STAGEHANDS DO IT ON CUE
by Bob Foreman © 2013
Since 1896, the magic of live Atlanta theatre has been created by members of IATSE, the professional stagehands union and short for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
On cues given by the Production Stage Manager, IA stagehands light the lights, change the scenes, and in shows like WICKED and PETER PAN cause wingless actors to fly, all with split-second precision.
A mastery of obscure stage nomenclature is second nature to IA show folk, where “deck” means floor; “movers” mean automated lights; and “snakes” refer to electric cables. Stage Left equals House Right, and upstage indicates rear, not the opposite of down. Flying scenery is suspended from the grid, actors enter from the wings, and tormentors and teasers are stage masking, not acting directions. Inserting gobos, hanging lekos with scrollers, laying spike tape or Marley and “westcoasting” a scrim are all in a day’s work.
IA stagehands are departmentalized: carpenter, electric, properties, and wardrobe. Scenery whether nailed down, automated or flying falls under the carpenter department; all lighting, audio, video (and plumbing) are termed “electric;” and what remains are props which are anything portable and wardrobe (a separate local) which is costumes.
Touring shows travel with heads and assistants in each department to provide supervision for the local hands, for shows must “load in,” play, then “load out” within a specified amount of time, and the show must go on.
WICKED is an example of a recent large touring musical trouped by eleven 53-foot tractor trailers and requiring upwards of a hundred local IA hands to make it happen. An annual corporate industrial utilizes twice that number.
Local IA hands earn $20 plus per hour on straight time and receive health and welfare benefits. Some local venues employ unskilled non-union labor, where crew providers categorize their help as “independent contractors,” pay half the going rate, and offer no possibility of compensation in case of injury.
IATSE hands here work touring “Yellow Card” attractions at the FOX, Cobb Energy Centre, and the Atlanta Civic Center, as well as locally mounted productions of the Atlanta Ballet, Atlanta Opera and Theatre of the Stars. A separate IA local provides the skilled labor needed for film production.
Local 927 offices are located in Little Five Points, their meetings held in Virginia-Highlands. For more information about the union with 117 years of experience, contact Mary Grove at (404) 870-9911.