The Technical

Director’s Toolkit
Enjoy it, and bookmark its pages prodigiously.
— William J. Byrnes, Southern Utah University

In the world of theatre, the technical director (TD) is responsible for overseeing the safe and
efficient realization and implementation of scenery for the stage. The Technical Director’s
Toolkit is the first book to address every nut and bolt of this multifaceted job, guiding you
through the step-by-step processes of technical direction and the responsibilities of the TD
in the mounting of a theatrical production. Leadership, management, relationship building,
personal responsibility, and problem solving are addressed, showing you not only how to
become a more efficient and effective TD but also how to be a collaborative member of a
production team with whom artists will seek to work again and again. The book also addresses
scene shop design and facility repair and maintenance, and it finishes with a brief overview of
other areas of technical theatre that help round out the far-reaching skill set of a successful TD.
• A companion website includes customizable and downloadable forms as well as accompa-
nying instructional videos: www.routledge.com/cw/stribling
• Captures the scope of the profession, while maintaining the focus on the day-to-day duties
of an effective TD
• Discusses safety protocols and how to encourage a culture of safety within the workplace
Zachary Stribling received his BFA in Technical Theatre from the University of Evansville
and a Master of Fine Arts in Technical Production from Florida State University. Working pro-
fessionally in theatre for more than twenty-two years and teaching at the university level for
thirteen years, he has served as Technical Director for the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Faculty
Technical Director at the University of Central Florida, and Visiting Assistant Professor
of Technical Production at Florida State University. Zak is currently a Lecturer and
Faculty Technical Director at the University of Kentucky.
Richard Girtain holds a BA in Theatre with a minor in Religious Studies from the University
of Tennessee and a Master of Fine Arts in Technical Production from Florida State University.
He has served as Technical Director at several nationally and internationally recognized the-
atres throughout the country, including the Guthrie Theater, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and
FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Richard is currently the Technical Director for
the Juilliard School at Lincoln Center.
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The Technical
Director’s Toolkit
Process, Forms,
and Philosophies for
Successful Technical
Direction
Zachary Stribling
Richard Girtain
First published 2016
by Focal Press
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Focal Press

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Focal Press is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2016 Taylor & Francis

The right of Zachary Stribling and Richard Girtain to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom
are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stribling, Zachary.
The technical director’s toolkit : process, forms, and philosophies for successful technical direction / Zachary Stribling,
Richard Girtain.
  pages cm
Includes index.
1. Theater—Production and direction. I. Girtain, Richard. II. Title.
PN2053.S78 2016
792.02'33—dc23
2015029007

ISBN: 978-1-138-12142-3 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-74729-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-79713-7 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman PS MT

by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To our muses, Judy and Diana, who support us no matter what our
foolish endeavor may be, and to our legacies, Valentina, Gloriana, Jack,
and baby girl Girtain to be, who are the other half of our everything
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by William J. Byrnes xi
Introduction: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How? xiii

Chapter 1: Communication, Collaboration, and Flexibility:

The Mores of Success 1
1.1 The Job: Never the Same Story Twice 3
1.2 Leadership Style: It’s the Relationship 9
1.3 Veritas: The Proof Is in the Pudding 14
1.4 Problem Solving: More Than One Way
to Skin a Flat 15

Chapter 2: Design, Estimation, and Preproduction Planning:

Paving the Road to Realization 19
2.1 Design 20
2.2 Estimation 26
2.3 Preproduction 66

Chapter 3: Production: It’s Showtime! 99

3.1 Construction 99
3.2 Load In: It’s Go Time, People! 120
3.3 Technical Rehearsals 127
3.4 The Run 133
3.5 Strike 135
3.6 Postproduction: The Afterglow 141
v i i i     C O N T E N T S

Chapter 4: The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Facilities 145

4.1 Shop Design 146
4.2 Tools of the Trade 150
4.3 Maintenance and Repair 155
4.4 Morale Maintenance 156
4.5 Health and Safety 158

Chapter 5: Special Skills, Training, and Continuing Education 163

5.1 Leadership and Management Training 164
5.2 Structural Analysis 165
5.3 Rigging 167
5.4 Electricity and Electronics 170
5.5 Mechanical Engineering 171
5.6 Automation 174
5.7 Project Management 176
5.8 Drafting and Modeling 178
5.9 Understanding the Jobs of Others 181

Conclusion 191
Index 195
Acknowledgments
A heartfelt thank-you to the following groups and individuals:
William Byrnes, for his excellent mentorship, teaching, and help editing this text.
The many teachers who helped lay our foundation and gave us the laboratories in which
to learn our craft, and all of the students who created and grew in those laboratories with us.
Grant Hilgenkamp, who believed in us and let us cut our teeth on the big stage.
Todd Pickett, Ralph Walker, Chuck Meacham, and Charles Leslie, who taught us how to
build scenery and take pride in our work.
Dan Culhane and Chris Brown, for their work on our estimation workbooks, and for Chris’s
excellent drafting used in this book and on the cover.
Meagan White, Stacey Walker, and Focal Press, for making this book a reality.
We additionally thank all of the colleagues, students, assistants, and artisans with whom
we have worked throughout our careers for the influence they have had on us as artists and
leaders.
This page intentionally left blank
Foreword
I was pleasantly surprised when I was approached by Zachary Stribling and Richard Girtain to
contribute to The Technical Director’s Toolkit. I was not aware that they had taken on the task
of creating a new book for Focal Press. I thought, “What a wonderful idea. Finally, a resource
for TDs and aspiring TDs.” Writing the foreword led me to reflect on my early days fresh out
of graduate school and hard at work in my first job as a TD and lighting designer. I sure wish
I had a book like this to consult and guide me as I made my way through the rigors of working
with people and projects that tested me well beyond my capabilities.
Looking back, I believe I made just about every mistake you could make as a fledgling
TD, and in some cases, I made the same mistakes more than once. I also had moments when
the acerbic collective wisdom of TDs who had come before me came to life. Phrases such as
“beat to fit and paint to match” and “if force doesn’t work, you’re not using enough” were put
into practice more often than I care to remember. My people skills were also sadly lacking.
Moreover, yes, I was one of those people with enough keys on my belt that I likely tilted to
one side when I was walking around backstage. I have moved on to other responsibilities in
theatre and the arts, but I have to say that the early experience I gained as a TD helped me
time and again navigate the fast-paced work environments so common in theatre and technical
production.
As I read The Technical Director’s Toolkit, I was impressed with how the authors managed
to capture the massive scope of the job while consistently keeping the focus on how to be
an effective TD day in and day out. Being a TD is a demanding job that requires being able
to work with a diverse range of fellow artists, apply creative problem-solving skills on the
fly, and work with limited budgets in spaces often ill designed to support the art and craft of
theatre.
It is entirely fitting that The Technical Director’s Toolkit starts with communication, col-
laboration, and problem solving. The idea of “one head and many hats” is apt for the TD.
Keeping your TD skills fine-tuned is indeed about being committed to lifelong learning.
The job is also very much about positively managing human relations and mastering your
emotional intelligence. The reader should heed the authors on how important it is to lead from
within while building positive working relationships with the dreamers and doers.
Chapters 2 and 3 take the reader on the journey through all the steps required to meet the
demands of a TD to be a planner, organizer, and über project manager. The authors develop
an amazing array of carefully organized details about the production process, which are sup-
ported by helpful illustrations and examples. Whether it is mastering the use of spreadsheets
x i i     F O R E W O R D

