显示生产 grad Rob Prager has tackled plenty of behind-the-scenes problem solving on music tours, but a recent challenge on The Weeknd’s global After Hours Til Dawn Tour sticks out in his mind.

“We played [in] Tallinn, Estonia, and we actually played on the side of a hill,” Rob says. “To load a show, you need level ground to level the stage and unload trucks. To do that on the side of the hill is just absolutely insane. 我想了很久，就像, 如果舞台需要在山上保持水平, 舞台腿在某些地方需要多高? 多低? 我们怎样才能使它更坚固?’ We [figured that out] and it was one of the most beautiful looking shows we've ever done. I think we had 65,000 people on the side of a grass hill, just hanging out listening to The Weeknd.”

Rob has handled those issues and more on The Weeknd’s tour. 他目前是该节目的自动化机组主管, and he works with his own team and the show’s other crew members to put on concerts for thousands of fans across the globe. Rob’s passion for touring and his 满帆 education helped him find his way to massive, 音乐产业中复杂的现场表演.

Rob wanted to work in music since he was 13; he originally dreamed of becoming a front of house engineer for metal bands. 然而, his time at 满帆 showed him additional opportunities in the touring world, 比如成为一名照明技师或电工. After Rob graduated, he did lighting installs for Universal Orlando events and Disney on Ice. He was touring with the Blue Man Group as the Head Electrician when a fellow crew member suggested that he shift into automation.

Automation crew members handle electric rigging for live shows. 他们负责设置和控制演出的机械部件, 就像移动的墙, 舞台上电梯, or equipment for stunts (like helping a performer fly over the audience). Rob knew that automation was the next step in his career, and he made a potentially risky move to make the change.

“我正在筹备一场时装秀 R.U.N. 由太阳马戏团(Cirque du Soleil)在拉斯维加斯做照明. I found out they had an automation position open on their show KÀ. I went over there to go interview and they're like, ‘Oh, we can't hire you. You already work for the company in lighting, so we can't offer you a position,’” he recalls.

“所以我走过桥，辞去了工作, 然后走回来，我说, ‘嘿, 我不在这里工作了.’他们说，‘我们从来没有给过你工作.’我说，‘好吧，我刚戒了我的.’他们说, “好吧, 显然这孩子对在这里工作很感兴趣, 他有做这件事的动力.’ So that's kind of how I stepped into the world of automation,” he laughs.

Rob eventually shifted back into touring and made his way to his current role as Automation Crew Chief for The Weeknd’s tour. Rob has plenty to do for the sophisticated show: His team sets up and controls a 30-foot-tall robot woman that rotates in a giant circle, a 35-foot-wide moon that hangs from a winch and moves vertically during the concert, and 舞台上电梯 for The Weeknd to stand on as he performs. It takes four days to set up the equipment housed in the show’s 45 semi-trucks, and Rob’s team works 17-hour days to place and test the production’s rigging and cables.

The Weeknd’s concerts offer plenty of excitement for Rob, but his favorite part of the tour is connecting with his team members after each show ends.

“Loading out shows with my team is the greatest thing ever because putting it in is such hard work and such long days. And then you get a really big high from doing the show and there's this adrenaline rush. And then you pull it out and things are getting tossed into trucks and people are yelling and gears are flying this way and that way. 这是一次非常有趣的经历. You're trying to beat your records and go see how fast your team can go. 这是一次真正的亲密体验。.

Prioritizing interpersonal connections helped Rob find his path in show production – he says it’s an essential skill for anyone who wants to be involved in the industry.

和每个人交谈. 你永远不知道谁是谁. 我的一些上司, 他们穿着运动裤, 她们穿着背心, but they're the production manager for some famous artists. 对每个人都好. 花点时间去了解别人.”