you are moving. The less carrying, the less strain on your back. As always, lift with your knees, not your back.
Always confirm that lighting or audio equipment is off before plugging or unplugging anything. When using a blade, always cut away from yourself and others; be careful and use common sense.
Wear gloves and long sleeves when planning to touch hot lighting fixtures. Always wear shoes while on the deck. The stage floor splinters terribly and nobody wants that.
Closing the Hall:
When closing the hall, don’t even ask if you can clock out or go home until every single thing is back in its place, stage/backstage/FOH are totally clean, everything is setup for the next event, all the systems are shut down and the three sets of exterior doors (as well as auxiliary doors to the storage closet, instrument storage, and green room) are closed and locked securely.
Door stops:
Always push door stops into the vestibules, not out into the hallways! This is exactly how they grow legs and walk away. Also, push them to the sides of the vestibules so other people walking in don’t trip over them.
 Move it slowly and be aware of all hazards AT ALL TIMES. Do not allow it to come close to running into doors, door frames and walls or over items such as cables, curtain, or the little metal thresholds for the door closers. Immediately lock it down after moving it by twisting the pins on the two wheels near the piano keys clockwise until tight.
After you have locked down the piano, tri-fold the cover lengthwise, and then roll it up and store it backstage. Next, lift the cover off the piano keys. Then, slide the built in music stand toward the keys and lift it up into place. Ask the the pianist whether they would like the piano lid to be down, at half-stick, or at full-stick. Always double check that the wheels are locked before lifting the lid. The full stick sits in the square hole. The half stick sits in the circular hole. Be extremely careful when handling the piano.
Always have at least two people moving the piano; a third is helpful to open doors and move anything that’s in the way. These two people moving the piano, or at least one of them, should be from our team. If you see a group trying to move a piano on their own, please step in and put your hands on that piano until it is in place, the wheels are locked, and everyone has stepped away. Kindly open the lid for them.
Stage:
Remember to lock the stage wall panels. If they need to be open at an angle where they cannot lock, sandbag them. Sandbags can be found in the amp room. If you see bags sitting out, put them back in the amp room. Confirm that the panels are locked by pushing them gently once or twice.
Again, double and triple check your work, if necessary, to avoid messing up an entire show. Take your time, ask questions, do it right the first time and you won’t have to be embarrassed when it fails or waste everyone’s time while doing it again.
Typically, spike the upstage offstage corners of objects. Spike the piano with L’s on the upstage and offstage sides of the legs. Spike music stands with T’s directly under the vertical of the stand. Have the long line of the T point the direction the stand faces. If you have more than one stage change, color code each setup. You can even write a note to yourself on the spike tape. Use sharpie or pen and keep it simple. If there is going to be a lot of movement/big set changes, it is a good idea to draw up a stage plot of each change and label the page with the appropriate color of spike tape. If marley is down, put a piece of clear tape over each spike to make sure it doesn’t get danced off.
Stage Direction
Stage right and left: When speaking stage direction, you always refer to it from the artist’s perspective. If you are standing on stage, facing the audience, your left is stage left and right is stage right. If you are standing in the audience, or at FOH, and you are calling out stage movement, your left will become “stage right” and your right is “stage left”. Same rule applies to someone standing backstage left and looking onto stage from the wing; away from you should be referred to as “stage right”.
On and off stage: Sometimes, if you’re standing at a funny angle, up in the genie, or it doesn’t matter which direction you’re going, it may be easier for you to explain yourself using “on stage” and “off stage.” “Off stage” is always referring to away from the center line and towards the wings in either direction. Moving something “on stage” would mean to move it toward the center line from the wings.
Flying in and out: This is how we refer to things that are moving up and down. Battens and banners fly in when they are moving down from the ceiling and they fly out when moving back up toward the ceiling. Always call out, in your loudest speaking voice, to the whole room when you are flying battens in or out. Example: Batten 2 flying out! Or lineset 6 flying in! The response should be: Thank you flying in!
Stage Terminology
Apron: The portion of the stage that is downstage of the proscenium arch. (Since we don’t have a built in proscenium in the hall, we consider the apron to be everything downstage of the ‘plaster line’.)
Batten: Part of a fly system. A horizontal pipe, supported by lift lines, electrical hoists (ours are drum winch) & motors (variable speed), which is easily raised and lowered; even while holding a substantial amount of weight.
Blackout: Removing all light from the stage, often for a set change.
Boom: A boom is a vertical pipe standing anywhere onstage where lighting units are hung on stage, usually in the wings. They are usually screwed into 50lb boom bases.
Catwalks: A catwalk is a section of the house hidden in the ceiling from which many of the technical functions of a theatre, such as lighting and sound, may be manipulated.
Center Line: A special type of line drawn on a Ground Plan, located at the plane which bisects the stage left and stage right sides of the theater.
Crossover: The upstage place behind any stage curtains or scenery, which allows performers to get from one side of the stage to the other without being seen by the audience.
Cue: Any moment in the course of a performance where there is a change in the physical state. In the case of sound, a cue might start music playing, and then a subsequent cue might lower the volume as an actor starts to speak, and yet another might fade the music to silence when the scene comes to an end. Cues are most often associated with lighting and sound (any given show quite often has hundreds of light and sound cues), but cues are also established when scenery needs to change, line sets need to fly, effects need to be triggered, etc.
Dimmer room: The room which contains the dimmer racks which power the lighting rig in the theater.
Electric: An electric is a horizontal pipe hanging upstage of the proscenium (usually part of the fly system), often with lighting circuits connected to it, where lighting units are hung in a theater.
Fly System: A series of pulleys, ropes, wires, and/or other apparatus which collectively allows the hanging and vertical movement of curtains, lighting instruments, scenery, and even people. (Our fly system is motorized electrical drum winch hoists and controlled through the automated rigging system.)
Grand Curtain (or Main Curtain): The curtain that closes just upstage of the proscenium arch. Generally speaking, opening the grand curtain signifies the start of the show or act and closing it signifies the end of the act or show.
House: The place where the audience sits to watch the performance. Also the place where lighting instruments hang when they’re hanging over the audience. Front-of-House can refer to the lobby or other non-performance space where audience members congregate before and after the show and during intermission. (Just to confuse things, Audio Engineers also refer to front-of-house, or FOH, as their house mix position in order to differentiate themselves from the the monitor engineer on stage.)
Masking: As a noun, anything which hides something from the audience. As a verb, the act of hiding things from the audience.
Plaster Line: An imaginary reference line on stage that indicates where the proscenium arch is. (Our plaster line runs stage left to right from about the point where the stage starts to curve on the downstage lip.)
Proscenium Arch: The viewing portal or frame through which the audience sees the performance. (Our Proscenium Arch is theoretical except for when the grand curtain and border are hanging on U1 and U2.)
Shell: A hard, often movable surface, designed to reflect sound into the audience for musical performances.
Sight lines: Imaginary lines indicating the view from the extreme-most seats. If someone or something is said to be in sight lines, it means that they are visible to all audience members regardless of seating choice. If someone or something is described as out of sightlines, it means that no audience members are able to see them. A good rule of thumb for sightlines is “if you can see them, they can see you.”
Soft Goods: Curtains that are used onstage. This can include the “Blacks,” “Cyc,” “Grand Curtain,” and “Scrims,” among other things.
Spike: Marking the stage floor with an indicator showing the location of a set piece or where a performer should stand. Spike marks are usually made on the upstage corners of a prop with small pieces of spike tape to show the direction it should be facing and also color coded by set transition.
Stage/Deck: The primary playing space surrounded by the apron, wings, and fly space.
Strike: Strike can be referred to as temporarily taking something away (e.g. “During the scene change, you strike the phone.”). It can also be used at the end of a run to specify that everything should be disassembled, put away and cleaned in order to have a fresh canvas for the next group coming in.
Trim: The height that a batten or any other object hangs at.
Wings: Areas that are part of a stage deck but offstage (out of sight of the audience). The wings are typically masked with legs. The wing space is used for performers preparing to enter, storage of sets for scenery changes and as a stagehand work area. Wings also contain technical equipment, such as the fly system.
2. Marley: A Guide to Laying a Dance Floor
Marley is a type of dance floor. It allows dancers to move easily across the deck and offers more give, resulting in higher and more efficient jumps. Marley comes in heavy vinyl strips. These strips are about four feet wide and span the length of the stage. To both lay out and strike marley, you need at least two people. Ideally, you have a crew of four: two to tape down a strip while the other two prep the next strips.
The Performance Hall’s marley is stored on pieces of white PVC pipe backstage right. When the flooring is down, the empty rolls can live backstage left, preferably upstage and out of the way. To lay the marley you’ll start offstage right. When rolling it back up you’ll start offstage left. The bottom of the marley will be on the outside of the roll; make sure the correct side is face up.
Before marley is laid out, the stage should be swept thoroughly. The Performance Hall’s marley is cut into seven panels (1 = upstage, 7 = downstage apron). Each is labeled. If for some reason you can’t find the label, relabel it using gaff tape and a sharpie.
To lay a marley floor you will need: marley tape, scissors/a blade, at least one buddy, knee pads (optional). While Marley tape is black like gaff tape, it is smooth and shiny in texture. Do not use gaff tape on the marley; it will leave behind a residue. When you need to cut marley tape, use scissors or a blade. Don’t try to tear the marley tape, it’s not worth the effort.
For both laying and striking the marley, the wings stage left and right should be open. The marley will lie underneath them. Be careful when sliding the marley under each panel; go too far and you’ll hit a hinge and need to readjust. Try not to cover any of the panel locking drop holes so you can still lock them into place if needed. Be aware that the Performance Hall’s stage is trapezoidal. The upstage wall is shorter than the downstage edge and the marley is cut to match this.
Laying Marley
Beginning the process:
- With another person, move the roll #6 of marley to the stage right, downstage corner. The rolls are very heavy, so be careful and work in a team when possible.
- The best way to move the marley is to slowly walk the roll over on its end.
- Tip the marley onto the floor so the longer edge is downstage.
- Remove the pieces of tape holding the roll together. If any tape goo is left on the marley, clean it before laying it down.
- Unroll the marley fully by pushing the roll across the stage.
- Store the PVC pipes in the backstage left corner, upstage.
- With another person, align the edges of the marley with off stage walls. Once it’s even on both sides and kissing the lip, park it and tape it down.
- If there are no bubbles, tape the stage left and right sides down first. Use three pieces of tape running off stage (one upstage, one downstage and one center) to anchor both sides.
- If there are bubbles, tape one side down and have one person kneel on that edge to hold it in place. Have a second person on the other edge pulling toward themselves and a third person stomp across toward the second person. Once the third person has crossed the stage, the second person will tape their edge down before the third person steps off the marley.
Taping lengthwise:
- Start offstage right and work your way stage left as a team (or vice versa).
- Tech A will hold the tape down while the Tech B creates a long stretch of slack.
- Before touching the tape down, Tech B will stretch it taut and carefully hold it over the seam.
- Tech A will then smoothly press the tape onto the ground (moving toward Tech B) and check for any irregularity along the way.
- Continue this process across the length of the stage.
- While Techs A and B are taping Panel 6, Techs C and D should be prepping the next panel, laying the rest of the panels out in order.
- When securing section #7, tape slowly and try to follow the curve of the lip smoothly. If you must fold tape over the stage edge, do so, but do it neatly.
If for some reason you have irregularity, fix the issue before moving on. Irregularity can create dangerous situations for dancers who are unaware of the problem. Here are some situations you would fix:
- If the marley is overlapping under the tape, either press it out or lift up and start again. A small gap between panels is better than overlap.
- If there is a bubble in the marley itself, stomp it out in the direction you’re taping.
- If your roll runs out of tape, cut that edge straight, tape it down and grab a new roll. Line up the new piece of tape carefully to ensure clean overlap.
Congratulations! You just laid your own dance floor! Only one more thing to do before you take a break: dry sweep and mop the marley flooring. Use a bit of the Roscoe Marley Floor Cleaner in your bucket of water but nothing else. If an outside stage manager wants to use something else, ask your supervisor first.
Before every rehearsal or performance on marley, the stage must be swept and then mopped. Mop in smooth figure eights across the stage pulling the dirt toward you and not pushing it out away from you. Clean one strip at a time. When you’ve pulled all the dirt to one end of the stage, use the mop to pick up the dirt and deposit it into the water bucket. Do not walk on the marley until it is dry.
