Special events students learn behind the scenes workings of ASU Gammage

On Thursday, Nov. 20, PRM 423 students participated in a site visit to ASU Gammage prior to the Mannheim Steamroller Concert scheduled for later that evening. 

The class started out in one of Gammage’s Galleries, where faculty associate Stephen Potter led a discussion about how to do events within a venue and prepared students for a tour of the facility. 

The tour included visiting the Promenade (an open-air space that hosts events) and the VIP Lounge before moving on through the main lobby into the auditorium, then onto the main stage. While on stage, the conversation included setup and some of the unique features the venue has to offer. The class proceeded into the dressing room area and joined the company/tour manager, the show's video manager and an assistant manager.  The show's staff explained their roles, how they got into the business, and talked about life on the road.

After speaking with the company personnel, the students then spoke with Gammage’s production manager before venturing into the basement to learn about a working theater, including the power vault to see how the venue is powered to run all the equipment on stage for all shows.

After the backstage tour, the class went to the security command post hidden away in the venue, so that they could see the backbone of how security is handled and the types of equipment used for events at Gammage. The command center is staffed by a trained security guard who has access to all of the venue’s cameras, so that they can see if a problem arises or if a call comes in they can direct cameras to the area to record the incident for later evaluation.

Overall, it was a great opportunity for students to learn about venue management and go behind the scenes at ASU Gammage!

Written by Stephen H. Potter, M.Ed, CVE | Faculty Associate | Watts College for Public Service and Community Solutions