What I Did as a Stagehand
Originally hired as Video Tech, the company I worked for had the ability to use me wherever the pleased. The vast majority of the time, this meant being given the title of “Stagehand” so I could be utilized anywhere on jobs. I set up and tore down events as small as some video displays in some conference rooms to musical acts in large venues.
Job Highlights
- The best moment as a stagehand is when Justin Timberlake thanked me for my work on his concert.
- Some other big events I got to work for included Justin Bieber, Madonna, and Rock In Rio Las Vegas.
Positive Takeaways
- I had minimal work in actual stagehand work. Most of the work is “On Call” and sometimes they need people last minute, so they have a large roster of people to call.
- I got to work for some of my favorite artists. Sometimes, you get to keep shirts you are given to work the event.
- The company didn’t expect you to take every call. Some jobs, if you can’t show up for even just a few calls, they’ll fire you, so this was nice.
- You can train in different jobs while working. Say you’re a Video Tech and all the Video Tech work is done. You can then ask to go help another department, like lighting or audio, and usually the extra hands weren’t turned down.
Negative Takeaways
- I eventually quit because they kept calling me when I was already scheduled to work at my other job. One of the schedulers even asked me, “Why don’t you take the jobs?” Well, my other job was paying me more, and I’m not going to cancel a better paying commitment that I already had me scheduled first.
- Hours were sporadic. Call time could be any time during the day or night, and could go for many hours over the scheduled time. It’s not bad if it’s your only job, but trying to balance this with another job can be difficult.
- There are slow times and busy times, so it’s best to have some other income.
- They say that if you bug the schedulers, they will give you priority for work. Some former coworkers say it works, and some say it doesn’t.
- When I got hired as a stagehand, I had to purchase some items for work. It wasn’t too bad (a black polo, black pants, steel toed boots, 8″ crescent wrench, small black flashlight, safety vest, and a construction helmet), but it kind of sucks when you are supplied with materials you need, but we were hired as independent contractors I believe.
Final Words on Being a Stagehand
Have you ever wondered why it costs so much to go to some concerts?
For example, Justin Timberlake at T-Mobile Arena on April 14th/15th, 2018 had tickets in the nosebleed section for $165! That’s before fees and taxes! I also went to a K-Pop concert in 2016 by Big Bang (my brother is a huge k-pop fan, and it ended up being a pretty entertaining show) and the ticket was over $200, and we were halfway up the nosebleeds! Well, there is a LOT of people setting up that concert and a LOT of equipment being used to make it all happen.
I think I quit because I felt like I was completely unreliable as a stagehand. I turned down so many calls, and it had been about 6 months before I accepted a call. What sucked is that when I did take a call, my other job made me take vacation time to go work my stagehand job.
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