Shows and Hires

Apart from trainings and socials, all of Tech Crew's activities are divided into shows and hires. These all work on a project basis, with members applying to roles on each project using our internal system AdamRMS.

• Shows are larger projects in the Warwick Arts Centre with a partnering drama society. These are a more standard process with set roles and often require a longer commitment (often a full show week and prior planning and meetings).
• Hires are projects where a society or group request tech and (a) tech operator(s) for their own event. These can be much more varied but are often on a much smaller scale, such as providing a few lights on a stand. These are typically a much shorter commitment (e.g. just an evening or weekend) but can be in locations other than the Arts Centre.

Shows

Shows follow a standard process within Warwick Drama, which is documented here. This will typically consist of joining a show team to write the technical elements of a show pack and presenting this at panel. If the show passes panel, the tech team will then plan for the show, communicating with Warwick Arts Centre through regular meetings and submitting a technical rider before show week. Show week then consists of getting into the space, setting everything up, running a technical and dress rehearsal, completing the show and resetting the venue for the next event, followed by a debrief.

Examples of shows include Godspell (Music Theatre Warwick), Carmen (Opera Warwick) & The Tempest (Warwick University Drama Society X ShakeSoc).

Hires

Hires are any other project we do that isn't a show. These are requested by another society or group through our Hires Form, which the Hires Manager manages. Most hires are considered wet (as opposed to a dry hire), where the society will ask for operators to run their event. In this case, the opportunity is advertised to our members who can apply and sign up like for a show.

Examples of hires include PantoSoc pantomimes, The Improv Musical (Music Theatre Warwick) & The Warwick Economics Summit.

Funds

We also consider funds as hires as they take place outside of the WAC and are not eligible for a tech crew co-production. Because if this, a show might be considered a fund by its parent society but will be managed and organised by the hires managers and assistants within Tech Crew.

Special Events

While technically hires, this category contains larger scale events that require an amount of preparation and involvement closer to shows. They often involve hiring equipment from elsewhere, and are good fun from a tech perspective without necessarily requiring the huge ongoing time commitment shows can have. Whilst these are the rarest event that we have in a year, we are hoping that as we partner with more university departments this can become more of a regular occurrence.

Examples of special invents include WSAF, Arrivals stage 2024 and Pride 2023.