What does Dave Misner do all day?

With a little encouragement, the submissions from SCT staff for our "What do people do all day?" series have been rolling in. Today, our first submission from our Backstage Crew.

What does Dave Misner do all day?

Dave starts a busy day at 7am, when his cat wakes him up to get her breakfast. After eating all his cereal, Dave gets ready to go to work at Seattle Children’s Theatre, where he plays the sound effects and manages the microphones for Busytown. When he gets to the theatre, he turns on all the sound equipment – a computer, a sound mixer, amplifiers and speakers. He checks everything to make sure it is all working before all the people arrive to watch the show. If there is a problem with anything, Dave needs to fix it quickly!

After the audience is all seated, Dave heads to the control booth with Amy, the Stage Manager, and Lauren, the Light Board Operator. When everything is ready, and the actors and crew are all in place, Amy starts the show and tells Dave, Lauren, and the Stage Crew when to play the sounds, or change the lights, or move the scenery. At intermission, while the audience is taking a break, the crews are all working to put everything in its proper place for Act II. When the second act is over, Dave turns off all the amplifiers and speakers, shuts down the computer and sound mixer, and puts away the microphones. Then he drives home where his cat is waiting for him to get her dinner.

Dave does this job six days a week, and sometimes he spends his whole day at the theatre, from 9 in the morning until 9 at night! On his day off from the theatre, Dave works for a famous glass artist named Dale Chihuly, putting up lights and making the glass look pretty.

When Dave has some spare time, he likes to go hiking in the mountains and taking pictures of waterfalls.

And that’s what Dave Misner does all day!

Dave Misner
Lead Sound Engineer

Many thanks to Dave, and don't forget to check out "Busytown", running through June 15th at Seattle Children's Theatre.