High-Tech Holiday Shows
Quality Christmas productions depend on planning, organization and audiovisual excellence

By Todd Seage

Warning: By the time you read this, it may be too late to plan this year's Christmas production. But don't worry, you're just in time to start planning for next year!

Lakeside Baptist Church, Birmingham, Ala. Photo by Melissa E. Wertz Photography.

Since Christmas productions are usually backed by a high budget, stretch it to cover technical resources. Though you could rent beautiful costumes and finely painted backdrops (even whole sets), getting a lighting design above and beyond your church's normal look is a more complicated manner. Many churches use moving lights or special effect lighting (lasers and pyrotechnics or smoke effects) to add this element of extraordinary. However, unless a seasoned lighting designer is on staff or your church is lucky enough to already own some of this equipment, outside help will be necessary. Also remember that this is the time of the year when everything seems to roll straight downhill, like the proverbial snowball, taking your sanity and the Christmas show with it. So whether it's just you and one trusty volunteer or a whole committee planning the show, this is a great time to borrow not only theatrical lighting practices and advanced production techniques but to recruit veterans of mainstream theatre as well. Namely, it's time to think about working with a lighting designer and producer/stage manager.

If you have never collaborated with a producer or stage manager before, the Christmas show is the time to try it. Although many volunteers will probably step forward, expect to pay for a good theatrical producer or professional stage manager. A producer relieves a lot of the burden placed on the director's shoulders, and a good one can be the difference between an easy show load and a total nightmare. Producers are also usually well connected with designers, prop people, suppliers/vendors and other show-related professionals. The same merits apply to stage managers, who basically take over running a show for the director after it opens, whether on the road or in a theatre. Stage managers must understand the technical elements that make up the show, what all the production positions involve, and also understand the actors and the show itself. The stage manager is in constant communication with tech crews, on-stage and off. The positions of producers and/or stage managers will be especially critical to your show's success if outside lighting or technical elements are involved.

So where do you find yourself a good stage manager or producer? Not in the yellow pages. The best approach is to seek recommendations from professional or semi-professional theatre companies. If you have ties to a well-run community or university theatre, use these too. You may have to look outside of your city, so don't be afraid to consider someone that lives 100 or 150 miles away--top-notch production talent is used to working on the road. The effort involved in finding a producer or stage manager is another incentive for planning a Christmas production up to a year in advance. Good producers and stage managers often book themselves at least this far ahead.

After a few meetings with the producer/stage manager, draw up a production calendar. This calendar lays out mutually agreed upon deadlines for all areas of the show and acts as a game plan. This calendar is a critical component of scheduling and producing any kind of production. Second, formulate a rough budget for the event--but don't just calculate the total amount, relegate set amounts for each technical area. Again, this is a producer's area of expertise. He or she can help determine how much money will need to be spent in each area to make the plan a reality.

Hiring designers

A Christian's Carol at Life Christian Center, St. Louis, Mo.

It's a good idea to begin design meetings four to six months before the show opens. There are several reasons why, not the least of which is because it gives designers a chance to be creative--not only with what they produce for the show but also with budgets. This way, costumers, set designers and props people have time to find the right materials at the right price. Often, these are the people that have to make decisions in the heat of battle just to get the show up and running--and this usually ends in spending more money for less-than-perfect effects. When the time comes to set up an agreement with a designer, take care to specify what you expect from them, paid or not. Contracts for designers--as with producers-- are not out of the question.

Different designers have different ideas about what their duties entail. Some expect the church to construction or assemble their designs and all they have to do is provide the renderings. Meanwhile, you may be expecting the designer to supervise construction and painting of the set pieces as well as design them. In actuality, the role of designer involves two different jobs--technical director and charge artist. Most set designers in community theatre or church projects know these extra tasks are expected of them. The situation is the same for costumers and lighting technicians. Once again, a good producer or stage manager knows to put all of this in writing.

As discussed earlier, one can certainly "dry rent" most of the things needed for a show. Sets, costumes and props can be begged, borrowed and rented from regional and national companies. One example is painted backdrops--Tobins Lake Studio of Brighton, Mich. is one of a handful of companies that rents these. The buyer picks a drop out of the studio's catalog, calls (again, a year in advance is not out of the question) and places an order. The drop is shipped via airfreight to the nearest major airport in the buyer's area. Once the show is over, the drop is rolled up, packed in the shipping bag provided and sent back. This is usually very easy and less expensive than one might expect. Costumes, set pieces and other rented units are often straightforward and easy to use without much outside help.

