Wesley McClain graduated from the University of Mississippi Department of Theatre & Film with a BFA in Theatre Arts, emphasis in Design and Technology and now works as the Automation Department Supervisor for the long-running Cirque du Soleil show "O." It's safe to say that if any component of the production moves on its own, Wes is responsible for making sure it happens how and when its supposed to.
Wesley McClain graduated from the University of Mississippi Department of Theatre & Film with a BFA in Theatre Arts, emphasis in Design and Technology and now works as the Automation Department Supervisor for the long-running Cirque du Soleil show "O." It's safe to say that if any component of the production moves on its own, Wes is responsible for making sure it happens how and when its supposed to.
For a glimpse inside the show that Wesley oversees automation for, check out this behind-the-scenes look at "O":
The Department of Theatre & Film is grateful for its patrons and corporate sponsors. As a department we are committed to the high quality instruction that our students receive. Investing in the students’ education and these quality productions helps us move toward our common goal of graduating successful, creative adults who are lifelong learners. If you are interested in contributing to these efforts, please visit https://umfoundation.givingfuel.com/theatreandfilm.
From The Department of Theatre and Film at the University of Mississippi, this is Stage & Screen.
Katherine Stewart
Hello, hello and welcome back to Stage & Screen.
Katherine Stewart
I'm your host, Katherine Stewart and on the show today we have Wesley McClain.
Katherine Stewart
Wes is an alum of our program who received a BFA in Theater Arts with an emphasis in design and technology, and he now works for Cirque du Soleil as the automation supervisor on the long running show “O”.
Katherine Stewart
Oh and yes, that is every bit as exciting as.
Katherine Stewart
Sounds Wes is going to tell us about his very interesting job share how we got from the University of Mississippi to Las Vegas and Cirque de Soleil.
Katherine Stewart
(And here's a hint:
Katherine Stewart
There's a cruise ship or two involved), and he'll share some advice for those who may be interested in a career in theatrical or entertainment automation.
Katherine Stewart
Without further ado, here's Wes.
Katherine Stewart
Hi Wesley, thank you so much for joining us today.
Wesley McClain
I know no problem, happy to be here.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, thank you.
Katherine Stewart
So I was kind of thinking before we get into kind of your back story and the story of how you got from the University of Mississippi to the amazing job you have now with Cirque du Soleil.
Katherine Stewart
Maybe just for our listeners who are not super familiar with the idea of automation.
Katherine Stewart
Could you explain exactly what automation is and then maybe put your role with Cirque in context of that?
Wesley McClain
Yeah, absolutely you know automation these days, especially back when people first thought about automation.
Wesley McClain
They definitely thought about industrial automation and factories and things like that.
Wesley McClain
If you Google automation number, one thing you'll see is probably car factories, that sort of thing.
Wesley McClain
You know, giant robotic arms putting together cars, that sort of stuff.
Wesley McClain
Course all of that you know automated stuff here.
Wesley McClain
Yeah, building and programming robotic arms do the same repetitive motion time and time again with the reliability of it being the exact same right?
Wesley McClain
That's essentially what we do in automation.
Wesley McClain
However, for theater or entertainment automation.
Wesley McClain
However, it's more things like line sets.
Wesley McClain
Automating a line set instead of having a handful line the line.
Wesley McClain
That itself would be automated, so you could program it to come in and out at an exact speed and it will do that exact motion time and time again.
Wesley McClain
You know, depending on how long of a run your show has.
Wesley McClain
Lift, stage movement and stage scenery is a big thing.
Wesley McClain
A lot of you know shows are using giant set pieces that track on and off stage now, and those are all on automated slip carts or something along those lines.
Wesley McClain
To get that scenery on and off and they can come all the way on and be as precise.
Wesley McClain
You know hitting a spike mark within a few millimeters, that sort of stuff and do it.
Wesley McClain
Time
Wesley McClain
And again.
Wesley McClain
So you know, here at Cirque de Soleil. Obviously there that they've got deep pockets for these wonderful, amazing giant shows. So they were state of the art and a lot of the things they do now I work at oh which is 21, 20 going on 22 years old this year.
