After planning for more than 6 months day of show has arrived! It is Friday at at 4:45 and I am driving over to the Convocation Center to begin loading in. The truck filled with stage pieces, legs and railings is backed in to the Convo loading dock waiting for us. I can’t help but smile as I park my car because I know the next 36 hours will be like nothing I have ever seen before.
Walking into Convo I am greeted by exec and some Center Stagers ready to load in the stage. The company we use, Main Stage, begins unloading and we start the process of taking pieces down the ramp to the stage floor. From 5pm to 6:30pm we unload pieces of stage, attach them together with the legs and add the security locks underneath. Main Stage was amazing and helped us fly through stage set up. After the stage is up it is time for the tarp to be put in place. We lay the tarp overtop of the floor to add an additional layer of protection. 544 people will be jumping around and dancing during the show and the tarp helps keep the flooring in place. This tarp has been used for at least 4 years so it is not the cleanest thing. It takes all of us to spread it out and tape it down. Random thought: I am always reminded of preschool when we all hold the tarp ready to lay it down. We used to play a game where everyone would hold onto a corner wave it up causing balls to bounce in the middle; not recommended with such a dirty tarp though.
Around 7pm we finish putting everything together and we leave for the night knowing that in less than 12 hours we will be back here to load in sound, lights and barricade. I can’t help thinking there is nothing like showtime as I drive away.
my feet don't want to go to sleep 