Hey everybody,
Welcome to the semi-grand opening of One From The Road: Tools, Toys, and Tales for the Theatrical Technician (or OFTR, for short)! So, you’re asking, what exactly is this site?
Well, it’s a little bit of everything, aimed at my fellow co-workers in the theatrical industry. It’s an outgrowth of my now defunct blog, The Full Andy, which started as a way to keep friends and family updated (and occasionally entertained) while I was out on the 2003-2004 National Tour of the musical The Full Monty. Add to that my previously published product reviews of various gadgets and tools aimed at/useful for theatre technicians which appeared in USITT’s official magazine, TD&T, some new reviews of similar items, and perhaps an occasional plug for gadgets of my own invention (should any of these crazy schemes come to fruition), and you’ve got OFTR.
Which, of course, leads to the question, “Who the heck is this Andy guy, anyway?” Well, to keep it brief, since you’ll get to know a lot more about me as this site grows, I’m a touring sound engineer, currently out on the road doing sound for big furry monsters, and with experience in theatre on all scales from community theatre to national tours, as well as corporate events and concerts of all sorts (folk fests to hard rock, you name it). I’m also, as one might put it, a bit of a gadget slut. Yes, I love my toys…er, tools.
If there’s a tool out there that can make my job easier or more fun, odds are, I’ve tried it, or would if I could afford it. But…and it’s a big but…I’m very critical of these gadgets. I won’t use a cool toy just for the sake of using a cool toy, and no matter how cool it is, if it sucks, I’ll call a spade a spade. And I love to share the cool toys with my peers, not to mention warn them away from the total crap. In other words, I know that the two most valuable things to anybody in this industry, particularly somebody living on the road, are time and money. Anything I can do to help the rest of you save one, the other, or ideally both, I’ll do. So, that’s what you’ll get here: fun stories, cool and useful tools, and no bullshit.
In the next week or so, I’ll be posting a few “best of” posts from The Full Andy to get things started, as well as my previously published reviews, and I’ve got at least one new (and long promised) review in the pipeline. After that, we’ll see where things go.
So, sign up for updates, and be sure to keep up on the latest. And if you’ve got stories or reviews from your work in theatre, send them on to contributions@onefromtheroad.com and we’ll see about posting them, too!
-Andy
P.S.-Yes, I know the site is a bit on the ugly side right now. Once I get some more content going, I’ll work on making it look a bit prettier. But first, the important stuff, eh? And, while we’re at it, if anybody wants to propose a OFTR logo, send it in!