or project management software, how to run or participate in meetings, or listing proven

methods for keeping everyone safe and sound backstage, these two chapters offer TDs practi-
cal techniques that anyone would want included in a good toolkit.
Chapter 4 offers a much-needed perspective about what types of facilities, equipment, and
tools are needed to make the production process work well. Of course, the authors recognize
that you can’t always get what you want, but they offer you advice about how to be adaptable
and get what you need. It is important to have a well-run scene shop, but equally important are
the points made about taking good care of your people and building a great team.
As I read the final chapter, I reflected on how far the TD’s job has come in the last fifty
years. The application of sophisticated engineering knowledge, the incorporation of stage
automation technology, and the increased management skills needed to create safe workplaces
and scenery far eclipse the training expectations of previous generations of TDs. When you
add in the abilities a TD needs to successfully lead, manage, and follow when working with all
the stakeholders involved in the production process, you can quickly see why you need a book
like The Technical Director’s Toolkit.
As I mentioned earlier, my first few years in theatre as a TD helped give me the confidence
I needed to take risks, analyze what was really going on around me, and respect the value of
building and nurturing collaborative relationships in the arts. When I was at the Florida State
University School of Theatre, I was very committed to building the MFA Technical Production
program. One of the ways I tried to help support the program was to encourage students to
enroll in the Leadership and Organizational Management seminar I taught in the MFA Theatre
Management Program. Zak and Richard, and other students in the program, took this course,
and I am happy to report that they applied what they learned upon graduation.
I am honored to have been asked to write the foreword to The Technical Director’s Toolkit.
Zak and Richard are two “solution makers” whom I am confident will continue to make a
mark on our industry. In fact, Richard and Zak are living proof of how the role of the TD is
continuing to evolve and grow. Their book not only offers you tools you can put to work today
but deepens the understanding of the production process in the twenty-first century. Enjoy it,
and bookmark its pages prodigiously.
William J. Byrnes
Professor of Arts Administration
Southern Utah University
Introduction
W h o , W h a t , W h e n , W h e r e , W h y, a n d H o w ?

WHO
We two late thirty-somethings began this project two years before its publication, when we
were comfortably well along in our career paths. With our graduate educations more than a
decade in the past, we have fallen into patterns, behaviors, and processes that work very well
for us. The places where we work and have worked produce high-quality shows, and we have
produced high-quality scenery for them. We want to share our process with you and the rest
of the profession that we love.

WHAT
This book is about the philosophies we use and the way we create. Technical direction is a
field diverse in practice and form. No one job is exactly like any other. To that end, these
methods and processes are not the way, but a way. This is what works well for us in our places
of employ, but you must find a way that works best for you and your producing organization.
Here in these pages we have endeavored to introduce you to resources that will help you study
yourself and your company and to give you the tools to find your own way.

WHEN
Why now? Why not? No text out there focuses exclusively on our job and artistic process. We
learned what we know from practical experience, trial and error, and a diverse course of study
that cobbled together the basic building blocks for successful technical direction. We were
blessed with mentors and teachers who handed down what they had learned throughout their
careers, but nowhere was there a text that put it all together in one place.
x i v     I N T R O D U C T I O N

WHERE
This text is admittedly Americentric. We have in no way intended to slight the theatrical prac-
tices of other countries and cultures. We have focused on what we know and the ecosystem
within which we exist. Our processes and tools are geared toward practice within the context
of regional and educational theatres producing a season of productions. Although many of the
skills and tools introduced here can translate over to different locales and levels of production,
it is important for the reader to understand that this is the perspective from which we are
framing this conversation.

WHY
Not everyone will be blessed with a similar cast of mentors, opportunities, and teachers as
those whom we so luckily stumbled into. Before we began our graduate educations in techni-
cal production, we had a rough and basic impression of what a technical director did, but in
the end, we really had no clue. The rigors of the multitasking alone were an overwhelming
surprise, let alone the wide range of skill sets and knowledge bases that we had to possess to
succeed. In this brief text, we have tried to define the scope of the job, give you the tools to
begin your career, and introduce the resources that will help carry you further in it.

HOW
William Byrnes breaks this down well in the foreword to this text, and the table of contents
should clue you in to the details within the broad strokes. In the interest of keeping this book of
a readable size and maintaining our own sanity, it is in no way an authority on any one subject.
Our only intention is to introduce the topics and tools there within, providing our take on their
application and usefulness. Once the personal philosophies framing our practice are introduced,
the bulk of the text focuses on the process of technical direction from page to stage. After that
large body of work is out of the way, we briefly introduce the reader to the topics of shop and
space maintenance, employee and coworker relations, and professional development. These
are jumping-off points, with each of these subjects meriting its own extensive text. Equally
important as this book is the online companion site, www.focalpress.com/cw/stribling, where
the reader can find workable files for all of the documents illustrated within the text. Please
download, use, and modify them as your own. We have built our own from scratch and modified
them since we were students, and we hope that these provide the reader and budding technical
director a comfortable place from which to start his or her own work.
C H A P T E R 1

Communication,
Collaboration,
and Flexibility
The Mores of Success

Theatre is a truly unique art form, as we work collaboratively as a group to create, teach, and
entertain. While some studio art is created by a collective or team, there is no one person
theatre. We are obligated by the nature of our passion to work alongside others, to share in
a vision, and to help realize something much greater than one’s self. Swimming in a sea of
theatre artists are the facilitators like the technical director, or TD for short. We are artistic
individuals, large-scale sculptors of environments, but our endeavors are grounded in a prag-
matic knowledge of material sciences, tried and true construction methodologies, organized
behaviors, and physics. These analytical activities and practical knowledge bases are blended
with our artistic sensibilities and drive to create, giving us the unique foundation necessary to
succeed as a theatrical TD.
Our job is a genuine original, a rollercoaster ride of new projects, conflicting emotions,
and uncertainty. Some have likened it to herding kittens in the dark. We think it is one of
the most beautiful things we have done in our lives. It is a career choice that with every
opening night fulfills a drive to create, validates us as artists, affirms our leadership, and
sets us off on another soon to be realized adventure. We rarely end up doing the same thing
twice. Every production is unique. Even if we have done the show before, the list of players
and their ideas are different. There is no repetition or rut to be found. The job description is
2      C O M M U N I C A T I O N , C O L L A B O R A T I O N , A N D F L E X I B I L I T Y

