Messages

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / REPORTS: Acting maintenance notes in the Performance Report

« on: Jun 15, 2013, 04:12 pm »

Hey there everyone,

Long time no see! I'm writing today to discuss what will likely be a hot topic, judging by what I've so far seen in my own organization.

A little background on where this is coming from: I administrate a department of SM's- both AEA and non-AEA- at an SPT (but growing exponentially towards a LORT level, it appears) theater in Austin, TX. I don't call shows anymore, but set up standards for the department so that there is consistency across the shows we produce.

We are currently revising our performance report format and the idea of including actor maintenance notes in said report has come up, and is generating some very spirited discussion. I'd like to know what people think about this, and what they have done in the past.

The pro for this is that the director and playwright and artistic director can see what adjustments are getting made performance-wise across a run, and can help reinforce if necessary. The artistic director has expressed concerns in the past about getting inundated with emails, and the hope is that by including this in the daily report that's one less message to assimilate and respond to if necessary- efficiency and consolidation are keywords in our organization company-wide.

The con is the concern for confidentiality, and whether a performance note should be included in a form that is sent to administrative as well as artistic personnel. Also, the interpretation of the SPT rule regarding notes that says that "Personal Actor notes may not be openly posted on the callboard or sent to the Actor in a group email." (SPT Rule 41 G 4).

What do people think about this? I'm very open to both sides, would just like to test the waters and see where people land.

Thanks everybody, discuss!

Edited to add topic tag- Maribeth

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: The Seafarer- SM trying to figure out some card tricks

« on: Jul 08, 2010, 12:42 pm »

Thanks!

I think what we've decided to do is open the cans and pour them out, replacing with water and have the actors open the cans upstage, so we can't see it.

Now we're working on the card issue in earnest.

We've tried putting a partially stacked deck on top, and we're not sure we can make it work- there is only really one line of text between when we are supposed to see Lockhart shuffling like a Vegas dealer, and then dealing the hands. So, how does he get that trick deck on in place of the one he just shuffled? We LOOOVE not having to switch out hands- the actors are concerned that if even one person in the audience sees the gag, it'll blow the whole thing- but we're just concerned about how to achieve it.

If we can't deal the correct hands then we have to do the trick hand thing. We can figure out ways for Sharky and Ivan to get their trick hands (4 Aces and 4 Eights) after being dealt, but we are struggling with Lockhart. He's seated with audience to his back and to his left, and so there aren't any angles we can have him palm out the dealt hand and pick up the trick hand.

We are exploring the possibility of using cards that have small text on them, or something, so that the audience won't necessarily be able to see what the cards are. I know, it's a bit of a cheat, but we feel like getting the scene right is more important than getting the game right.

Anybody, thoughts?

Thanks!
~V

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: The Seafarer- SM trying to figure out some card tricks

« on: Jul 07, 2010, 11:43 am »

Hey everyone,

Thank you so much for the responses on this! I am going to look into the magician thing.

We've got a pretty small house and I think that the audience will see if we don't have the right hands, so we've got to get it right somehow.

I am of the mind to put Sharky's and Lockhart's correct hands somewhere on their persons, and have them palm them into play or something. It seems like we can get away with that easier than having Lockhart add a stacked deck after he shuffles- there's only like two lines before he has Sharky tap the cut deck.

We can get away with hiding the 4 aces in the bathroom for Ivan, and that'll work for that hand.

Another question, folks: did you use cans of stout, and if so, how did you drain them out and replace them with non-alcoholic? Should we just get some cans of something else and cover over the labels?

Thanks all,
~V

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROPS: The Seafarer- SM trying to figure out some card tricks

« on: Jul 03, 2010, 01:38 pm »

Hello there denizens of the SMNetwork,


I'm an Equity PSM working on a production of Conor McPherson's "The Seafarer" at a theater in St. Petersburg, FL.