Wesley McClain
So the equipment is not necessarily state of the art now, but it's still, you know, a lot of the original stuff that's being used and doing the exact same thing that it started doing. You know, 20-21 years ago?
Wesley McClain
So you know, and upon that once everything is programmed and everything is good, you know we, we take cues off of stage management to move the scenery around, you know, move the lifts. You know at one it takes about 45 seconds for us to go from stage. Having a stage to having a 17 foot deep pool so you know we can. We can do a lot of.
Wesley McClain
Remarkable things with automation.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, because you've got people flying through the air and also underwater, right?
Wesley McClain
Absolutely yeah.
Wesley McClain
One big thing that Cirque uses automation for a lot is the you know flying of artists.
Wesley McClain
Obviously aerial acts, that sort of thing.
Wesley McClain
The death defying things that bring people in to watch Cirque shows you know all of that being automated makes it it's, you know, far safer than it would be if somebody was controlling it with a joystick or manually doing that flight with the hand line or something.
Wesley McClain
Like that you know we're able to hit those marks. Program it exactly what the artist needs it to be, and fly those people through the air. There is one point during oh that there are 26 artists in the air at one time, so you know, there's a little bit of a tense moment there towards the end of the show. But once everything goes well, you know you pull it off, it's.
Wesley McClain
Pretty great feeling.
Wesley McClain
And then of course, you know there's there's the moment where the stage is there, and a couple of seconds later an artist dives into the water.
Wesley McClain
You know, it's pretty death defying and breathtaking when you see it behind the scenes, you know we're standing there ready, in case you know one of those that equipment from time to time will fault.
Wesley McClain
You know it will have an issue.
Wesley McClain
Our operators we have to be trained to clear that Continuum with the show, you know, communicate with everybody involved so that we can put our safety protocols in place.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, So what?
Katherine Stewart
All among all of those things?
Katherine Stewart
What all are you responsible for?
Wesley McClain
So in our in our showroom ourselves we have about 110 axes which are moving points of movement. So that can be anywhere from a hoist point, which is what we use to fly people to the cylinders that we use to move the artists around. So we are responsible as a Department for maintaining all of that.
Wesley McClain
To safety specs.
Wesley McClain
Checking the equipment, doing inspections on everything, as well as running the queues for the show so we have two consoles that we run throughout the show.
Wesley McClain
One of them runs the deck.
Wesley McClain
Which is our lift and a couple other pieces lighting and that sort of stuff.
Wesley McClain
And then we have our Telepherique board which runs all of our equipment that's used multiple times throughout show.
Wesley McClain
And then of course, you know, as a Department, we also run some effects, so we have like boiling water, so we have a third console that we do that which you know creates bubbles in the pool and smoke in the air and all that kind of stuff.
Wesley McClain
So we have a third console that runs all that.
Katherine Stewart
Wow.
Katherine Stewart
OK, so backing up a little bit.
Katherine Stewart
You graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts with an emphasis in design and technology.
Katherine Stewart
With as an undergrad, was automation something that was on your radar?
Katherine Stewart
Is that something that you aspired to do?
Katherine Stewart
Or something you thought about doing back then?
Wesley McClain
No, not at all.
Wesley McClain
Not when I was at Ole Miss.
Wesley McClain
You know it was it was I.
Wesley McClain
I knew about it and I knew that you know people were doing really cool things with it.
Wesley McClain
You know about the time that I had graduated.
Wesley McClain
Uh.
Wesley McClain
High School and started into college I think is when Cirque was opening cough, which is.
Wesley McClain
If you've ever seen cars, just a spectacle in terms of automations with the big stage.
Wesley McClain
So I knew that you know people were doing really cool things in this word.
Wesley McClain
Automation was there what it actually meant in entertainment.
Wesley McClain
I was wasn't too sure of.
Wesley McClain
So I actually why was why was there in Mississippi?
Wesley McClain
I was specializing in stage management so I was doing that kind of stuff and that's about the time that Michael Barnett started and he started, you know, pulling into the dark side of the lighting and that sort of stuff.
Wesley McClain
And so I took a little more interest in the technical side of things, you know.