constantly changing. The technology utilized is always evolving. The solutions and challenges
are often different. If you are a person that thrives on routine and certainty, then the theatre
and Technical Direction are probably not for you.
To borrow from F.D.R.’s three-legged stool metaphor, the first leg of a successful TD is
collaboration. In this line of work you have to be able to play nicely with others. Creating
theatre is a truly collaborative experience, and it happens among a small community. For an art
form spanning millennia and every pocket of the civilized world, the group of active artists is
remarkably small and interconnected. To keep getting work, we have to be people persons and
exercise strong communication skills. Tread lightly and make no enemies. Be a pleasure to work
with by being dedicated, responsible, and a team player. There is no us against them in theatre,
only teammates working toward a common goal. We are not being Pollyanna about the way
relationships work within the theatre community. There will be people you will like and dislike
working with your whole career, but it is your responsibility to keep it professional and continue
plugging away toward your common goal with a collegial attitude and dedication to the project.
The number one complaint in any organization, despite how well they do it, is the second
leg of our stool: communication. It is a vital ingredient to successful collaboration, and as a
TD you must master it both as an interpersonal skill and as an organization skill. You have to
get people to trust and follow you, and communication is the key to both. Learning how to talk
to people is an art unto itself. Doing it successfully requires assessing what each individual
needs to make them feel listened to and respected. These sentiments lead directly to them
hearing you and not just listening to you. Be it a member of your staff like a carpenter, a scenic
designer as a collaborator, or a producer as a stakeholder, you have to learn how to read the
individual and react appropriately to their needs and personality type. Organizing information
is just as important as a TD. You cannot just spew every fact and figure regarding your techni-
cal design, estimate package, or build schedule upon anyone needing details. Again, you have
to be able to assess their readiness as to what information they specifically need and in what
form and level of detail. Putting together information that makes sense is just as important as
putting together information that is valid and thorough.
The third leg to the stool that is success in technical direction is flexibility. The nature of
our work demands it. We are called upon to create a different dream every production, and
our methodologies for doing so must shift with the individual needs of the design. We have
to change the way we communicate with every designer that we work with according to their
working style and level of readiness. Our process itself needs constant revision and improve-
ment so that we might do our job even better on the next production. As the technology utilized
in our field changes, as it does so rapidly these days, so must we change the way we dictate a
build to utilize the most efficient and up-to-date construction processes. Finally, we have to be
flexible enough to change the responsibilities and nature of our job as the description of our
duties varies wildly from organization to organization and even season to season. H. G. Wells
penned in Mind at the End of Its Tether, “Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable
imperative.” Our world, macro and micro, demands it of us, and to succeed in our field we
must be ready to change to suit the needs of the organization that we choose to be a part of.
 C O M M U N I C A T I O N , C O L L A B O R A T I O N , A N D F L E X I B I L I T Y      3

These are the guiding principles that we believe form the foundation upon which you can
build a successful career as a professional TD. This section of the book will cover how to
manage yourself and the relationships with your collaborators in a way that reflects these core
beliefs. Coming back full circle, in the last chapter we will expand upon how we as TDs can
work more effectively with our specific collaborators. This is not the way; it is a way. I hope
that these mores that we hold dear help you to build a set of professional ethos that help guide
you to success in all of your endeavors theatrical.

1.1 THE JOB: NEVER THE SAME STORY TWICE

Like an old fish tale your father has told you and your family countless times, the details of the
TD’s job change every time. Pinning down your specific job description is like catching a minnow
with your bare hands. Like we said before, by the very nature of what we have to create our job is
randomized. One week we might be engineering an articulated wall of aluminum and Styrofoam
faux concrete and a month later be reproducing a sitting room from an eighteenth-century
Parisian salon. You just never know what the next show is going to bring as a challenge, and to
succeed you have to embrace the unknown and attack it with confidence and authority. Even if
you have no idea how to build it and have never done anything like it in your history, you have to
know in your heart that within your toolkit and community of contemporaries lies the solution,
and have the confidence that you can both draw it out and execute it flawlessly.
Every day we thank the heavens that, like in the movie Office Space, we don’t work in a
cubicle, filing the same TPS reports every week and coveting iconic office supplies for thrills.
Instead we work in a dust-filled fantasy land where sparks fly, and we harness the elements to
do our bidding and build the things dreams are made of. We create play scapes, islands, living
rooms, forests, and seeming endless expanses of desolate isolation where everyone from Patrick
Stewart to your Aunt Maggie’s tenth-grade daughter becomes someone else to tell a story. We
give people emotional release, hope, despair, and escape. We create magic, and rest assured every
month you can find yourself confronted with a fresh challenge requiring you to think outside the
box and innovate. There is never a dull moment, and we are blessed by this apparent chaos.
Like the production challenges that we face, our job description is constantly under revi-
sion and development. Organizations are living organisms, forced to move and adapt to their
market and climate. A stagnant theatre company is one that will soon close its doors for good.
The organizational structure is constantly shifting as people come in and out of the company,
and the job requirements change with the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. One produc-
tion manager (PM) will have a whole different set of needs regarding their TD than another.
While TDs are typically stereotyped as rigid professionals that deal in concrete details, the
truly successful in our line of work are flexible individuals that actually relish in changing to
make things function smoother.
This fluid relationship that we have with our job description can best be illustrated by how
one might employ their assistant technical directors (ATDs). Should you hire an assistant
4      C O M M U N I C A T I O N , C O L L A B O R A T I O N , A N D F L E X I B I L I T Y

who is a crack shot at drafting, who enjoys it and is highly proficient in AutoCAD, then you
would obviously use them for that purpose and offload as much of the construction drafting as
possible to them. This gives them the type of work they enjoy and uses them to the best of their
capabilities. Meanwhile you focus on the day-to-day operations of the scene shop, scheduling,
tracking, and putting together estimate packages. On the flip side, if your assistant is just an
all around great person and strong leader, then you would use your assistant and his or her
skills with communication and likeability to run the shop operations and interact with the staff
during the build. You would bear the brunt of the drafting so that he or she might best apply
his or her skills in that other arena. You cannot force a bad draftsperson to draft better, and you
cannot make a wet blanket of an ATD work the floor and motivate the carpenters. Your job as
the leader and manager is to look at the personnel resources that you have available and use
them in the role that they are most efficient and ready for. As that personnel changes and you
get new assistants, you have to be willing to change and adapt the operations to best suit the
new variable. It is just what we do as a manager of many.
As you transition between different employers and producing organizations, you again
have to be willing to adapt. We have worked for organizations that, by nature of lacking a PM,
needed us to step up to the plate and create the overall production calendar for the season. This
included working hand in hand with the producers to derive the actual dates of the run. While
this falls way outside of the typical job description of the TD, we saw a need and stepped up
to bat. We were the ones within the organization who had a vision wide enough to organize a
season because we do it so well with the builds. We were the ones with calendar building and
managing skills who could reference prior seasons schedules and work with the production
departments to transcribe what they needed done differently into fresh season calendars with
change analysis and comparison data that was easy for all to grasp. Because we could do it for
the studio, we knew that we could do it for the organization and reap the multitude of benefits
from having that influence and authority to aid the shop and staff.
In some shops the TD is not allowed to touch a tool or material, while in others the TD is
a vital part of the scenery construction crew, working alongside of and motivating their crew
with their energy and enthusiasm. Sometimes you will have a scene shop manager who keeps
the wheels on track for you, and sometimes that responsibility will fall on you. Although
Industry-leading organizations like the United States Institute for Theatre Technology
(USITT) have worked hard to develop promotion and tenure guidelines for academic TDs and
conducted numerous TD job surveys to help define the responsibilities of the job, there is no
singular definitive job description for what we do. The generalities of the job are relatively
universal among the different organizations that employ TDs, but the specific tasks and scope
of management vary from place to place. You have to be a Jack of all trades who is willing to
employ the skills needed by the given organization and let others languish in idle because it is
someone else’s responsibility. Every organization does its business differently and comes with
traditions and biases. It is up to you to analyze the organization and adapt your skill sets to
best fit their needs. Find out how things have been done in the past and start there. An effective
leader is always making change happen, and over time you will be able to evolve the culture
 C O M M U N I C A T I O N , C O L L A B O R A T I O N , A N D F L E X I B I L I T Y      5

of the organization to function better and suit your needs and strengths as an individual. You
have to be able to perceive and discern between what you can change and what is immovable.
You cannot come into a new position with your organizational guns a blazing, ready to flip the
culture on its head, but on the other side of the coin you cannot come in and expect to keep up
business as usual. Adaptation is a two way street that leads to success, but you need to come
in not like an avalanche but with the methodical determination of an iceberg.

