Eric at the light board during the production of "Jane Eyre," 2012
Graduating Sixth Former Eric Holden was honored at All-School Assembly last week for his efforts and dedication to stage crew in the Performing Arts Department over the four years of his Abbey career. Eric received a plaque from Mr. Bragan and fellow members of several stage productions amid a standing ovation and rousing applause from the entire School community.
Mr. Bragan said:
"Eric has been enormously helpful to us over the years.
"When we have our tech rehearsal a week before the first performance, we start a run of the show and stop whenever we need to incorporate a sound or lighting cue. The stage crew gets thrown in pretty fast, especially whoever is on the light board, which is usually Eric. For example, I might call up to the light booth in the middle of a scene and ask if we can get more yellows in the background or less light on the side. Eric takes a note quickly, makes the adjustment and incorporates it into the show right away.
"Eric is intuitive. When going into a blackout at the end of a scene, for example, he has a great sense of timing. He really listens to the actors and adjusts the speed of the blackout to the emotional tone of the scene. That light cue is often a button at the end of a scene. It's like he is another character on the stage.
"Eric's laid-back temperament is so appreciated, especially in the stressful situations we sometimes have when putting on a show. On several occasions over the past 12 shows, we had a technical issue moments before letting the audience into the auditorium. In one instance, I remember Eric walked up to me and said in a calm voice, "One of our lights just burnt out and so I need to take out the cherry picker and change the bulb." This is a somewhat tedious undertaking because it requires dragging the large machine out and riding the lift 60 feet into the air. Eric quietly replaced the bulb and we opened the house.
"Whenever something went wrong, Eric would calmly troubleshoot the issue and fix the problem. I was often convinced that there were gremlins in the building and we needed to appease them in some way, but Eric always resorted to logic and got us out of a jam.
"I could go on and on. We will certainly miss him next year and will always have him on 'speed dial' for when the next issue arises."
Congratulations, Eric, and thank you!