HELP WANTED AND NEEDED

Our Local, IATSE Local 46 is extremely busy over the next couple of weeks and months. If you are in need of work, please let me know and I will get you in touch with our office. They will be taking applications daily.

Over this weekend and next week expecting over 400 referrals will be needed. Must be able to do various levels of physical work. Most of the work is in Nashville, MCC and Opryland.

So after a vote last night our Dispatcher is now making as much money per hour as department heads in our theatres with a guaranteed 40 hours a week. Is that fairly normal across the country?

Hello! I recently turned 18 and have been wanting to get stage-handing and hopefully audio work for local 28 in PDX. I have a reasonable resume for my age as I’ve been learning audio since I was about 14/15. I currently work at a small handful of local venues doing SE/SH work as well as some freelance front of house and constant shadowing. I would estimate that I’m currently working/shadowing 40-45 hours a week. I feel like I have a relatively sound understanding of basic venue work for my age.

I’m not going to act like I know everything though, I am honestly just so hungry to learn and get as much hands on experience I can so I can sharpen my skillset.

Anyway, I’ve had my eyes on the union for about two years now but now that I’m old enough I can’t quite figured out where to start, what to expect, etc. I’ve brought it up with coworkers off and on but haven’t had any solid advice from anyone so came here.

I wanted to mention that I have looked at their website and requirements but am really just looking for general advice. Thank you :)

Hey everyone, I’m a freshman at UConn majoring in Theater Design and Technology with a concentration in Lighting. I’m still figuring out whether I want to lean more toward lighting design or electrics, but I know I want to get more hands-on experience and start building connections in the industry.

I’m enjoying my classes, but I’m also getting impatient to actually get out there and work. I’d really like to start meeting people, getting experience, and learning how the industry works outside of school.

I’ve read a lot of posts about the Local One Replacement Room and the general advice seems to be that if you consistently show up, make yourself known, have your OSHA 30, bring your tools, have a good attitude, and build a relationship with Bobby, you may eventually get a chance at a gig.

So I’m wondering if that would actually be worth doing in my situation.

My schedule means I would realistically only be able to go during my school breaks. I have about a month off from mid-December to mid-January, and then I’m available for most of late May through late August. During the school year, I’m in Connecticut and wouldn't realistically be able to make it into NYC consistently.

I live in Westchester, so getting into the city would cost me around $30 round trip in train fare every day. Because of that, I don't want to spend weeks commuting in if I'm completely wasting my time or if my limited availability makes it unrealistic to get anywhere.

For some background, I’m not completely starting from zero. I’ve designed lighting for five of my high school productions, including both plays and musicals. For the past year and a half, I’ve also been working roughly 1–2 gigs a month at a local theater near me, the Tarrytown Music Hall, where I’ve gotten a decent amount of hands-on stagehand experience. I’ve done load-ins/outs, worked shows, and gotten experience around professional production and touring crews.

I'm also planning on getting my OSHA 30 and making sure I have the tools I'd need before trying to get into the Replacement Room.

So my questions are:

• Would it be worth spending my winter break going to the Replacement Room consistently, even though I can only do it for about a month?
• Would the same be true for the summer, when I'd be able to go for roughly three months?
• If I do go, should I basically commit to Monday–Friday and get there as early as possible, especially since I've heard getting there early can make a difference?
• Does only being available during school breaks put me at a major disadvantage, or is it still worthwhile to start making connections this way?
• Given my current experience, is the Replacement Room even the right place for me to be trying to get started?
• Is there anything I should have/do before showing up that would make people take me more seriously?
• And for anyone who has actually gone through this process: how long did it take before you started getting calls/gigs, and what did you wish you knew when you first started?

I’m not expecting to walk in and immediately get work. I understand that reputation, relationships, consistency, and being willing to start at the bottom are a big part of this. I’m just trying to figure out whether spending my breaks commuting into NYC every day is a realistic way to start building a path into the industry, or if there’s a better way I should be using that time.

I’m serious about doing this and I’m willing to put the work in. I just want to make sure I’m putting my time and money toward something that can actually lead somewhere.

Thanks to anyone willing to share their experience, especially people who have been through the Replacement Room/Local One process themselves.

-------TL;DR--------

I’m a UConn freshman studying Theater Design & Technology (Lighting), with 5 school lighting designs and ~1.5 years of stagehand experience at Tarrytown Music Hall. I live in Westchester and can only realistically go to the NYC Replacement Room during winter break (mid-Dec–mid-Jan) and summer (late May–late Aug), with about a $30/day round-trip train cost. Is it worth showing up consistently during those breaks to make connections and potentially get gigs? Does only being available during school breaks put me at a major disadvantage, or is it still worthwhile to start making connections this way? Looking for advice from people who have actually been through the process.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Production a few months ago and I’m hoping to start working as a permittee in the Winnipeg union 856. I would love to hear from anyone who is in the trades and what they think would be a smart choice for a backup career + something that could amplify film experience. I’m really shitty in maths and imagine there’s a good amount of basic maths in most educational trades programs. I also considered doing a Master of Fine Arts with a focus on fabrication and set design, but I feel that it would be a waste of time a funds when I could just do a trades program. I have a few interests:

- Cabinetry and Woodworking
- CAD / drafting (I have some experience with Unreal Engine)

Hey yall. I’m in school for a Tech Theater certificate. I had heard about my local union from my Stagecraft professor, and have been super interested. I thought I could do a pre apprenticeship in order to get in, but realized you have to send in a resume first. My thought was to stop taking the college classes and start the preapprenticeship to get straight into work, but sounds like I’ll have to finish my certificate first huh? Also, would a Union resume be any different than a regular job resume? ANY info helps. TIA.

Dm for inventory list if interested thanks for your interest!