When using marley alongside soft goods, always roll marley out first. When you need to sweep and mop the marley while soft goods are in, fly the goods out about a foot. This will allow you to clean the entire floor.
Striking the Marley
Striking marley is far easier than laying it. If there are soft goods hanging that touch the floor, sweep the stage and strike the soft goods first. Then:
- Sweep and mop one last time. Wait for the marley to dry. DO NOT roll the marley up if it is wet.
- Remove all of your tape. (Make a giant tape ball, if you’d like! Play with it, name it, take it home, and shower it with unconditional love. Don’t shower with it.)
- Collect your PVC pipes. Always roll panels stage left to stage right.
- Starting downstage left (Strip #7), tape the edge of the marley to your PVC pipe at three points; top, center and bottom (Strips #7 and #6 have unique edges that will only need one or two strips of tape to anchor them to the PVC pipe).
- Make sure you are taping the marley to the pipe in a way that will allow you to roll the marley in a straight line the entire length of the floor. One side should always be flush with the pipe edge but not overextending over the end of the pipe edge.
- If you find that you have lost sight of the pipe on your straight edge, unroll and start over.
- Once you get to the end, make sure you still have the one exposed PVC pipe edge you’ve been working hard to maintain throughout the length of the roll. This is the side the marley will stand on when stored upright.
- If it looks good and your edge is straight, you’re ready to tape the rolled up marley to itself (again top, center, and bottom).
- Double check that it has not lost its label. If it has, make a new one.
- Stand the rolled up marley in its home backstage right.
- DO NOT store upright unsupported by the PVC pipe with the weight on the edge of the flooring itself. This will cause the ends to bend and crease in ways that will damage the marley long term.
3. A Guide to the Performance Hall’s Soft Goods
What most people refer to as “curtains” are actually called “soft goods” within the technical theater community. As opposed to “hard goods,” soft goods have the capability to fold. These goods include items such as legs, borders, scrims, full stage blacks, and grand curtains (also referred to as main curtain). The Performance Hall at the University of Chicago has all of these. This section guides you through identifying, hanging, folding, and handling these various soft goods.
Every soft good’s basic components are in relation to how it hangs on stage. A good’s top, bottom, back and front are easily identifiable even when folded. When one of these goods is set up on stage, the top refers to the end near the ceiling, the bottom to the end at the floor, the front refers to the side facing the audience, the back is the side the audience can’t see.
Along the top of the good is a row of lengths of tie line. These tie lines are used to attach it to the pipe. When tying these lines to a batten, use a knot like tying your shoes. First, tie a simple half hitch, or what is commonly known as a single knot. Then, finish with a bow. Never tie a double knot.
When hanging a soft good, first determine if it requires fullness or tautness (a loose or a tight look). Our borders and legs usually require fullness whereas our scrim and the full stage black need to be hung taut. Knots should be tight against the batten pipe unless instructed otherwise. Never hang soft goods on a batten where they will be in direct contact with lights. This is a fire hazard. Talk to your supervisor and the visiting production team to determine a compromise.
On the top of the good is a handwritten label, naming the good and giving specifications related to the size of the good. When taking down and folding it, the label must always end up on the outside of the roll so future stagehands can easily identify it. You’ll notice only the Legs and Film Screen Masking curtains have chain at the bottom. The purpose of this chain is to stretch the good down to the stage and keep it from moving if touched.
You should always have a buddy or two helping when folding soft goods. It is possible to fold solo, but it is very, very hard. Before flying-in any soft good, first clear the deck and sweep the floor! We want to keep our curtains looking tidy for a number of good reasons. Never walk on any of the soft goods with shoes.
When flying-in any batten, pull together a ground crew to watch the pipe from stage level. While watching the pipe for possible collisions, your ground crew should also do an initial rough accordion folding of the curtain, making sure the front velour doesn’t accidentally fall forward onto the floor. Do not pull it too hard on the curtains as you fold them; you do not want to put too much stress on the rigging or move the pipe much.
Once the batten has stopped moving, untie the goods and fly the pipe out again so there is nothing in the way while folding. Before you start moving the curtain around and spreading it out to fold, make sure all of the front is always face up and the back is face down. The back is a rougher texture than the velvety front, so it’s easy to tell the difference. It is important that the good rolls only on its back, so as to “save face.”
Lay the first curtain out flat onstage. Each good is folded differently, so have a clear plan on how you will fold each one before you do. Most of our curtains are folded bottom to top (as many times as needed) then rolled from one side to the other, as to fit into the bin, with the information label facing out.
When folding (with your buddy) run one side’s corners to the other side’s corner trying to catch air in between the top and bottom sections. Capturing air also makes folding easier, resulting in less drag and allows you a few moments to fix problem areas with ease. Have a third person catching and realigning the center lines as they will be the biggest problems. Always remember to make sure your lines are even and edges match. Do not forget about the bottom half just because you can’t see it anymore! Each piece should be flat and even. If your fold has overshot the bottom edge, redo the fold.
Legs
Legs are used to create wings. They come in pairs, one hung with fullness on each side of the stage on the same batten. The Performance Hall has four sets of legs. Keep each leg with its buddy.
Hanging Legs
- Prior to hanging legs, determine whether you need pipe extensions in each end of the batten.
- Also, determine how far onstage the legs are needed for the show.
- First tie the onstage and offstage ties where you want them, then tie the center tie line. Now you have 2 identical sections that need their centers tied. Once those are tied, you will have 4 sections that need their centers tied. Continue to tie 50% marks until all ties are evenly spaced and secure.
- When flying the batten out, the person running the rigging console is responsible for gathering a ground crew and ensuring that nothing crashes into the architecture. The ground crew (of at least 2 people) is responsible for watching the pipe and attachments, as well as physically unfolding the legs as they fly. ALWAYS have eyes on both ends of the batten as you fly it out so that you don’t damage the walls, ceiling, the battens or other people on stage.
- If the legs are dirty, stop flying them out and clean them as you go.
- The person at scene control must stop the batten before it reaches its upper limit where it sits in its ceiling pocket. With the extensions in, it will not fit; it must sit below its home. Again, ALWAYS watch the batten as you raise it.
- Fly the legs far enough out so their bottoms sit just barely on the stage.
- Walk up to FOH to double check that they are evenly placed on stage. If they’re not perfectly even or end up covering the speakers, redo them.
Folding Legs
- Spread the leg out the length of the stage, front side face up.
- Legs are folded over twice (side to side), and then rolled bottom to top.
- Once laid out, check where the label is on the top section. This side will remain on the floor as you fold toward it so it is on the outside when you put the leg away.
- If one edge starts to cone inwards while the other cones out, unroll and reroll.
- Be aware at this point that one side of the good may be thicker than the other. The thicker side should be kept as tight as possible. The other should loosen just enough to keep it even.
- Load the rolled leg into the bin using the help of gravity. Tipping the bin and rolling the good inside will usually be harder than picking the good up and dropping it inside, but can be done if needed.
Borders
Borders are used with legs to complete the proscenium look. They are also used to hide other things hanging in the air, such as lights & other things in the air. They run the width of the stage, but only hang down a few feet from the ceiling. Our borders are also used as a skirt to mask the bottom of the film screen.
The Performance Hall’s borders are stored in the same bins as the legs. Borders would normally be hung 1 pipe downstage of a set of legs, but because our space was designed with some oddities, there’s really only one good place to hang a border and that’s U3. U3 is special because it does not interfere with the lights.
Hanging Borders
- Just as with the legs, use the 50% rule when tying the border to the pipe.
- Fly the batten out all the way, always keeping eyes on it.
Folding Borders
- The border itself is much longer than the width of the stage, so open the downstage panels to allow yourself more room.
- Lay the border out so the center is farther offstage and prepare the first half by spreading it out and laying the onstage side flat.
- Fold this edge to the center line evenly and then pull the border across the stage to give yourself room to repeat the process with the other side.
- Flatten out the unfolded side and fold to the center line
- Now that you have the whole thing fitting on stage, fold the bottom to the top.
- It’s impossible to keep the label on the outside of a border, since we’ve brought both ends to the center, so just keep track of which one you’re working with before rolling and binning it.
- Borders aren’t as easy to lift, but they’re still liftable.
Full Stage Black (FSB)
The full stage black is usually used to cover the upstage wall or to cut the depth of stage in half. In the Performance Hall, it can be hung from U3, U4, U6 and D-Light.
Hanging Full Stage Black
- Unroll the full stage black on the stage.
- Starting at center and working offstage, tie every other tie until you reach the end of the pipe.
- Back at center, pull your knots away from the center, pulling the fabric taut in both directions.
- Stop when the bottom of the FSB rests on the deck of the stage.
Folding Full Stage Black
- Fold the good bottom to top, making sure to catch lots of air.
- Repeat this twice with the new bottom edge you have created, folding the good a total of three times, always bottom to top.
- Roll the good so the label stays on the outside.
- Tip the hamper over and set it on it’s side, roll the good inside, and carefully tip it back up.
- You will need another person to do this, the hamper will now be very heavy.
Scrims (white and black)
The Performance Hall has two scrims, a black scrim and a white scrim. They are stored in the same bin upstage but inside canvas bags to keep them from pilling on each other. Unlike the other soft goods in the Performance Hall, scrims are used aesthetically, to both bounce and transmit light. They are often used in dance pieces, alongside a ground row of strip or cyc lights. They are sometimes used as an alternate upstage projection surface.
Because the scrims are so light, they will need to be bottom-piped once they’re flown out. Bottom pipe can be found in the storage room across from the greenroom. They are the lightweight aluminum pipes that fit together, end to end. When bottom-piping the scrim, make sure the pipe sits in the inner nylon pocket, not the outer fabric pocket.
Scrims are hung and folded in the same manner as the full stage black. When hanging, start in the center and work your way off stage then go back and pull tautness into the fabric. When folding, fold bottom to top 3 times before rolling toward the label.
Hampers
All of the Performance Hall’s soft goods are stored in hampers that live along the upstage wall backstage. Each hamper is labelled according to its contents. The hampers are only just small enough to pass through the upstage corridor and downstage doors to the stage. Be careful when moving them, as their hinges may catch on the architecture. For extra precaution, open panels to get the bins onstage. Determine whether you need to lay the bin on its side before loading or unloading goods. If you do, lay it down with its open lid on the floor. Be aware of the locks! Be extremely careful to not scratch the stage.
4. Genie Use & Safety
A genie is a kind of lift. The Logan Center has two Genies available for Performance Hall use, one with a maximum height of 25’ and one with 30’. The trim (height) of the ceiling in the Performance Hall is 30’, so always take the 30’ Genie if you are working in the hall. They are usually located in the back hallways past the vending machines. Ask for help if you have a hard time finding one.
Basic safety tips
- Never use the Genie alone when no one else is in the space.
- Always have a buddy on the ground. If you are the buddy on the ground, never stand directly under the bucket for the reason following.
- If you are up in the bucket, make sure all your tools are tied to you. Any loose parts could potentially fall onto your buddy from 30’ and cause serious damage to his/her head and face.
- Because of liability issues, never attempt to push someone while the bucket is up in the air.
- Be aware of your surroundings while flying up in the Genie. Do not go up any further if you are about to hit the architecture of the hall or the ceiling.
- Never use the Genie on an unlevel surface.
- Do not overextend yourself while in the Genie. Instead, come down, move the Genie, and go back up so you can reach whatever you need.
- The Genie runs on a battery. When not in use, it should be turned off (switched to the center position). For overnight storage, unplug the battery from the machine and plug the battery directly in to the wall. If it dies while in use, get an extension cord and plug it in to a floor pocket.
- Be ultra aware of any cabling on the ground while moving the Genie.
- Do not overload the bucket with equipment. If you need to shuttle things from above to the ground, bring a rope up with you. Tie it off to the genie and be extremely careful when lowering or raising goods and those standing nearby.
- If you have lights in the bucket with you, attach the safety clip to the railing before flying up or down.
- Never have more than one person in the Genie.
- If you go up and feel uncomfortable, come back down. The Genie is stable if used correctly, even if it does not always feel that way when it is fully extended. You are safe in the Genie. Try to conquer your fear, as the more nervous you are, the more your legs will shake, and the more the Genie will quake. If you still feel too uncomfortable, switch places with your ground buddy.
- If the legs are locked, the Genie can go both up and down.
- If the legs are not locked, the Genie can go down but not up.
To use the genie
- Unplug the Genie battery from the wall. Coil the extension cord and tuck it in the nook next to the battery. Reconnect the Genie itself to the battery pack.
- Open the stage wall panels to allow the genie onto stage without damaging the woodwork.
