Coca-Cola and cold water » Exhibition City News

Secrets to becoming a United Stagehand

By Chris Kappes, Exhibition City News

British rock and pop singer Rod Stewart Fear of falling off the stage. This wasn’t an unfounded phobia, but rather something he’d had the misfortune to experience multiple times due to the glare of the stage lights and stepping on the tape lines on the stage floor. Leave it to lifelong stagehand Charlie Noble to find the solution: wipe down the stage floor with Coca-Cola and cold water until it becomes sticky. “Artist Rider said to do it with Coke and hot water, but the sugar would dissolve in the Coke, so I used cold water instead. Rod’s high-tops held together like glue,” Noble said with a laugh.

Noble, the general stagehand at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) and a member of IATSE 720 (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), has learned these and more during his 47 years in the television, theater and acting industries. Other industry secrets. trade shows.

IATSE 720 was founded in 1939 as a union representing stagehands, riggers, audiovisual technicians and more. Noble and his team of stagehands at LVCC work with the Teamsters and Electrical Unions to ensure smooth set-up, operation and dismantling of on-site trade shows and events. For Noble, the road to becoming General Foreman and the only member to hold two union cards (IATSE 720 and IATSE 39) has been a wild ride.

“I went from being a popular left-handed baseball pitcher in high school to having zero college scholarship opportunities after I tore my rotator cuff,” he explained. “So, I did what a lot of kids did on the bayou: I went to work on the oil rigs. From that point on, I started making Mardi Gras balls and carnivals and building sets.”

These experiences, along with a “willingness to do what others wouldn’t do,” became Noble’s motto and fueled subsequent developments. In his early twenties, Noble was appointed stage manager of the famed Sanger Theater in downtown New Orleans, where he became a favorite among performing artists. “Fats Domino, an artist from New Orleans, didn’t have a ride home after a show, so I took him home. This has been our routine for ten years when he performs at Jazz Fest,” Noble shared.

During his tenure at the theater, Noble managed 330 performances of The Phantom of the Opera and regularly visited backstage with top music performers such as The Jacksons, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Village People, ZZ Top, Aerosmith and many more to stop and watch. Chat and enjoy his famous Cajun style cooking outside of the theater.

Over the next 20 years, Noble’s career grew, with roles on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy!”, three Super Bowls, and the Super Bowl in New Orleans. Stage crew for a big Rolling Stones concert at the Top Arena.

Looking for another adventure, Noble found himself in the mid-1990s as a main stage host for Microsoft’s global corporate event tour and DOTA 2 event in Shanghai, China. DOTA 2 is a multiplayer online arena video game. Both events require him to oversee the transportation of 125 carefully arranged trucks. Noble called the trip “a daily headache.”

Today, Noble calls himself a “public relations man,” working with unions in all four LVCC buildings to manage precincts and ensure exhibitors (“our customers,” as he calls them) are served. “I review customer requirements and do whatever I can to support exhibitor needs. Our team of 10 to 20 professionals reviews, prepares and submits rigging drawings to the LVCC engineering department for approval. According to The size of a show like CES, we might have hundreds of stagehands that I oversee,” he said.

“Handshakes and hugs” is Noble’s secret to success. “Nothing is carved in stone,” he said. “Honesty is key. You need to have hospitality DNA, and a little bit of Louisiana doesn’t hurt.”

Noble’s legacy as a stagehand is built not just on hard work or legendary moments with rock stars, but on the knowledge and camaraderie that defined the profession. Stagehands like him bring creativity, resourcefulness and courage to every event, allowing the magic to happen behind the scenes. As technology evolves and the world of entertainment transforms, Noble’s traditional wisdom is combined with modern methods to bridge the next generation of stagehands. In the end, it’s not just about knowing how to make the stage sticky; It’s about knowing how to make every show a success.

This article was originally published in Exhibit City News Q4 2024, page 17. 66. For the original layout, visit