TOURING: Venue info/questions

[Maribeth]

I'm going on tour for the first time next year, and I'm generating a list of questions to ask when arriving in a new venue. Tthe important logistics (esp. tech specs) will be determined ahead of time, so the questions I will be asking upon arrival are mostly about where things are/what certain procedures are. Anyone been on tour and have a list like this they'd be willing to share? Or, have any good questions to add to the list? There will be venue crew on each show so I wouldn't need to know all of the nitty-gritty details of the building.

• Locations of: dressing rooms, green room, water, restrooms, laundry, callboard, valuables lockup, calling station, SM office (if available)
• Any codes needed for the building (copier, door codes, etc)
• Wifi info
• How to communicate with HM (walkies, headset, phone) and  FOH procedures (house open, late seating, etc)
• How to use backstage comms/PA/god mic/q lights
• Who to ask if stage temp needs to be adjusted
• Names of venue crew
• Comp ticket procedures (this might be determined ahead of time, not sure)

Side note- I'd love to pick someone's brain about their touring experience. If you've done an AEA tour, especially a TYA production, I'd love to talk to you about it. Please PM me. Thanks!

[MarcieA]

These are great questions! I've PMed you - and I'm thinking about this post too to see what I might add.

[loebtmc]

who do you talk to abt what issues -

if crew is union who is the shop steward (and take them aside and ask if there is anything you shd be aware of abt the crew including how they like to work/hear calls etc)

Site based:
best places to eat cheap locally - or specials/discounts for show folks

anything special/unique to see in that town, and areas to avoid (esp after dark)

curfews (if you are working w minors) and what's open late.

[Hilsurf]

I'm going on tour this fall for the first and I am so happy you posted this!

[BayAreaSM]

I would also add:

• Building Access Hours

• Are you (as the SM) permitted to post directional signage

[Maribeth]

Thanks to all for the great suggestions!

[Cedes]

Is it a fully staffed tour, with a Head Carp/Flyman? If it is, All these questions should be answered in your advance paperwork from the venue with your head carp, so you can know before you get there. Hours access will depend on if the house is union or not. You will most likely never get keys, so you will need to leave before the last person does. If there is access codes, they will let you know on the advance.

For FOH, ask what the communication is, most likely it will be by radio, sometimes one that the tour provides. I wore mine at all times, FOH was on channel 5, Lights were on Channel 6, Carps on 7, Sound on 8, Etc. So I had to jump channels every time I made a time check. As far as house procedures go, it depends on what your tour needs. I had a sheet from my parent company that I filled out regarding exactly what we needed to present to the theatres so they knew what we expected regarding late seating, calls, etc.

[cdavisnyc]

My previous work was as an SM, and now I am a Production Coordinator in a venue with a union crew which hosts about 20 companies a year, and I'm the SM's primary contact.

This is all great advice. I wish all of my visiting companies came this prepared! If an SM emails me these kind of questions in advance of their arrival, it's a very good sign.

Often I find that the person who signed the contract with us didn't forward the schedule and labor information to the people who need it, so I start with comparing the SM's schedule & staffing info with mine. Next, we talk break schedules. After that, we get to pretty much exactly your list. After all the immediate stuff is handled, I find time before first performance to discuss emergency procedures.

Everyone, please feel free to contact me if I can answer questions from a host venue's perspective.

-Colleen

[Mac Calder]

Locations of: dressing rooms, green room, water, restrooms, laundry, callboard, valuables lockup, calling station, SM office (if available)
Any codes needed for the building (copier, door codes, etc)
Wifi info
How to communicate with HM (walkies, headset, phone) and  FOH procedures (house open, late seating, etc)
How to use backstage comms/PA/god mic/q lights
Who to ask if stage temp needs to be adjusted

I don't know about the US, but in Aus, 99% of venues will have a duty technician on who will answer all these questions and probably a number of questions you have not thought of when they meet you - and they should induct you into the space (including a walk around). What sort of runs are you doing in the venues? Single day, short (<1 wk) runs or longer runs?

What you get is normally dependent on what your company has booked ahead of time and how long you are in for.

Over here, a DT is basically a safety requirement, so access is only when the DT or a Head of Department is on site. So access times will need to be arranged in advance (wardrobe & office access may be an exception - although more and more whilst I was operations manager for a venue we were denying office access outside of business hours under the expectation that the SM can work from their accommodation). The venues I have worked at - if you need a couple of photocopies, we were more than happy to do them. If you needed lots of printing and copying, it was very much a case of hire in your own.

