Kyle E. Techentin

I served as Head Carpenter for the North American tour of Ain’t Too Proud. In this role, I supervised all technical areas of the production on the road, including scenery, rigging, lighting, audio, wardrobe, and hair and makeup. My responsibilities included serving as the technical liaison with each venue before the show arrived; coordinating transportation and logistics from venue to venue; supervising a touring crew of 16 and a local crew of more than 100 stagehands during load-in and performances, which ran from one week to two and a half months depending on the city; managing all associated payroll; and coordinating weekly, monthly, and annual inspections, repairs, and maintenance for the show's technical equipment.

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When I took over this production, it had been on the road for only a few months after technical rehearsals and had already gone through two head carpenters. The show initially needed stronger leadership and better preparation to make load-ins and load-outs more efficient. After several months of work calls with the crew, operations became significantly smoother and more streamlined. After a year on tour, the producers began exploring ways to slightly reduce the production's size and scope while preserving the original creative design and intent. The Senior Vice President of Production asked me to identify elements that could be removed to shorten load-in and load-out times. My recommendations were fully approved, and I was given the opportunity to present the plan directly to the producers and creative team for final approval.