In Conversation With... Adam Norton

Describe a day in the life of a Senior Technician?

Every day varies from Get-ins to two-show days. A ‘Get-in’ is the day when a new show arrives in Leeds. Each show presents its own challenges as it brings its own equipment. This means a day (or two) of artic trucks arriving one by one. The trucks are split into different departments – Lighting, Sound, Stage and Wardrobe – and there is usually one or two trucks for each department, depending on the size of the production. This can mean very long and challenging days setting up and building the show ready for opening night. I work for the sound department so my job is mostly setting up speakers, PA systems, microphones, and the band/orchestra. When the show leaves, after curtain down on closing night, we usually work through the night striking the set, lights and speakers and loading it all back into trucks so the show can move on to its next destination.

On a typical show day, we have one person from the Technical department fulfilling the role of Duty Technician. It is an important role, as you are in charge of making sure everything is ready for curtain-up from the theatre’s perspective, including all technical and blackout checks, and being the link between the Company and our Front of House team. The show doesn’t start until the Duty Tech gives clearance to the Deputy Stage Manager, so there’s quite a lot of pressure on us to ensure the shows go on!

What three skills do you think are most important in your role?

Communication, flexibility and having an open-mind. Technical skills are something that can be taught and learned over a number of years, so although your skill level and technical knowledge is very important, I think these three skills are equally as essential.

What has been the highlight (to-date) of your time at Leeds Heritage Theatres?

From a personal perspective, my promotion to Senior Technician in October 2021 was a dream come true, and something I could have never imagined ten years ago. Professionally, I have enjoyed being part of the recruitment process, recently hiring seven new technicians to help rebuild our team and move the company forward after such a challenging couple of years. I come from a family of teachers and used to work in technical education myself, so it’s absolutely fantastic and very rewarding to see a new wave of technicians coming through who I can help, and also learn from. We now have a superb and very diverse crew of technical staff and it’s a pleasure to have a leadership role within that team.

What is the most challenging thing about your role?

A large part of our role is maintenance and upkeep. There are many daily challenges that arise when working in buildings that are around 150 years old. They’re not as simple to work on as new builds and everything we do has to comply with health and safety legislation which can be challenging at times. It requires constant work to keep the buildings looking and sounding as beautiful as the day they opened. It’s a never-ending cycle of conservation and preservation which we are all happy to get involved with. I think I speak for the whole department when I say that we are lucky to work in such incredible, historical buildings, so we accept the inevitable difficulties that come with that.

What advice would you give to anyone thinking about working as a Technician?

Be prepared for long hours, don’t give up if it doesn’t happen straight away and gain as much experience as possible, even if that means offering your services for free in the early stages of your career.

There are plenty of fully-fledged industry technicians who are more than willing to give new blood a helping hand by letting them shadow for a show or work for them as an assistant. There’s also lots of amateur dramatics companies, schools and community theatre groups that will give you a foot in the door, and can offer valuable industry experience. It can be a tough slog going from college or university to becoming a full-time theatre technician but if you have passion and drive, I’m confident that anybody who puts the time and effort in can get there. Theatre as a whole is moving towards a more ‘Multiskilled Technician’ model and therefore I would recommend gaining as much experience as possible of all stage crafts, including lighting, sound, stage and flying before applying for full-time theatre roles. Our job can be difficult but it’s also extremely rewarding – being part of the magic of theatre is pretty exciting!