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Recently, I was on a crew of three working a small event at a community college. As the audio engineer on the call, one of my tasks was to set up a small lobby PA before the event and take it down once the theatre portion was underway (the first half an hour or so was one person talking into a wireless mic, so I had ample time to go out and retrieve the PA). The rig consisted of one rolling rack of gear and a large Mackie powered speaker on a stand. Cake, right?
Not necessarily. Women, whether we like it or not, tend to be the smaller fries on a crew in terms of muscle. It’s undeniable, simple biology.
And sometimes what seems like a simple set up can be the biggest bear of your day, especially when pride and self-consciousness come roaring into the mix.
When I started as a stagehand five years ago, I was acutely aware of both my lack of experience and my lack of…well, you know. THAT. Most of the crew were guys, and I was eager to show them I wasn’t a slouch when it came to hard work, that I could hang with the dudes when it came to pushing, pulling, lifting, and loading. The problem was, only half of that was really true. I’ve always been a hard worker and I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, but a great deal of the physical part of the job was just beyond me. I wasn’t used to it, I hadn’t trained for it, and my body just plain wasn’t ready to do it. Tenacity got me a long way, but it also got me hurt on occasion. And the more I pressed to do things, the more I got shut down. It took me some time to realize that most of the guys I worked with weren’t making a statement about my femininity, they just didn’t want me to get hurt – both for my own sake and the sake of my employers and the shows.
Looking back, I see my mistake. By trying to bite off more than I could chew, labor-wise, I was putting myself, my coworkers, and my venue at risk.
The first thing a good stagehand/crew member needs to realize is that the show isn’t about you or what you’re doing.
It’s not your time to make a statement, it’s your time to do the work that needs to be done. And most people you’re working with don’t give a hoot about gender roles, they just want to get things done in the most efficient way possible, which means having the big muscley dudes doing the heavy lifting and everyone else getting in where they fit in.
I think women are afraid that they’ll lose respect in this work environment by not being “tough”. But my experience has been that people respect others who work in the best interest of the team. If that means you’re more helpful to your crew coiling cables than stacking cases on a particular show, do it. And if you need help, ask for it. No one’s going to look down on you protecting yourself, your crew members, and your gear from harm.
Now, with that in mind, it is equally important that you take it upon yourself to train for the reasonable expectations of your job. In the realm of audio, this means you’ll be dealing regularly with loads of 20-50 lbs (or more) and some of it will be relatively delicate gear. If you are not weight training, you need to start. Working with weights, especially free weights, can be intimidating and a little embarrassing for the newcomer. But give yourself time to get used to it and make sure you have the knowledge you need to work correctly with the weights. There are tons of references, with visual aids, available online.
You need to make sure you’re working all of your muscle groups (include your back! Lats, delts, lower back) and training them for power and stamina. Some of the lowest-tech exercises are actually the best for this. If you have a place to work on pull-ups and push-ups, make them a regular part of your routine. And look for exercises that mimic the physical movements you do at work. Do you need to lift things above your head? Pull cables? Think about the motions and the muscles that you need the most out of. Start small, work your way up, and give your body the time it needs to recover between workouts.
If you want to be healthy and strong, you need a balanced diet that includes proteins, good fats, ample calories, and real food. You also need water and sleep! You may put on a few pounds in the beginning as you learn what your body needs to accommodate the new demands on it. But if you’re worried about hulking out, don’t. You’re not planning on competing in any World’s Strongest Engineer competitions – you just need to be able to lift some speakers. You will be able to get the strength you need without putting on a great deal of bulk, and you may find, as I did, that weight training is a far better fat-blaster than running!
Happy engineering – AND lifting!
Article by Sound Girl: Kerrie Mondy.
Published in cooperation with Soundgirls.org
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The mission of SoundGirls.org is to inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio. Our mission is to create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers. SoundGirls.Org was formed in 2013 by veteran live sound engineers Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato and operates under the Fiscal Sponsorship of The California Women’s Music Festival, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. In 2012, Karrie and Michelle participated in the “Women of Professional Concert Sound” panel at the AES Conference in San Francisco. The panel was hosted by the Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) and moderated by WAM founder Terri Winston. Terri brought together five women working in live and broadcast audio. The groundbreaking panel (which also included Jeri Palumbo, Claudia Engelhart and Deanne Franklin), provided young women and men a glimpse into life on the road, tips and advice, and a Q & A with the panelists. More importantly though, was how incredibly powerful the experience was for the panelists. We had all been in the business for 20 years or more, yet most of us had never met before that day and within minutes we bonded like long-lost sisters. We were struck by how similar our experiences, work ethics, and passions were and wondered why our paths had never crossed and how our careers would have been different had we been there to support each other through the years. Each of us are strong on our own, but together we were even stronger and a powerful force. We were empowered. Each of us had been asked hundreds of times in our careers: Are there other women doing sound? How did you get into sound? How would a young woman go about getting into sound? Through creating SoundGirls.Org, we hope to establish a place for women working in professional audio to come for support and advice, to share our success and failures, our joys and frustrations, and for empowerment and inspiration.
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