Technical Cooperation - Phil Turner
Phil Turner
Technical Stage Manager
I catch up with Phil on the final night on Skye at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, just before the show started. Not the best time to talk techie, but the last chance before Gorgeous Avatar deconstructs forever in a scatter of planks, soil, hats, lights, props and people. A play's an ephemeral thing. You have to catch it while you can. So returning to Phil and his role on the fast-ending tour…
I joined the tour quite late on. We found out as we toured the show – which is quite a big show - that it was too big for four people, so I came on board as a fifth person. I take responsibility for the flying of the [lighting] truss and the suspension points for the tour.
Q: How has that worked in such a variety of different venues?
The main difficulty has been that some of the venues have been a bit smaller than we thought, and it's involved adapting the system to fit in with different spaces. Some of the spaces have got sloping roofs, which have caused a bit of a problem as we don't have the height. But challenges are good…
Any last-minute problems that took you by surprise?
Carlops – we weren’t expecting it to be quite so small, basically. But we adapted. We had a half-hour think and managed to fit it in.
How has the set worked in the different spaces?
It's fitted in every venue so far. We have the ability to cut light boxes if necessary to get the width down. And we can also take it off its legs so that it sits flat on the floor, for example. We just have to adapt and improvise.
The crew hasn't had an easy time of it on this trip…
Er, no. We were unlucky with the Stornoway ferry crew giving us the lurgy. They cancelled the ferry. Unfortunately both the girls caught it quite early on - we're not entirely sure how. They caught the stomach bug, which is really nasty. Everyone apart from Lee [stage manager] has had it to some extent – all the cast, all the crew. I caught it quite late on. Hopefully it's all blown over now, but it was a nasty thing to happen.
How did that affect you?
We had both Gemma and Hazel out for a couple of days, so the already stretched four-man crew - which went up to five – then went down to three-man, which really pushed us. Luckily we were quite into it by then and we could improvise and we knew each others' jobs, and that helped. By the time I had to sit out, everyone knew my job anyway, so it was no different, really.
Has this been a typical tour for you?
It's nice for me to get out of the office, to be honest. I'm very much building-based. So it's nice to get out and see what they're up to. Obviously, it helps me to prepare for the next tour, cos I can see what they're up against, for example. So it was great for me. And I got to see some nice parts of Scotland
How did you get into this job?
I started off doing it at secondary school, as stage manager, then I went to drama school and did a degree, and then ended up here, eventually.
What's ahead for you?
We're heavily into festival preparation - the Fringe Festival and the International Festival. And we've got the new writers' season coming at the Traverse – not sure if that's top secret or not. Lots of stuff on at the Traverse, so it's back to base!
What the best bit about your job?
The variety. Nothing's the same. It's always different. And you get to work with some interesting people.
Pics:
1. Hanging lights in Ullapool
2. Crew and actors during get-out
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