- Place the Genie where you need it onstage. You can estimate where you will end up by peeking up through the bucket up above.
- Turn the key to the right, so you have platform selected rather than ground control.
- Put the legs into each of their holes and allow the pin to click into place. Tighten the feet just enough for their corresponding lights to turn green on the panel. I suggest exactly 5-6 rotations after the foot stops spinning (doing each leg exactly the same for uniformity) and then check the sensor to see if any didn’t get activated.
- Check the bubble level (located on the base of the Genie). If the bubble is not inside the circle, loosen one side and tighten the other. Adjust until you are level.
- Climb into the bucket.
- Make sure the emergency stops (both big red buttons) are pulled out.
- If everything is good and for some reason the Genie won’t allow you to move, check both of these emergency stop buttons. One may have gotten pressed accidentally by someone bumping into it.
- To go up, from inside the bucket, push and hold the small black button while flipping the switch so the white line is going up.
- To go down, push the same black button and flip the switch so the white line is going down.
To put the genie away
- Lower the bucket down all the way.
- Remove the legs by loosening the feet completely and pulling the bolts to release the legs.
- Store the legs in the slots on the side. Remember to alternate the direction of the feet.
- Turn the key to the “off” position in the center.
- Store the Genie back in it’s home.
- Disconnect the lift from its battery pack.
- Plug the battery pack into the wall to charge.
In the event of an emergency while using the Genie, such as your bucket suddenly moving without you pressing anything, press in the large red emergency “stop” button and it will stop. If someone is stuck in the bucket while up in the air, don’t panic, don’t jump, call for help.
5. Projection: Crestron & AMX
There are two different systems/methods to connect video content to the digital projector, Crestron and AMX. You have to understand the signal flow of each system before deciding which one to use. There are only 2 inputs to the AMX system outside the projection booth, both located at the FOH desk. Crestron, on the other hand, has system at 6 different inputs around the room.
It is very important to note that the AMX system sends it’s audio out of the line array whereas the Crestron system sends to the EVs, aka “the mains”. Obviously, you’ll want to make sure that you have the correct speaker system flown into the space when you plug into the projector or your audio content will be muffled, distant and reverberant.
Crestron System
Crestron is a control system that allows us to control multiple audio-visual devices from a single interface. In the Performance Hall, we have two Crestron touch screens: at FOH and the Stage Manager Console. We use Crestron to connect audio and video from and to various places throughout the space. Be aware that the Stage Manager Console touch screen has some advanced features that the FOH one does not have.
In order to connect properly, you must understand all the inputs and outputs of the system. Inputs include Crestron labeled HDMI, VGA, ⅛” and RCA jacks (found in AVPs and floor boxes). Outputs include the digital projector, LCD screens in the upper and lower Gidwitz lobbies and the viewing monitor at the Stage Manager console.
Volume Control
The master volume control is at the bottom/center of each touchscreen. Be mindful of where your master volume level is set when testing; always start quiet and increase as needed. Each volume control also has it’s own mute button.
You can also choose the “Volume” button at the bottom right corner for more options. The first tab of the Volume page will give you your Presentation Source volume as well as the 3 RCA connections found in downstage floor boxes. The second tab of the Volume page will give you volume control for all 6 Utility mics (“U” inputs as opposed to “M” inputs) also found in the same downstage floor boxes.
Understanding “Sources” and “Destinations”
The function of routing inputs and outputs is only available at the Stage Manager Console. From the Presentation Sources tab, choose the technician mode button at the bottom right corner and enter the password: 5540. You will then be brought to a deeper routing section that is divided into two sections: Source and Destination.
The Sources are all inputs to the system; the HDMI or VGA inputs on stage, FOH and the Stage Manager Console as well as the Auditorium camera and the BluRay player in the Stage Manager Console rack. The Destinations are all the outputs to the system; the Auditorium Projector (which is the digital projector in the Projection Booth), the Stage Manager Monitor, and the LCD screens in the lobbies.
In order to “soft patch” the connection, first select the “Source” then the “Destination” simply by pressing the buttons on screen. Once connected, the source name will show up in the box just below the destination. When soft patching, take a quick glance at all the other patches connected and make sure you still want those connections live - deactivate if not.
Sending Signal to the Lobby TV screens
Using the primary Crestron touchscreen, press the Technician button and enter the password: 5540. Once you’re in, select the Source you’ve plugged into, then choose the Destinations labeled “LCD Auditorium” and “LCD LL Lobby” (lower level lobby). Next, go out and manually switch over the inputs on the screens by pressing the “input” button at the bottom of the TV until you reach the HDMI input holding your content. At the end of the night, switch it back to the digital signage reel.
Sending Video to the Projector through Crestron
If you connect through Crestron, make sure you choose the correct input on the Crestron touch screen under Presentation Sources. There are 3 inputs on the stage (“Down Stage Left, Center and Right”), one at FOH (called the “In House Mix Input”), one at the Stage Manager Console (“Stage Mgr Input”), and one in the Projection Booth (“Control Booth Input”).
Once you have your device connected and soft patched to Crestron, turn the projector on using the AMX touch screen at FOH. Choose “Turn On System and Projector” and enjoy a moment of zen while waiting approximately 1 minute before the systems turns on. Once the system is on, tell AMX to “talk” to Crestron, by going to the ‘Sources’ tab, selecting ‘Crestron’, then pressing ‘Go Live’. After a few seconds, the connected source should display on the Projector Screen (or the back wall). Congratulations!
Sending Video to the Projector through AMX
If you use the Mac Mini at FOH to bring up your projection content, you’ll be connecting directly to the AMX system through DVI-1. There is also a DVI-2 cable floating around on the control desk for laptop connection. Remember, if you are connecting through DVI to the AMX system, you need to have the line array in the system. Do not connect to the AMX system directly if you do not have an audio engineer on hand, you won’t have audio without their help.
Once you have your content on the Mac Mini conrol display, your audio engineer at your side, and the AMX system is powered on, take your video content and drag it over to the Lillyput display to the left of the main display. On the AMX touch screen, choose “Sources”, DVI-1, “Go Live” and within a few seconds you should see your content on the back wall or projection screen.
Turning off the Projector
The lamp on the digital projector is a beast; it runs at around 38,000 lumens.  When you’re using projection, remember to turn it off when you’re not planning on using it for a while. To do this, on the AMX touch screen, choose Utility, then System & Projector Off. Confirm again that you want to shut down and it will begin it’s 4 minute cooling process.
6. Working a Show: Your Duties
Always check the Google Calendar to see what company you’ll be working with for your shift. If you’re lucky, the visiting artists have been responsive, thought ahead, and had the foresight to fully plan out their performance details. If so, a basic rundown of what needs to be done will be in the calendar notes section. Make a mental note of these tasks and be prepared to accomplish all. Ask questions ahead of time if you have any, such as “Do we need to check out any gear from the cage?” or “What time is the talent arriving?”
Clocking in and out is important; don’t mess this part up or HR will start to dislike you as a person. They are the ones that write your checks, so seriously, don’t mess this part up. It’s your responsibility to remember to do this. If for some reason you forgot to clock in or out at the right time, immediately send an email to Erin detailing the time/date that you did clock in/out vs the time/date that you were supposed to clock in/out. Words like “today”, “yesterday” and “last Monday” don’t cut it.
As stated in the Stagehand Tips and Tricks, you should dress appropriately to each crew call.
If your shift is scheduled at the same time as an event on the “Performance” calendar, do not fail to dress the part. If you are normally backstage, you must wear black head to toe. If you know you will be sitting at front of house, you can either wear all blacks or professional clothing.
If your shift is scheduled at the same time as something on the “Rehearsal” calendar, feel free to relax those standards a bit. If nothing else is scheduled coinciding with your shift, you can expect tech work and should wear more comfortable clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.
 This is not a union house–you can cross between departments. Whoever you may be, meet up with the rest of the crew or the members of a visiting production team. Understand what is expected of you throughout the show.
During the show, even if you do not have anything to do for a while, do not busy yourself with homework, reading, or facebook. Your actions distract audience members and artists while you end up looking lazy to the other professionals. Watch and pay attention to the show. You never know what is going to happen on stage and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss your cue. If you cannot spare four or six hours to work a show, then you should not take the shift.
Be extra quiet while a performance is taking place. The hall was designed with acoustics in mind. Someone speaking at a normal volume on stage can be heard throughout the entire room. Remember this when talking through clear com at the FOH position, especially during quieter parts of the show. With a headset on, what might seem like a whisper to you can be heard by everyone around you.
If for any reason you need to walk away from your post for a moment, let the rest of the crew know by saying, “[your name] going off headset.” Give the other crew members a second to respond in case they have something important to say before you go. When you return, let them know you’re back on.
Always, always act professionally. Your actions reflect the entire crew, your bosses, the venue and building.
Stage Manager
Out of all the members of the crew on the show call, congratulations, you have the most duties. You are the liaison between the crew and the performers. All stage management duties follow a logic of making a show run smoothly. Communicate with your crew and the visiting production team and you will be fine.
Before the Show
- When you arrive, go up to Erin’s office and get the stage management keys. Keep them on you for the rest of the night. Don’t forget to return them at the end of the night.
- Open the space, propping open backstage doors and the green room.
- Unlock the backstage cabinet. Make sure it stays closed throughout the day.
- Turn on Scene Control, the stage manager console, and the amp room sequencer (plus sub amp).
- Turn on your backstage monitor at the stage manager console. Make sure that there are no banners in the way and that the camera is in focus so you can see the stage. If you can’t see anything on your monitor, check in with your supervisor or other crew members. They can help you fix it.
- Meet with the board operators and visiting production team. While the board ops are in charge of discussing their specific needs, you should have a general grasp of what is happening on stage.
- Find out if the group has any digital materials. While digital files for projection or audio playback should be handed over to your board ops, digital signage for the lobby LCD screens will be inserted by you at the Stage Manager console. (More on this later)
- Alternately, you can send the live camera feed to the lobby monitors after rehearsals are finished, once the stage has cleared and house is open.
- Get a copy of the program. If there is none, speak with someone from the team and build one out. Take notes on entrances, exits, and cues (both light and sound). Some groups will provide their own cue sheet. Determine the entire show flow:
- What time is the show supposed to start?
- What time should the doors open to the public?
- Is there an intermission? If so, for how long?
- When is the show scheduled to end?
- Who will be walking onto stage, when and from where? Do they need mics?
- Set up your clearcom backstage. Your headset, pack, and cable are in the drawer in the stage management console. Spares are in the upstage right cabinet.
- Do a clearcom check with your board operators. Have them go on headset. Check if you can hear one another, your volumes are set properly and your call buttons work.
- Right after doors are open, put the DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR sign on the back of the downstage left door. From this point on, YOU are the only person allowed to open this door.  FOH relies on you heavily to start the show only after they are ready. Own this door, it’s yours.
- Walk over to the green room and inform performers that the house is now open.
- Five minutes prior to show, give a 5 minute warning to members of the cast and crew. If performers request more time, let your house staff know if they need to hold doors or if the show will start late.
- Collect your first performers backstage. Keep them backstage and ready to start.
- When the show is ready to start, tell your friends at FOH to begin the process of house lights to half. This will notify the audience to take their seats and prepare for the start of the show. Allow one minute for everyone to get settled and then request the lighting operator to bring the house lights all the way out and into the first lighting look - usually stage lights up.
- Wait for confirmation that the light change is in progress and send out your performers.
- Once the performers are out, close the inner vestibule doors as to isolate sound from the hall.
During the Show
- Follow along with the program. Cross out movements/acts as they finish to stay on track.
- Watch the backstage left monitor for stage movement. Be ready and open the door if someone is walking offstage. Make sure you actually open the door before they get close to it.
- If handing out wireless microphones, remember to check that they are on/have full battery strength before handing them out. Confirm with your sound board op as to which mic you’ve given out. Make sure you get the mic back when the person exits stage, turn it off if it won’t be in use again.
- If you are nervous the person using the mic will accidentally turn it off during their performance, or if the sound board operator has requested it, put a sleeve on the microphone.
- Help nervous actors, musicians and other talent by being a calming force. Exude confidence.

