Build 2019: Day 1

By Giles Moss on July 25th

Wednesday 24th July 2019

And we really are off! The plan for today was: Build theSpace on North Bridge's production office, build most of Venue 45 and welcome our new crew to site.

Our 0730 scaffold delivery was bang on time. This was a good start.

The lorry dropped off the tubes on a stil, usefully, so we could gather for a coffee before shifting the pipes inside.

The senior team and our venue managers assembled and awaited instructions:

During this time Mark, our IT guy, headed off to North Bridge to get going with the IT side of the Production Office.

Back in Venue 45 it was time to tip the truck. Matt and Neil grabbed a flight case:

All the crew got in on the act. Most of the kit on this truck is for other venues tomorrow:

Meanwhile our branded clothing had arrived and Kat diligently sorted it into bundles for every member of staff. We ask for their sizes up front so aim to order them the right fit:

The Venue 45 build really got underway once the scaffolding was up and the production truck tipped:

Neil, Meera and Fay labelled some lanterns:

And Matt labelled some soca spiders:

Jamie did some exceptionally neat cabling in the rig:

The senior and venue management team had about 3 1/2 hours to turn an empty scaf rig into a finished theatre. We did it - more or less, anyway - and were ready to welcome our new crew for the first time!

After the introduction session it was time for a bit of training on the essentials. Rigging lights, how to tie drapes, that kind of thing. Skills our venue technicians often have already, but a refresher is rarely a waste of time. Jamie also demonstrated a CO2 fie extinguisher!

And then we had a bit of a social where the new crew had a beer (or a Strongbow, that seems popular) on us, and an opportunity to meet collagues and venue management team.