You are sitting in the dark, voices all around you, anxiously
waiting, suddenly the room
goes silent, but just for a second, from nowhere you hear
the first chord of the electric
guitar, a spotlight hits the stage
and the crowd erupts and is on
their feet, it is show time.
Twelve hours earlier, a group of
men and women are standing
in the cold, just after sunrise,
the skies are grey and there is
a light rain falling. They watch
as eight 53 foot trailers are
moved in, pulled in by semitrucks followed by 4 streamlined luxury buses, the gloves
go on and work begins. These
men and women are union
stagehands, members of The
International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees
or I.A.T.S.E., and this is how
they earn a living.
The Stagehands are truly the
unsung heroes behind every
concert, Broadway show, circus, and theatrical production,
and movie, that you see. We
walk into the arenas or theaters, and when the curtain
goes back the stage is set, the