Lighting: Where it gets tricky

The lighting system--especially the moving light systems and special effects--may require not only renting the gear but hiring someone to design, install and operate it too. This makes working with an outside company or designer an attractive option. Fortunately, they're not difficult to find. While you can't look "stage manager" or "producer" up in the yellow pages, you can look up "theatrical lighting." Here again, a producer or stage manager can be an invaluable resource. He or she will have worked with such companies and can recommend proven performers. But even if your church lacks the luxury of a stage manager or producer, you can familiarize yourself with the characteristics of a reputable lighting supplier. First, find an established company with roots in your region. Ask if they are associated with professional organizations like ESTA (Entertainment Services and Technology Association--a group with an established code of conduct by which members abide); USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology); PLASA (Professional Light and Sound Association--a Europe-based organization); and the Theatrical Dealers Association. Then ask for references and examples of the group's work. Visit their Web site and look up past projects. Many companies that do production work also do sales and installation, so ask specifically for church client contact information. When you phone the church, ask about the quality of work--and the quality of people who did it.

If no lighting designer is available on staff or if you've had no luck recruiting an outside lighting designer, the lighting company may have one or more on staff or can recommend a good local one. Be aware, however, that lighting design is hard to demonstrate visually. The design itself will likely be a lighting plot--basically a road map for fixture placement and notes about how the system is set up. An untrained person looking at the plot might not get much out of it, but the lighting designer can make renderings based on it. Short of this, you won't get a good picture of the design until it is up and running.

The lighting company rep or designer may need to do a site survey of your church space before putting a system together for the show. One of their major concerns will be power. A basic lighting system may require as much as 100amp three-phase power to run safely (or at all), and a bigger system with lots of special effects and or moving lights may need between 200 to 300amp three-phase power. Some churches may have a quick-disconnect box, an easily accessible panel enabling tie-ins with special connectors know as "cams" (manufactured by Cam-lok^®). If not, the lighting company--and this might apply to sound also--may need access to a breaker panel somewhere in the church to get its power. This could require a qualified electrician to do the tie-in for the power. In this case, a lot of advance planning is necessary since it might take heavy 5-wire cable run through hallways or up stairs to make it happen.

Mounting the lighting system

The second consideration for a lighting company or designer is where to hang the equipment. Many large-scale Christmas shows get relocated to adjacent gymnasiums where there's more room. This space, however, may have no theatrical lighting available at all. In these instances, the easiest and quickest solution is the use of flying trusses, common in traveling concerts and touring Broadway-type shows. Flying trusses requires a superstructure strong enough to support one-ton motors plus lighting equipment, and most gymnasiums can accommodate. Usually designers look for steel roof beams from which motors may be hung. The lighting company may request that the church supply local riggers (specialists in high steelwork) to put up the "points," the places where motors hang.

Know your equipment

When it comes to big lighting systems and moving lights, you should be familiar with your expectations for the equipment. Meet with the designer, stage manager and director prior to load-in and carefully plan your looks and cues. Moving lights are incredibly powerful tools that offer many more options than you may be used to. One inherent risk is the tendency to do things with them just for the sake of doing them, so don't make it a show about the lights. Also avoid letting the director get caught up in playing with the effects during cueing rehearsal. If you had the aforementioned sit-down with the designer and director, this should be easily avoidable. Once again, a good stage manager or producer can help by keeping the director on track during the cueing process.

Written cues for a moving light can be double the amount of cues for static lights. One cue moves the light into position to set up the desired effect then rotates the gobo wheel or changes colors, usually with the lamp doused or off. Then another cue actually produces the desired effect, followed by a cue that takes the light out or tells it to continue the effect if it requires multiple steps.

The success or failure of a large-scale show is usually determined well in advance of its opening. Keep this in mind and don't be afraid to seek the help, advice and services of those who get paid for this kind of work. Build a production team for the show well in advance and listen to what they have to say about getting it up and running. Many churches develop a successful program and stay with it from year to year with only minor changes. From the technical standpoint, this gives designers and builders the chance to perfect their contributions to the show over time. Given adequate storage, set pieces, custom lighting and costumes can be improved and maintained through the years. Adequate storage is especially necessary for productions like Living Christmas Trees. The tree pieces and lighting plot can be kept and reused. When it comes to large-scale performances like these, another good idea is to document the pre- and final production with photos. Polaroids and digital pictures are perfect for this. These make excellent reference materials from year to year. If possible, compile all these materials and photos together in a Production Book.

Todd Seage represents Bandit Lites, Nashville, Tenn. At print time, Seage was busy preparing for his role as Petrucio in Taming of the Shrew. For more information, call (615) 641-9000 or visit www.banditlites.com.