About Curtain Up!
Curtain Up! is the training portal for the Technical Department at the Royal Opera House Muscat. It exists to raise technical standards across the house, to put safety and compliance ahead of everything else.
Every department trains to the same method, so a system is operated the same way whoever is on the call. Modules are self-paced and tracked in the portal, so staff can study around show schedules and new starters can pick up the house standard from their first week.
Donald Cox
Technical Manager
Heads the Technical Department and the training programme across all technical departments.
Bruno Silva
Head of Sound & Broadcast
Department
Sound & Broadcast
Everything the audience hears, and everything the house records or transmits. The department covers live sound for opera, ballet and concert, the fixed audio infrastructure of the building, and the broadcast and projection systems used for live performances, archive recordings and screenings. It also manages filming, video editing and post-production for the house's recorded and broadcast output.
Operations
The team designs and operates the reinforcement system for every production, manages microphones and wireless audio systems, maintains the audio network and patch across all technical positions, and runs playback, recording and the intercom that holds the show together. Broadcast covers multi-camera capture, vision mixing and the projection rig.
Training
Self-paced online modules run from audio fundamentals (signal flow, electricity, cables and connectors) through consoles, equalisation, dynamics and RF coordination, and on into the specific systems installed at ROHM.
What the department runs
Paul Davison
Head of Lighting
Department
Lighting
Light shapes what the audience sees. The department delivers lighting design and realisation for house productions and visiting companies, and maintains the control, dimming and fixture stock across the auditorium, stage and public spaces.
Operations
Plotting and rigging each production, programming and operating the control desks, managing power distribution and dimming, maintaining conventional, LED and moving-light stock, running followspots and effects, and keeping rigging and support hardware inspected and safe.
Training
Self-paced modules cover control desk programming, power and dimming, fixture types and their maintenance, colour and effects, and safe rigging practice, in the same sequence whenever a technician joins.
What the department runs
Jurgen Volckaerts
Head of Stage
Department
Stage Operations
The moving parts of the building. Stage Operations runs the automation, flying and floor machinery that change scenery, and provides the crew, engineering and workshop capability behind every set.
Operations
Operating the flying system and stage automation, running the floor machinery and orchestra pit lifts, rigging and handling scenery, hanging and maintaining drapes, and carrying out fabrication and repair in the workshop.
Training
Self-paced modules run from stage terminology and safe manual handling into flying system operation, automation control, rigging principles and workshop practice, with competence signed off to one standard.
What the department runs
Monica Cavatoi
Head of Stage Management
Department
Stage Management
The department that holds a production together, from first rehearsal to final curtain. Stage Management calls the show, coordinates the company and the technical departments, and keeps the paperwork that makes a revival possible.
Operations
Running the prompt desk and calling performances, managing cue lights and communications, coordinating rehearsal schedules and rooms, maintaining the prompt book and production paperwork, and liaising between company, production and technical teams.
Training
Self-paced modules cover the prompt desk and calling technique, communications and cue systems, rehearsal and production management, and the documentation standards used across the house.
What the department runs
Sabina Maglia
Head of Costume & Makeup
Department
Wardrobe & Makeup
Costume, wigs and makeup for every production in the house, from build and fitting through to nightly running and maintenance.
Operations
Costume production and alteration, pressing and finishing, dyeing and breakdown, running wardrobe during performances, wig making and dressing, and makeup for principals and chorus.
Training
Self-paced modules cover costume construction and fitting, fabric care, dyeing and breakdown, wardrobe running procedure, wig preparation and theatrical makeup, worked through between production periods.
What the department runs
Health & Safety
Head of Health & Safety
Department
Health & Safety
Safety is the first condition of every call. The department sets the standards the whole technical operation works to, and trains every member of staff against them.
Operations
Risk assessment and method statements, working at height and rigging safety, fire and evacuation procedure, medical response, PPE issue and inspection, environmental and electrical monitoring, chemical control, and the safety management system that ties them together.
Training
Every trainee completes the safety modules before working on stage. Content covers working at height, rigging and electrical safety, chemicals, PPE and emergency procedure, with completion recorded in the portal so compliance can be evidenced.
What the department runs
Start your training
Log in at the top of the page, choose the courses for your department, and the portal will track your progress as you go.
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