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Attention students and faculty: we're cracking down on use of SMNet for homework, but also starting a scholarly journal for the best student essays. There is also a new hidden board for those who teach stage management or work with interns.
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10) If the SM can tell your main priority is the production and not yourself.
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A classmate shared this with me about a year ago. I still look at it to make myself laugh.
http://theatremajors.tumblr.com/post/23102038711/what-stage-managing-feels-like
Edit: I also just realized that this is from a different site, but I think I've seen the same post somewhere on the page you mentioned.
http://theatremajors.tumblr.com/post/23102038711/what-stage-managing-feels-like
Edit: I also just realized that this is from a different site, but I think I've seen the same post somewhere on the page you mentioned.
Right now, in the position I am in (both career-wise and financially), I'd simply be happy in a long-term or permanent job with a decent salary (£25k+) and some scope for progression.
I'm currently writing the application for my dream job, and it's the hardest one I've ever done. The questions aren't difficult, I'm just so conscious of not getting them 'right'.
ARGH!
I'm currently writing the application for my dream job, and it's the hardest one I've ever done. The questions aren't difficult, I'm just so conscious of not getting them 'right'.
ARGH!
Something to bear in mind is that almost nobody who works on running crew is actually doing the job we pay them to do.
It's great that ushers tear tickets and hold the doors open and guide patrons to seats with their cute little flashlights, but the ushers are really there so that, if the theatre has to be evacuated, people don't die in the aisles.
It's great that the stagehands move scenery and hold doors open and help move things around, but they're really there so that, if there's a fire, there's someone backstage who knows where the fire extinguishers are, which extinguisher to grab (electrical fire? material fire?), and how to use the thing.
It's great that the board operators follow cues and improvise appropriately, but they're really there so that, when something goes Horribly Horribly Horribly Wrong and the stage manager is flouncing around trying to do a bajillion things at once, the theatre isn't left in total darkness for several minutes and we can get a god mic running sooner rather than later.
And it's great that the stage manager calls the show--but if that's all we needed stage managers to do, you could easily replace them with a MIDI track or just have the board operators do their own cues. The SM's real purpose is to react and respond to emergencies and unexpected situations. That's why someone working at the high end of stage management can make upwards of 60-80k a year for doing a job that college students can do perfectly competently without even expecting a salary: the experienced SM isn't necessarily better at giving cues or taking notes, but they are better at reacting, responding, de-escalating and preventing situations from getting worse.
If nothing is going wrong, then you are doing your job adequately and can relax. Even if it feels like it isn't much of a job.
It's great that ushers tear tickets and hold the doors open and guide patrons to seats with their cute little flashlights, but the ushers are really there so that, if the theatre has to be evacuated, people don't die in the aisles.
It's great that the stagehands move scenery and hold doors open and help move things around, but they're really there so that, if there's a fire, there's someone backstage who knows where the fire extinguishers are, which extinguisher to grab (electrical fire? material fire?), and how to use the thing.
It's great that the board operators follow cues and improvise appropriately, but they're really there so that, when something goes Horribly Horribly Horribly Wrong and the stage manager is flouncing around trying to do a bajillion things at once, the theatre isn't left in total darkness for several minutes and we can get a god mic running sooner rather than later.
And it's great that the stage manager calls the show--but if that's all we needed stage managers to do, you could easily replace them with a MIDI track or just have the board operators do their own cues. The SM's real purpose is to react and respond to emergencies and unexpected situations. That's why someone working at the high end of stage management can make upwards of 60-80k a year for doing a job that college students can do perfectly competently without even expecting a salary: the experienced SM isn't necessarily better at giving cues or taking notes, but they are better at reacting, responding, de-escalating and preventing situations from getting worse.
If nothing is going wrong, then you are doing your job adequately and can relax. Even if it feels like it isn't much of a job.
My christmas present to myself this past year that is now my fave mug:
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Update: today is the day I find out how the fates knoted my life.
Regardless of the outcome, it's just a show . . . just a gig . . . there will always be another one. They arelike buses, or fish in the sea.
I have spent too much time in my career worried about getting the "dream" gig, the "perfect" show, or what I think is the one I have to have next to make my career . . . in reality this career is not linear, not planned, nor never perfect.
I hope the outcome is what is best for you.
I am not the first person on this board to work on THE HOUSE OF DANCING WATER in Macau, China - but I am joining the thier Stage Management team in April as a short-term maternity cover starting in late March/Early April - it's part of my 24 months of no-Shakespeare challenge I am setting up for myself in trying to spread my wings and get some more diversity on my resume. I interviewed the first week in January, and have been doing a wide variety of interviews, meetings, and lots and lots of emails about documents for my Visa. This will be my first Circus and, although not my first international show, this will be quite a change for a me. Today I got word everything is lined up, we are just setting up my travel. I have 40 days to relax and unpack from my last show until I hit the road again. (My husband is very upset, and pouting now, but I have high hopes he will forgive me!)
