I just had a really fun one. I was at an old vaudeville, at the sound position at the back of the house on the main floor. The light board was at the back of a really high balcony. Things were working okay at the start of the show, but then the light board operator was starting to have a hard time hearing me. I could hear her, but she lost some of my calls. So, she had another headset up in the booth with her, as they thought it was a bad cable on the headset she had on, at the next break in the cues she was going to swtich it out. The union guys also sent someone to get walkie talkies to both her and me. So, we're coming up on the fastest lighting sequence, a series of fast black-outs, lights up, and a couple of effects. As we're getting closer, I'm calling into the headset "Lights, are you back yet? Lights? Lights??" She doesn't answer. We're getting closer and closer to the sequence, and still no word from lights, nor has the crew guy with the walkie gotten to her yet. Then the moment arrives. I play the sound cue that has the first black out at the end of it. The two actors in the sequence are onstage, there's no way to tell them that there might not be a blackout. The cue ends. Still no word from lights. I had kept up a running monolouge on headset, to try to catch her the second I had communication back. The only thing I can think of is to play the cue again, as it was mainly a musical interlude. Still no word from lights. Thankfully the actors took the hint from the cue played twice and just went through the scene, though it looked terrible without the blackouts.
I had to spend my next show at that venue calling all my standbys twice as early, as we got some communication back with the headsets, but the only alternative was the walkie, which took a hand I was too busy using for running sound. So I called my standbys early, and if I didn't hear a response, I then repeated the standby on the walkie. Made life interesting.