For anyone who has worked on this show or read it, you'd know that there is a complicated poker situation that ends the play, in which a deck of cards that is supposed to be shuffled flashily in view of the audience is supposed to deal three very specific hands of cards to characters. All three hands of cards must be visible to the audience at the end of the poker game. One is four eights, one is four aces, and the other is four tens.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to do this effect. Do you hide a stacked deck that the actor who shuffles trades out the shuffled deck for? Or do you hide the specific hands of cards on those three actors  somehow?  They have to be dealt a single card each during the action of the card game, which leads me to believe the deck should be stacked. But that just feels stressful, and an entire deck of cards is hard to palm away and trade out, yeah?... I don't know!

Any thoughts, friends? I always get such great responses from the community here whenever I have an issue with a stage gag.

Thanks all, we open in two weeks so any help you can toss my way would be appreciated.

Talk to you all soon,
~Victoria

Edited subject line-Rebbe

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / SHOWS: NOISES OFF- AEA SM desperately in search of paperwork, assistance.

« on: Jun 11, 2009, 12:05 am »

Hello all,

Victoria here, from a theater I'll do the favor of not naming, to protect the innocent. Let's just say it's East Coast, Equity, relatively well-known and way in over their head at the moment.

Help me! I'm stage managing NOISES OFF!!

As we all know, this play is a beast. Not only am I faced with the titanic undertaking of working on this show, but my director is not taking much of an active role in blocking the play (he's a little senile)- another issue entirely, which could probably fuel many a post on the responsibilities of a stage manager- so I'm being left with the lion's share of figuring out this play's complicated blocking.

I'm usually aces with paperwork, but I'm finding myself woefully behind due to the extra work I'm doing to figure out the blocking for the next day's rehearsal.

Does anyone have ANY run of show paperwork for this production- an entrance/exit plot (with props) would be IMMENSELY helpful, or a run sheet, or even a preset checklist for each act- really anything.

I would not of course be copying your paperwork- just using it to help formulate my own, as quickly as possible. You see, I'm not only rehearsing this behemoth, I'm also running performances of an equally large play in the evenings, which leaves me with exactly one hour between 9AM-11PM to do any of my work that isn't a rehearsal or performance report. AAGH!!

So, anybody want to help a fellow SM out? I'd be greatly, deeply, indebted, and appreciative!

Thanks, you can message me here, or just reply to this post and we can exchange email addresses.

All the best, and again- THANKS!
~V

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / COSTUMES: Need Body Paint- any ideas?

« on: Jul 08, 2008, 01:06 pm »

Hello fellow stage mangers and stage manageresses,

A random question for you all: I am doing "The Pillowman" in Wellfleet, MA and we are looking for good body paint to use on our 11-year old "green girl" who is supposed to be covered in green paint.

I need something that won't drip too much, will dry on her arms, hands, neck and face, and can be matched to paint which wil be applied to her shirt and pants permanently. Also, we will have to spray or apply hair color to her hair every night.

This stuff needs to come off completely, since Lily goes to camp during the day and it'd be kind of awkward if she were to be- well, green all day.

We go into tech in one week. Ive looked into the Ben Nye MagiColor Liquid Face Paints, but I don't know if I can get my hands on large quantities of it- I'm going to have to paint this girl green 5 nights a week.

Whatever I end up getting, I can order it and have it shipped here ASAP.

I don't think we want to look into airbrush spray ideas, although that would be ideal- It's a little outside of our budget range.

I've looked also at the liquid latex paints, which I don't like the sound of- it shouldn't look like a costume or plastic, it should look like a little girl was dumped in a vat of flourescent green paint.

Any help that you guys can give would be much appreciated.

Thanks so much,
~V

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?

« on: Jul 08, 2008, 12:48 pm »

Thanks for the advice folks, but I think we really want to go with real fire.

We have a good relationship with the fire marshal, so I don't anticipate any problem with this.

Anyone else have ideas on how to pull off the real thing onstage?
~V

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / SHOWS: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?

« on: Jul 07, 2008, 04:18 pm »

Hello Ladies and Gents of the 'net,

Victoria from Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater here again, asking for a little bit of help on "The Pillowman".

We've pretty much figured out the "Green Girl" effect and the gunshot-to-the-head moment, it's the fire in the trash bin that is just defeating me.