R E S P O N S IBIL IT IE S : O N E H E A D, M A N Y H AT S
The work of a TD is a many-headed beast. Like the last section posited, it is near to impos-
sible to nail down a full job description for any TD position anywhere in the world. You
could be a manager for a road house, an assistant professor at a major state university, in
charge of an independent scenic studio producing corporate trade show booths, or a leader of
a twenty-person union scene shop for a major regional theatre producing $150,000 sets. In
each of these positions the job of the TD is quite different, with a definition equally as illusive.
This book means to focus primarily on a traditional and ideal definition of a theatrical TD
who is producing a season of shows. This scenario takes place in countless regional, educa-
tional, and summer theatres across the nation and the world. The support staffing and outly-
ing responsibilities vary drastically from place to place, but the guiding principles and base
responsibilities remain part of a common core. Our position exists to make dreams happen—to
take an artistic vision for a production’s scenic design and realize it to its fullest potential. To do
that effectively we have to take on ownership and responsibility for that vision. It is our cross
to bear, to serve as the bottom line for getting it done safely, on time, and within the constraints
of our budget. Our process is what guides us through from page to stage, and we must give
appropriate time and attention to each and every step along the way, or we cause chinks in the
armor, weak spots where, if the stars do not align, the walls can come crashing down around
us. Without proper planning, implementation is futile. To that end, the TD is a project manager.
Project management is a job that holds meaning across a wide variety of industries. From
home construction to advertising, a project manager is someone who has a handle on the steps
necessary to properly plan and implement a function of the business they are a part of. It takes
extremely strong organizational skills to manage all of the steps along the way, from concept
to reality, and being in touch with the nitty-gritty of the implementation is a must. Without
having been a carpenter in a scene shop, it is hard to know what is needed to build a set piece.
Having not done graphic design and market analysis, one cannot put begin to manage an
effective advertising campaign. You have to master a craft before you can effectively charge
others with its actuation. Almost all of the successful TDs that we know came up through a
traditional master/apprentice learning process. Despite the master of fine arts (MFA) degree
on their office wall, they were an intern, carpenter, master carpenter, and ATD for a long time
before they became TDs.
As a project manager, you also have to be able to “push paper.” Putting together the plan is
all theoretical work until the hammers start swinging. Mastering our industry’s application of
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software like Microsoft Excel and Project, AutoCAD, and cloud storage and sharing solutions
are a necessity for building calendars, deriving budget and time estimates, creating construc-
tion specifications, and keeping the scene shop machine humming instead of stuttering. Using
these tools effectively and producing elegant and concise documentation gives you instant
credibility with stakeholders, collaborators, and followers. An effective project manager keeps
all of this paperwork in order and organized for quick reference. By double checking that they
have crossed all of the ts and dotted all of the is, they ensure that the process has been followed
and the implementation will be a success.
The TD is a leader and a manager. These are two distinct but closely related concepts.
The manager rules the roost, keeping the crews on track by ensuring that the materials and
hardware are flowing, the necessary tools are ready and working, and the order of the day
is being followed. An effective manager supervises their personnel and squares away the
logistics of an operation to keep the crews running at an optimal efficiency. Managing person-
nel means making sure everyone is getting paid and is well trained and equipped for their
work. Following through on the planning and groundwork laid out by the project manager, the
manager of a scenic studio makes sure that the instructions are followed and that the resources
are in place to keep the ship righted and on course. Being able to perceive the bumps along
the way and working to abate them is the work of a proactive manager, while being able to
improvise and quickly come up with inspired solutions when confronted with a problem is the
work of a reactive manager. You must strive to be a healthy blend of the two when managing a
scenic studio. An effective manager must also establish authority, respect, and trust with their
followers, but a leader realizes that all of these things are a two-way street.
A leader inspires their followers and makes them want to do their very best because they
believe that the very best is what their leader is giving of their own self. Sensing the needs of
your followers and discreetly catering to them is the function of a leader. Get the crew a water
cooler for the break room. They will stay well hydrated during the course of their work day
and maintain more productive energy levels—a small investment with a big payoff. Stock the
freezer with popsicles. They are refreshing on those hot summer days of the build and give
the crew a boost of sugar-induced energy in the afternoon, counteracting the digestion of their
lunch that is trying to lull them into inaction. These small gestures mean a lot, both in their
face value and unconsciously, demonstrating the investment that you have in those that follow
you and their happiness. As the manager, you conduct performance appraisals at regular
intervals with the artisans in your charge; a leader takes that time to listen to the employee.
Take their thoughts and concerns seriously, and let your attention and empathy make them feel
valued, respected, and heard. A leader realizes that they don’t know everything about the craft
and trusts the craftsman in their charge to teach them and innovate on their own. Leadership
boils down to two pure mutual concepts at its core: respect and trust. Management of a scenic
studio can be handed to you, while leadership must be built and earned.
A TD is a draftsperson and a scientist. In creating our technical designs we must be a
master of material sciences. A working knowledge of statics and the structural properties of
materials and construction methodologies is necessary for designing structures that work and
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function elegantly. Dynamics and an understanding of mechanics are needed to create the
stage machinery that makes theatre magic happen safely and dependably. We must have an
understanding of graphic standards and cutting-edge computer-assisted modeling and draft-
ing software to specify these well-reasoned designs clearly to help artisans to understand what
they are creating.
A TD is a problem solver. Brainstorming your way through new and exciting challenges
on a weekly basis, you have to be able to both innovate forward and look backward to tried
methodologies in designing solutions. Thinking outside the box but within the realm of reality,
the TD must adapt old ways to solve new problems with creative and dynamic solutions.
Problem solving has its own process to follow, and the input that a leader can solicit from their
followers is vital to the process. You are not alone in problem solving. There is a whole shop
full of creative solution makers and your professional network of contemporaries at your beck
and call if you nurture those relationships with trust and reciprocity.
The TD is a collaborator. A TD works as part of a collective where everyone plays their
part in the realization of a common goal, and he or she must possess great interpersonal and
communication skills to do so. Being able to play well with others and value the work of
those whose jobs you don’t understand are keys to success in this field. You will never be
creating alone in the theatre, so make sure that you put your best face forward and respect all
of the players involved and their contribution to the whole. You have to attend and participate
in design and production meetings and prove a vital part of the team. Only through your
contribution, ownership, and respect will you garner the same from your collaborators.
The TD has to wear many hats. You have to be as comfortable in jeans and an apron as
you are in a button up shirt and tie, at home in the shop, in front of your computer in your
office, or in the board room reporting your progress and success. We find solitude and the
quiet of drafting as rewarding as the frenzy of the load-in week in the theatre. We harness the
scientific to realize the artistic. We plan to fret and to embrace the chaos. Pragmatism and
analytic behaviors clash with our creative impulses and artistic drive all day long in the battle
grounds of our psyche. The TD is a dynamic and powerful individual who exercises empathy
and inspires hope and respect. We are a walking multitool.

