KP's-Eye-View
Calling Desk
Annenberg Center, University of Pennsylvania.
This thing looks like it was designed in the '60s, with no regard for a place to put my MacBook Pro. Other than that, it was cool.
It also had a loose metal plate in the area where my legs would go, that was way too close to my feet. Every time I would let my legs hang out straight down my toes would kick it (invariably at a quiet moment in the show).
There was a crazy old headset panel on the left, with a giant switch to turn the mic on and off, but they didn't let me use it. Maybe it doesn't work anymore, or maybe they just bypassed it because most stage managers are bothered or confused by it.
I have covered before how I believe the ideal calling desk should look like it's capable of launching missiles. And looks are very little of it -- you have to actually get to press the buttons and toggle switches in the course of your job. A boring ClearCom pack does not convey the same authority. Plus it was in the way of my arm when typing. I would have been happy to learn whatever quirks that panel had, for the joy of getting to play with it.
Calling Desk
Annenberg Center, University of Pennsylvania.
This thing looks like it was designed in the '60s, with no regard for a place to put my MacBook Pro. Other than that, it was cool.
It also had a loose metal plate in the area where my legs would go, that was way too close to my feet. Every time I would let my legs hang out straight down my toes would kick it (invariably at a quiet moment in the show).
There was a crazy old headset panel on the left, with a giant switch to turn the mic on and off, but they didn't let me use it. Maybe it doesn't work anymore, or maybe they just bypassed it because most stage managers are bothered or confused by it.
I have covered before how I believe the ideal calling desk should look like it's capable of launching missiles. And looks are very little of it -- you have to actually get to press the buttons and toggle switches in the course of your job. A boring ClearCom pack does not convey the same authority. Plus it was in the way of my arm when typing. I would have been happy to learn whatever quirks that panel had, for the joy of getting to play with it.