Awesome! - Front of House Staff Cal Poly Arts Employee Review

Very easy shifts with amazing bosses. Plenty of time to get homework done at office shifts.

Hard to get hours in.

The Cal Poly PAC is an incredible theater. The crew cares very very deeply about it, and their devotion to the space and crew shows in the high quality and professional productions they continually produce. Many of the Senior Crew could easily take higher-paid positions elsewhere, but choose to stay at the PAC because they love it. Technology is kept up to date; gear and space is cleaned not only daily but also deep-cleaned every year; new crew is well-trained and strongly encouraged to ask questions and become as proficient as the senior crew, if not more. Safety is seriously #1 priority-- many groups claim they value safety, but the PAC genuinely walks the walk and will opt to take longer on a project if it will be safer, even if it costs them more. They train workers on ways to use physics to accomplish heavy set moving instead of sacrificing physical health, and are sensitive to personal issues, pain, or injury limitations. The senior crew recognize that they each have individual tech styles, and will openly explain to trainees about those differences without being critical of each other or claiming that their way is the only 'best' way. They support you in your personal projects and will go the extra mile for you. (One day I received a call that a friend had been in a car accident and was requesting help; the senior crew member simply said, "Go take care of your friend, I'll cover the rest of your shift. Clock out at your regular time." They are very human, and I appreciate that immensely.) They also handle feedback and HR issues sincerely. When I had trouble with another crew member, the senior crew didn't discount the experience or try to brush it off. They found that other crew members were also experiencing the same issues with that particular worker (highly unsafe habits/attitude, discriminatory & sexist behavior, etc,) and the worker was not invited back for further gigs or re-hired for the next season. (As a general practice, they tend not to call back non-team players or inefficient techs except for the very largest gigs.) Theatre in general can be a rough-and-tumble place but I always feel 100% safe and supported by the management and other crew. It is a tight-knit group and they take care of each other, with a healthy dose of humor to boot. Working as a stage technician has given me one of the most valuable skill sets I could ever ask for, especially in terms of working as an effective team and as a leader. They value good time management, hard work, innovation, professionalism, and wit. These skills are very transferrable, not only to other theaters but to other job environments as well. The PAC is a favorite of community and tour groups. Almost everyone who has performed at the PAC or worked with the crew leaves a huge fan, and many community members even become lifelong friends as they build relationships through recurring events. It is the highlight stop of many tours, and returning artists frequently seek out the crew they worked with on their last stop with huge smiles on their faces. The PAC always exceeds expectations, and regularly breaks load-in / load-out time records. The PAC tries its hardest to give the client the best possible show for their budget, and often pitch in extra time to ensure the show looks good and runs smoothly, without additional pay. They care, a lot. Work shifts are offered on a gig by gig basis, so if an event doesn't fit into your schedule, you don't need to accept the shift. Scheduling works very well for people with unconventional schedules. The more skills you have and the more roles you can work, the more often you're called for shifts. Good hourly rate and regular wage increase over time. Overall, the PAC has been one of the most fantastic work experiences in my life. The problem-solving skills I've learned, people I've built relationships with, and the complete satisfaction of a job well-done is extremely rewarding. I whole-heartedly recommend the PAC to anyone, client or tech.

Because the work is seasonal, only the senior staff are able to hold full-time jobs. Working at the PAC is essentially contract work and doesn't always produce a consistent paycheck. It may take a while to work your way up to consistent shifts as the senior staff learns your skills and what type of environments they can trust you with. Getting additional training takes a LOT of proactive effort. You have to ask many times, and outright, if you want to take on new roles or become a regular tech. (If you are a good learner and able to become technically competent that path is much easier, especially with prior experience.) Senior staff tends to pick techs they feel comfortable with first for gigs, so you need to prove you are a hard worker, intelligent thinker, will be on time, and can be trusted.) The work is very physical. If you don't like lifting heavy objects, being on your feet for hours at a time, or would prefer to kick back, this job is not for you. It is very active mentally and physically. A lot of people ask if you get to see the shows-- Nah. If you're working the run itself you'll see some of it from stageside, but crew only sees the show from a ticketed audience seat if management is specifically papering the house, which has only happened once in the entire three or four years I've worked there. (For me, being backstage is way more interesting than sitting in a seat though, which is why I became a technician.) There is no overtime pay for very long hours. This (non)payment technicality comes from pretty high up the chain, and I don't know all the reasons for it, but don't factor that in if you're looking at overtime finances. The application system through Cal Poly is a pain in the butt. It has many technical glitches and it's extremely easy to get lost in the system. I nearly didn't get hired because my application had something digitally wrong with it, and it was only because I followed up with CP HR in a couple phone calls that they even knew I had applied. (This is not unique to the PAC: at another time I'd applied for a different campus department, and out of the 5 documents I attached to the application, on 2 made it through the system. Check frequently to ensure the digital process is correct, and talk to *people*, don't just rely on the technology.)