I do some of my best thinking in the shower.  Sometimes I think about what I have going on that day and how best to approach it.  Other times I have a completely random thought pop into my head and it consumes my brain to the point that I can’t remember whether or not I shampooed my hair so I follow the ‘rinse and repeat’ direction.  This morning wasn’t quite that embarrassing but I did have a great conversation with myself.

This quote popped into my head: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  Jim Elliot wrote this in his journal on October 28, 1949, almost 62 years ago.  Jim was a missionary who was killed while working in Ecuador.  If you have seen the movie, End of the Spear (2006), this may sound familiar.

My thoughts early this morning took this quote and applied it to mainstream culture.  In the Christian context, the quote is often read as giving up worldly things to gain eternal life.  What if we changed it around and said it in one of these phrasings?

He is no fool who gives up his pride to gain the respect of others.

He is no fool who gives of his time to gain better relationships.

He is no fool who gives up his selfish ambitions for the betterment of the community.

He is no fool who gives up his want to gain a better financial standing.

He is no fool who gives up his comfort to gain the benefits of pushing the limits.

This list is just a sampling of how it could be worded.  Many of the issues we face today could be remedied if mindsets could be changed.  Unfortunately, the culture has us by the throat and threatens to choke us if we try to break free.  Such is the dichotomy between truth and reality.  And that’s what filled my mind at 2:30 this morning.

• I met a lot of awesome people. — Cirque techs are like no other stagehands I have come across.  Sure, they have the standard jobs like maintaining the rig and changing bulbs, but the people I met had passion.  They loved their jobs.  For some of them, this summer marked the 2,300^th show they worked, and it never gets old.

• I saw a lot of cool things. — Working backstage for a large show like The Beatles LOVE meant I had access to equipment not seen in your everyday theatre environment.  Stage lifts, pneumatic platforms, auto filling fog machine system, bubble foggers, and a dedicated chain motor that does nothing but help with changing a bed sheet.

• I had a great time. — Who wouldn’t have a great time in Vegas?  Most people only go for a weekend or a vacation.  I got to live there for 3 months.  Places like the MGM Grand, Bellagio, and Mirage were no longer just buildings I had seen on TV.  Streets such as Tropicana Avenue, Flamingo Road, and Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip) graced the treads of my car tires almost every day.

One of the highlights of my summer was Sunday night bowling at The Orleans Bowling Center.  Some of the interns from the other Cirque shows and I met up after work each week and enjoyed one dollar bowling games.  This goes to show that you can have fun in Vegas and not break the bank.

Some of the Summer 2011 Cirque du Soleil Interns

As of now I am a month and a half into the program at The Contemporary Music Center in Nashville, Tennessee.  This semester I will be hands-on in the music industry.  Each week we produce a concert with some of the artists in the program and as a tech, I have been rotating through the different positions of lighting, front of house sound, monitor mixing, stage patch, and backline tech.  I wrote a blog post for the website too.  This is a semester of honing in on my skills and also a semester of firsts.  I have been able to get my hands dirty in ProTools and have a few songs that I can say I helped produce.  We are almost to the point of gearing up for our tour which will occur in mid-November, and I am really excited about that.

The fun part about working in the basement for the first two weeks is that I got to see several departments working together during the show.  I got to inquire about what lighting and effects does.  I asked props about the processes they go through to prepare for the show.  I saw carpenters building a city of brick in just a few minutes and riggers stretching bungees during their presets.  The basement is a whole different world during the show.

Then I started a round of spotlights.  LOVE has 8 spot positions.  I learned two of them.  It’s interesting how much the view changes from the different angles around the house.  One spot was at the top of the stage and the other was at a 45 degree angle to the stage.  Learning the cues of these two positions taught me not only the finesse Cirque is known for but also efficiency when running a spot.  Some of the cues were micro-seconds apart and involved a color change, an iris change, and a fade time.

Something I anticipated needing to know in general before getting into the entertainment industry was a knowledge of music.  Lighting is my passion and much of it’s design involves music, be it a concert, recital, theatre, or even a circus.  Part of my degree requirements at North Greenville University include two appreciation classes.  I chose theatre and music to fulfill them.  The music class covered mostly Classical Music, but this genre is the best way to learn timing and the intricacies that fall within a measure of sound.  Now I don’t claim to be a very musical person.  I love music, and listen to it quite often on the radio, on my computer, in elevators.  However, I wasn’t necessarily the best at playing it.  I tried chorus, but it faded away as I pursued other opportunities.  I took piano lessons once upon a time, but my teacher recommended I quit.  I appreciate her looking out for me.  I also tried out the band for a year.  I had forgotten how to read sheet music though and turned down the offer for marching band the following year.  That’s when I found theatre and lighting and the rest is history.