Wesley McClain
You know more design as opposed to just the stage management so.
Wesley McClain
That was kind of how I got out and not that I didn't enjoy my time as a stage manager, but I definitely enjoyed being on the technical side of things and so I slowly started.
Wesley McClain
Trying to figure out what field I liked the most, whether it be set design or building or lighting, or I wasn't much for audio, so I tried it but wasn't wasn't very good at it, so I figured that wouldn't be my path, but.
Katherine Stewart
So, so how did you get into automation then?
Katherine Stewart
What were you doing when you graduated?
Katherine Stewart
Where did you go first?
Wesley McClain
So I went to SCTC the my senior year of college and there I got a job with Georgia Shakespeare Festival out of Atlanta, GA and they offered me.
Wesley McClain
A stage stage OPS position for the summer stock, so I was pretty excited about that.
Wesley McClain
But while I was also there, I also interviewed with Carnival Cruise.
Wesley McClain
Right?
Wesley McClain
And I sat down with the head of lighting.
Wesley McClain
I guess you call him the the gentleman that Graham that ran lighting there and he had.
Wesley McClain
There was also another gentleman named Mark who ran the kind of the stage and the automation side of things.
Wesley McClain
So I started interviewing with Graham and they kind of stopped me halfway through and they you know, Graham handed my resume over the mark, he said.
Wesley McClain
Probably be a little bit better with that.
Wesley McClain
And you know, Mark said hey, I've got this.
Wesley McClain
You know, position in automation and kind of explain to me what it entailed and said, is that something you know you'd be interested in?
Wesley McClain
'cause on carnival cruise lines they don't actually have stage managers calling shows.
Wesley McClain
So automation calls out their cues to their floor tech.
Wesley McClain
So that was kind of the closest thing to a stage manager that they had.
Wesley McClain
So I was like.
Wesley McClain
Oh sure, yeah, I'll I'll give it a go.
Wesley McClain
So I finished.
Wesley McClain
I did this summer so I I told him that I already had a job and couldn't start right away so we let me start there.
Wesley McClain
After summer stock season finished so I did Georgia Shakespeare and then in September I joined Carnival Cruise Lines as an automation technician and that's kind of where it took off.
Wesley McClain
I just, you know, quickly learn how to run shows.
Wow.
Wesley McClain
That was probably the easiest portion of it.
Wesley McClain
You know repetition of running same cues, and you know then the.
Wesley McClain
Actual workings of everything, how it still you know control side of it kind of took my interests and just started reading this schematics that were in finish that were on board and you know opening cabinets and trying to figure out for myself what stuff did so.
Wesley McClain
A little bit of self taught there for a while.
Katherine Stewart
It sounds like it captured your attention though.
Wesley McClain
It did right away pretty much.
Katherine Stewart
And it also sounds like you're able to combine some of your undergraduate training.
Katherine Stewart
You know some of the stage management, some of the technical work.
Katherine Stewart
Into that.
Wesley McClain
Well, absolutely you know.
Wesley McClain
The one thing with automation is.
Wesley McClain
Still a well it.
Wesley McClain
Is still fairly new to a lot of theater people.
Wesley McClain
Is not necessarily the big up and coming thing.
Wesley McClain
Sort of like lighting and automated or lighting and moving fixtures.
Wesley McClain
Was a few years ago.
Wesley McClain
Now automation is kind of becoming.
Wesley McClain
Cheaper and easier to use so that having there having that ability to that I learned with stage management in terms of working with the artistic staff and interpreting their what they wanted and kind of working with the technical staff to get that all happening when I was there, all of that that I learned translated over because when I was with karnevil I did a couple of contracts and then was asked to join a creation.
Wesley McClain
Team putting out some new shows.
Wesley McClain
So as I transitioned from that into that position, it was easy enough for me to work with the, you know choreographers and the set designers and everybody and kind of translate how I can make what they want to see happen into something that we can program and do repetitively so.
Katherine Stewart
So the theater background was useful.
Wesley McClain
Oh, definitely, definitely was you know and and when I was with carnival, you know there's only a handful of technicians on a cruise ship, so the fact that I had experience in lighting and had experience running audio, that kind of stuff, all of that experience that I had gotten as an undergrad.
