Fired from an SM Job

[Ladytatooine]

Has anyone here been fired from an SM job during the run of a show?
What was your experience and how did you handle it?

[Mac Calder]

I have been on the other end of the stick (firing an SM, and working on productions with a fired SM).

The main problem when you fire an SM is the fact that they are often very bad breaks (not that any firing is pleasent) and they can really mess up a production.

Look at it this way: In most businesses, a management position has a 'life expectancy' greater than the manager filling it. The loss of a manager means reduced efficiency for a few weeks whilst someone is trained up and briefed in how the role works within the business, however in the grand scheme of things, it is a minor inconvenience.

Stage Managers have a life expectancy of arround 3-6 months on most shows. The loss of a stage manager can (and often does) put a lot of strain on everyone involved and if the break is really bad can set the production back months (1 of the shows I fired an SM from (University show) was set back a month because the SM burnt the prompt copy and sabotaged the production in a lot of other ways).

The decision to lay off a stage manager is one that is extreamly difficult, and requires a LOT of thought and a pretty damn good reason in most cases (irreconcilable differences between the SM and basically everyone, not doing your job properly etc)

That is of course assuming your producers/production managers/other are sane, rational beings.

[spotlightshadow]

As managers, part of what makes us good at what we do is the ability to adapt.  Once the proverbial axe has fallen, the most you can do is learn from your mistakes and know not to repeat them ever again.  

Leaving in the middle of a run is not fun.  It's is painful and humiliating to have your coworkers look at you like you're the walking dead as you pack up your stuff.  No one knows what to say to you, or if it's even ok to talk about it.  But if you have been genuine and sincere and treated your people like human beings, then if you do get fired, you will still most likely have a network of people who will side with you, support you and continue to speak well for you even after the fact.  

We all make mistakes.  Own up to them, learn from them, pass along the wisdom.

And in the spirit of sharing wisdom, I am constantly noticing how a perfectly competant person can ruin their experience (and everyone elses!) by having a negative attitude.  Bitterness, angst, contempt for coworkers, lack of compassion, jealousy, hate...  It amazes me how many SMs I've come across who have one or more of these things working against them.  

I am of the opinion that Attitude is just as important as Competance when deciding whether or not to fire someone.  It's all about balance.

[ljh007]

I was dismissed from a semi-professional chidren's show (non-union) just as tech week began. The director swore at a child in rehearsal, and I privately asked him later to refrain from using strong language around or directed towards the children. A day and a half later (after he had booked someone to take my place), he fired me for insubordination. I took him to court and won. In this situation, I was performing all my SM duties, I had a positive attitude towards the produciton and every individual in the company. I ran productive rehearsals and the production was coming along well. When I was replaced, I privately offered the next SM my book, notes, advice, anything except my attendance in the theatre. I saw the axe coming down, and had warned my ASM about my conflict with the director, the director's aggressive response, and my suspicion that he would replace me as soon as possible. I did my best to encourage the ASM that the show would go on, and he made it through the rest of the experience without too much anxiety. It was not an easy decision to fight my dismissal - it just seems evil to sue a small kids' theatre. But my request was not out of line, the director was wrong to dismiss me, and the court agreed. I certainly don't put this show on my resume, though several folks from that production (not the director!) continue to be friends, references, and occasional colleagues. The whole experience was no fun, and I hope that none of the fab SMs on this site ever have to deal with stuff like that!

[smejs]

I was "dismissed" from a job...a new artistic director came in and they gave me a trial period...for both of our sakes.  I understood, and realized after the first show that I would only stay on for the rest of the season as I had promised, ready to find a new job for the next season, as our styles did not mesh well....

However, the new artistic director waited - while I went away for 3 months on another pre-arranged gig, but had said "see you in January" to no objection from them - and then gave me 2 weeks notice that I would not be hired back for the remaining shows of the season...and was telling me now so I could "find another job" for that part......which of course was too late.  I wound up with 7 months of unemployment that next year.

Ultimately, I was glad to be out...but as for my co-workers...many didn't know that I wasn't coming back, and I received various emails, etc for a while afterwards until everyone - I think - finally found out.  Especially awful were "kind" emails from those inviting non-theatre personel to shindigs or raffles, etc...which came across to me as rubbing it in my face I was no longer working there.  Until I found out they thought I'd left on my own.

Personally, I think it was bad business practice on the new artistic director's part - and so do many of my friends.  Whenever someone asks, I try to play it lightly, or just say "I was at a theatre until they came under a new artistic director" - and those in the business understand that many clean house when they come in...just not necessarily in the way that mine did.

That said, I've moved to a different city, in with my no-longer-long-distance boyfriend, and am doing fairly well.  And I truly believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason.  Some just harder to see at the time.

Erin

[killerdana]

I ran into a slightly different situation.  I had stage managed with a company for the last five years.  Three years ago we moved to a new theatre and doubled the SM team--both were full SMs, but one of us called the show and the other ran rehearsals and backstage.  We did one production annually--an educational show we repeated with most of the same cast.  We have often incorporated high school students in the production, this year using kids from the local arts high school, where I also work.  