FOH proceedures is generally largely laid out by the production (you), not the house - especially with regards to late seating.

Names of venue crew
Comp ticket procedures (this might be determined ahead of time, not sure)

I would be expecting names of _operating_ crew for season runs to be provided well in advance - if you are in for multiple shows, insist on the same crew for the run duration. If you are in for more than a couple of weeks, you will want dedicated swing staff too. General setup crew you just pick up as you work with them - get to know the local heads of department and let them do their jobs of managing their teams under the guidance of your heads of department.

Comps should be established well in advance - as seat holds generally need to be made to allow for them. Oft times, the box office manager just hands you a box of tickets and leaves it up to you to go about your business. If you are after comps that are not pre-arranged then you probably don't want to start your relationship with the venue asking them for favors.

[Maribeth]

I've been on the road for about a month now, and I have a couple of things to add to this list!

We're doing mostly one day engagements and short sit-downs. Most of the more venue-specific questions are usually answered day-of, rather than as part of the advance. Any actor food allergies/dietary restrictions are covered ahead of time.

• Does the venue have someone making a curtain speech? If so, where will they enter from, and who will cue them? I also check in about what is covered in the curtain speech- if there is something (like no photography) that is not usually mentioned, I ask them to include it. For school shows, does the curtain speaker make any kind of post-show announcement onstage, like bus dismissal?
• We have a very small company, and oftentimes the venue will allow company members to do personal laundry at the venue, if the washers are available. So we ask if that is permitted, and if there are any restrictions on when they can be used.
• When does the house usually open? Yes, this falls under FOH procedures- but in the larger houses, for school shows, the house opens sooner than half hour, since it takes longer to seat that many children than adults. If we need to be prepared to open sooner than half hour, it's helpful to plan our schedule accordingly.
• Emergency procedures and safety regulations, as Colleen mentioned.

[Michelle R. Wood]

Congrats on the tour, and thanks for posting all this great information. I've never been tour (yet) and the thought is a bit scary. Good to see how other people cope.

[LizzG]

When does the house usually open? Yes, this falls under FOH procedures- but in the larger houses, for school shows, the house opens sooner than half hour, since it takes longer to seat that many children than adults. If we need to be prepared to open sooner than half hour, it's helpful to plan our schedule accordingly.

The same usually goes for casinos, and some arena type venues too.

[Maribeth]

Congrats on the tour, and thanks for posting all this great information. I've never been tour (yet) and the thought is a bit scary. Good to see how other people cope.

Happy to share what I've learned! For me the most important thing has been flexibility- we've been in 300 seat houses and 3000 seat houses. Knowing the show well enough to make adjustments on the fly has been crucial. The hardest thing so far has been dealing with venues who haven't been prepared for us (lights not hung, masking not in place, gel not cut, etc) but those places are thankfully not the norm.

It's also been interesting to have such a variety of calling positions. I usually call from the back of the house (either a booth or at the sound mix position) but have had some venues where I'm up in a followspot booth or other position very, very far from the stage. At the last venue I decided to call from backstage, which was fantastic- I love being that close to what's happening.

Lots of variety in how well I can hear the show- I always have a feed of the actors' body mics into my monitor, but I'm used to being able to hear the audience as well, and at some theatres there is no area mic in the monitor mix, so it feels strange not to be able to "read" what's happening with the audience as well.

[ambrosialx]

Things I've added (both as a touring SM, PM, and venue coordinator for a road house)

-always talk on the phone to people to check in as well. You'd be surprised how much gets lost in email
-always ask if your contact will be your point person day of. If not who are they and what is their cell # if they will provide it (the number of venues I've walked into where my contact was not there that day and the lead was given NONE of my information and yes these were large american IA houses)
-location/directions to loading dock AND performer entrance (these are frequently different and "around back" just doesn't cut it for loading dock instructions especially in large multi venue complexes, universities etc.
-crew breaks, are they staggered? Are they willing to stagger so working time is not lost especially if dark time is needed for focus. When crew are on break is the space open to use or is it everyone out? If it's everyone out does shutting down the space and booting it back up come out of break time or your time?


The best advice I can give is expect nothing and thank them for everything. Crew's chat and techs love to complain (I am guilty of this too!) and presenters like to keep their people happy-ish and you don't want to be the one responsible for when your company doesn't get booked again.

Happy touring!