After the Show
- Return your ClearCom & cable to its drawer.
- Help other strike what needs to be struck.
- Make the hall usable for the next day’s crew. For example, if you used the piano but the next crew will not, return it to instrument storage. If you didn’t use the piano but they will, bring it out.
- Clean up and throw away any garbage or show specific paperwork. Empty the trash bin backstage.
- Try to return any personal items left behind. If the group is long gone, leave these items with the lost and found at the North Desk and tell the building manager on duty.
- Once everyone has cleared out, make sure all 3 entrances are closed and locked, as well as the green room entrances, storage closets, and stage door.
- If you turned on scene control, turn it off and reconnect its key with the stage manager key set.
- IMPORTANT: DO NOT FORGET to return the stage manager key set to Erin’s office. The next morning’s crew will not be able to do anything without this key set and will have to hunt you down. Public shaming will ensue.
- If you ran into any technical troubleshooting, logistical mishaps, or mischievous deviants, send Erin an email with the nature of the issue, when it happened, the steps you followed and the outcome. Send a full show report instead if you are shift leading.
Light Board Operator
Before the Show
- When you arrive, uncover the Strand light board and the auxiliary console and store their covers on the shelf directly underneath them.
- Turn on the Strand Light Palette. Make sure you are in the Standard.spf show file and in Cue * Only mode (unless you are utterly desperate to work in Tracking mode).
- Bring the house, stage (OL) and backstage lights up so those entering the space can see.
- Turn the auxiliary console to NIGHT and activate EP LOCKOUT.
- Make sure the vestibule lights are still on.
- Turn the ghost lights on and back off by pressing FOH twice in the work lights section.
- If there are random lights stuck on, first try Release PB (playback not peanut butter) on the Strand. If that doesn’t work, return to the Aux Console and choose ALL OFF before returning to NIGHT. This should reset all the dimmers.
- Determine if there needs to be a lot of talking between the lighting operator and the stage manager (i.e. a stage manager calling cues from FOH). If so, I strongly suggest you move the lighting board to the followspot booth. Bring a ClearCom beltpack, headset and cable. Only do this if you have enough time (allow 30 min to fully get reset up there).
- Walk around the house and check that none of the house lights have burnt out. Do a channel check to make sure all stage lights are functional. If not, a lamp is probably out, and you’ll need to replace it (refer to the Lighting Basics manual).
- Meet with the stage manager, sound board op, visiting artists and crew.
- Take notes on lighting cues needed.
- Determine if any specials are needed for the show. If they are, spike the stage in those locations, bring them up from the RFU, go up to the catwalks, and focus them. Lighting units that are specials are marked with yellow spike tape on the pipe next to them. Once focused, confirm the looks with the visiting artists/crew.
- Confirm with the visiting artists/crew the entire flow of the show in terms of lighting.
- Determine if the weed lights should stay on throughout the performance or if the house should to go completely dark. The extra light allows late comers to find seats and audience members to read their programs. If it’s a film screening though, you will turn them off in order to go totally dark.
- If you plan to change a number of board settings/reprogram subs/re-patch/record cues, create a new showfile for the show.
- If you have time and are confident about the show going as planned, record a cue list for the show on the lighting board. Otherwise, you can record all the lighting looks that you will need on the twelve submasters/looks on SubPage 2 or 3.
- If you need to turn off the lights on everyone, announce “Going dark!” and await for confirmation before you actually go dark.
- Make sure EP LOCKOUT is enabled on the auxiliary panel before doors open to the public. If you forget this, anyone may walk into a vestibule and change the stage/house looks.
- Lower the backstage work lights to about 15%. Confirm level is ok with the Stage Manager.
During the Show
- Follow along with the program.
- Change the lights according to your notes from earlier.
- Communicate with the stage manager.
- If there is an intermission, bring stage lights down and then house lights up at the end of the first half. Usually some crossfade is acceptable (once under 40%). Other times, for a more dramatic effect, you would want to go totally black on stage before bringing the house lights up.
- On your cue, at the end of intermission, bring the house lights down to half.

