by Priscilla

Jun.29, 2009, under Backstage Blog

I am the technical swing, which means that I cover various people’s jobs over a couple of departments, predominately stage management and automation. I know 4 or 5 plots and will cover people when they are on holiday. It’s great because it’s varied and interesting and sometimes it can get a bit boring doing one job all the time. I do a lot of the performer flying with automation department. Up there I am only dealing with 3 or 4 people, so it’s nice to get back on stage when you are working with stage management plot, because you get to have a good time with everyone on stage. 

Tom Bigland

When working with the automation, there is a desk operator who you talk to and will coordinate all the cues. You call a lot of the carriages in, hook up steels that are connected to people’s harnesses. You have to check the harnesses and that all the clips are safe before you send anyone out, as you are obviously at quite a height when the Divas or Oliver start their descent. It’s really interesting. What people don’t realize about the performer fly in, is that the sequences don’t just last the 3 minutes they are on stage. It’s the 10 or 15 minutes to rig it. We are doing Venus for nearly half an hour.

 It is the most technically demanding show that I’ve ever worked on, particularly the bus, which is state of the art and has lots of various motors operating so many different things.

I started to get into this industry when I was in York as a student. I would work up there for 4 years. I just met loads of people. We used to have shows coming in to the theatre week in, week out and I always had a copy of my CV to give out to the stage manager, I was very good at socialising with the right people and getting my name out there. It turned out really well as one guy gave me a job and I haven’t looked back from there. I did a lot of touring. I went to South Korea to do a show and then came back and went into the West End. Priscilla is my fourth show in the West End.

Priscilla Flying Area

I really like doing the performer fly ins. It’s my favourite moment, because you really have to earn the trust and confidence of the three girls and Oliver. It’s fun being up there interacting with the people. It’s not all about the job, I mean I like my job, but it’s the people you work with and the bond you build with them.

In the current state of affairs, Priscilla is a great escape. It takes you out of the daily grind for a few hours and throws a lot of colour and campness at you. If you want to come and have a good laugh it’s the perfect show.