This year I had been scheduled to SM again, in fact, I had been told that this year I would be doing it all alone.  I had talked to the director/producer, whom I had worked with for all 5 years, many times about prepping for the show.  Leading up to the time we were supposed to start rehearsal I had asked him multiple times for the revised script (it changes a bit every year) and an official start date and he kept "forgetting."  He can be a little distracted, so I wasn't surprised, though I was a bit frustrated.  Then, one of the actors (I'm friends with most of them) mentioned that they'd been doing a few rehearsals and asked why I hadn't been there.  At that point I confronted the director and asked him why I hadn't been informed about the changed schedule.  He told me,rather sheepishly, that the show didn't have as much money in the budget this year and that he couldn't afford a stage manager, especially since he could use some of the tech students from the high school to stage manage for free.

So, at this point I was annoyed, but I understood.  The show has always had money troubles.  I talked to my friends in the cast and they all said things were much less organized, but everyone knew about the money problems (it's a very open group).

Things got weird after the show opened.  I had planned to see the show, just to let everyone know I still supported them.  Before going, I was talking to one of the students teching the show and he mentioned something about the other stage manager.  I was confused, since supposedly there was no money for a stage management staff, but I didn't want to jump to any conclusions.  I went to see the show a few days later, and, lo and behold, the other stage manager was running the show.

Now, the two of us are friendly (not friends, but we work well together), and I certainly don't begrudge her the job.  What has upset me about this whole experience isn't that the producer decided to hire another person--that's his right--but that he had neither the personal nor the professional honesty (we have both been friends and worked together for five years) to tell me.  I probably would have been mad but there were no contracts signed yet (usually done on the first day of rehearsal) and I would have eventually understood.

I'm sorry if I've ranted a bit, but this only happened a few months ago and I still haven't really figured out how to, or if, I should confront the producer.  It's a little different from being fired during a production, but it feels a lot the same.

[Ladytatooine]

Your rant is perfectly understandable. I wish more producers and Production Managers were more up-front with what they do and do not want, and I wish they were honest early enough in the show process so that it doesn't waste anyone's time. But yeah, that's kinda annoying. SMs are the centers of communication - I don't understand what's so scary about communicating with us. *shrug*

[centaura]

I've never been asked to leave a production, but have both quit from one place and been sent out on tour as a replacement stage manager.

The time that I quit was the hardest choice I ever made, I was overseas at an apprenticeship and they had lied to me about what it was about.  But I gave them over a month's notice, finished the show I was on, and didn't leave them in the lurch, so I felt okay about it once I made up my mind.  Turned out to be a great desicion, as the director of the last show I was working on found out that I was quitting (I told her, I didn't want her to hear from others or think I wouldn't give her my best effort), and then promptly hired me for a 16week professional tour.

The times that I've gone out to replace someone on tour, once was due to the SM being asked to leave.  Both of them were very interesting experiences, as I had to train the actors into my style of working and break them of some of the bad habits that the previous SMs had let them get into.  On the tour that the SM was fired, I was a relief to the cast and they would have done anything I asked after a week of dealing with me (verses the person I replaced).  She was doing everything from stealing money from the company, to possibly putting one of the actors into a situation where they were sexually molested.

I've also been in the situation of firing an actor from a tour, and that was ugly!  We knew she was going to be problematic, so we had to plan it very carefully.  I literally woke her up one morning, told her she had two hours to pack and that her flight was at such-a-such time.  Still nerve racking.

-Centaura

[stagemonkey]

(1 of the shows I fired an SM from (University show) was set back a month because the SM burnt the prompt copy and sabotaged the production in a lot of other ways).

See thats just not right.  You know if you are fired from a show granted its not gonna look good in some cases if the word gets around to future possible employers that you had to be fired.  I mean you could get it passed off a personality conflict, but if you go so far as to burn the prompt book thats gonna get around and you can't justify doing that.  As you said it was a university show but in most contracts I have seen for semi-professional or professional gigs you have to turn your prompt book into the theatre at the end of the run which justifies that the prompt book is the property of the theatre company.  So if they fire you and you burn the script they could really come after you for destruction of property. 

it just seems evil to sue a small kids' theatre. But my request was not out of line, the director was wrong to dismiss me, and the court agreed. I certainly don't put this show on my resume,

I can competly see why that wouldnt get on your resume, but at the same time if someone told me that story and i was in charge of hirering somoene I would look at at and be like, its good to see that if there is a problem you have no qualms about bring it up, even if it is with the director.  I know in my early college career I had a problem with bring up things that weren't quite right with some of the people in charge (i mean come on they are my teachers), but by the end I began telling faculty "we have a show going on can you please refrain from coming through the backstage hallway."  My advice for someone who may find yourself in a similar situation as you is that you can always talk to the producer and let them know about the problem as well, yeah ok its like your tattleing on them but honestly who is gonna condone someone swearing at children thats just not right.  I do comend you for talking to the director though.  And yeah suing a small theatre company sounds bad but hey if i was in charge of the company and that happened to me I'm sure there's a way I could turn around after your lawsuit and sue the director to cover the expenses I had to pay to you. 