Wesley McClain
You know, through the program was really helpful 'cause I could go and run the comet.
Wesley McClain
Club or help the lighting tech.
Wesley McClain
Change out lamps and his you know colored fixtures and all that kind of stuff which you know on cruise ships is you really are a small small team trying to take care of a big job so.
Katherine Stewart
Sure, sure.
Katherine Stewart
So how long were you with Carnaval?
Wesley McClain
I did carnival for about four years.
Wesley McClain
I think it was just about a little over four years when I, you know, decided to make the leap and join, show the circus in the desert.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, and with Cirque kind of was that a goal for you?
Katherine Stewart
Or it was just an opening came up that you thought looked interesting?
Katherine Stewart
Or how did you get from carnival to Sir?
Wesley McClain
I you know, one time at Carnival and doing the.
Wesley McClain
Doing the creation and all that kind of stuff.
Wesley McClain
I worked with a lot of really awesome and amazing people and a lot of them had backgrounds and Cirque and that just kind of seemed like a place.
Wesley McClain
It was kind of that that Golden egg on top of the shelf that I always wanted to get to and try.
Wesley McClain
And you know, make that a career path or something that I wanted to do.
Wesley McClain
And you know it just all of the things.
Wesley McClain
Just kind of fell into place like I think I've I've mentioned before I met my wife on cruise ships so you know we were there and we had gotten engaged and we had gone on vacation in Las Vegas.
Wesley McClain
We had seen a few of the shows and then when I had returned to carnival a couple weeks later, I got a call.
Wesley McClain
From a gentleman, Jim Hodgson.
Wesley McClain
That ran the centralized maintenance crew for Cirque, so he.
Wesley McClain
He called me up and, you know, explain the position and asked if I'd be interested.
Wesley McClain
And and then that was it.
Wesley McClain
So I made the jump and ended up in the desert.
Wesley McClain
Yeah, you know, the way that it all happened seems a bit remarkable now, but I guess it's you know it's always who you know in the industry itself.
Katherine Stewart
And how long have you been with Cirque now?
Wesley McClain
I I got here.
Wesley McClain
I think we're about seven years here in Las Vegas, so.
Katherine Stewart
And you've been on oh the whole time or.
Wesley McClain
I have not actually when I when I joined so the position that I took when I first moved here was part of what I called a centralized maintenance team and for a time there they have.
Wesley McClain
There's like I said, we're we're responsible for maintaining all of our own equipment, so there's a team, a daytime shift that maintains it all in a night time shift that actually runs the show.
Wesley McClain
So it's kind of a two shift system there.
Wesley McClain
And.
Wesley McClain
So for a while back in, yeah, I think it was after the recession.
Wesley McClain
Everything had certain kind of centralized, a lot of that and cut down on the numbers of people at each show and created this centralized crew which allowed them to take this part of.
Wesley McClain
I think there were about six or eight of us and go from show to show and accomplish those you know, weekly or daily tasks.
Wesley McClain
In terms of maintenance, that had to happen, so with that I got to work on a variety of the shows.
Wesley McClain
Whether it was, you know.
Wesley McClain
Oh obviously was the one of the first ones.
Wesley McClain
I started working at.
Wesley McClain
I worked over it.
Wesley McClain
MJ One was there as well. I worked at Zumanity, which unfortunately recent Closed's Arcana, which is closed. Unfortunately I did, you know, a little bit of stuff over at call in a few other places, but you know with that team we were able to really get an idea of what each show was like and what it was like to where. They all have their own little.
Wesley McClain
They're all obviously different in many ways, but.
Wesley McClain
You could figure out exactly what you liked and I guess, oh, with the diving and doing maintenance underwater, kind of took interest to me.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, I was just thinking what are some of the most interesting skills you've had the opportunity to learn specifically for this show?
Wesley McClain
Yeah, I well I spent like I said, spent four years on cruise ships and an exotic ports of call and all sorts of things and I never once scuba dived, which I think was a horrible mistake and it wasn't until I moved into Las Vegas that I actually, you know, they they paid for me to get scuba certified because all of our maintenance has to happen underwater outside, so we only.