- At the end of the show, do it all again. Bring the stage lights down and then the house lights up.
After the Show
- Once the house is mostly empty, bring up the stage work lights.
- Help the rest of the crew clean up, strike and set up for the next day.
- Once everything is cleaned, closed up, doors locked, systems off and everyone ready to leave, turn off the light board using the proper shutdown procedure.
- Retrieve the covers for the Strand and AUX console from and cover the boards.
- If you have been holding the Stage Manager key set, return it to Erin’s desk.
- If you ran into any technical troubleshooting, send Erin an email with the nature of the issue, when it happened, the troubleshooting steps you followed and the outcome. Send a full show report if you are shift leading.
Sound Board Operator
Before the Show
- When you arrive, uncover and turn on the Venue SC48; store the cover under the console.
- Turn on the sequencer (the key in the upper section of the left rack in the patchbay). Also, turn on the sub amp (the lower right hand section of the rack) by pressing the on button.
- Confirm with visiting artists their music, video, and whether they need any equipment.
- Set up your archival recording and test that it is getting level.
- Always set up a backup wireless mic on a straight stand off stage left (in a place where the audience won’t see them every time the stage door opens) to easily deal with any last minute mic requests.
- Make sure the batteries are fresh if you are about to go into a show.
- Use half-life batteries if you are in a rehearsal.
- Throw dead batteries into the dead battery bin.
- Microphones:
- Set up requested microphones backstage and/or onstage.
- Fly speakers in to the appropriate height based on the type of performance.
- Fly in the banners if there will be amplified music or speaking. Make sure you do not fly banners in front of the stage camera or the projection window if projection will be in use.
- If using wireless mics, check all batteries and consider sleeving the mics.
- Patch microphones in the patch bay from your “M” inputs on stage to the Venue by using the TRS cables hanging in the amp room (the red, green, and black cords).
- Monitors:
- Always set up monitors if someone will be singing through a microphone on stage. Often, instrumental groups with multiple mics will want monitors in order to hear each other better.
- Patch monitors in the speakon patchbay, from Venue outputs to stage inputs, using the short CROSSWIRED speakon cables found in the amp room only. DO NOT use regular speakon cable - they are wired differently and can damage the gear.
- Soundcheck:
- Before the band arrives, if possible, do a line check to make sure that each microphone and monitor is passing signal. To line check, have your audio assistant speak into each mic, one at a time, in order to pre-set general gains. Deal with phantom needs and troubleshoot any patching issues. Next, have your assistant stand near each monitor while you send signal, one at a time, to confirm the monitors are patched correctly.
- It is good practice to ring out the monitors before the artists arrive as well.
- Once the band arrives, start sound checking each mic, focusing on one instrument at a time. If you are checking drums, have the drummer go through his whole kit, one drum/cymbal at a time, while you work with the EQ, comp, gate, etc for each one. After you have them all dialed in, ask him/her to play the whole set so that you can further tweak (pan, groups, hi-pass, etc).
- Make sure the musician is hearing the right amount of everything through their monitor; don’t move on to the next musician until each person is happy. If they specifically ask for “everything” it’s important that you don’t give them everything. In this situation, only give them the most important aspects for clarity’s sake (themselves, vocals, kick drum, lead guitar, whatever that might be). If you give them everything, they’ll need more of everything and it will become a huge mess.
- If you are mixing a digital instrument such as keyboard, dj rig or sampler, ask them to reproduce their loudest patch so that you can set your gain to that level.
- When you finish with the last musician and everyone seems happy with their rough mixes, ask the whole group to play a half song together while you walk the room to hear the mix from different listening perspectives - tweak issues accordingly. When the group stops playing, they will have many requests, deal with each request, one at a time. Once everyone seems happy, ask them to try a different half song and repeat the whole process until they are happy with the stage mix and you are happy with the house mix.
- Make sure audio cables (only cables that will stay in place for the whole show) are taped down when in high traffic walk ways - brown gaff tape onstage, black offstage.
- Determine if there will be any videographers in house and whether or not they need a board feed. Set that up for them ahead of time. If the videographer shows up after doors are open, you will not be able to send them a feed down to the lower level. They will have to record from the upper level next to FOH. Make sure their power cables do not run across the house walkways.
During the Show
- If you are tasked with recording the performance, remember to PRESS RECORD(!!) in the minutes leading up to the start of the show. Make sure the device is actually recording and picking up signal.
- Follow along with the program, and any notes you’ve taken, to make sure you turn the correct mic on each time someone is about to speak and then mute it when they travel off stage.
- Communicate with the stage manager, especially when mics are coming on and off the stage throughout the show so you know which mics to take live.
- Use good judgment when deciding whose mics to mute during panels and Q&A’s. Sometime panelists will make a lot of noise when they aren’t speaking, so it might be good to mute their mics if someone else is speaking for a long period of time.
- Use your headphones to solo channels in order to find any problem areas that you notice now but didn’t notice during soundcheck.
- Leave your ClearCom in a visible place so that you can see calls coming in. The stage manager may need to reach you to communicate, and without that visual you may never know.
After the Show
- Mute the audio console and head down to stage to begin strike. Play some quiet music if you’d like.
- Before doing anything, attempt to troubleshoot any issues you realized during the show. Test suspect mics, cables, patches, systems, channels, etc before striking. Immediately, send an email to Erin about the problem, when it happened, how you dealt with it and the current status. Leave the broken gear up in #243 on the secondary desk in Erin’s office.
- Strike all mics, monitors, stands and cable and restore them to their default “home” positions. Remember to keep mic clips with their mic and mic bag, not with the stand.
- Pull up all your tape from the floor.
- Remove your hard patches in the amp room, but leave default patches (hanging house mics).
- Turn off sequencer and sub amp in the amp room.
- Help the rest of the crew with clean up of the stage as well as striking any marley, soft goods or other staging that might still be in progress.
- Confirm that the hall/backstage is clean, everything has been restored for the next morning, all systems are shut down and all doors to the hall spaces are closed and locked.
- Make sure the projector is off, the boards are both off and the hall is set to “night” before leaving.
- If you made an archival recording:
- In the hall, normalize the file, gain it, then normalize it again before exporting it. Save it to the PH recordings folder and send it to Erin via the website WeTransfer.com.
- If you’re using the Tascam, upload the files to the computer in the recording booth using the card reader in the USB port. Log into the Performance Hall user, store the files in a folder on the desktop called “Archival Recordings” and name the file by show/group and date. * Send the files to Erin via the website WeTransfer.com.
- If you have been holding the Stage Manager key set, return it to Erin’s desk.
- If you ran into any technical troubleshooting, send Erin an email with the nature of the issue, when it happened, the troubleshooting steps you followed and the outcome. Send a full show report if you are shift leading.
Stagehand
As a stagehand, you are most likely on call because there is at least one set change. Set changes in the Performance Hall tend to include at least one of the following:
- Setting or striking chairs, music stands, the piano (don’t forget to lock it!), the lectern, microphones (and their cables), music stand lights (and their cables), etc.
- Assistance with costume changes Other duties include:
- Helping other crew members with their set-ups.
- Giving time warnings to actors (“five minute calls” passed on from your stage manager).
- Retrieving talent from greenroom or other hiding places.
You must wear all black. Be alert and listen to your stage manager.
Before the Show
- Set up a Clearcom for yourself backstage right or wherever you’ve been positioned.
- Meet with the stage manager, board ops, and visiting production team.
- Get a program and take notes.
- Go over scene changes with performers and your stage manager.
- Make sure everything you will be moving to has been first spiked and that you understand which spike colors are associated with which change, which pieces are coming on and off and when.
During the Show
- Sit quietly backstage on headset, paying attention to the show. Do not talk over clearcom while others are being held in standby and waiting for go calls. Don’t pay attention to your phone.
- As your scene change approaches, confirm with your stage manager who is handling which task.
- During your scene changes:
- Move quickly and with purpose.
- Do not talk to others on stage, it looks unprofessional. As a stagehand, you are supposed to be almost invisible to the audience. If you need to confer, do it backstage and beforehand.
After the Show
- Help others strike and clean.
- Remember to remove all spikes from stage and backstage.
- Make sure all the tools in the storage spaces are organized properly before locking up.
- Take a quick check of batteries, tape and other consumables to make sure we’re not almost out. If we are low on any of these commonly used supplies, send an email to Erin to order more.
- Make sure all the backstage areas are clean and clear and that nothing is left sitting out that shouldn’t be there.
- Confirm that doors are locked and all systems are off.