J UGGL IN G T H E S E A S O N
The job descriptions for most TDs in the theatre business fall within the wide net that we
are casting with this text. These TDs function within the context of a season. The shows that
they are building for follow in a preordained succession, typically laid out by the producers
and PM. This marching order should be spaced out and scheduled equitably to allow for
proper design and preproduction work to happen before their realization. Sometimes they are
seasonal in nature, spanning the run of a summer or school year, and sometimes the only thing
that defines one season from the next is the turn of the fiscal year. No matter which of these
season models you find yourself working within, your job as a TD is to keep in your sights
the season as a whole. While most members of a design team focus on only one production
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at any one producing organization, a TD is responsible for each and every one of them within
the season. As the productions within a season roll on, the TD quickly learns to juggle. Like
someone having running chainsaws thrown at them, to survive the TD must keep all of the
balls moving and in the air.
At any one time you can easily have upward of six or seven shows in some stage of the
technical direction process. The following scenario can very easily be true. Show 1 can be up
and running, hopefully in a self-sufficient place. You still have to be monitoring the run of the
show for notes and repairs while planning out the strike and completing the accounting for the
build. If you are in a multistage facility, Show 2 can be in technical rehearsals at the same time,
pulling you out of the shop and into the dark comfort of the theatre for long hours both day and
night. Shows 3 and 4 could both be in the shop at the same time. Show 3 will be nearing the end
of its build and being staged for load in as soon as Show 2 strikes, while Show 4 is in the infancy
of its build, just starting to come to life. Show 5 will be in preproduction, requiring you to be
drafting, scheduling, and ordering the materials, all laying the ground work for a build to start
as soon as Show 3 leaves the shop. Shows 6 and 7 are lurking in different parts of design, with
Show 6 in the process of estimation and design revision while creative conversations are just
beginning for Show 7. Don’t forget that somewhere in the mix you will also be trying to carve
out time for routine maintenance and repair in both the theatre spaces and the shop facilities.
Dizzy yet? That can happen watching all of those balls go round and round as you struggle
to keep them in the air. The point we are trying to illustrate is that a TD has to be a master of
multitasking and time management. None of these projects can idle and succeed. Each requires
active participation on the part of the TD. The real skill comes in balancing the needs of each
project without working 80 hours a week and going crazy. You have to stay in touch with each
project’s needs and dole out your time each day accordingly. Obviously things like actively
supervising builds in the scene shop require a large bulk of hours, but you can parcel out some
of that responsibility to your ATDs, shop supervisor/manager, and master carpenters. They
have to be ready for and held responsible for this duty, and in this way the TD can free up office
time to manage the other projects. Assistants can be used extensively on preproduction projects
like ordering and drafting, but all of this sharing of responsibilities still requires engagement
and active supervision on the part of the TD. Stage carpenters as part of the run crew can be
enlisted to manage the minor work notes arising from the run of a show. It is best to take per-
sonal responsibility for technical rehearsals, production meetings, and design conferences. As
the TD, you serve as the head and face of the scenery production area, and in these situations,
when all of the major players are at the table, you need to be there to represent your followers
and to own the process. You are the best at putting together the estimate packages for design
approval, you are the one who can make major decisions during technical rehearsals, and you
are the one who should be reporting progress and negotiating during the production meetings.
It is a wild and wooly job, and sometimes the amount of active projects can feel overwhelming.
TDs have to be organized and able to manage a personal to do list and daily agenda religiously,
constantly assessing and adjusting where each project stands. Juggling is the best analogy for
this division of our attentions, and just like juggling, the only way to get better is to practice.
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College, no matter your major, is the best prep for this type of work. Take on six courses for an
eighteen-credit-hour load, hold down a part-time job, and try to maintain a semi-active social
life. If you can do this and pass all of your classes with the highest marks while still sleeping at
night, then you are well on your way to being an effective multitasker. College taught us how to
look at the needs of every class and situation, distill the essential actions from the ancillary, and
dole out time accordingly to satisfy the needs of every calling. This set of skills is the beginning
of the toolkit you will need to be a successful TD, family member, and human being.
As an addendum to the summary of this juggling act, we are firm believers in the 40-hour
work week. Ok, sometimes it will push a bit more than that if there is a production in technical
rehearsals, but as a rule we wholeheartedly believe in a work–life balance. Many persons in
this world define themselves by what they do for a living; we are what we do, but without a life
outside of the shop and theatre, there is no love in the theatre. You cannot be all consumed by
your job. Do you work to live or live to work? The best advice upon entering graduate school
for technical production was to leave every two weeks. Go somewhere and do something other
than school and theatre. Canoe down a river, hike in the forest, lounge on the beach, shack up
in a hotel room in another city, just go. It is too easy to lose yourself in your work, and that
is how so many TDs become the burnt out and bitter individuals we are so often stereotyped
as. We do what we do because we love it. It is certainly not going to make us either rich or
famous, but it is fun, and if you can find work that pays the bills and is honestly fun, then you
are on the road to lifelong happiness. However, you have to balance that fun with life, love,
family, and friends. Without these things as a foundation, you have no support beneath your
career, and before you know it the fun of the work is gone. Work to live, that is the answer, and
bless your lucky stars that you have a way to do it that is fun and satisfies your artistic soul.

1.2 LEADERSHIP STYLE: IT’S

THE RELATIONSHIP
We will explore throughout this text the importance of knowledge, training, and planning. Even
with a firm grasp on all those things, without strong relationships with our collaborators the
success you achieve will be greatly reduced. The unique nature of the performing arts requires
interaction with others to create. At every step along the way it will be how you receive and pre-
pare information for others that will set the tone for success. Much of what we as TDs produce
comes from a place of facts and figures. Some of our collaborators are looking for those concrete
answers about material and safety, for instance, while other arts practitioners work in ideas and
concepts that we hope to foster into tangible products. In other instances we combine these in an
educational setting with a mandate to teach our collaborators. The more we can understand and
connect with the rest of the team’s perspective, the more we foster the collaborative process. Our
position puts us squarely in the middle as a translator of sorts. Whether we work in a commercial
environment, a not-for-profit model, or teaching institution, the goal is the same: be an effective
contributor to the conversation as a member of the process.
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Some of the most important collaborators are those we supervise. Much of the discus-
sion we will have throughout this book will describe strategies for leadership of our staff. In
Chapter 4 we will discuss the maintenance of our staff ’s minds and bodies. This section is
about the other people we work with. This entire text is a reflection of how we must develop
our relationship with the ones we lead and work shoulder to shoulder with every day. Never
marginalize them while working to connect with your other constituents. Our success and the
accolades we often receive are a result of sweat and toil from our carpenters and craftspeople.
Situational Leadership® is a concept in the study of leadership techniques developed by
Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard and trademarked by the Center for Leadership Studies that
we think best governs the interactions and relationships with all those you collaborate with in
your organization. Simply put, it says that to be an effective leader and influence others you
must realize that every situation and relationship is unique, and therefore they require you to
take different approaches as a leader. You must become comfortable in assessing and reading
an individual or situation. Try to be aware of different personalities and their readiness for
information. Everyone works differently, and being able to know what an individual’s unique
set of needs and motivations are can help you understand how to supervise or collaborate
with them. To best practice situational leadership the TD must remain flexible in their interac-
tions and consciously adjust to who they are working with. This skill is especially vital in a
profession as transient as ours, where the relationships and players change with the shifting
of the winds. There is always someone new in the mix, and you have to avoid settling into a
comfortable rut that has always “worked best.”

