Quoted from the constitution (Retrieved June 2014)

The Technical Manager shall be responsible for the safe maintenance of all lighting/sound equipment. He/She is responsible for keeping record of all lighting/sound equipment that needs PAT testing. He/She is responsible for the PAT testing of all aforementioned technical equipment, as well as general theatre electrical equipment when it is required, whether undertaken themselves with certified training, or organising the hire of a certified PAT tester. He/She shall be responsible for keeping PAT testing records and submitting them to the SU Health & Safety Officer upon request. He/She is responsible for keeping the Tech box and Tech store in a tidy state. He/She shall oversee the hire or loan of equipment to and from the theatre. He/She shall be responsible for the safe training of all users of this equipment alongside the Technical Director. He/she shall be responsible for restocking the basic necessary technical goods.

The above and from what is understood from two years in this role the responsibilities are as follows:

• Maintenance, including regular safety testing, of lighting, sound and other electrical equipment in the theatre.
• Record keeping of above.
• Upkeep of the public Technical Specification of the theatre spaces.
• Management of the Tech store, office and box as well as other technical installations such as equipment in the main space and the dimming racks.
• Assisting the Company Technical Director in the training of members to work as crew on productions or assist in other technical duties.
• Assisting the Company Technical Director in the running of workshops to advance the membership.
• Restocking of technical goods - tape, lamps etc.
• Management the technical maintenance budget.
• Planning and enacting fundraising plans for the purchase of new technical equipment.
• Assisting upcoming productions in planning the technical matters for their show. This involves the attendance of logistics meetings.
• Assisting the crew of productions both in the main and fringe seasons to ensure technical excellence across all of our productions.
• In conjunction with the Company Technical Director, providing a contact point for external users of the theatre spaces for technical matters.
• In conjunction with the Company Technical Director, supervising and signing off on the safe rigging of all equipment in the theatre spaces.
• Assist in providing IT support to the theatre.
• Upkeep of the safe working practices of the technical department, including the risk assessing technical activities.

The New Theatre has an inventory of over 600 electrical items. The majority of these fall into the lighting and sound departments which are the direct responsibility of the Technical Manager. Other items may not fall under the TM remit, however the TM is often the most qualified person to advise and/or provide maintenance on these items.

Lighting, sound and other technical equipment must be kept in a safe and serviceable condition.

A regime of an annual combined inspection and test (or PAT) for all electrical items owned by the theatre is currently in effect.

Records of the equipment the NT own must be kept. The Students Union may request this list annually for insurance purposes, a replacement value must be assigned to each item for this purpose.

Records of the state of assets and their PAT history must be kept.

Currently these records are kept in a spreadsheet linked to the TM's email account. This spreadsheet is published automatically on the members' website.

The technical specification for the theatre is published on the public website (http://newtheatre.org.uk/about-us/technical/) this should be kept up to date.

The technical spaces (store, office, box) must be kept in a clean and tidy state. The TM must ensure the current show using the theatre space respects these spaces and returns them to an acceptable state after their get-in, and fully tidies them during their get-out.

The Company Technical Director (CTD) is responsible for training. The TM should assist with training as and when required.

The TM, as a technical committee member, may be required to 'fill in the gaps' in assisting with shows or get-ins.

In order to operate the technical department requires consumables: tape, lamps, gels, fog fluid etc. The TM is responsible for the purchase of these goods. Shows are entitled to use a fair share of these goods in their productions.

Special items, such as gobos or dance tape, should be purchased by the shows themselves. If show purchased goods are remaining after the end of their run it will be retained by the technical department.

Replacement of small items in the duty of maintenance should be made from this budget. This includes items such as extension cables, safety bonds and lamp holders.

Records of the use of the budget must be kept by the TM. Good planning will be required to ensure the budget lasts the year.

A situation may arise when an important part of the technical infrastructure of the theatre fails, an example of this is the failure of the demux in September 2012 resulting in the dimmers being unusable. In these cases the Treasurer should be consulted for a financial solution. Inquires should be made for an insurance claim if the value exceeds ~£200.

In 2012 and 2013 the technical budget was £1,000.

Several years ago the theatre joined the Impact campaign. Through this campaign the theatre may receive large donations for certain projects, or smaller amounts for seat sponsorships.

Large donations are made to an advertised project. A £20k project was funded in the summer of 2013 to purchase new lighting and sound equipment, replacing a large amount of the archaic items the theatre had before. It is unlikely that the technical department will be funded again so soon after the recent success, however new projects should be discussed with the Fundraising manager.

Seat sponsorships are small donations which are received for the purchase of small technical items. Funds gained from this scheme have already bought new lanterns, a portable dimmer for the studio space and new lighting stands. The decision of what to purchase should be made jointly by the CTD, TM, President and Treasurer.

A logistics meeting is held for each incoming internal show roughly two weeks prior to their get-in. It is chaired by the Theatre Manager. Either the TM or CTD should be in attendance to discuss technical matters for the show. Previously the meeting has marked the last point shows can request external technical hires for their show. The TM should be the only theatre member hiring in equipment on behalf of the NT. This rule was put into effect after an incident of lost hired-in equipment with a very loose chain of responsibility. This should not happen again as it looses the NT trust which detriments our relationships with suppliers and other external groups.

The TM, as somebody with good technical skills, should assist productions when required to ensure the shows put on under our name maintain a high level of technical quality.

The CTD and TM should be a contact point for technical enquires from external groups. When an external group uses the theatre spaces the TM should co-ordinate the technical services the external users require. During external use the CTD or TM should appoint a 'Duty Technician' to supervise rigging and use of lighting and sound equipment.

While the theatre has modest IT requirements the TM should manage computers and other equipment in the building. For support or for purchase of new equipment they should be the contact point with the Students' Union's IT Technician.

Many technical activities in the NT have a level of risk. The TM must perform risk assessments and write method statements at the start of each academic year. These documents are to be provided to the Students' Union's Health and Safety Officer.

The TM, along with the rest of the executive committee is responsible ensuring members operate safely while working in the theatre. The TM should ensure safe working practices are known by the committee such that they may supervise the membership. This is best done during 'Committee Tech Training' which is run by the CTD.

The role of Technical Manager encompasses many aspects of the running of the theatre, The responsibilities are needed to keep the theatre operational and safe. By any stretch it is not an easy job! However over the last two years I have found it to be an incredibly rewarding one which can be hugely enjoyable and gain you a raft of experience in many areas. Good luck, and have fun!

Will Pimblett
June 2014