Embedded Files
PPWT took place over the course of 6 weeks, almost completely within the spaces of the Lewis Center Complex on Princeton University's campus. The first four weeks involved active work and collaboration with the cohort; the final two weeks was used for archival, preparation, and documentation work. Each of these weeks are explored in more detail below.
Week 1 - Orientation
To start off the program, the team participated in a number of onboarding activities. This included some administrative work, such as setting up Google Drive, but also the first few introductory workshops for the three main areas of focus: sound; lighting; and work readiness.
For the most part across Weeks 1 to 4, the program operated on the following schedule:
9:30 am to 10:00 am - Breakfast
10:00 am to 12:45 pm - Workshop 1
12:45 pm to 1:15 pm - Lunch
1:15 pm to 4:00 pm - Workshop 2
4:00 pm to 4:30 pm - Daily Reflection / Exit Ticket
On my end, this was more a week of observation and getting used to the daily routine of the program. One of my main tasks was to take notes on our workshops and schedules, focusing on details that were useful for learning and aspects that could use improving. Some of these notes were as follows:
Activities in which the cohort was able to play around with the equipment proved to be very helpful for learning. For lighting, one example was dismantling a conventional and LED leko. For sound, this included testing the different effects available on a 12-channel analog mixer.
A number of skills were covered in lighting workshops and then reinforced in sound workshops, helping greatly with information retention. In Week 1, this included cable coiling and management. While the curriculum was planned out in advance, I personally didn't realize how many skills crossed over between the two disciplines until we began running through workshops.
At this time, the cohort was also given access to a Google Drive with resources for the three areas of focus. I was responsible for providing much of the sound resources, including an extensive vocabulary sheet and examples of stage plots and input sheets from past productions I had done. One of these documents is attached on the right.
Cohort completes first exercise of setting up a band at the end of Week 1, working with a drum kit, bass, guitar, keyboard, and four wind instruments. Photo taken by Ryan Gonzales.
Important Vocab List.pdfImportant Sound Vocabulary List - sources and online resources provided.
QLab program is displayed on projector screen. Photo taken by Ryan Gonzales.
Future Implementation Ideas.pdfA rough notes sheet with some suggestions for changes to be made in future years of the program.
Week 2 - QLab and Console Introduction, Theatre Tour
This week's workshops were expected to be harder than those in Week 1, and lived up to that expectation. In Week 1 for the sound team, a lot of the work being done was "tangible" - you could physically see and touch the mic, the analog console, the speaker, and the cables running to them. In Week 2, we introduced the digital sound console (a Yamaha CL3), which started to get into the world of networking and patch bays. Unfortunately, these are things that you can't really see or touch. For instance, many of our network cables run inside the walls of the space and around different rooms, out of reach.
We also introduced QLab, a computer program for sound and visual projections (pictured on left). This required the cohort to learn how to navigate the UI and become comfortable with patching outputs to the console, both of which the staff expected to take some time.
Around this time, I began compiling suggestions and notes for improvements that we could consider making in future iterations of the program, attached on the left. The most notable one, which was suggested by Tess and had strong support from the rest of the instructional team, was the idea of having only 4 days of workshops a week instead of 5. This would achieve a few different goals as follows:
Reduce the likelihood burnout for the staff and cohort.
Allow for future cohorts to opt into optional wardrobe classes on Fridays. We were unable to offer wardrobe classes this year, but a 4-day mandatory workshop schedule would help make this possible in the future.
Provide future cohorts with "exploration time" in the form of office hours led by the instructional interns. This stems back to the observation that hands-on projects and practice proved to be useful for the cohort's information retention and understanding of core concepts.
This week ended with a tour of four theatre spaces across campus, during which I was able to point out some of the audio equipment and techniques that we had been discussing in workshops.
Week 3 - Emphasis on Practice
For the sound team, this week's workshops focused heavily on review and hands-on practice with setting up a small band. I was tasked with designing much of the paperwork for two of these sessions, which meant creating a sound and speaker plot, input/output sheet, and instructions. Examples of these can be found on the right.
To start this week, the instructional team additionally had a meeting to discuss how the program was currently going for each person and see if any changes needed to be made. I took notes for everyone to reference in the future, which I then used to begin developing ideas for improvements to make for next year's iteration of the program.
