| OHCC LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2026 | 11
AV Committee: View from the Booth
The house lights dim, a hush falls over the crowd, and a sea of
heads swivel toward the stage as the curtain opens. For the audience,
theater is a place of illusion, entertainment, or enlightenment.
Way at the back, perched high above the audience, is a dimly lit
crow's nest. From that vantage point the sensory experience is very
different. The stage looks like a miniature, strangely detached world,
and technicians in three distinct disciplines operate in synchronized
harmony to support that world. As the nerve center for audio,
video, and lighting, the AV "booth" – when everything goes well – is
where the art of performance merges flawlessly with the science of
technology.
So what's in that booth? OHCC has its own AV booth in Abravanel
Hall and it is chock full of consoles, monitors, switches, wiring,
cameras, spotlights, and equipment racks. In truth, it's a tight
squeeze for the human operators (who are resident volunteers plus
one staff member). They share that space for hours and bond over
stale air, headset fatigue, mutual trust, and rewarding experiences.
Written by Kathy Whitten
Lighting Chief Jim Kaminsky
at the Light Board to control
75 stage and theater lights
Audio Chief Kevin Sorensen at the Audio
Mixer Board to adjust frequencies and
volume levels for up to 64 channels of
sound input
Video Chief Ed Hutsell with eyes on the monitors and
ngers on the Stream Deck to switch between views
from six video cameras plus a slide presentation
