Managing on the Road
Since 1985 my company has done the production for Dick Fox’s The Golden Boys starring Frankie Avalon, Fabian, and Bobby Rydell. Acting as the Tour Manager, Road Manager, Production Manager, Lighting Director, and Video Director has provided me with some of the most memorable experiences of my professional career, and furthermore, my life.
Crew setting the stage
Just recently our show completed a five city swing from Canada to Florida. Each day a new city and inevitably, a new challenge: Arrive in city –> set up for show –> rehearse show –> perform show –> strike the set and load for travel –> travel overnight on the bus or hop on an airplane –> wake up in a new city and do it all over again. This craziness, for the most part, is organized and executed all by one man…ME! This includes (and is not limited to) thousands of dollars worth of equipment and dozens of crew members as well as hotel/travel accomidations, transportation for crew, food for crew, the actual HIRING of the crew, ETC…. and the list truly goes on…
My most memorable night during our Canadian tour was at the Caesars Windsor. I’ve been apart of
productions at locations such as Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden and I’ll tell you what… This venue ranks right up there with the best. On this night we put on quite the show. We had a full television set-up including a seven man video crew, a five man lighting crew, and a five man audio crew. Some notable pieces of equipment used were the Yamaha Digital PM5D Audio Mixers at all monitors and FOH, as well as the breathtaking 600 fixture lighting rig.
Digital Audio Mixer
After a long night the show came to a conclusion. I must thank all of my crew members for such a flawless execution and performance as this was truly an extravagant evening of show biz. I’ve come to learn over the years that a successful and smooth production really relies on the amount of pre-production put in before the actual performance.
At the conclusion of a quick “break” from production, our show heads back out on the road for another tour. Make sure you come check back for more insider stories and pictures and don’t forget to follow Ferro Productions on Twitter and Facebook for even further behind the scenes content!
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