I’m worried that if I keep writing posts in this series that everyone will think I suck as a tech.
Then again, maybe I do…
Flying Nuns and Flaming Lights
I was a senior in high school, and I was running the sound board for the Spring Musical, which just happened to be The Sound of Music. My friend Tony was working back stage to help relay info about wireless mics, batteries, and such. All in all, we were having a ton of fun, and we had avoided having any major problems…
Until the matinee show on Sunday.
From where I was sitting in the back of the auditorium everything was going fine. Then, suddenly, my headset crackled to life and I heard Tony say, “Lights…fire…running nuns!” Rather than risk disturbing the audience, I left a sophomore in charger of the board and quietly made my way to the hallway and then to backstage.
I found Tony in the hallway and asked what happened.
“I was changing some mic batteries when I heard a loud sound followed by some squeals. I went to the backstage ramp to see what was going on, and I was nearly trampled as all of the nuns came running at me, with their little hat things flying behind them.”
“What scared them?” I asked.
“Apparently, one of the rented light packs starting shooting out sparks as they were standing nearby.”
That’s right! A light pack starting raining sparks all over a cluster of nuns! I’ve always wondered what a sight that had to be: a half-dozen high school girls dressed as nuns running up a ramp, squealing, holding their habits, as sparks rained down from above! Maybe I should write a movie around that actions scene? It works for Michael Bay!
Anyway, back to the story. Being dumb high school students, we left the pack plugged in for the rest of show—hey, it was still working!—reasoning that it would be better to burn the school down than face the wrath of our teacher-director. Fortunately, there were no more incidents, and the pack was returned to the rental company.
What’s one of your best (or maybe worst?) tech wrecks?
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