The first show I operated was at a pub venue in London. I was asked if I knew how to operate a show and answered yes. This was a lie. I had never done anything like it before in my life. But I figured that since I was good with computers and machines, I would figure it out. This show had everything: lights, sound and video mixing. All analogue – you remember the days of double cd players with auto pause, video mixers with airplane-like controls, lighting desks with A and B faders. No? Then you were born after 1990.
It was nerve-wracking but I loved it. And kept doing it, alongside stage management. I spent 4 years in London operating in the evening and being in rehearsals during the day. It was a blast. And very exhausting.