Yes.
Wesley McClain
You know, we only drain the pool once or twice a year and then the rest of the time you know there's, uh, it's 1.5 million gallons of water there, so everything that's underwater has to be inspected and maintained. Kind of in a zero gravity sort of scenario. So that is, that's one thing that made is that interesting? You know it's?
Wesley McClain
It's one thing to turn a screwdriver or wrench, you know, in a normal atmosphere, but you add some water in there and all the sudden your you know your nuts in your bolts or floating.
Wesley McClain
Away while you're trying to hold things and it's.
Katherine Stewart
Just it's a bit chaos, so how often do you have to do that?
Wesley McClain
I mean it depends.
Wesley McClain
We do like weekly inspections and that sort of stuff and there's you know.
Wesley McClain
Obviously water adds to equipments.
Wesley McClain
Tired takes away from equipment lifespan, so we tend to replace things a little more often than you might somewhere else.
Wesley McClain
So you know, a lot of the underwater stuff can be reactive maintenance.
Wesley McClain
In terms of it, we fix it when it breaks.
Wesley McClain
There are some things we try to be proactive about.
Wesley McClain
Replace on a regular basis, but we dive at least once a week if not a few times more so.
Katherine Stewart
Well, aside from that, what?
Katherine Stewart
So what's the most exciting thing about your job?
Katherine Stewart
What do you?
Katherine Stewart
What's your favorite thing?
Katherine Stewart
What do you love to do?
Wesley McClain
I think it's I I love.
Wesley McClain
I love how many people I get to work with.
Wesley McClain
I guess it's quite extraordinary.
Wesley McClain
How many technicians that it takes to work on the show.
Wesley McClain
You know there's and how many artists are involved, that sort of stuff.
Wesley McClain
We were, you know, we had just worked up to doing show seven days a week right before the pandemic.
Wesley McClain
So we had added somewhere around 45 artists to the show and you know, just under 60 new part time technicians and everything so you know it was really exciting to be able to interview people and hire them onto our Department and train them up and see them succeed. And that sort of stuff. And it's just, you know we have. I think oh has the most Olympians in terms of I couldn't give you an accurate number, but we do have a fair amount of olymp.
Wesley McClain
And you know, past Olympians that are artists in the show and then just, you know, the technicians and the type of people that come and work for circuits.
Wesley McClain
It's pretty awesome.
Wesley McClain
So you get to meet some pretty amazing people that have done some pretty amazing things throughout their lives.
Wesley McClain
So I think that's you know the kind of the culture that's there is really exciting to work in.
Katherine Stewart
Cool.
Katherine Stewart
And and what about what about on the other side that like one of the biggest challenges?
Katherine Stewart
Or anything that's hard to deal with, maybe?
Wesley McClain
I, I'm definitely say I I mentioned, you know oh's age specifically. You know that tends to be a difficult one. It's it's kind of a an exciting challenge. I guess it is like trying to maintain the equipment and keep it up to date. You know we are constantly trying to keep keep up with safety protocol and all that kind of stuff.
Wesley McClain
As well as just maintaining it and keeping it and letting it last so you know that's definitely one of the harder parts of it all.
Wesley McClain
Just the equipment that's there is keeping it running so that we can have the same show night tonight again.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, for sure and you mentioned some tense moments also with people flying around and diving and.
Wesley McClain
Yeah, you know there there's always.
Wesley McClain
There's always situations you know as you as an operator, you're always going to have.
Wesley McClain
Everybody has their stories of whether they are, when they were learning or incidents that happened, that sort of stuff so you know, we're humans.
Wesley McClain
Humans make mistakes, but you know, there's.
Wesley McClain
The other thing, if it is, you know, no matter how much we automated all, there still has to be a human on the other side to make the decisions and the right calls and that sort of stuff.
Wesley McClain
So that's really, you know, as automation operators was what we trained for is reactionary.
Wesley McClain
You know somebody can sit there all night long and hit a button when somebody calls the queue number, but it's you know what happens when something turns red or something stops moving.
And here again.
Wesley McClain
That's what you know we trained for and what the pressure is.
