Emilia

Assistant Technical Director

Penn State Centre Stage

Pavilion Theatre

4/11/2023 - 4/22/23

At Penn State, load-ins tend to begin with an 8 hour Sunday call then carry into the week from there. To the right is a timelapse of the middle 4 hours of our day as I didn’t think to start it at the beginning of the day. The largest objectives of our load-in were to get the trap escape stairs in, the platform loaded in, and get as much done as we could of our additional seating.

As the Assistant Technical Director, I was responsible for helping the Technical Director in executing the production. This meant taking a few units from the show as my personal drafting projects to budget and see through production. I drafted a few of the platforms, a rigged window for additional set dressing, and the biggest project I had was something that never went on stage! (Pictured Below)

Beneath the Pavilion Theatre stage is a tap studio used by performance majors for classes throughout the week. Our escape stairs not only needed to safely get our actor down, but it needed to be easily set up and struck each night so classes could continue. The solution was to split the unit into two parts, one fixed in the opening and above head height of those downstairs, and a larger bottom piece that moved via air casters.

Directed by Jenny Lamb

Scenic Designer Lorena Sandoval; Costume Designer Zandra Siple; Lighting Designer Quinn McDonald; Sound Designer Breanna Fais & Maggie Schlachter; Production Stage Manager Liz Nugent

Technical Director Emily Simpson; Assistant Technical Director Hailey Sanchez