Perry Fertig says his role boils down to "making shows happen." For the past five years, Fertig, festival technical director, and a merry band of irregulars have toiled as the men and women behind the curtain.

And with over 100 venues, more than 50 Live Arts offerings, and nearly 200 Fringe options, that's a lot of curtains. But Fertig enthuses, "The crew is great. Everybody is so committed to the festival that there are a lot of emotions and a lot of passion that go into it."

At best, technicians are able to get their hands on a space a week or so before the artists' arrival. It's not uncommon, however, to have a measly couple of days to convert an empty guano-covered warehouse into a transformative performance space. Fringe techs have made cabaret spaces out of abandoned bars and empty warehouses, and performance venues from defunct appliance stores and old restaurant-equipment showrooms.

When our superheroes in black do their job well, their labors are largely hidden. Obscure Licenses & Inspections codes must be met, hundreds of lights must be hung, dozens of soundboards must be wired, yards of curtains must be hung, and, perhaps most challengingly, hundreds of artists must be kept happy.

As happiness is a warm lap, popular Cabaret host Madi Distefano organized last year's top-secret "sexy but not slutty" 14-person choreographed lap dance — and while she won't give anything away, promises that this year's Tech Appreciation Night on Sept. 10 is going to top her previously over-the-top efforts. "It's always good for the performers to keep the tech staff happy and in our corner," says Distefano.

Fringe technicians are a dedicated bunch; nearly all have earned their stripes on multiple festivals and many take valuable vacation time to work more than 16 hours per day during the run. Fertig notes, "We have this crew that keeps returning year after year after year. People will do whatever they do the rest of the year but when they take jobs they'll ask for time off to do the Fringe. That's a neat environment to be in. They're certainly not getting paid enough to be there, so they have to do it because they want to."

The schedule that Fertig and his crew keep is a testament to their dedication. Fringe crews routinely work long hours — full days prepping shows followed by long nights running those shows and supervising their venues. Fertig acts as ringmaster. "There's no way it could happen if I had to be on-site for every single load-in. I'm facilitating as much as possible. The morning would be spent getting everyone started, the afternoon would be spent prepping for the next day, and the evening would be spent on the emergency calls. I guess that would be the ideal."

That's a hard ideal to reach. With three or four load-ins occurring simultaneously, Fertig often finds himself in the unenviable position of jetting off from Cinemagic at 39th and Walnut to the Late Night Cabaret in Northern Liberties to put out fires.

Even after long shifts, quick calls to venue managers, payroll submissions and receipt reconciliation, Fertig finds time to take in a show and down a beer or two at the cabaret. "Once the cabaret starts, hopefully, it's just about enjoying yourself. It's pretty hard to leave the cabaret before 1 in the morning," says Fertig a wee bit ruefully.

Ever the master of working on the fly, Fertig is perhaps most proud of his crew's ability to improvise. "We've been able to pull shows out of near-disaster and that's always exciting. You also get to make these shows happen that are often more interesting than you might see during the course of the year."

When asked why the full-time technical director at Ursinus College and the proud papa of a 2-month-old son would commute from Reading to Philly for yet another hot day in unair-conditioned, makeshift venues, Fertig grins and says, "It's having the artists leave happy and hearing them say this is much better than the New York Fringe, which we've heard a lot. You know people and people know you and everyone's doing the best job that they know how and everyone's there only because they want to be."