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I know this is an old thread, but I would like to mention something my wonderful husband just did for me. He removed the "beep" from my favorite stopwatch.
I've had a Sportline 240 Econosport stopwatch for at least 8 years. The screen has finally started to dim, so I asked my husband to replace the battery. Granted, it's an $11 stopwatch, but it's the best I've had, so it's worth it to me to replace the battery. While he had it open, I asked if there was anything he could do to stop it from beeping.
He noticed that 2 small springs touch the large silver plate that is attached to the back of the stopwatch. When you press a button, it presses the spring into the plate and you get the beep. He added a piece of scotch tape as a buffer between the springs and the metal plate and PRESTO! No more beeping!
So if you've found the stopwatch of your dreams, you can always make it a silent one with a tiny screwdriver and some tape.
I've had a Sportline 240 Econosport stopwatch for at least 8 years. The screen has finally started to dim, so I asked my husband to replace the battery. Granted, it's an $11 stopwatch, but it's the best I've had, so it's worth it to me to replace the battery. While he had it open, I asked if there was anything he could do to stop it from beeping.
He noticed that 2 small springs touch the large silver plate that is attached to the back of the stopwatch. When you press a button, it presses the spring into the plate and you get the beep. He added a piece of scotch tape as a buffer between the springs and the metal plate and PRESTO! No more beeping!
So if you've found the stopwatch of your dreams, you can always make it a silent one with a tiny screwdriver and some tape.
You should write a contingency for the North Koreans launching a nuclear assault, zombie apocalypse, and the rapid release of gravimetric pressure.
Hey....they could happen during your show!
As for specifics...I think you've got the right basic idea not mapping out everything:. Impossible. I'd go with the SL, SR procedures. Maybe the best way to go about it is ask the producer which situations they can think of that they'd like you to have procedures in place for and develop those.
Hey....they could happen during your show!
As for specifics...I think you've got the right basic idea not mapping out everything:. Impossible. I'd go with the SL, SR procedures. Maybe the best way to go about it is ask the producer which situations they can think of that they'd like you to have procedures in place for and develop those.
OMG it's the real world version of "Hell in a handbag!"
It's a pretty rare year when both of our main on-topic boards get new staff members, but that's exactly what has occurred this year.
Yomanda has finishedthe gauntlet of abuse cleverly disguised as training and is now officially moderator of Stage Management: Students and Novices. Maribeth is now moderator of Stage Management: Plays & Musicals in addition to her ongoing assignment as moderator of our members-only Regional boards.
We give many many thanks and tea and cakes to these new volunteer staff members, and also to Bwoodbury and Rebbe, who are departing the SMNetwork staff after quite some time handling these busy boards.
Make sure to say hi and congrats to the new staffers when you see them around!
Yomanda has finished
We give many many thanks and tea and cakes to these new volunteer staff members, and also to Bwoodbury and Rebbe, who are departing the SMNetwork staff after quite some time handling these busy boards.
Make sure to say hi and congrats to the new staffers when you see them around!
The list of things we give up for theatre is long and varied, and indicated above.
But remember, we also gave up long term security for the theatre. How brave is that? (Pat yourself on the back.)
Here's the more important question: What have you given up for theatre, that you regret giving up? If you had the chance to do it all over again, would you do it the same way?
This is a great point. I am on the other side of this coin and I want to give you my perspective. I have a BFA in Stage Management, I had gainful, continuous employment, with health benefits and paid vacation - as a stage manager - and that is what I gave up.
I miss theatre.
I miss the art; I miss the people.
I miss opening night; I miss "We DID that!".
I miss closing night; I miss "WE did that!".
I don't know if it's getting older and I don't know if it's a sense of duty to myself, my future wife (I hope), or my future children (again, I hope); but I have a leaning towards security. I suppose this is a weighted risk by which we all measure up to some degree.
Most of my acquaintances don't know the extent of my theatre background. When a conversation shifts to theatre, performance, or art, I often turn heads.
I suppose this is as much an internal dialogue as it is external - my thought, though, is this: trust your instinct. Trust your intuition. I've trusted my instincts this far and I'm quite happy. I miss theatre, but I don't regret leaving it.
At the end of the day, we're building towards our own future and our goals. If the ends justify the means, isn't that what matters?
I've given up hours of my life to tedious and repetitive conversations about "Yes, but what do you really do for a living?"
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How do I respond in a professional tone, considering 1) the schedule was not my making 2) we can't change the schedule at this point and 3) He does tend to complain a lot, and I have heard no complaints regarding the schedule from my cast ?Insofar as he's whining or being petulant, don't respond at all. You're running a theatre, not a Finishing School for Proper Young Ladies And Gentlemen. It's not your job to set him straight or "fix" his rude outbursts, and no good will come of assuming the responsibility.
Insofar as he's asked for additional information, provide it the same as you would anyone else.
Insfoar as he has valid complaints which go over your head (about the schedule or otherwise), those ought to be referred to the person responsible. (Producer? PM? Director?)
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