THE “ C RE AT IV E ” T E AM
You will often hear this term as it relates to the individuals who determine the artistic approach
to a project. Our primary contact in the creative process is usually the scenic designer. This
is almost always the case in theatrical or operatic works. In film it might be the production
designer, or in dance you may get more information directly from the choreographer. TDs are
responsible for the technical design, how to build it, we are usually not responsible for the
aesthetics of the scenery. There are instances where the TD and scenic designer are combined,
and if that is your case, it is a challenge that you must personally assess. While the skill sets
overlap and often complement each other, it is often more than one person can handle. It is
also our belief that separating these components of the team leads to the best product.
Whoever your primary contact is, this relationship must have a sound foundation in trust
and reliability. These collaborators become our partners. We rely on one another to help estab-
lish what is possible and how it will ultimately serve both the institution and the concept of the
artistic endeavor. As TDs we are responsible to our PM or artistic director to stay on budget
and protect the producing entity from property damage and onstage dangers. The scenic
designer is working to create physical space that supports the director’s approach to the piece.
We often find that through the almost inevitable negotiation of resources we must plead our
collaborator’s case to those we answer to. Having a stake in the creative process and a relationship
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with the designer can help solve many of the complicated issues that can arise. Being part of
the design process also help us to make informed suggestions about minor adjustments to the
design, like changes in molding profiles, that can save vital resources on a production.
Along with being an advocate for one another, being accountable for deliverables is of
utmost importance. Delivering on what you say you will cannot be underrated. Often we find
ourselves up against changes or conditions we may not have envisioned during the planning
process. Being truthful about what is possible, and conveying quickly when it appears that
things are going off track to the designer, will help maintain your relationship, even if the
scenery is not all they had originally hoped for.
Delivering bad news is very difficult. When moving through the design process, we are
tasked with evaluating someone’s work and then putting a value on it. This is stressful for us
and can be demoralizing for the designer. When the price tag exceeds the resources, a critical
juncture has been reached. Proceed with caution and clarity. Do not “sugar coat it,” but as you
explain the costs, give reasons why you chose a material or assumed a certain construction
process. This will give insight into your process, and you may find out you had the wrong
impression about an element. Avoid the knee-jerk “That’ll never work” moment, especially
in public. Evaluate and ask questions, and reserve judgment and estimations until you have
a chance to look things over alone or one on one with the designer. If there is a way to get
a glimpse at an idea before it is presented to a larger group, you may save the designer and
yourself a lot of work and heartache.
One of the greatest strains between a TD and scenic designer are missed deadlines. This
often puts a dark cloud over the relationship and can very quickly leave a bad taste in every-
one’s mouth. Assume the best of people. Yes it sounds naïve, but if the designer misses a
deadline, try to help them. It is self-preservation. If they cannot get you information, you
cannot build the show. We can attest that not having a set finished on opening is one of the
most painful experiences of our lives, and they won’t be looking at the designer when that
happens. Never be afraid to ask if there is partial information available or could they have a
phone conversation even if a model or drafting isn’t available. We encourage you to keep your
PM in the loop on missed deadlines, but do not parade them around. It will only deteriorate
the fragile process that has just begun.
Once the design is established and approved and the build commences, the interaction is
more straightforward. Stay in contact and encourage visits or photo evidence of progress. The
exception to this is change. We can assure you that changes in the design will occur. If you
have planned the best you can, you will often be able to accommodate some changes and even
adds. Work with the designer to make these happen. Do not alienate them from the process.
If a director comes straight to you, get the designer involved. Again this reinforces trust, and
ultimately the design is their creative work and should not be changed without input. When
you are unable to meet a request, do not be afraid to communicate it. Consider how you might
partially fulfill the request, and offer suggestions that still support the concept and vision of
the production. Discuss these things in the same fashion as you did with the initial design. You
might just help in synthesizing a better solution for the production when all is said and done.
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THE PRO D U C T IO N M AN AG E R
The PM is likely your direct supervisor and may or may not come from a similar background.
They may be former TDs, stage managers, or scenic, lighting, and costume designers. Like
with the job of scenic designer, this may also be a part of your job responsibilities, and like
being a TD/designer, being a TD/PM can be a lot of work for one person. As the individual
overseeing all aspects of production, the PM has many concerns, and you only represent one
piece of the pie. Communicating clearly and with concrete examples and informed choices
will help the PM help you. Your manager, like you, receives a multitude of information from
many sources. If a production is going south, they get a lot of negativity. While having the
ability to complain is part of the relationship, having solutions or suggestions to help over-
come a challenge will be more useful and put you in a better place. Come prepared with
options to discuss.
Face time with the PM is important, but often hard to come by. Having regular meetings
with them is one way to resolve this. It is a chance for you to share the status of shows and get
some feedback from their perspective. Come with an agenda with concise bullet points for
you to discuss. Always be conscious of others’ time and use it with care. Also bring the PM
along with you to look at problems in the shop or facility. They are often in meetings or tied to
a desk. Most love a chance to take a walk and see the production come to life. It also gives a
chance for them to understand your process and how you view your job. The PM can be your
number one advocate and will always have a say in the resources your department receives.
Make sure they know what you do and how important it is.
Finally establishing and protecting trust and respect with your supervisor is at the heart of
our job. Our job satisfaction is as much about that relationship as is any other part. It is good
to remember that when we have discussions with those that report to us. Many discussions
with our PM are of a sensitive nature. Being discreet about sensitive information is not only
important for trust, but potentially a legal issue. Keep them informed about potential issues as
well. No one likes to be blindsided.

