We are thrilled to announce that David Magladry stepped into a new role as Production and Technical Support on August 15, 2019.
Many of you have dealt in a number of capacities over the years with David, and all know how professional and creative he is. We are sure that he will be a wonderful addition to the Theatre structure in his new role.
We have reached out to David with a few questions and rather than putting them in a blog format, why not have him answer in his own words.
1. How many years have you been involved with the OLT?
I never talk numbers but its fair to say that I grew up there and started learning about theatre when I was a kid from some of the “old guard” who did theatre in England.
2. What roles have you done in the past?
As a volunteer, mostly lighting design but as well I did a good number of shows being an audio op, fly person and stage crew. As a staff member, I acted as the stage manager when Jim Hogan took holidays and I of course work with Tom Pidgeon on each show’s set’s construction and teardown. For the last few years I have also worked on lighting gear repair and maintenance.
3. What does your new role entail?
Regarding support to productions, it will mean being involved in various production meetings with each show’s design team and director to discuss their needs, and to collaborate between Tom Pidgeon and myself to make these ideas happen safely and effectively within our space. I am here as well to provide options, ideas, alternatives and comments for the team’s consideration should they wish.
As for the technical support part of the job, it will be to keep our production gear current and to ensure that it is in a safe, working and show ready condition and to provide our users with a simple and straightforward setup for ease of use and understanding. And I’ll provide guidance for designers and crew as required
4. What aspect are you looking most forward to in the new role?
Being of benefit to each show in a more direct way and finding new and innovative ways to raise the bar on our already high level of production quality.
5. Any vision about any changes (high level) that you would like to make as it relates to your job ?
Over the last month we have already begun to make improvements to the technical aspects of the stage (lighting, sound and projection) so that they function in a more reliable and efficient way, so positive changes are already happening and will continue to do so.
I know that every time I have worked at OLT or elsewhere I have either been able to try something new or learned something new and I hope to be a part in helping folks to always be challenging themselves and learning more about their areas of interest. To that end I would like to see training be more present here at the theatre, whether that is simply groups of our people sharing their wealth of knowledge and experiences with one another in a regularly scheduled but informal setting – almost like a Q and A with each other,,, or inviting industry professionals in to provide more formal courses or talks on creative and technical topics of interest.
6. Do you have any interesting/humorous experiences in your past role at the OLT that you would like to share with the reader (maybe something that relates to your new role)?
I have worked with so many OLT folks over the years on so many different styles of shows that each one is always more interesting and educational than the last. All of these experiences and firsthand knowledge that I have gained over the years will be invaluable to me in my new position. I do have lots of strange and humorous stories and am always happy to bore anyone who wants to listen.
7. How can members and subscribers get in contact with you with any questions?
I will soon have an OLT email address and as well one of the first things that we are establishing is an OLT email address specifically for tech issues, where both Tom and I can update volunteers on upgrades and improvements, and where they can reach us on any gear, stagecraft or backstage protocol issue that is on their mind. I am always happy to take a text or chat with folks as well; my cell is 613 852 2548.
At this time, we would also like to thank Graham Price for his years of service as the OLT Production Coordinator. We wish him the best of luck in his new ventures.
– Albert