Summer has gone by in a blur, and it is time once again to prepare for life on the road with Sesame Street Live- Make A New Friend. This spring, while still on the road, I received the “unofficial” news that I had earned a promotion to Head Electrician for the 2016-2017 season. Now that I have received, signed, and returned my official job offer, I can proudly announce that I will assume that role beginning on October 8.
I am fortunate to begin this tour season already knowing seven of the eight amazing crew members that I will be working with, as well as knowing the demands of the challenging but exciting new role that I will be taking on. This stands in stark contrast to last season, when I was hired less than a week before the tour began, had met only one of my colleagues before, and had very little idea of what my job entailed.
So, since I’m going into this tour with a fairly firm grasp on my “day job,” I have set some extra goals- side projects I want to pursue before the tour season ends. Consider this my list of “New Year’s Resolutions” for the upcoming tour season.
I will dedicate on-the-clock time to learning more about the Road Hog lighting console that we use on our show. My knowledge of the board is just slightly above the minimum threshold for doing my job, and I intend to remedy that as quickly as I can.
I will live up to my new position of responsibility on the crew by setting high standards for myself, going above and beyond what is required of me, and helping my colleagues in any way that I can.
I will maintain this website and blog with one or more posts per month, as the beginning of an ongoing, long-term personal branding strategy.
I will learn to configure and program a Raspberry Pi to control addressable LED nodes.
I will spend time every travel day writing and conceptualizing my long-term pet project of a one-act, one-man projection and wearable LED show.
Of course, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Our show will be spending its first three months travelling around Canada, and it will be my first extended stay in a foreign country. In addition, we have two longer stays planned for next spring, in Detroit and New York City, which should allow for a little bit of free time to do some real exploring in those cities. All told, this will be an exciting tour year filled with good company, fulfilling work, and exciting adventures!