Wesley McClain
That's you know if you enjoy that pressure, then it's exciting.
Wesley McClain
But if not then it can be a bit tense.
Katherine Stewart
Thanks and how many artists are involved in that show total?
Wesley McClain
I like I said. I think there's about 75 normal so you know we we used to do 5 shows. Sorry, fly shows five days a week and we'd be dark for two days and so with that that's about 75 artists in the show with all sorts of nationalities.
Katherine Stewart
Wow.
Wesley McClain
So it's it's pretty, it's pretty awesome.
Wesley McClain
You know you walk into the training rooms or something in our green room or anywhere like that, and hearing different languages and stuff spoken and so it's pretty.
Wesley McClain
It's pretty cool atmosphere.
Wesley McClain
Or
Katherine Stewart
And before the pandemic, what was the typical audience size like for that show?
Uh.
Wesley McClain
So I think our our occupancy is around 1800 seats for oh an. I think we generally were around 85% when it came to occupancy and I think that's just a yearly average. Obviously you know there there are ups and downs to Vegas season. We have the various seasons as it goes so you know you've got conference time or summer season or.
Katherine Stewart
Wow.
Wesley McClain
You know the different people that come in to celebrate Christmas or New Years, so it all kind of depends on the season, but I think in around an average I'd say it was like 80 to 85% for. Oh, it's pretty good. You know it's it's.
Wesley McClain
It's pretty nice to look out and see a full audience.
Wesley McClain
It's always, you know, makes what you do really special.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, it sounds like it's safe to say you have helped an awful lot of people have a good time and enjoy themselves.
Wesley McClain
Yeah, you know it's you know.
Wesley McClain
Being in Vegas you definitely look out and you see people in the audience wearing bathrobes or whatever.
Wesley McClain
Things which aren't necessarily what you might expect someone to wear traditionally do a Broadway show or something like that, but I always just, you know, take a breath, and then you know, like well, if they're seeing a live show right now.
Wesley McClain
Live entertainment, so I can't.
Wesley McClain
You know, I.
Wesley McClain
Can't really hate on that too much, but I do question some peoples choices, but they're in Vegas, So what whatever they want to do.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, absolutely.
Katherine Stewart
Do you know how many times that show has been seen overall?
Wesley McClain
I know we're over 10,000 shows. I cannot tell you where where we were at right before the pandemic. At that number is escaped me, but yeah, we do have.
Katherine Stewart
Wow.
Wesley McClain
You know, I think I think somewhere I said I heard a crazy stat that some you know regular audience members have seen.
Wesley McClain
Oh on average of 13 times and at that one floored me.
Wesley McClain
I didn't dig.
Wesley McClain
Yeah, I didn't know how that was possible like I mean obviously I've seen it hundreds of times.
Sure.
Wesley McClain
But you know that number seemed to stare.
Wesley McClain
I would imagine it was somewhere more like 6 but.
Wesley McClain
You know, people that do come in town for conventions and that kind of stuff that do it year in and year out do do tend to come and see our show if they liked it so.
Wesley McClain
You know we do have super fans that come through people that we are aware of that come and see our show or any search show.
Wesley McClain
So you know those people are really special as well.
Wesley McClain
You know they get, you know they know the audience they know or know the cast members.
Wesley McClain
That sort of stuff.
Wesley McClain
You know it's pretty pretty amazing so.
Katherine Stewart
How cool.
Katherine Stewart
So do you have, I guess, any advice for a recent graduate or somebody who's going to graduate soon and thinks they might want to get into this type of automation?
Katherine Stewart
Not necessarily with start but just let's say theatrical in general or entertainment.
Wesley McClain
Yeah yeah, I mean like I said it's it's a really new field in terms of.
Wesley McClain
Theater or anywhere actually providing any sort of a degree or anything like that.
Wesley McClain
You know there's all sorts.
Wesley McClain
There's kind of.
Wesley McClain
Whenever I'm hiring people or I'm talking to people about automation, I always tend to put it into two categories.
Wesley McClain
There's really a mechanical side to it, and there's a control side.
Wesley McClain
Two people that are really great welders.
Wesley McClain
They might come from a scenic background that sort of stuff.