[loebtmc]

interesting perspective, since so much of my work has been coming in at the last possible moment to replace someone who left/was fired for incompetence, so I walk in from the other end and make it all work.

And <edit (oops sorry wrong person)> you are right to not advertise that legal situation unless it comes up - in which case have a straight ahead, non-defensive and honest one-to-two sentence condensed story that says essentially that you were being professional, and that's that. More than that becomes gossip and defensiveness.

[Ladytatooine]

Thanks, Loebtmc -
I have do well to put it past me and am now being considered for other SM jobs in my area. I hope to be Equity in like 5 to 6 years, debt pending.

[ljh007]

I began telling faculty "we have a show going on can you please refrain from coming through the backstage hallway."  ..... if i was in charge of the company and that happened to me I'm sure there's a way I could turn around after your lawsuit and sue the director to cover the expenses I had to pay to you. 

This made me think about benefactor etiquette in theatre.  I've been on the other end of theatre administration, in the board meetings where litigation is discussed and big donors are courted. For each show at a larger opera company, I am given a list of major donors for backstage reference. If, somehow, this fat-cat CEO finds his way backstage, he is not to be dismissed. Yes, this is infuriating. But showing someone the ugly side of the flats could quickly lead to a $10K+ check to the company. It's hard to accept when you're trying to keep your backstage running safely, but kicking these donors out could have serious repurcussions for your company's fundraising efforts.

And about the follow-up lawsuit - understand that I was not suing the director; I had to sue the theatre I was working for. It just so happened that this guy was also the Artistic Director and had led the company for 20+ years. So the Board approved of taking the lawsuit to court (instead of settling out of court)... I guess he talked them into it, perhaps without mentioning the swearing-at-kids thing. But no, there isn't a tidy way for the company to come back and sue their own individual employee for reparations. Plus, (and even though I've worked dozens of years in law offices) lawsuits are not the answer, and it's usually a major black mark against any company just to have to get involved with one (we went to lengths to keep this one off the books, mostly because the director was approaching retirement age - this just kept some humanity in this resolution). Lawsuits are expensive and a big pain. Stay far away if you can.

[stagemonkey]

I totally understand you have to suck up and play nice nice to prospective donors and such.  What got me fustrated in college is the faculty would come through the hallway and start chatting with the actors as they are trying to get ready and give them notes about this that and the next thing, and honestly I don't think 10 minutes to places is the time one should be giving them acting notes.  And really some of the faculty never really had any connection directly with the show, they were never at rehearsals or anything and would just be backstage, so I didnt see reason why they should be there.  There are always some people that will show up backstage that in some cases really shouldnt be there but in others you can see reasoning behind it. With the donors backstage I think one needs to discover a tactful way to get them in a spot where they wont be getting in the way so that crew can finish their work, cause lets face it a lot of these donor's don't know the half of what goes into a production.  So as the SM i think you should be aware they are there so that you can inform them of some of whats going on and at the same time keep them out of the way.

[sievep]

I have been dismissed under the context of it just not working out, that I didn't gel with the team.

I agree with what was previously said . . . it was humiliating, but time has given me a bit of perspective on the situation, and in the end I agree.  I didn't gel with that particular group of people.  I came to discover from the person who dismissed me that the qualities that I pride myself on, my ability to remain calm, my diplomacy, the very way I carry myself as a confident person was what wasn't fitting in.  If that's the case, I do probably need to move on to a position that values what I believe to be the core skill set of a successful stage manager. . . .and really, if the fact that my posture is too correct makes someone uncomfortable . . .they are crazy.

And, I'm not kidding, that really was part of the conversation . . .my posture was too correct.

Obviously, I'm in a much better place now.  I did take away some useful information, and I've applied that   . . . but I don't think it's helpful to try to be someone you are not for a gig.

[BlueRidgeSM]

I have never been fired from a show.  I have been an ASM and been told I might possibly have to take over a show in the event the SM was fired, but that never actually went through.  That was probably more stressful for me than being the SM of a difficult show.  Knowing I might have to call a technically complex show I have never seen from the front on a preview night with an audience.... yikes.  I was ready and it didn't happen and it was nerve-wracking.

Re: donors backstage - that's never happened to me either, but actually I was ASM on a show where the running crew consisted of volunteer parents and after the show closed I found out one of them was very highly placed in the local government.  That one just served as a reminder that you never really know who you're working with and everyone is a possible future connection/contact. 

And as far as being "too professional" - I also pride myself on the ability to remain calm under fire, keep the peace and even make peace between various parties, and keeping the lines of communication open.  This has served me well in theatre but backfired on me in my generic office day job.  Apparently it translates in office-world to not being "passionate" and "invested" enough.  It's a source of constant frustration for me.