No Drama in the Gear Room: Inside the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale
3 Theaters, 20 Productions a Year, and $2M+ in Equipment Run on One Shared System
Join the Live Session: Wednesday, November 11 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET
At the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University, sound design students and technical interns don’t just learn how to use production equipment. They learn how to design, plan, and build theatre productions from the ground up.
For Mariah Keener, Lead Sound Engineer, that means working alongside the Sound Shop Supervisor to manage more than $2 million in equipment across 3 theaters and roughly 20 productions each year, with gear constantly moving from one production to the next. As the Sound Shop has grown, Mariah has taken interest in developing new systems and processes that make that complexity easier to manage and to turn equipment management into a more intentional part of the student learning experience.
Before Cheqroom, much of that process depended on spreadsheets and legacy systems. Students struggled to get a complete picture of what equipment was available, while Sound Shop staff were constantly juggling reservations, production schedules, equipment details, and maintenance in their heads.
In this Customer Spotlight, Mariah shares how the Geffen School’s Sound Shop uses Cheqroom to show students what’s available, make planning and reserving gear simple, and turn equipment management into part of how they learn.
Meet the Speakers
Mariah Keener
Lead Sound Engineer | Yale University
Mariah helps bring roughly 20 productions to life each year. Her work spans the full technical picture: rigging, drafting, networking, troubleshooting, and everything in between. She works closely with student and guest sound designers to turn their artistic visions into reality, while guiding MFA students and sound interns through load-ins, technical rehearsals, show runs, and strikes.
Mariah sits at the intersection of art and engineering, translating creative ideas into systems that work in the real world. Her goal is to create the technical foundation that lets designers, performers, and production teams do their best work while allowing audiences to experience the production as intended.
Sara Miller
Customer Success Manager | Cheqroom
Sara has spent the last two years on Cheqroom's Customer Success team, but her understanding of the equipment management goes back much further. She started her career running equipment rooms at large universities, managing and maintaining the gear and supporting the students, faculty, and staff who depended on it.
Today she works with teams across a wide range of industries, helping them define and optimize their workflows and then configure Cheqroom around the way they actually work.