My tourmate, Haley, had the idea of posting her daily schedule a while back on her blog. I thought I’d follow suit and share what a day in the life of a sound engineer on a one-off is like:

1. After having gone to bed at 1:30 am the evening prior…
2. 7:30 am wakeup.
3. 7:33 Get dressed in your bunk into the clothes you wore last night.
4. 7:36 Stumble into the bathroom, brush teeth, pee.
5. 7:38 Fill cup of coffee, add a bit of sugar.
6. 7:39 Eat a yogurt and a nutri-grain bar, if you have any left.
7. 7:50 Wander inside to see if Load-In’s started yet.
8. 7:52 Check out the space — “how bad is today going to be?”
9. 7:57 Meet Crew chief –”how bad is today going to be?”
10. 8:00 Load in the show. Land the truck, pull the snakes, build front-of-house, stack the towers, balance the room, set the pit, check it all.
11. 1:00 Go to lunch.
12. 3:00 Take a nap. Set your alarm for 5:30.
13. 5:40 Wake up and eat something.
14. 6:00 Sound check the band.
15. 6:20 Sound check the cast.
16. 6:45 Sound check the principles.
17. 7:15 Focus.
18. 8:00 Mix the show.
19. 10:12 Pack up the console.
20. 10:20 Pack up the pit.
21. 10:45 Pack up the towers.
22. 11:00 Push boxes to the truck.
23. 11:40 Grab ice for the bus coolers.
24. 11:50 Shower at the theatre.
25. 12:05 Store the dirty towel under the bus.
26. 12:10 Drink a beer back on the bus and unwind a bit.
27. 1:30 am… Go to bed and don’t forget to set your alarm for tomorrow.