Carnegie Mellon School of Drama

Requirements for Master Electricians

Students assigned the role of Master Electrician for School of Drama productions and any other productions within or without the School are required to fulfill the following requirements, and will be graded for their production assignment based on these criteria.

• A meeting schedule will be set up by the Master Electrician's advisor prior to the beginning of the production. The ME must attend these meetings and be prepared with whatever materials may be requested by the advisor to aid in the advising session. Meetings may vary in length and frequency at the discretion of the advisor.

• Master Electricians should be familiar with the published job description for their position. All elements of the job description will be used in evaluating the performance of the ME.

• Master Electricians are required to have a personal set of tools that are available for their use during any and all work related to the production to which they are assigned.  For a complete list of required tools see http://www.cmu.edu/drama/lighting/Production/ME Supply List.html.

• The Master Electrician will be issued keys necessary for the completion of his show responsibilities by the Staff Lighting Technologist. At the completion of those responsibilities all keys must be returned to the Staff Lighting Technologist.

• The Master Electrician must requisition all materials and supplies needed for completion of the project from the Staff Lighting Technologist. Requests should be in the form of an initial shop order listing all equipment needed for the completion of the project as well as written requests for additional materials as they are needed during the production process. The initial shop order will have a turn-around time of 60 hours for in-stock items; other requests will be honored in a timely fashion. NO ITEMS ARE TO BE USED IN A PRODUCTION WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION OF THE STAFF LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIST OR HIS DESIGNATED ALTERNATE.

• During the load-in and technical rehearsal phase of a production the Master Electrician should be in daily contact with their advisor via emailed reports detailing work conducted during crew calls, schedule for the following day and any other issues pertinent to the production.

• At the conclusion of the assigned production the Master Electrician will present their work in the form of a production notebook to their advisor for evaluation. This work must include all paperwork developed for the show, particularly preliminary and final budget figures for materials and labor. A written self-evaluation by the Master Electrician should also be included. This will consist of a standard academic paper of no less than 500 words. All written work will be evaluated on presentation as well as content. The ME may also be asked to present their work for one or more classes.

Grading Criteria: The grade assigned to the student for work on the specific production in the role of Master Electrician will be based on the above elements in the following percentages: Advisor meeting sessions; 15%, Fulfillment of job description; 50%, Proper handling of materials requests; 10%, Advisor contact during load-in and tech; 10%, production notebook; 15%. If keys are issued to the ME failure to return those keys at the end of the process will result of a reduction in grade of one letter-grade per week of tardiness. Failure to return keys within four weeks of the end of a production will result in an automatic failure and could have other consequences as well.