Turn The Search For A Stagehand Over To A Professional Staffing Service

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Directing actors has its difficulties. Working with fellow artists presents challenges, and when everyone sees eye-to-eye, a great work of art may result. Not all actors can understand what directors and producers say. Nor do they always follow directions without coaxing. At least they have a good excuse: they're animals. Shooting a video that features animal "actors" does bring more complexities to the mix. That's why everyone on the shoot has to be able to work with animals, especially the stagehands. During a live recording, stagehands become responsible for a lot. And only highly skilled ones can work around temperamental animal actors.

Four-legged Actors and Two-Legged Stagehands

Placing an advertisement for "stagehands with animal experience" might not lead you to get the best results. The sensitive nature of the job requires an experienced hand. Screening a stagehand by a staffing firm becomes a necessity. There's a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of a stagehand during the videotaping of a live event. The inclusion of animals makes things even harder. The stagehand should have the following skills:

• Knowing How Not to Upset the Animal: Scaring the animals can happen in a multitude of ways. Moving too fast or inadvertently acting in a threatening manner could set even a docile pet off. Loud noises, such as dropping things, could frighten animals. Even staring at the creature might provoke an unfortunate reaction. An experience stagehand would know how to avoid ill-advisable actions. 
• Understanding Necessary Cues: If the stagehand has to interact with the animal, he/she may not always do so with verbal commands. Hand cues might be necessary, and delivering relies on precision. The stagehand also needs to be a fast learner. He/she has to pick up on the cues and perform them expertly, possibly with little practice.
• Reacting Swiftly to a Mishap: Well-trained entertainment animals should perform well at a live show, but bloopers occur. What if a tail knocks over an important prop? The director may shut the lights briefly, and the stagehand should be able to run on stage, fix things, and exit. He/she must do all this without drawing any attention or further distracting from the show.

All the above skills circle back to experience. The stagehand has to know how to work with animals and do so during a live taping. Hiring someone with such unique talents is a job best left to experts. A stagehand staffing team may fit that description.

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2 June 2020