This week was a great learning moment for the cohort, getting multiple chances to practice the skills they had learned over the past two weeks and gain a better understanding of the work. For me, this was a great opportunity to directly contribute to workshop building, helping decide which concepts to reinforce and in what manner.
At the end of this week, Tess and I worked with the cohort to begin planning the order of events for the final presentation that would occur in Week 4. I kept track of these ideas, creating a notated script and cue list that I would end up using during the presentation to run lighting, sound, and projection effects.
Cohort sets up a simple band layout with electric bass, electric guitar, and keyboard as practice, with all necessary cables, mics, and other equipment. Photo taken by Ryan Gonzales.
Input-Output List.pdfInput/Output spreadsheet provided to cohort on second day of band setup practice, detailing how the channels and patches should be set up on the console.
Cohort and staff receive their awards one by one during dress rehearsal of final presentation. Photo taken by Ryan Gonzales.
Photo Gallery (by Aven Rivas).MOVPhoto gallery displayed during final presentation. Video prepared by Aven Rivas, one of the cohort members. Photos within the gallery were provided by Jon Sweeney under Princeton University Communications; Matt Pilsner; and Ryan Gonzales.
Week 4 - Interviews and Final Presentation
Having gone through all the content in the curriculum, this last week was focused on the cohort's final presentation. This was an opportunity for each of the trainees to show off one or two skills of their choosing that they had learned during the program to an audience of future employers, family members, LCA staff, and supporters of the PPWT program. The cohort was given the time and resources to make the presentation as they pleased, including any lighting and sound cues, the slideshow of photos, and their individual showcase of a skill.
I, along with the rest of the instructor team, was responsible for helping them implement some of their design decisions if they ever got stuck. Otherwise, the focus this week was more on being on standby for support, rather than on direct teaching.
Halfway through the week, the cohort went through 1-on-1 mock interviews, where they practiced communication skills with staff from McCarter Theatre, the LCA, and local supporters of the program. I helped coordinate these interview sessions, making sure everything ran smoothly and on time.
For the final presentation, I was in charge of running all of the lights, sound, and projection cues that the cohort had developed. Many of those who attended noted that the presentation was a success, and enjoyed the energy that the cohort had brought to the program. Indeed, myself and the instructional staff were pleased with the end result.
Weeks 5-6 - Cleanup, Archive Work, and Preparation
With the main portion of the program now over, these last two weeks were used to reflect on the program's successes and prepare for future iterations. On my end, this involved archiving the cohort's responses to exit tickets; organizing the team's Google Drive and workshop spaces; and developing some documents to kickstart the program for next year. I began creating a series of possible exercise tasks to be implemented during next year's office hour sessions, putting a rough layout of QLab sessions and drafting the instruction sheet for two of these lessons. I additionally proposed a revised version of the sound curriculum, with a smaller focus on console work and greater focus on equipment setup and signal flow as was discussed in staff meetings.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank Tess James for inviting me to be a part of this program. Her guidance throughout these six weeks, including weekly check-ins and meetings, allowed me to learn a great amount from the program and leave with new insights on teaching and the technical side of performance arts. Without her, PPWT would not have been possible this year.
I would like to thank Kay Richardson, the sound supervisor for the LCA and sound instructor for PPWT. It was a pleasure to help with workshop instruction under her, and I was able to gain more confidence in my knowledge of live sound.
I would additionally like to acknowledge the following people and groups:
Matt Pilsner, co-lighting instructor, for his support during many of the workshops and for a number of photos (including the top one on right)
Torrey Drum, theatre technician at the LCA, for his support during many of the lighting workshops
Jon Sweeney and the rest of Princeton University Communications, for providing photos and other media content of PPWT
The staff at McCarter Theatre and Richardson Hall, for giving the PPWT cohort and staff a tour of their respective venues
Orion Lopez-Ramirez and the rest of Princeton Summer Theatre, for allowing the PPWT cohort and staff to tour their venue, Intime Theatre
Campus Dining catering services, for providing breakfast and lunch daily for the first four weeks of the program
All of these people, and many more, were fundamental to the success of this inaugural year for PPWT.
Inagural cohort and instructional staff of PPWT. Photo taken by Matt Pilsner.
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