GraphReader
GraphReader 1.2.1
Utility for retrieving data from plot image files
Copyright (C) 2012 Oleg Kalashev
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Apache License, version 2.0.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY. See the Apache License, version 2.0 for more details.


Shuffle is a subclass of TinyEmitter. It emits an event when a layout happens and when elements are removed. The event names are Shuffle.EventType.LAYOUT
and Shuffle.EventType.REMOVED
.
shuffleInstance.on(Shuffle.EventType.LAYOUT, function () {
console.log('Things finished moving!');
});
shuffleInstance.on(Shuffle.EventType.REMOVED, function (data) {
console.log(this, data, data.collection, data.shuffle);
});
Check out the demo at the top of the page, or its JavaScript file.


my name is tanner
my resume is here
here is an image
here is a pre
This is text that will show up exactly how I style it
here is a list
here is a form
here is a table


What counts as predatory lending? What kinds of laws can help protect consumers? What are resources that can be provided to help people avoid predatory lending?
What counts as predatory lending? What kinds of laws can help protect consumers? What are resources that can be provided to help people avoid predatory lending?


Animals are multicellular eukaryotic organisms that form the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described of which around 1 million are insects but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from 8.5 millionths of a metre to 33.6 metres (110 ft) and have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The study of animals is called zoology.
Computer Science students in USTM - Business School.


PineApple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of iFone, iTab, Mat, iWatch and PineApple TV.
Cim Took is the CEO of PineApple and serves on its board of directors.
Fraig Cederighi is PineApple's senior vice president of Software.
Weff Jilliams oversees Apple’s entire worldwide operations and support.


Made in one month from November 2014 - December 2014. I made this game for my friend for his "Sound for Interactive Media" assignment at the Australian Institute of Music. The game was inspired by the many cheap Unity3D horror games coming out around this time, such as slender. The aim of the project was to have the audio dynamically change depending on certain variables, such as monster location and awareness of player. This was achieved through using FMOD for the music, A* Pathfinding Project and ICode for the AI. The visuals are a unity store bought package. The rest of the game was programmed by myself using C#.
Controls
Standard FPS. W A S D move, Shift sprint, Space jump, E interact, T toggle torch, Scroll change torch zoom, ESC pause.
Gameplay
The player needs to navigate their way through a randomly generated maze, collect all the keys and reach the exit. There is one monster roaming the maze and every key collected spawns another monster. Torch battery slowly drains and slowly becomes more dim. The torch can be recharged but only if its turned off. The player can sprint to lose the monster however their stamina drains fast and will lose their ability to move altogether if they use too much.
Gameplay text hints:
- Your stamina drains fast. Only use it when necessary.
- Your stamina regenerates faster if you are not moving.
- Don't let your flashlight run out of battery or it will no longer work.
- Turn off your flashlight to recharge its battery.
- The maze ambience will change the closer you are to a monster.
- Your flashlight will lose brightness the lower the battery is.
- Scroll to change the focus of the flashlight.
- More monsters spawn when you open a chest, so plan carefully.
- Pray to RNGesus.
This game is very difficult, good luck.
{% include figure.html image_path="/assets/images/hunted/AI_State_Machine.png" alt="AI State Machine" caption="Figure 1: AI State Machine" %}
I decided to create the artificial intelligence for this game using the ICode plugin as it allowed me to rapidly prototype different behaviours without having to create my own backend state machine system. The final state machine created for the AI, shown in Figure 1, evolved from an initial random wonder with chasing and attacking, to eventually include exploring the last known player position as well as sound investigation. Combined this managed to make a challenging AI, yet easy to exploit if you could work out its mechanics.
State Machine Breakdown:
- IDLE: Stands still for a random amount of time and decides where to head next.
- Choses a random dead end on the map to walk to -> WALKING
- Hears the player moving -> INVESTIGATING
- Sees the player and has not yet roared -> ROARING
- WALKING: Walks towards the selected waypoint.
- Moves the current waypoint and stops -> IDLE
- Sees the player and has not yet roared -> ROARING
- Sees the player and has roared -> RUNNING
- Hears the player moving -> INVESTIGATING
- RUNNING: Continuously chases the player if they are in line of sight.
- Player is within attack range -> ATTACKING
- Loses sight of player -> SEARCHING
- ATTACKING: This is a special state as it was broken down into multiple. This was due to a state not being allowed to wait for a length of time, instead it had to wait during a transition. This allowed the AI the check if it hit the player at a specific time during the attack animation rather than the beginning or end. The state breakdown is:
- PREPARING: The beginning part of the attack animation.
- ATTACKING: The AI sends out a Raycast to see if its hitting the player.
- Hits the player -> KILLING
- Misses the player -> FINISHING
- FINISHING: The end part of the attack animation.
- KILLING: Sends a message to the Game Control to kill the player and end the game.
- SEARCHING: Moves towards the last seen player location. This allows it to chase the player around corners rather than going back to IDLE and running away in a random direction.
- Moves towards the last seen player location -> Looking
- Hears the player moving -> INVESTIGATING
- Sees the player -> RUNNING
- LOOKING: Stops and looks side to side. This checks the player is not hiding just out of line of sight, such as a 90-degree angle from the AIs forward direction.
- Does not see player -> IDLE
- Hears the player moving -> INVESTIGATING
- Sees the player -> RUNNING
- INVESTIGATING: Runs to the location of the player sound. This prevents the player from simply running around the AI faster than it can turn causing it to lose track and wonder off.
- Does not see player -> LOOKING
- Sees player -> RUNNING


There are two types of authentication supported:
To authenticate with HTTP basic authentication, select a credential of type username with password. DC/OS does not support this authentication type.
DC/OS Service Accounts use JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) to authenticate with DC/OS and retrieve an access token for use in subsequent requests. This plugin generates the JWT from the content of the selected credential and handles the creation and management of the necessary access token.
The content of the selected credential is a JSON object with the following fields (extra fields are ignored):
"jenkins-sa"
)
"https://leader.mesos/acs/api/v1/auth/login"
)
"RS256"
. Algorithm to use with private_key
.
"-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\nMIIEpAI..."
)
{"uid":"jenkins","login_endpoint":"https://leader.mesos/acs/api/v1/auth/login","scheme":"RS256","private_key":"-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\nMIIEpAI..."}


