I was doing a show at a regional theatre. They were in the throes of some kind of dispute involving the IA that had been going on for some time with some tensions. Our show was loading in and the electricians were, as normal, hanging lights, running cable and cutting color. I was seeing to various details and was wearing what would be normal for me on a day of theatre tech work, a denim jacket with a tee shirt and work pants. I asked for something from one of the electricians who was walking by and he said No! as he moved away. I was astounded. I’d had resistance from the crew many times but had never heard a flat footed No before. So, at the coffee break I went back to the hotel and changed clothes. I went back to work in a dress jacket, mini skirt, stockings and heels. I got “Yes Ma’am” the whole rest of the day.
A few days later, after several days teching the show, there was a break in the action and one of the electricians was sitting out at the tech table with me. We were just chit chatting. At one point he complained that he couldn’t wait for tech to be over, “I hate tech!” he said. Then he looked at me with eyes widening and said, “Oh my God! You spend your entire Life in Tech!”
Beverly Emmons (Lighting Designer) has designed for Broadway, Off-B’way and Regional Theater, Dance and Opera both in the USA and abroad. Her Broadway credits include Annie Get Your Gun, Jekyll & Hyde, The Heiress, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, High Rollers, Stepping Out, The Elephant Man, A Day in Hollywood A Night in the Ukraine, The Dresser, Piaf and Doonesbury. Her lighting of Amadeus won a Tony award., Off B’way she lit Vagina Monologues and has designed many productions with Joseph Chaikin and Meredith Monk. For Robert Wilson, she has designed lighting for productions spanning 13 years; most notably in America, Einstein on the Beach and the Civil Wars Pt V. Ms Emmons’ designs for dance have included works for Lucinda Child, Trisha Brown, Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham. She has been awarded seven Tony nominations, the 1976 Lumen award, 1984 and 1986 Bessies, and a 1980 Obie for Distinguished Lighting, and several Maharam/American Theater Wing Design Awards. Additionally, she has created and curated TheLightingArchive.org and LightingDB.nypl.org; two websites that make historical lighting documents accessible to students and scholars on the Internet.