P R ODU C T IO N D E PART M E N T H E A D S
Designers come and go from project to project; PMs are your boss, but no one understands the
particular challenges of producing for your organization like other department heads. People
like the prop master, electrics supervisor, and costume shop manager may produce different
elements, but they work on the same shows for the same company. Not every entertainment
producer has all these components, but often there are discussions between these parties about
who does what or when an item moves from one shop to another.
The scenic charge, for instance, is always a part of how we build scenery. Most times they
are the last one to touch a scenic element, making any nasty carpentry look amazing or high-
lighting that seam right through the middle of the thirty-foot wall. Keep them in the loop. Do
not choose materials without consulting them. Help them out by making sure that the scenic
designer understands that the design package includes paint elevations, not just drafting. Work
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out how scenic elements will move from your shop to theirs, or protect the space and time they
need in the theatre. Meet regularly and admit immediately when a mistake or scheduling set
back occurs. The scenic artists are allies and partners in producing the work. Have respect for
their work and their process. If you find yourself managing the paint shop, trust in your scenic
artists and try to see it from their perspective. You may have to tell them to stop painting on a
project as time has run out because it’s difficult to stop trying to make something perfect, but if
you have developed mutual appreciation and protected their work, they will trust you.
The other department heads will be your allies, especially when all the items come together
in the space. Before that happens, keeping an eye out for items in your design that might be an
issue for their department will strengthen your relationships. There is a ceiling, so coordinate
your department’s work with electrics so you can figure out how to focus efficiently. A feasible
example of a multidepartment project can be a chandelier. Props might build it, we will hang
it, lights will turn it on. If the flooring is bar grating or covered in a rough texture, work
with costumes to abate the chances of long and flowing items being damaged or caught by
the rough floor, or heels that will slip through the grating. Looking out for one another and
having a conversation about trouble spots before they become an issue will make everyone’s
experience better. If the production heads are on the same page, discussing solutions with the
creative team will be more effective and probably received better. This also improves your
relationship with the PM, who does not need to play mediator on everything. Still feel free to
use the PM when there is an unresolved issue between departments.

COL L E G IAL
Maintaining healthy professional relationships outside of the workplace is also very important
to your career as a TD. Specialists and other TDs are valuable resources for getting help with
problems and brainstorming. Online venues like TD forum at http://techdirector.bigforumpro.
com and the Stagecraft Mailing List are important conversations to play an active role in,
and the professional members there can help you solve challenges that you become stuck on.
Membership in, active service with, and the conferences of professional organizations like
USITT and PLASA also serve as regular opportunities to touch base and maintain collegial
relationships with other practicing contemporaries.
You never know when you will need to tap these contacts to help you stay afloat in a produc-
tion setting. We have many times looked to overhire skilled TDs as specialists for production
challenges. The value of having someone with the same skills and vocabulary as you for intense
applications like the design and build of a hydraulic stage lift cannot be understated. You have to
work to maintain these professional connections to other TDs, but it is this idea and talent pool
that you can turn to when help is most needed. There was once a set sent on the road for an out
of state performance, and we did not have the time in the schedule to go with it. We were able to
fish within the pool of professional contacts and come up with two skilled contemporaries whose
work we were familiar with to fit the bill. We were able to gain peace of mind in the project and
help them find that little bit of profitable side work quickly and easily.
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This is a small, small industry, and you have to work to build and maintain positive
relationships with everyone you encounter. You never know who will be in the position to
offer a reference or make sure a job opportunity is on your radar. In the education game it is
equally important to maintain these relationships to help place your students into jobs after
they graduate. In the end these relationships are just as valuable as the skills in your toolkit.

1.3 VERITAS: THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING

All of our work as a TD is grounded in getting others to trust and follow you. This trust can
only be forged in the fires of honesty, integrity, and truthfulness. Every decision that we make
must come from proven research and honest reporting. Veritas, the goddess of truth, is said to
lie at the bottom of a well and be elusive (Wikipedia, Veritas). You may ask then, as Pilate did,
“What is Truth?” (John 38:18, KJV). Plato might say it lies in the “Ideal” form, or Aristotle
might argue that only through systematic empirical observation could we determine such a
thing (Herman, Arthur, The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle, and the Struggle for
the Soul of Western Civilization). We fear the answer does not lie within this book, but we can
share how we believe it applies to technical direction. Simply, our charge is to be truthful in
the dispensing of our duties.
What do we mean by that? It means, to the best of your ability to accurately convey your
findings and opinions. The entertainment business is a tiny one. It will not take long before you
will be 6 degrees of separation from just about everyone in the “Business,” including Kevin
Bacon. Your words and deeds will follow you. A good name is easy to lose and hard to rebuild.
Functionally, being truthful can be very challenging, not because “telling the truth” is so
hard, but because knowing what is true can be. From the onset of your process with a creative
team you will be asked to create hypothetical estimates based off not-to-scale napkin sketches.
The words will fly through your head, “What am I supposed to do with that?” and “Are they
kidding?” You are supposed to build it, and yes, they are absolutely serious. Now reach down to
your experiences and the things you have a solid grasp on, like material costs, strength of materi-
als, physics, your labor pool, etc., and convey what you think to the best of your knowledge.
Trust us when we say you will not always know. That is ok too. Say you are not exactly sure, but
you will work on it and get back to them. Be careful of jumping to an answer without thoughtful
deliberation. This will help you avoid getting stuck with an idea if it isn’t going to work. Even if
you are sure about an idea, it doesn’t mean it can’t change. Afford yourself the same chance to
create as the other members of the team. Creation often requires destruction.
Do not misrepresent your estimate. You are the expert on why you chose what you did. Be
prepared to explain those choices. Yes, sometimes you will pad your numbers. Why? Because
you are uncertain, and that is ok. It has been our experience that representing contingency
sums that way is acceptable as long as it comes with an explanation. And yes, we tend not
to share every bit of our formula, but it’s there if more information is needed. We give the
overview to give a big picture. Details can come later.
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Be truthful in your investigation of an estimate. Look closely at how long or how much mate-
rial it will take to do something. You owe it to your staff and yourself to fully engage and own the
project. You might get crunched for time or feel like you have seen the same type of thing before
and overuse the shortcuts we will talk about in the next chapters. Being thorough and honest
will save you later. Investing time in the planning stages will pay huge dividends in the end. This
becomes unbelievably hard when you get to that last 10 percent overage. A set 100 percent over
often seems easier than one that is close. One reason it’s difficult is because you might be inclined
to say, “I’ll just figure it out later.” Not only have you planned on an overage, but you haven’t
given yourself the margin you need to combat any unforeseen challenges. This lets everyone but
you off the hook. You will pay for it in the end, both financially and with your credibility.
You may find yourself in a frustrating situation where you are asked to do things above and
beyond the original design or those notes that never seem to end. It can be draining, especially
after two straight ten out of twelves and four hours of sleep, but that’s when you have to dig
deep and remember what made you want to do this in the first place. Avoid reacting in the
moment with emotion. Say to them nicely, “I will work on that and get back to you.”
Be honest about your abilities. If you don’t know, say so. Often we are expected to be a
master of all things technical, but most of the time we are a Jack of many trades but a master
of few and not the one we need at that moment. Technical design is a creative process, and like
any creative process you can get stumped. You may never have seen or heard of anything like
what is being designed. Look for help. In this text we are going to talk you through a ton of
places to find that help. It is out there, and your colleagues love to tell their stories and share
their solutions. On the job training is the name of the game. While our educations will be
eye-opening and an incredible foundation, you have to be able to continue to learn and change.
Continually look to fill the gaps in your knowledge. Learning a new way or another way may
not always be the right way at the time, but it will teach you something for use down the line.
After all of this, sometimes you will think you have it figured out, but you don’t. If you
screw up, own up to it. You will screw up. That’s not the point. The point is to take ownership
and move on to finding a solution. Finding solutions is our thing. It’s what we excel at. We can
overcome these obstacles and move on.
Remember to afford and expect the same of others. Help foster a place of accountability and
honesty, but also make it a place where mistakes and growth are embraced not attacked with puni-
tive engagement. No one wants to be put on the spot or have their weaknesses and errors exposed.
Find your way to truth, and let it guide your work.

