Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2006 - 60

team will follow a show to each venue and then, once that
show is complete, they will start rehearsing with a new show
and follow through with that one-working with the first,
third, and fifth shows of the season, for example, while the
other team works with the second, fourth, and sixth.
For some crew members, this schedule typically means
living part of the season in Tucson and part in the Phoenix
area. ATC has administrative offices in both cities and, in fact,
keeps apartment units in both cities. Bruner views the traveling as a benefit: "Spending a third of my time in Phoenix
means that I get to be a part of two different communities." He
also notes that remounting a show in a new venue gives the
stage management team, crew, and cast a chance to
"reconfigure" the show and keep it feeling fresh. The productions typically run three weeks in Tucson, three weeks in Phoenix, and two weeks in Mesa.

Going beyond traditional production models
The Pirates of Penzance* book and lyrics by William S. Gilbert;
music by Arthur Sullivan.
David Ira Goldstein, director; Bill Forrester, scenery;
Lindsay W. Davis, costumes; John McLain, lighting;
Brian Jerome Peterson, sound.

company's largest expenses.
During the busy load-in and load-out processes, ATC uses
local IATSE union members because of the quantity of technicians that IATSE can provide (more than 20 IATSE members
are often needed for a load-in). Typically, ATC will strike a
show on Sunday in Tucson and will reopen the show more
than 100 miles away in Phoenix on the following Friday. The
crew will hang lights on Sunday night, load-in the set on Monday, focus lights on Tuesday, and have actors onstage by
Wednesday. When asked how ATC prevents burnout of its technical staff, Kingbury explained, "we have a good, solid team
that has been working together for a long time, and that longevity and solidarity has made the company really efficient."
While on the road at the Phoenix and Mesa operations,
ATC employs a full-time stage supervisor and costume supervisor whose jobs are to resolve problems, make repairs, and
ensure the shows run smoothly. For the productions at the
Herberger Theatre Center, ATC will typically use the "house"
crew as the running crew. While performing at the Mesa Arts
Center, however, ATC hires local crew from the community.
Glenn Bruner, production stage manager, explains that
ATC employs two full-time assistant stage managers and hires
additional stage managers on a per-show basis. For this
season's co-produced Jitney, however, the stage manager is
traveling with the show and ATC will only provide the assistant
stage managers.
Bruner oversees two stage management teams and describes their schedules as "leap-frogging," meaning that a

As if ATC doesn't seem busy enough with its three-city operation, the company frequently also co-produces shows with
other theatres throughout the country. It has co-produced 25
shows in the last nine years, four of which were mounted last
year. The majority of ATC's co-productions have been with either Kansas City Repertory Theatre or Pasadena Playhouse.
Tucson's Temple of Music and Art is identical to the Pasadena
Playhouse except that the backstage areas at the two theatres
are mirror-images of each other. (The Temple of Music and
Art was designed by Arthur Hawes who had previously work
for Elmer Grey, architect of the Pasadena Playhouse.) In the
case of co-productions, ATC usually takes charge of the construction because they are already accustomed to the process
with their multi-city operation. ATC is also charged with arranging all of the logistics for shipping the production elements from place to place. As a show finishes its run in one
city and travels to the next co-producer, one technician usually
travels along to train the staff at the second location. Later, one
technician from the second location can travel along to train
the staff at the third location, and so on. The work involved in
co-productions helps make it possible for ATC to hire their
staff on a year-round basis.
Co-producing often facilitates greater production values
for each show because the involved theatres can pool their
staffs and financial resources. For this reason, the co-productions are often slotted as the larger productions of a season-
musicals or other large-cast shows that individual producers
could not afford to mount on their own. Co-productions often
become the most popular and successful elements of a season.
In 2001-02, ATC produced 2 Pianos, 4 Hands, which traveled
to eight cities in co-production. At the end of its long run, ATC
administration authorized the staff of the final venue to destroy
the set. Ironically, this year San Jose Repertory Theatre (one of
the original renters of the ATC set) is reviving the original design for their 25th anniversary, and ATC will be buying the
scenery from SJRT in order to stage a re-mount for its own
THEATRE

2006

DESIGN

TECHNOLOGY

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2006