I am a non-playing member of the Portsmouth Players. My name is Kate Evans. I help with backstage during the shows. The department I work for is called the Fly dept. My crew consist of 4 to 6 permanent crew members, on whom I can call for each production. Then it depends on how big the show is for us in the Flys, we use what is known as a Hemp House at the Kings Theatre, which is all ropes and the occassionally counterbalanced wires attached to very heavy scenery. And we work above stage on the leftside, giving us a birds eye view of the show if we have time to watch. What is the Fly Dept? Well, if you see scenery, house curtain, and the safety curtain raised to the roof, that`s us, or lowering into the stage to set the scene for the actors.

Below are some photoes I have taken when we have been working during various productions.

Crew

This photo was taken when the company was producing the musical "Chess" Back row left to right: Mark Fisher, John Dunstane, Tiny Coley, Myself Kate Evans, Front left: Norman Price, Tony Lee-Wright and Mark Wilson.

Iron

My crew winding the Safety curtain at the end of the interval. The Safety curtain or the Iron has 64 turns on the handle to be completely out of view of the audience.