Life expectancy at birth is an estimate of how long a person born today would live, on average.
Life expectancy is affected by many factors such as: socio economic status, including employment, income, education and economic well being; the quality of the health system and the ability of people to access it; health behaviours such as tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption, poor nutrition and lack of exercise; social factors; genetic factors; and environmental factors including overcrowded housing, lack of clean drinking water and adequate sanitation.
Some of these reasons may seem obvious and others not so much. In fact some factors could affect your life in the opposite way you expect. Through these visualizations we try to find and understand what factors affect the life expectancy the most and why they do so.
Before we get into this we should know why is this important. Life expectancy is widely viewed as a key measure of the health of populations. Different countries have different life expectancies. The reason for these can be the policies they implement, diseases spread in that area and many others. By understanding the trends and patterns of the countries that have higher life expectancies we can improve it in countries where it is needed the most, where life expectancies are very less.
In our visualization we are focusing on 5 main factors that affect the life expectancy. These are
How much does the government spend on health care
GDP of the country
Number of years on average a person spends in school
Number of different diseases reported
Average BMI of the person
Why are we considering these factors?
How much does the government spend on healthcare -> It may sound obvious that spending more money on health care would improve the life expectancy, but it is not always true. Apart from how much the government spends on health care, on how it spends these money may also play a determining role in the life expectancy.
GDP of country -> The gross domestic product (GDP) is one of the primary indicators used to gauge the health of a country's economy. It represents the total dollar value of all goods and services produced over a specific time period, often referred to as the size of the economy. As one can imagine, economic production and growth – which GDP represents – have a large impact on nearly everyone within that economy. For example, when the economy is healthy, you will typically see low unemployment and wage increases as businesses demand labor to meet the growing economy.
Number of years on average a person spends in school -> This tells us what is the impact of education on the lives of individuals.
Number of different diseases reported -> Diseases spread could have a huge affect on the life expectancy. A sudden outbreak of a disease can lower the life expectancy of that area by a significant amount. We need to see how the spread of diseases affect the life expectancy of the people. Also, we would see what were the policies used by different countries in these situation to find out which has been the most effective.
Average BMI of the person -> Doctors often use BMI as an objective indicator of whether a person is overweight, underweight, or at a healthy weight. BMI helps determine someone’s overall health risk. As we should see here is that people with BMI in normal range should have higher life expectancy.
In this graphical representation, we are visualizing correlation between life expectancy and literacy rate of around 50 countries between the year 2000 and 2015. We have plotted multiple small dual y-axis line graphs to visualize the trend in 50 different countries. In the line graph, the blue line represents life expectancy and red line represents the schooling of each country. By looking at the visualization, we can see that there is no much impact of schooling on life expectancy of the people. In many of the graphs, life expectancy is seen unaffected with the changes in literacy rate of a country. So, life expectancy has no much correlation with schooling over 15 years.
In this graphical representation, we are visualizing correlation between life expectancy and BMI of around 50 countries between the year 2000 and 2015. We have plotted multiple small dual y-axis line graphs to visualize the trend in 50 different countries. In the line graph, the blue line represents life expectancy and red line represents the BMI of each country. In the line graph, we find some correlation between the life expectancy and BMI of the people for each country. When looked at all small line graphs we observe that the life expectancy declined with the decline in BMI for some countries. The life expectancy line remained stable when there was no change in BMI. So, the life expectancy of the people is correlated to the BMI of the individual for each country .
In this graphical representation, we are visualizing correlation between life expectancy and BMI of around 50 countries between the year 2000 and 2015. We have plotted multiple small dual y-axis line graphs to visualize the trend in 50 different countries. In the line graph, the blue line represents life expectancy and red line represents the BMI of each country. In the line graph, we some correlation between the life expectancy and BMI of the people for each country. When looked at all small line graphs we observe that the life expectancy declined with the decline in BMI for some countries. The life expectancy line remained stable when there was no change in BMI. So, the life expectancy of the people is correlated to the BMI of the individual for each country .


Publish Your Items
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Motor
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Drag and drop a file or select add Image
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Description
Price: How much do you want for your item?
Telephone Number
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Email
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Venue Full Name
62, 11th main, 3rd floor, Cool Joint Junction, Jayanagar 4th Block, Bangalore
Highlights
- CAR Parking Facilities
- Air Condition
- Hall Facilities
- Food Facilities
- Bar/Drinks
- 500 Person
- Disable access
- Free WIFI
Hall Rental Price
For Half Day ( Lunch / Dinner ): tk90000
Packages
Facilities
- CAR Parking Facilities
- Air Condition
- Hall Facilities
- Food Facilities
- Bar/Drinks
- 500 Person
- Disable access
- Free WIFI
Capacity
| Minimum | Floating Capacity | Maximum Seating |
| 80 | 300 | 400 |
Food and Drinks
Special title treatment
Seating Arrangements
| Shape Name | Theater | Class | Cluster | UShape | Board |
| Capacity | 80 | 300 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| Shape |
Technology & Equipment
- Air Condition
- Disable access
- Free WIFI
About
Check availabity online for Star Banquetes,Jayanagar 4th Block, Bangalore. Star Banquetes is a banquet hall located in Jayanagar 4th Block , Bangalore .The banquet hall seating capacity is 300 and floating up to 600 can manage.This venue has car parking facility also which can park up to 20 cars. Outside food allowed at this banquet hall.Events permitted at Star Banquetes are Engagement,Wedding Reception,Birthday Party,Get Together Party,Anniversary,Kitty Party,Naming Ceremony.
Suited for
- Anniversary
- Baby Shower
- Bachelor Party
- Baptism
- Birthday Party
- Engagement
- Get-Together
- Kitty Party
- Naming Cermony
- Reception
- Sangeet
- Upanayanam
- Wedding / Marriage
- Annual Function
- Board Meetings
- Exhibition
- Seminars
- Team Meeting
Distance from
Nearest Bus Stop: NA
Nearest Railway Station: NA
Dhaka International Airport is 40.21 Km
Dhaka City subway Station is 9.28 Km
Booking policies
Total Tax : 14.5 % is applicable on Food & Beverages (F&B)
Advance Amount : 50% of the estimated billing amount to be paid at the time of booking to confirm the venue and remaining amount need to be paid on the day of the event
Event Calendar
Talk to Venue Manager:
08030752877 ext:13#


--- layout: post title: ! 'Foopad: The Very Simple Wiki' categories: [] author: admin published: true date: 2005-09-12 07:24:50.000000000 +01:00 ---
Foopad.com is a simple, hosted wiki done by Ben Nolan (the guy behind Behavior) using Ruby on Rails. It’s still early days and the WYSIWYG-editing seems to choke Safari, but do take it for a spin. It’s free, so how can you argue with that?


{* this email is sent to the to the stored query victim *}
[t]Dear Madam / Sir,[/t]
[t]this is the list of results currently matching your stored query:[/t]
[t]Remark: this e-mail message has been automatically generated[/t]
{if !$semanticAgents} {/if}


welcome to my website. feel free to browse for some cute animal photos or to work your brain for some mind-tricking trivias!
click the button below for some animal trivia; and click again for more.


See: Description
| Class | Description |
|---|---|
| Feature2001 |
log prob score of the hypothesis
|
| Feature2002 |
log probability score (base model) normalized by source sentence length
|
| Feature2003 |
size of nbest list
|
| Feature2004 |
using n-best for training LM: sentence 1-gram log-probability
|
| Feature2005 |
using n-best for training LM: sentence 1-gram log-probability / sentence
length
|
| Feature2006 |
using n-best for training LM: sentence 1-gram perplexity
|
| Feature2007 |
using n-best for training LM: sentence 2-gram log-probability
|
| Feature2008 |
using n-best for training LM: sentence 2-gram log-probability / sentence
length
|
| Feature2009 |
using n-best for training LM: sentence 2-gram perplexity
|
| Feature2010 |
-using n-best for training LM: sentence 3-gram log-probability
|
| Feature2011 |
using n-best for training LM: sentence 3-gram log-probability / sentence
length
|
| Feature2012 |
-using n-best for training LM: sentence 3-gram perplexity
|
| Feature2014 |
MOSES: distortion feature 1
|
| Feature2015 |
MOSES: distortion feature 2
|
| Feature2016 |
MOSES: distortion feature 3
|
| Feature2017 |
MOSES: distortion feature 4
|
| Feature2018 |
MOSES: distortion feature 5
|
| Feature2019 |
MOSES: distortion feature 6
|
| Feature2020 |
MOSES: distortion feature 7
|
| Feature2021 |
MOSES phrase probability phrase_prob_feat_1
|
| Feature2022 |
MOSES phrase probability phrase_prob_feat_2
|
| Feature2023 |
MOSES phrase probability phrase_prob_feat_3
|
| Feature2024 |
MOSES phrase probability phrase_prob_feat_4
|
| Feature2025 |
MOSES phrase probability phrase_prob_feat_5
|
| Feature2026 |
MOSES word penalty feature
|
| Feature2027 |
IBM me feature
|
| Feature2028 |
IBM phrase prior
|
| Feature2029 |
IBM dist_sc
|
| Feature2030 |
IBM m1s2t
|
| Feature2031 |
IBM m1t2s
|
| Feature2032 |
IBM tsize
|
| Feature2033 |
IBM srcSize
|
| Feature2034 |
IBM bcost
|
| Feature2035 |
IBM deletion_score
|
| Feature2036 |
IBM hole_wt
|
| Feature2037 |
IBM afc
|
| Feature2038 |
IBM target_len
|
| Feature2039 |
IBM numcovered
|
| Feature2040 |
IBM reordering
|
| Feature2041 |
IBM constraint_block_wt
|
| Feature2042 |
maximum size of the bi-phrases for the target sentence, in terms of number of
words
|
| Feature2043 |
MOSES: proportion of unknown words
|
| Feature2044 |
relative frequency in the nbest list
|
| Feature2045 |
averaged target word statistics: score-weighted relative frequency of the
word in the n-best list
|
| Feature2046 |
averaged target word statistics: relative frequency of the word in the n-best
list occurring in the same position as the target word
|
| Feature2047 |
relative frequency of the word in the n-best list occurring in the same
position as the target word multiplied by the log prob
|
| Feature2048 |
ratio of log prob (base model score) of the current hypothesis to the sum of
the log prob score of all hypothesis
|
| Feature2049 |
average size of hypotheses in the n-best list
|
| Feature2050 |
n-best list density (vocabulary size / average sentence length)
|
| Feature2051 |
fertility of the words in the source sentence compared to the n-best list in
terms of words (vocabulary size / source sentence length)
|
| Feature2052 |
edit distance of the current hypothesis to the center hypothesis
|
| Feature2053 |
percentage of other hypothesis with and edit distance to the centre <
(current hypothesis edit distance to the centre * 0.5)
|
| Feature2054 |
percentage of other hypothesis with and edit distance to the centre <
(current hypothesis edit distance to the centre * 0.35)
|
| Feature2055 |
MOSES: totalHypotheses
|
| Feature2056 |
MOSES: discarded search graph nodes
|
| Feature2057 |
MOSES: percentage of discarded graph nodes
|
| Feature2058 |
MOSES: pruned search graph nodes
|
| Feature2059 |
MOSES: proportion of pruned search graph nodes
|
| Feature2060 |
MOSES: number of recombined graph nodes
|
| Feature2061 |
MOSES: proportion of recombined graph nodes
|
| Feature2100 |
percentage of incorrectly translated possessive pronouns
|
| Feature2101 |
percentage of incorrectly translated direct object personal pronouns
|