Here's a primer on how this one goes down, for those not familiar with the play:

One of the characters threatens to burn the other characters' oeuvre of stories by dragging a trash bin to downstage, pouring some lighter fluid into it, and tossing a match in.

He holds the stories above the bin but never throws them in. After about 2 1/2 pages of text and action another character puts the fire out with water from a bottle of water on the table. END OF PLAY.

We've thought about using Sterno in a basket raised up so that it can be somewhat seen, but I dont know if it will be bright enough. The issue that's really stumping me is sustainability- the fire needs to keep going. It can of course piddle out a bit, but it should still be going at the end when it's extinguished as part of the action.

We've thought about flash paper to get that first moment of fire igniting, but I don't think it's the right look.

At this point, I'm considering a small amount of lighter fluid on paper that's sort of crumpled up or twisted so that it takes slightly longer for it to burn.

Anybody have any thoughts on how to do this?

We go into tech in one week. Thanks to everyone for help!!
~Victoria Coady
AEA Stage Manager, Julie Harris Stage
Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater
Wellfleet, MA

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / SHOWS: "What The Butler Saw"- Any suggestions?

« on: May 27, 2008, 07:56 pm »

Hello All,

So, I'm embarking on the fantastic journey that is Stage Managing Joe Orton's fantastic play "What The Butler Saw", with it's four doors, simultaneous entrances, and some interesting prop issues.

Has anyone done this play of late, and can anyone offer any insight? It's day two of rehearsals, so I'm still getting a good handle on what the specifics are going to be, but the possible issues that pop out at me are:
- the roses gag- how can we do it without actually cutting a dozen roses every night?
- the bottles of whiskey that must be ferretted about the set
- the timing of the entrances/exits/reveals in act 1, with the costume changes of Nick and Geraldine.
- Nick's wound is supposed to ooze blood periodically during the last part of the play. Does anybody know of a good oozing blood pack?

I know I'm not horribly specific right now, but I'm just tossing a line out there in hopes that anyone that has done the play can share some stories of how they encountered the numerous challenges it presents.

Thanks so much to all comers,
~V

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The Hardline / Re: NYTW Laying off Production Staff

« on: Apr 24, 2008, 07:26 pm »

yeah, i know Afren and Casseli, and it sucks that everyone is getting laid off. but at the same time, the whole issue of SM's getting paid a living wage is obviously an issue, and I hope that if anything good can come out of this crappy situation, it's that.

And at least I know for sure that Efren and Casseli are pretty rocking, so I have faith they'll be working somewhere else cool.

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / First meeting with the Director- agenda?

« on: Apr 27, 2007, 09:25 pm »

Hello all my fellow stage managers and manageresses,

I'm an experienced PA and ASM off-Broadway, but am starting my first Equity SM job at a small theater in Cape Cod. Through my experience as a PA I'm familiar with everything that happens once rehearsals start, but it's the prep work that I'm struggling with.

For example, I'm meeting with my director for the first time on Tuesday. We start rehearsals on Wednesday, but due to his schedule and the fact that he's coming in from out of town we won't be able to talk before this meeting. We've already exchanged emails regarding the calendar, and his agenda for the first day.

That being said, I'm still not sure what questions I should be asking at this first meeting, and I really don't want to start out looking inexperienced. I know what they say, "there are no stupid questions", but in this case it's less about me looking stupid than it is about him feeling like I'm not going to have my shit together, you know? I want him to feel reassured in my abilities, not hesitant.

So, here's what I've got on the agenda so far:
-Specific rehearsal props he'd like to see that are not in the script
- Policy on visitors to the rehearsal hall
- how he'd like me to signal him in regards to breaks
- safety issues within the text- ex. one of the actors hangs upside down for 20 minutes. how are we going to do that?
- fight rehearsals- we have a fight choreographer coming from NYC to work with us, and I just want to put that on his radar
- setup of rehearsal hall ex. direction of chairs, would he like a music stand, etc

What else? anything anyone can think of? I mean, as general as possible, or as specific as necessary. I'm sure that I'll think of things as we're talking, but I'd rather be prepared, you know?

Thank you so much in advance to any and all who respond, and talk to you soon!
~V