Behind the Scenes at Late Night: Rabbis with Guitars and Lost Drummers

By JIM BALL

It was three minutes before Mah Tovu was scheduled to play their late night set in the Mini-Ballroom on Wednesday night - and their drummer was missing. A frantic call went out on walkie-talkies all over the Hynes Auditorium. Rabbi Steve Brodsky, one of the lead singers and guitar players, was in a mild panic, along with fellow band members (and rabbis) Ken Chasen and Josh Zweiback. Stage Manager Jim Ball consulted with UAHC staffer Laurence "Jake" Jacobs, who oversees the two stages. Watches were looked at nervously.

The drummer showed up on time, and the set went on without a hitch to the appreciative audience--just one small example of what goes on behind the scenes at the Late Night entertainment venues. Each night after the Plenary Session, people pour out of the Veterans' Auditorium and into the ballrooms for a fun, eclectic mix of music and merriment that gets them clapping, swaying and singing. But a lot of preparation and work goes into making the Late Night venues happen.

Each act appearing on stage, for instance, performs a sound check, usually earlier in the evening. That means having all instruments, microphones, speaker systems and other equipment set up exactly as they would be at the performance. The performers play to check sound levels, make sure they can hear each other properly through their stage monitors (small speakers facing them), and check the balance of the performers and their instruments.

But they don't do this alone. Each stage has a sound crew that handles the complex wiring of guitars, microphones and speaker systems. In the Mini-Ballroom, Mike Lewis directs those tasks - and sits before a large sound mixing board with enough knobs and dials to make the uninitiated dizzy. It's his job to "mix" the sound of as many as four instruments and five voices into one harmonious blend. In Ballroom B, Don Schuerich handles the master board, with help from Eric Motte. Mark Wolinsky "floats" between the two venues.

These tech crews not only have to handle the sound mix for one band - but two and sometimes three different groups at a performance. That means switching the microphones, re-setting monitors, moving some of the equipment, and remembering where the knob and switch settings were for each different bands from the earlier sound check.

And doing it all in two minutes so the audience isn't kept waiting. Without a glitch. So that when Steve Dropkin or Jeff Klepper strums the first notes on their guitars, it's just the way it was earlier. And, of course, Lewis and Schuerich are constantly adjusting the sound as the sets go on - gently twisting dials, moving switches, listening, then adjusting some more.

The stage managers, perhaps, have the most thankless job. They need to make sure the shows don't run into the witching hour - midnight - when all performances must stop and the building emptied. The stage managers have to enforce a fairly strict time limit for each act, not only because of the Hynes curfew but because tech crews go into overtime at midnight. As one tech crew member put it, "At midnight, we turn into very expensive pumpkins."

So the stage manager, who works with each night's emcee, must tactfully move the show along. Encores are hard to handle. And if the Plenary session runs late, that means the late night shows start late, which means less time than planned.

Which is part of what Peter Weinrobe, stage manager in Ballroom B, faced on Wednesday night. The Plenary ran a little late. And the Zamir Chorale's performance ran over their allotted time, with Safam in the wings anxious to go on. Weinrobe handed a note to Zamir conductor Joshua Jacobsen, telling him he could not sing his last number, a medley of Chanukah tunes that is often requested by crowds and perfect for a few days before the holiday. Weinrobe's note said simply, "Cut Chanukah."

The morning after, he felt a little guilty. But just a little. It's all in a late night's work for a stage manager and the sound crews that work hard to help send people off to their hotels tired but singing.