Wesley McClain
They're used to building mechanisms and things that move that sort of stuff.
Uh huh.
Wesley McClain
Those are the types of people you'll find that are more enjoy the mechanical side of it.
Wesley McClain
You know, a set designer gives you a challenge and they say I want this to make this type of movement.
Katherine Stewart
Gotcha.
Wesley McClain
How do we do that?
Wesley McClain
That person can then develop a mechanism of that sort.
Wesley McClain
Stuff and then somebody on the control side of things might be more inclined with the software, or you know they might have run lighting consoles or understand programming language.
Wesley McClain
Show control kind of thing in the other side, so they tend to be on the other side of things and can interpret kind of artistically how to program that you know.
Wesley McClain
And so not saying that people have to be one or the other there is, you know, a marriage of two and that that seems to be the almighty automation tech which are not few and far between.
Wesley McClain
But they tend to get swallowed up by.
Wesley McClain
You know larger companies out there so.
Wesley McClain
But I.
Wesley McClain
I guess you know the wealth of knowledge I like.
Wesley McClain
I said I always tried to learn as much as I could and kind of dabbled on a lot of different things and I didn't hurt me anywhere along the way.
Wesley McClain
A lot of a lot of automation techs that build control side of things come from the lighting side of stuff.
Wesley McClain
You know, that's you know, they come from lighting, having worked on moving pictures, that kind of stuff.
Wesley McClain
Understand where it comes from.
Wesley McClain
But again, stage management is not a hard thing.
Wesley McClain
When it comes to actually understanding the flow of a show, understanding what it's like to be under pressure and having to make decisions in the split second or just knowing you know whatever the contingencies for a show might be.
Wesley McClain
That sort of stuff you know as a stage manager, you learn a lot of that and how to deal with all that and.
Wesley McClain
So what so?
Wesley McClain
You know there's there's all sorts of things that can translate into automation, and of course you know, there's like I said, there's no real program or pathway to being an automation tech.
Wesley McClain
If you have an interest in it, then you know you can go out and do YouTube research, or you know in fact, try and get a certificate online for electronics or anything like that.
Wesley McClain
So that kind of you know if you interview and just somebody understands your passion and your interest in it, then you have a better chance of probably making it as an automation tech.
Katherine Stewart
Looks fantastic.
Wesley McClain
I mean, yeah, I mean, I also like having come from cruise ships.
Wesley McClain
I can also, you know, really emphasize cruise ships.
Wesley McClain
I thought it was a great start for how I started on things and it's somewhere you get a really good chance to work with a lot of cutting edge new at like new technology and it's you know right there with you and you get hands on experience because you're the only person out there with the rest of your team so.
Yeah.
Wesley McClain
You know you're not studying behind somebody else who's actually running the show Gurney.
Katherine Stewart
Well, I look forward to.
Katherine Stewart
I have not seen oh so that will be the first place I had.
Katherine Stewart
Next time I get an opportunity to be in Vegas.
Wesley McClain
Absolutely.
Wesley McClain
Just let me know.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, yeah.
Katherine Stewart
Wesley McClain
Yeah, you know, we've got quite a few shows out here.
Wesley McClain
So yeah, I was.
Wesley McClain
I was the legacy show when it comes to the atmosphere is obviously older than we are, but everybody thinks of oh when it comes to Cirque in Vegas.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah.
Katherine Stewart
Yeah, I'd love to see it.
Katherine Stewart
Well, thank you so much Wes, I really appreciate you visiting with me today.
Wesley McClain
Yeah, no problem.
Wesley McClain
Happy to do it all that.
Katherine Stewart
I'll talk to you later.
Katherine Stewart
See I told you Wesley was interesting.
Katherine Stewart
If you'd like to learn more about Wes and his career and about the Cirque du Soleil show "O," do check out the show notes.
Katherine Stewart
There are some relevant links in there.
Katherine Stewart
On our next episode, we'll have another faculty interview, this one with Micah-Shane Brewer, who is directing our other spring season production, an online presentation of Urinetown.
Katherine Stewart
So stay tuned for that, and until next time this is Stage & Screen.