{% if request.form.get('load_full') %}{% extends 'index.html' %}{% endif -%} {% block results %}
{{ error }}
If you think this is a legitimate error, feel free to give the details in a new issue on github. You can also drop me an eve mail if github is not your thing. My in-game name is Magerawr.
{% endblock %}


Fashion Over 40 - Why Wearing White Works [video]
Sometimes women of a certain age think about wearing white but hold back from doing so because they think it will make them look fat, pale or washed out. Well, that doesn’t have to be the case...
Read More


Ingreedy
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I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (Columbia - 1997) Starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze Jr., Muse Wats, Anne Heche, Bridgette Wilson Screenplay by Kevin Williamson, based on the novel by Lois Duncan Produced by Neil H. Moritz, Erik Feig, Stokely Chaffin Directed by Jim Gillespie Running time: 101 minutes
**1/2 (out of four stars) Alternate Rating: B-
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
-------------------------------------------------------------
You knew it was bound to happen. With the completely unanticipated degree of success enjoyed by Wes Craven's SCREAM from December 1996, it was just a matter of time before the revitalized teen slasher genre revved back into gear, and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER manages to be among the first to capitalize on the trend. As of this writing, it's an unqualified hit -- consider that it topped the domestic weekend tallies for its first three weeks; only megablockbusters MEN IN BLACK, LIAR LIAR, and STAR WARS: SPECIAL EDITION have done likewise in 1997 -- and it's sure to give credibility to the cost-effective strategy of raiding television shows for pretty young starlets in order to assemble an ensemble cast which will draw the youth demographic. Putting aside the lawsuit from Miramax over I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER's advertising campaign (which touted the film as being from the creator of Dimension Films' SCREAM -- in this case, hot screenwriter Kevin Williamson penned both), Sony executives have to be grinning from ear to ear over the success of their horror entry.
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is fairly generic in scope -- it has the standard setup of a group of teens stalked by a homicidal madman -- and uses familiar scare tactics, but it's sort of fun in an offhanded way. There are too many standard fright devices employed in the film (eyes suddenly opening with a startle, the presumed-dead lurching back to life, attackers popping out from the darkness -- any of this sound familiar?) to take it seriously; it's simple popcorn fun.
The film focuses on four teenagers reaching a pivotal moment in their young lives -- high school graduation, and the promise of bright futures ahead -- but it's really only interested in its female characters, best friends Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt from PARTY OF FIVE) and newly-crowned local beauty pageant queen Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, from the television series BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER). As is often the case in modern slasher films, Julie and Helen serve both as the chief protagonists which drive the plot forward, and as the requisite lust objects; a profuse number of scenes in I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER find its heroines either in swimsuits or scurrying about in revealing attire, and there's an abundance of tittilative cleavage shots (it's actually bemusing to observe how director Jim Gillespie strategically frames his shots). In fact, given the film's preponderance for ogling its pretty starlets, it's somewhat amusing that Bridgette Wilson, who plays Helen's older sister Elsa, is cast against type as a brainy, no-nonsense department store manager (fully clothed throughout, yet).
After a cozy July 4th evening on the beach, complete with wistful introspection and boozing, Julie and Helen, and their respective beaus Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe), pile into Barry's car and head home. While driving back, Ray is distracted by Barry's drunken antics and plows into something in the road. They all begin to panic when they realise that they've just run over someone, and after much frantic bickering, Barry convinces the group to dispose of the incriminating evidence by dumping the body into water.
Jump forward to a year later. The formerly tight-knit group has splintered apart after the incident, friendship giving way to guilt, bitterness, and resentment, and their once-promising futures have since dissipated: Helen's acting aspirations in New York flopped, and the beauty queen is reduced to manning the cosmetic counter at her family's department store; Ray toils as a fisherman. seemingly resigned to his lot in life; Barry staggers about on his family's estate in a haze; former scholar Julie crashed and burned in her freshman year at her prestigious Ivy League college. Suitably gaunt and haunted, Julie returns back home to the North Carolina fishing community where a mysterious note awaits, predictably reading "I know what you did last summer!" (as opposed, I guess, to "You may have already won ten million dollars!") In the wake of this ominous message, Julie reunites the reluctant clique in order to determine who's behind it. And the killing begins...
 The film makes a point of obscuring the madman's face and coyly drops clues throughout in order to play up the mystery of his alter-ego, but ultimately I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER doesn't really play fair in terms of revealing the identity of the killer. When The Fisherman is finally unmasked, one can sense a collective sentiment of Who Cares? erupting from the audience.
For awhile, it appears as if I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is going to veer towards a more psychological approach to the plot -- the depiction of the characters' lives irrevocably shattered by their murderous deed is effective, and they all seem to walk around as empty shells of their former selves. Julie, who was the most adamant against dumping the body after the hit-and-run, appears the most tormented and harrowed of the group after the fact, and after one-third of the film, I almost expected a resolution involving a schizophrenic Julie to be behind it all, although shots of a weathered male hand grasping the Fisherman's hook sort of ruined that misguided notion.
 Although it can be difficult to generate real tension from such familiar scenarios -- I've honestly always wondered how a maniac, walking as if on a leisurely stroll, can *still* always seem to gain on the frantic, fleeing heroine -- his traditional handling of various sequences in the film doesn't help matters. After a character endures a harrowing ordeal, when the film cross-cuts between the character finally within the reach of safety and the look of relief on the character's face, it's a telltale sign that something unfortunate might befall the character, and any opportunity for a shock or a surprise is consequently destroyed.
The sequence which is the most effective in the film is the critical hit-and-run scene; the mounting tension and escalating sense of panic as the situation begins spiraling out of control is palpable, and as played by the lead actors, wholly credible and convincing. I particularly enjoyed the touch of having the Barry character exclaim "My car!" in the aftermath of the collision, which is both darkly humourous and frankly authentic.
In general, the performances from the ensemble cast of I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER aren't outstanding, but generally appealing and perky. While the leads are fine, the striking performance in the film is that of Anne Heche, who in a small role is disquietly creepy as Melissa Egan, the sister of the dead man fished from the water. After some nondescript performances earlier this year, it's a relief to see her return to form -- I was beginning to worry.
As in SCREAM, Mr. Williamson includes some knowing references in his screenplay for I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (which he incidentally wrote during the SCREAM shoot) which are amusing. There's a cute reference to Jodie Foster's Clarice in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS by the heroines as they nervously approach Melissa Egan's out-of-the-way house. While he's an interesting writer and a particularly good scenarist, I still find much of Mr. Williamson's attempts at snappy teen dialogue to be particularly awkward. Who wasn't wincing during SCREAM when Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich were exchanging clumsy dialogue about their is-it-an-R-or-is-it-a-PG-13 relationship?
 to leave the audience nervously tittering as they exit the theatres (much along the same vein as Julie Delpy's remarkably hairy chest in the oft-run trailer for the upcoming AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN PARIS). This coda teases at a sequel, which is par for the genre, but in this case, due to the film's surprisingly potent success, a sequel is indeed in the works. As Mr. Williamson himself wrote, "Let's face it -- these days, you gotta have a sequel."
- Alex Fung email<EMAIL_ADDRESS>web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung<EMAIL_ADDRESS>| http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "I was reminded for some reason of something Fred Kareman, my acting teacher, had once said: 'Most people in this business should be selling zippers on 7th Avenue.'" - Tom DiCillo
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