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| VACA ARTS COUNCIL |
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| Peek Behind The Curtain |
Robinson Kuntz - Daily Republic:
FAIRFIELD — When the lights go down and the curtains go up at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts, and
audiences watch Missouri Street Theatre’s “Avenue Q,” Darsen Long, the technical director, hopes they are
oblivious to all the effort it took to both prepare for the show and to run it smoothly.
Long has worked behind the scenes at the downtown theater for more than 21 years coordinating the lighting,
music, sound effects and everything else that comes under the umbrella of stagecraft. He and his team (Kevin
Fortney, Mike Barney, Rachel Quinonez, Craig Scharfen and Dave O’Brien) help bring the vision of local and
professional artists to fruition.“We support all the technical requirements as they pertain to the needs of the
facility user,” Long said. “That could be arts groups, performing artists or any other (Fairfield Center for Creative
Arts) renter. “Since we are city employees we also supply audio at, say a city park ground-breaking or if the mayor
gives a speech somewhere.”
Local theater companies (Solano Repertory Company, Fairfield Civic Theater, Ivory Arts and others) are the most
frequent users of the theater. Once a set has been “loaded-in” at the theater, then tech week can begin.
“Tech week is where the actors, who usually have been rehearsing for weeks, finally get to rehearse on the set,”
Long said. “Audio and lighting is done and all the fine tuning of stage movement — set changes, costume
changes is worked out. ”While the tech crew’s job isn’t artistic per se, they often have to be very creative when it
comes to solving technical theatrical problems. In many cases they have to rig up something “McGyver”-style
using whatever they can scrounge up.
Usually the only things that prevent them from fleshing out a director’s vision are time and expense. “Avenue Q”
presents many challenges as it involves singing, dancing, puppetry, lighting, a live band, special effects and a
massive set built to resemble a city block. Long and the tech crew are unfazed. “There’s a lot of time spent prior to
the show getting everything in line,” Long said. “We write our cues according to the script so when we’re running
the show it’s just going through the cues that we’ve already built.” During productions, Long serves as the theater
technical field general and coordinates the disparate elements via walkie-talkie.
“Whereas people putting on a show can get lost in the forest and panic a little, we calm everything down by
focusing on making sure every little tree is all right,” Long said.
Pam and Dae Spering, respectively the producer and artistic director of Missouri Street Theatre as well as mother
and daughter, were effusive in their praise of the creative arts center crew. “They are so willing to share their
experience and knowledge,” Pam Spering said. “The main thing is they do not want to see you fail and do
everything they can to make sure you don’t.”Although the crew has seen and heard many amusing behind-the-
scenes incidents, they adhere to a “what happens in the theater, stays in the theater” code of silence — at least
when it comes to community events.
One anecdote they were willing to share was how ironic and funny it was when former Daily Republic features
editor Ted Hoffman was running down the theater’s hallway during the rehearsal for the Arty Awards many years
ago and quite literally “broke a leg.” The creative arts center has featured many professional artists over the
years. Pictures of them line the walls of the theater’s green room, many with praise for the crew scrawled above
their autographs. Visitors who expressed gratitude include David Cassidy, John Amos, Vicki Lawrence and Lalah
Hathaway.
Professional artists differ from community groups in that the latter tend to exude more of a spirit of cooperation
and collaboration, Long said. They also typically spend much more time preparing with the local groups.
“Now, most of the professional artists do the same show here that they did in, say, Bakersfield or Salinas,” Long
said. “We receive a contract rider beforehand and part of it is technical requirements. It lists all the equipment the
artist needs and I figure out either how our equipment will work in place of theirs or if they bring their stuff, then
what we have to remove. “We make sure their stuff and our stuff matches and we have a lot of it waiting on them
when they arrive.” “What is difficult are ones who don’t show up for the rehearsal but show up for the show and it’
s different from the rehearsal,” Long said. “I’m not naming any names.” A funny story about one of the
professionals involves Manhattan Transfer’s tenor Alan Paul. “He went out the back door for a smoke break
between the curtain call and the finale,” Long said. “When the group was going back on stage, I saw them looking
around for him then heard him furiously beating on the door and ringing the bell. He’d locked himself out.”
One of the oddest requests came when John Astin of “The Addams Family” fame played the theater. Tech crew
member Michael Barney was informed by the stage manager that his job after the show was to follow Astin to his
dressing room and talk to him about anything he wanted to talk about. “Evidently he likes to talk with people after
the show is over,” Barney said. “It turns out he was a professor at Johns Hopkins University and I had just started
teaching in Napa so we talked about educational theories.”
The magic that happens when audience members completely buy into the world created on stage, and care not
one whit how it was created, is the most satisfying part of a technical director’s job well done.
“Ah, man,” Long said wistfully. “It’s so great just to see everybody out there enjoying themselves. That is why we
do what we do.”
Reach Fairfield writer Tony Wade at getthelowdown@sbcglobal.net.