I say all that to convey that being able to count music is a staple in the entertainment industry.  Not knowing this skill is comparative to not knowing which side of the road to drive on or thinking it’s acceptable to shout in a library.  Don’t think I’m the best at counting music either, because I’m not.  Just having a background in it and knowing the difference between 3 and 4 beats per measure is a great starting point.

This knowledge helped me not only on the spotlights but also when I shadowed at the control console.  I learned a good bit about the Grand MA and saw how the cues for the show were written, not to mention I ran several cues for a couple of shows.  I was only there for a couple of days though, after a day at the lead spot position and before a couple of days in the grid.  These days deepened my experience of how the team operates during a show.  It was fascinating.

Next I went on what I call my Tour de French-Canadian Circus.  My supervisor arranged for me to shadow at some of the other Cirque shows in Vegas.  These crews had different tasks, different rotations, and different interactions.  Each show is unique in and of itself, and the crews follow that trend.  At LOVE, the lighting department takes care of the confetti and fog, and the lights in some of the props are maintained by props.  At “O”, an Effects department handles the fog and effects, and it also has an Aquatics department that you don’t often see in a theatre.  At Ká, lighting also handles projection, which at LOVE is a separate department.

Now I am back at LOVE for the August Dark and to shadow in some other departments.  I got to see some rigging and automations while at some other shows, and now at LOVE I will be able to see some rigging, projections, and sound as well.  This turns a page in my internship as I take what I have learned in lighting, and add to it as I experience the tasks and operations of other departments.

The Mirage used to be home to Siegfried and Roy, two entertainers whose main act included a white tiger.  In 2003, tragedy struck and the lion bit Roy on the neck while trying to drag him to safety.  Roy survived, but the recovery process was long and he would never return to 100% of what he was before the accident.  The Mirage decided to close the show, which gave way to Cirque occupying the space.  The place was completely gutted and redesigned specifically for LOVE, something I find unique about Cirque shows.

The stage has 5 different lifts that move up and down, 4 sections at the corners that fold down, and 2 sections that slide sideways to allow the center lift to rise up.  A lot can be going on at any one time, which makes safety of primary concern.  The basement is where I have been stationed this first week.  As the lifts ride down, they come even with the floor in the basement.  Large set pieces and actors can then move onto the lifts and ride up onto stage level.  Some pieces have to be plugged in or turned on, which adds to the thought process when making scene changes.

The four corners of the room are “garages” which house spotlights, tech booths, and platforms where props can fly in and out of.  There is also a grid above the stage where props and actors can fly in and out of.  For example, in “Here Comes the Sun”, a sun is turned on in the basement, attached to a cable, and flies into the grid.

My job this week has been running the cues in the basement.  The track includes everything from checking on the fog, to plugging in the skate ramp, to greeting the artists and they climb onto the piano riser and play with bubbles for a few minutes of the show.

Therefore, this fall, I will be studying in Nashville (Brentwood), TN.  Some of the classes include lighting design, advanced recording techniques, and live sound reinforcement.  The best part is, the credits I earn for these courses relate back to my transcript at North Greenville University, and I will still graduate on time in May 2012.  This fall will be so much fun and I can’t wait to see what is in store!

The snow/ice storm kept me home a week longer than I anticipated.
I applied for an internship with a large scale production group.
I’m about to apply for an internship with another production group.
I’m waiting to hear if I get accepted for a study abroad opportunity this fall.
I won a national second place award for a video I made.
Friends are getting engaged left and right and I’m going to be a groomsman for one of them.
My boss and his wife had their baby yesterday.
When that baby is 18 months old, I will be graduating college, getting a place of my own, and finding a job.

2011 is already starting off to be a great year, and I’m excited about it!

If nothing else, I was at least able to get some rest after writing this and getting it out of my system. My 4th grade teacher (who I still keep in touch with) pushed me hard when it came to writing. I think it was a good thing.