The live event entertainment production industry is a vast network of many types of careers. In the following series of posts, we will attempt to outline the inner workings of the industry, by describing a set of unspoken guidelines the industry has always revolved around. For more information on the topics we will be talking about, please refer to the interview series on our youtube channel that will be debuting next month.
To start, here is a basic list and descriptions, of positions on a production show. Whether you are working for local band, national touring act, venue, production company, etc., each position of the following hierarchy is scalable to fit the size of the production, and in some instances, a show site my even have overlap in positions. Some positions are staffed “in-house”, referring to the venue. Some are part of the touring crew, traveling with the production staff and performers. Many positions overlap, so that on a show site, the venue staff come together with the touring to staff, to share and relay information to make the production/show as smooth possible.
-Production Manager., Assistant Production Mgr.(PM) (Touring and/or House
employed) – The main position in charge of overseeing the processes of every aspect of a show, tour, etc.
-Tour Mgr.(TM)(Touring) – Essentially the touring production manager, but more in charge of day to day logistics, traveling with the production.
-Technical Director (TD) (Touring and/or House)- Responsible for the technical logistics of the show’s production.
-Stage Mgr.(SM) (House) – The onstage manager, handling the logistics of house and touring crews, load-in and out, act changeovers
-Producer (House) – The onsite manager of the show’s technical and theatrical flow. On may shows this person may be the LD.
-FOH and Monitor Audio Engineers A1, A2, A3 (Touring and/or House) – Responsible for the setup, programming, and operation of live sound reinforcement public address systems.
-Lighting Director (LD)(Touring and/or House) L1, L2, L3 – Responsible for the setup, programming, and operation of theatrical lighting systems.
–Video Director (Touring and/or House) – Responsible for the setup programming, and operation of video content.
–Laser Operator (Touring and/or House) – On some productions laser setups may be so complex that they require a separate setup and operations team, ranging from a single operator to a whole team
-Backline Techs – Responsible for the load in/setup/operational functionality/ and teardown of artists’ instruments, ie. a typical concert could include, drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, percussion, and respective amplifiers, cables, stands, etc.
-Ground and High Riggers (House) – Responsible for the rigging “flying” of speakers, lighting, trussing, and other theatrical elements via chain hoist motors.
-Stagehands (pushers, loaders) (House) – Entry point into the production industry, responsible for all manual labor required to produce a show, ie. loading/unloading trucks, setting up staging and barricades, running heavy guage power and signal cabling, packing and unpacking cases.
-Spot Op (House) – Responsible setup and operation of the spotlight. They will respond to show cues called by either the LD or producer.
-Runner/Green Room Staff (Touring and/or House) – Ranging from one person, to a whole crew, depending on the size of a show, they are responsible for the misc. services for performers and staff, ie. cleaning and stocking dressing rooms, tour buses, running misc. errands, etc.
*Audio, Lighting, and Video staffing, functions mostly the same way, starting with a head of the department and working its way down in responsibility and pay, depending of the size of the operation.
*Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list and depending on the size of the show, can include many more people for department including, but not limited to: drivers, wardrobe, makeup, etc.
As you can begin to see through the descriptions above, many different types of skill sets, go into a single production. For example, at the end of a movie, there is always a long list of credits. This is very much the same for any touring live performance.
“All of our posts are put together by the staff at JR Sound Co. a small outfit from Las Vegas, NV. For more on us, visit our website at www.jrsoundcompany.com, cheers! ”