Have you ever wondered what goes into the events in Foundry? Are you interested in a career in the music industry? Or perhaps you are looking to pick up a new skill? Then the Technical Services Committee (TSC) may be for you. They’re the people who run and manage events in and around the SU. Pop Tarts, Roar and any gigs or other performances.
I spoke with Izzy Eustace, Publicity & Recruitment, to learn more about what they do.
How would you describe TSC in a sentence?
A hardworking group of students integral to the technical production of all of Foundry’s events.
What sets it apart from other societies?
The work that we do is unique, we have lots of responsibility in terms of the high-quality tech we get trained up on and use weekly and the events that we enable to run, such as Tuesday Club, ROAR and lots of Gigs.
Another element I would say is the community spirit that TSC has. We all understand that an event needs a team to happen, and we all have a part to play, so it’s common to get to know people well quickly, especially due to the duration of events and occasional late nights involved in the events that we work!
In addition, without TSC, the production value of events at the SU wouldn’t be as high – we’re trusted to produce high-quality events and spend hours designing, rigging, and programming lighting and video elements, along with making sure that club nights and gigs have high-quality sound.
Through being a member of TSC, you get to work and make contacts with other departments in the SU and in the wider events world! We have our own small office that sits between the full-time technical team and the events office. This allows us to ask them any questions, double-check with them about any event requirements and work with them for certain projects.
It says on your site that you’re the only SU with a service like this. Why do you think that is?
It’s hard to say because there are so many factors that make TSC a different opportunity for students – such as getting all training provided from scratch, having food provided on volunteer events and much more but I think it’s probably the long history of TSC being a part of the SU.
TSC has been active as a society since 1986, showing the importance and longevity of the work we do, and by having a nightclub literally beneath our feet in the student’s union makes it possible for us to have a space to learn and develop our skills. Like some other working communities, we’re supported by specialist staff who help us maintain equipment and plan future improvements to the venue and our experience.
It also mentions the career prospects involved and what previous members have gone on to do. Can you say more about that?
TSC has had 100s of members, all with their own unique career paths, however, often through TSC, people go on to become technicians. For example, former members of TSC have gone on to work at events such as Eurovision, Glastonbury, the 2012 Olympic Ceremony and Coachella.
TSC has benefits for all its members, but if you’re interested in events, it definitely gives you a leg up in addition to the events listed above, previous members having gone on to ‘have dinner with Kylie Minogue’ and mix monitors for the Artic Monkeys.
It’s great that we can put our TSC’s name to those ‘alumni’ as we can aspire or use those examples to show the quality of our training and work in the SU!
Can people join at any point in the year?
At any point in the year! I joined in Easter of my first year, and know others that have joined in their last term of university and have still gained and grown a lot from being a member. There’s no right time to join, as we teach on events, so everyone can be accommodated at any time of the semester.
What does the workload look like?
Whatever you want it to be! When you join TSC, there’s no expectation of how often you have to work, it could be once a week or once a term – everyone is still an appreciated member of TSC. Teaching takes place in sessions every week and then events you’re working so you can work at your own pace. Some members will lean more into gigs and others club nights, but most do a mixture of both as the things we teach are transferable to both.
It’s all about wanting to learn new skills, having fun and meeting other students from a range of disciplines with an interest in the behind-the-scenes of live events.
For members that work regularly, we run two bigger sessions each year, alongside weekly training sessions and on event training.
Any favourite memories from TSC?
I’ve loved everything about my time in TSC – it’s been a great opportunity for me to meet people outside of my course and friendship group at university – after my placement year, I’ll be moving in with people I met through TSC.
I love working on Gigs! Through being in TSC, I’ve had the opportunity to work on Gigs from McFly, Slade and Peter Hook and The Light (And so many more). I stage-managed Slade in December last term – it was the last event at the SU before Christmas, and their touring tech let me hold Dave Hill’s one-of-a-kind guitar, the ‘Super-Yob’. I was really scared to hold it in case of dropping it!
Going into an empty, quiet venue at the start of the day and watching it go through multiple phases such as loading in, sound check, doors opening to the act coming into stage gives me such a buzz and sense of pride in what we do.
It’s been great to watch my own confidence grow in gig stage management – I’m now confident in liaising with external crews, ensuring the band goes on stage on time and planning how to work as a team. I’ve recently moved onto gig lights, and I’m really enjoying the creativity this gives me.
I’d credit my time in TSC to giving me the skills I’m using in my placement year, such as working with others, critical thinking and working under time pressure.
Is there any prerequisite for joining?
Two things to join TSC. Firstly you need to complete a short Health and Safety briefing which we’ll arrange after you fill in the interest form. And secondly, be a university student from either Uni of or Hallam!
Any exciting plans for the future?
The most exciting change at the moment is the roof in Foundry! Two members of TSC have recently been involved in installing video celling in the roof – this will allow us to have another layer of creativity at club nights and change the experience at some club nights – so make sure to look up next time you go in.
In this term, we usually get to do some bigger events in Octagon, such as the International Cultural Evening and Sports Awards, which is always a great opportunity for members to adapt what they’ve learnt in a different venue and be involved in more corporate-style events.
Every year we have a formal! We do an awards show at the formal every year, dress up and go to pop-tarts. This was one of my highlights from last year, getting to see everyone that works so hard to make Foundry’s events the best they can be tech-wise, having fun all in the same space is amazing.