1.4 PROBLEM SOLVING: MORE THAN

ONE WAY TO SKIN A FLAT
At our core, we are problem solvers, or, as we rather call it, solution makers who take on
creative challenges headfirst on a regular basis. We use the sciences, the familiar, and our
communities to best fulfill the needs of every production we build a set for. Very rarely do
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you find yourself producing something completely familiar. Problem solving, like technical
design, is a process. Divine inspiration rarely strikes, and so we need to respect and have an
understanding for how we get to our answers. There is no one right or wrong way to get there,
only that you must try to discover a way that works best for you. The process is contingent
on your personal style. There are plenty of published strategies for problem solving, such as
TIPS, the theory of inventive problem solving, or CPS, the creative problem-solving process.
Often these formalized problem-solving processes are aimed at getting otherwise rigid minds
thinking outside of the box when searching for solutions. We don’t have that problem in our
line of work. We live outside of the box. Conversely, we more often need a procedural structure
for keeping us on course before we end up turning the box into a sphere.
Our process is just that: ours. It is a framework for making sure that we give every chal-
lenge we take on its due attention. We see problem solving as a cyclical process, as shown
in Figure 1.1. With no definite beginning and end, the best solved problem is one that is
constantly being refined and tuned up for continued success. The first step in this journey is in
identifying the problem. Take the time to examine and ruminate on what the true nature of the
problem you are solving is. When you peel away the layers of complication, what challenge
truly lies at the heart? Oftentimes it is too easy to accept a design or challenge at its face value,
to either blindly take it on as presented or even worse to get lost in the detail of it. Research
the challenge and find its core. If an actor and scenic unit need to track onstage from the stage
right wing and you have done that before, don’t just assume you are going to solve it the same
way again. What is the desired visual effect? What speed is the travel? What is the artistic
reasoning for the effect? What resources do we have at hand that we did not before?

F i g u r e 1.1 The Problem-Solving Process

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In our work we see students miss test answers simply because they don’t read the whole
problem. We have seen complex challenges, layered like a head of cabbage, where as a TD we
had to wade through a wealth of details just to get down to the root of the problem. Take the
time to properly identify and define the challenge before you jump head first into it. Use that
definition as a mission statement that guides you and is present in every choice that you make
while working on that problem.
Next in line, after properly identifying the challenge, is brainstorming. Alone or working as
a group, the focus of any brainstorming session should be volume of ideas. When working as
a group, like you and your assistants or as the design team, brainstorming must have a leader,
someone to guide the conversation and help catalogue the ideas. Certain ground rules must be
adhered to for the brainstorming session to be most productive. No criticizing the ideas of others.
Even if it was a terrible idea, if you criticize someone for what they contributed, then you are
effectively shutting them out of the problem-solving process. Shoot them down once and they
will think twice before offering their idea next time. Every time someone is alienated from the
process, it is a setback for creativity. Avoid idea loyalty. When working by yourself or in a group,
try not to be invested in an idea just because it was yours. Keep an open and non-defensive mind.
You might let the best solution go on by while defending your own. It is ok to riff off someone
else’s ideas during brainstorming. Build upon it, or simply restate it in different terms; there is no
ownership at this point, so don’t be afraid to pile on. Brainstorm in a neutral environment. Take
the conversation to lunch or to a meeting room, but brainstorm where you will not have your
flow interrupted. You might think the clearest when driving long distances, letting the brain idle
on the monotony of the road has always opened it to run freely on a thought.
Refinement is up to bat next. Once brainstorms have slowed to a light drizzle, it is time to
look at what you have got. The group leader should work with the rest of the team to sort out
the list. Weed out ideas that just are not valid; group together ideas that are similar in nature.
Classify and distill things down until there are just a couple of very viable solutions to move
forward with. Don’t be afraid to have two or three ideas left to run with. You are not commit-
ting to anything yet. If you are working as a group, divide up the remaining potential solutions
and let everyone start work on different ideas. Identify your key strategies and commit to
flushing them out.
Strategy identification should be the aim of this refinement, and we must begin to mock
up our solutions. Research what you determined as your approaches. Make choices and start
to analyze their potential for success. One sure fire way of doing this is to mock up and test
your solutions. In the marketing world, before embarking on a multimillion dollar advertising
campaign, an ad executive would test some ideas out on a focus group. Their reactions and
responses would help inform the development of the formal solution. In the same way, we
as TDs must test our different solutions before choosing and implementing them. If it is a
structural challenge, we will use math to visualize and theoretically test out different ideas.
If it is a mechanical problem, we might mock up a test from spare parts or in scale to help
visualize the solution’s effectiveness. In the end your ideas must always be tested by some
means before any other resources are invested in their execution.
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If you were working on testing multiple solutions, then this type of empirical comparison
should serve as a means for choosing one solution that appears to be the most effective.
Use the quantifiable results of testing not only to choose between ideas but also to refine
them. Take what you learn from their testing and use the results to improve upon them before
implementation. Never implement an untested idea. Leave yourself plenty of wiggle room to
test and refine before the due date arrives.
Application is the creation of a realized solution leading up to the “opening night” of the
challenge. If we again compare ourselves to advertising executives, this would be the final
markup leading to the roll out of our campaign. For us this culminates in opening night.
Having identified our strategy, our shop now has to apply it, building whatever hare-brained
solution we have come up with. Test it, build it, and load it in, it is now show time. Plan and
schedule to have your solution ready to roll weeks before it is due. Something always comes
up, and you need to have a buffer built into your process to compensate. If nothing happens,
you can relax and take your time, but trust us, something always eats into that contingency.
Once prepared for it, we punctuate the application with formal implementation, or the execu-
tion of the solution, opening night.
We did it; we came up with a viable solution and saw it through to the stage. Whether that
problem solving is for a particular unit or even your technical design process as a whole, you
are not done. To be most effective as a problem solver you need to establish guidelines and
expectations that you can use to quantify the success of your solution. To turn to advertising
again, this would be measuring the market response to the implemented campaign. For us
it is, how did that lift work out? Was our process smooth and on target? Whatever we have
solved for, we need to set up guidelines and timelines for assessment post implementation.
Only through this honest and regular assessment can we judge and improve our problem
solving. Use the feedback from your carpenters and the post mortems to judge and fine tune
your collaborative process. Use the checklists and regular inspections to judge the durability
of a technical solution. A great problem solver takes that feedback and adjusts the ongoing
solution. We adapt our process to fit the organization. We change out components to improve
machine performance and reliability. We have to take our assessment and turn it into viable
fine-tunings of our solution. Finally, when things have been assessed and tuned for perfor-
mance, it never hurts to go back to that initial conversation—the genesis of the challenge. We
should periodically reexamine the question or the root of the problem and judge whether our
solution truly addresses it or if we veered off course. The answer to this elementary question
decides where we go in the process next.