FAIRFIELD — When the lights go down and the curtains go up at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts, and
audiences watch Missouri Street Theatre’s “Avenue Q,” Darsen Long, the technical director, hopes they are
oblivious to all the effort it took to both prepare for the show and to run it smoothly.
Long has worked behind the scenes at the downtown theater for more than 21 years coordinating the lighting,
music, sound effects and everything else that comes under the umbrella of stagecraft. He and his team (Kevin
Fortney, Mike Barney, Rachel Quinonez, Craig Scharfen and Dave O’Brien) help bring the vision of local and
professional artists to fruition.“We support all the technical requirements as they pertain to the needs of the
facility user,” Long said. “That could be arts groups, performing artists or any other (Fairfield Center for Creative
Arts) renter. “Since we are city employees we also supply audio at, say a city park ground-breaking or if the mayor
gives a speech somewhere.”
Local theater companies (Solano Repertory Company, Fairfield Civic Theater, Ivory Arts and others) are the most
frequent users of the theater. Once a set has been “loaded-in” at the theater, then tech week can begin.
“Tech week is where the actors, who usually have been rehearsing for weeks, finally get to rehearse on the set,”
Long said. “Audio and lighting is done and all the fine tuning of stage movement — set changes, costume
changes is worked out. ”While the tech crew’s job isn’t artistic per se, they often have to be very creative when it
comes to solving technical theatrical problems. In many cases they have to rig up something “McGyver”-style
using whatever they can scrounge up.
Usually the only things that prevent them from fleshing out a director’s vision are time and expense. “Avenue Q”
presents many challenges as it involves singing, dancing, puppetry, lighting, a live band, special effects and a
massive set built to resemble a city block. Long and the tech crew are unfazed. “There’s a lot of time spent prior to
the show getting everything in line,” Long said. “We write our cues according to the script so when we’re running
the show it’s just going through the cues that we’ve already built.” During productions, Long serves as the theater
technical field general and coordinates the disparate elements via walkie-talkie.
“Whereas people putting on a show can get lost in the forest and panic a little, we calm everything down by
focusing on making sure every little tree is all right,” Long said.
Pam and Dae Spering, respectively the producer and artistic director of Missouri Street Theatre as well as mother
and daughter, were effusive in their praise of the creative arts center crew. “They are so willing to share their
experience and knowledge,” Pam Spering said. “The main thing is they do not want to see you fail and do
everything they can to make sure you don’t.”Although the crew has seen and heard many amusing behind-the-
scenes incidents, they adhere to a “what happens in the theater, stays in the theater” code of silence — at least
when it comes to community events.
One anecdote they were willing to share was how ironic and funny it was when former Daily Republic features
editor Ted Hoffman was running down the theater’s hallway during the rehearsal for the Arty Awards many years
ago and quite literally “broke a leg.” The creative arts center has featured many professional artists over the
years. Pictures of them line the walls of the theater’s green room, many with praise for the crew scrawled above
their autographs. Visitors who expressed gratitude include David Cassidy, John Amos, Vicki Lawrence and Lalah
Hathaway.
Professional artists differ from community groups in that the latter tend to exude more of a spirit of cooperation
and collaboration, Long said. They also typically spend much more time preparing with the local groups.
“Now, most of the professional artists do the same show here that they did in, say, Bakersfield or Salinas,” Long
said. “We receive a contract rider beforehand and part of it is technical requirements. It lists all the equipment the
artist needs and I figure out either how our equipment will work in place of theirs or if they bring their stuff, then
what we have to remove. “We make sure their stuff and our stuff matches and we have a lot of it waiting on them
when they arrive.” “What is difficult are ones who don’t show up for the rehearsal but show up for the show and it’
s different from the rehearsal,” Long said. “I’m not naming any names.” A funny story about one of the
professionals involves Manhattan Transfer’s tenor Alan Paul. “He went out the back door for a smoke break
between the curtain call and the finale,” Long said. “When the group was going back on stage, I saw them looking
around for him then heard him furiously beating on the door and ringing the bell. He’d locked himself out.”
One of the oddest requests came when John Astin of “The Addams Family” fame played the theater. Tech crew
member Michael Barney was informed by the stage manager that his job after the show was to follow Astin to his
dressing room and talk to him about anything he wanted to talk about. “Evidently he likes to talk with people after
the show is over,” Barney said. “It turns out he was a professor at Johns Hopkins University and I had just started
teaching in Napa so we talked about educational theories.”
The magic that happens when audience members completely buy into the world created on stage, and care not
one whit how it was created, is the most satisfying part of a technical director’s job well done.
“Ah, man,” Long said wistfully. “It’s so great just to see everybody out there enjoying themselves. That is why we
do what we do.”
Reach Fairfield writer Tony Wade at getthelowdown@sbcglobal.net.
| Darcia Tipton works on a set of stairs Behind the set of Avenue Q. |
