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Messages - BlantonRK

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1
Tools of the Trade / Re: Useful iPad apps
« on: Apr 07, 2013, 01:25 am »
Changing track here for a quick question about iAnnotate...

So, I've got everything working, all good. My only issue is making the notes I add stand out enough. I can't highlight notes I make, or parts of the score (each page is scanned in as one image) - what I'm looking for is a way to add a background to any notes I add in.

Any thoughts?

C

I'm not sure if iAnnotate has this function, however with Notability you can highlight, mark up, and otherwise write over a PDF document as if you had a marker on a page.

Another option is forScore. I saw a pianist play an entire recital using music in the forScore app and had to have it! I have our company's next 8 operas on it right now. Easy to mark up, highlight, write or type onto a pdf score. Lots of other bells and whistles I have yet to use. Also has great integration with Drop Box. 5 stars and 2 thumbs up! Check it out.

2
If you're working for the Symphony then the rules you need to be concerned about are those for your people - the musicians. Check their AFM contract. The AFM rules will be in force at ALL orchestra services regardless of whether they are playing the opera, ballet or their own classics or pops series. There may be separate provisions for playing each of these types of services, but those will be spelled out in the AFM contract.

3
The Green Room / Tony Awards
« on: Jun 13, 2010, 09:24 pm »
I'm usually very sympathetic to our brethren in other production departments, but the audio at the Tony Awards has almost always been dicey. Tonight was no exception. I hope that the experience was better in the hall than on the broadcast. On the other hand, watching (but not always hearing) so many production numbers made me want to go see the shows.



Your thoughts?


4
Employment / Re: Child Wrangling
« on: May 15, 2010, 03:52 pm »
Oh my god.  I think I'm a child wrangler.   :-\

Admitting you have a problem is the first step!

5
Employment / Re: Child Wrangling
« on: May 14, 2010, 11:04 pm »
I LOVE using child wranglers because the alternative is a backstage parent. [shudder]

6
Great observations!
A few follow up questions:
    1) How did the company go about showing you the "Opera Way" of doing things?
    2) Did you use SMNetwork as a resource? If so, what was the best advice you saw?
    3) How would you rate your music reading ability and how did you gain those skills?

7
The Green Room / Re: SMs in media?
« on: Apr 17, 2010, 05:20 pm »
"Sing Faster" is on YouTube, pretty amusing and some fantastic backstage views of the Met.

Sing Faster is great, but its San Francisco Opera, not the Met.

8
If it's a project about which I can't find an honest compliment,  I usually try to avoid the question with something like "I've enjoyed working with you and the project has really grown on me, but I think I'm too involved in the process to give an objective opinion".

9
Stage Management: Other / Re: The Magic Flute: Recordings?
« on: Apr 03, 2010, 01:23 am »
Try the book/CD combo put out by Black Dog & Leventhal as part of the Black Dog Opera Library. It has the libretto and a lot of easy to read information on the opera, perfect for someone new to opera. The CDs are a classic 1972 recording featuring Edda Moser as The Queen of the Night and the great Kurt Moll as Sorastro. The ISBN is 1884822827, and you should be able to find a used copy on the Internet in the $6-$12 range.

Although that would be my first choice for you, a set of used CDs could be had very cheaply from any number of online sources (most will also have a booklet with a translation) and several websites have free, easy to download opera libretti.

10
The Green Room / Re: Best showing of appreciation from a cast?
« on: Mar 20, 2010, 06:18 pm »
I once received a gift certificate for a massage at a local spa. WONDERFUL!!

I worked with an actress who's also a licensed massage therapist. She gave me a post-tech massage...it was wonderful.

I think you just became the envy of every SM on the planet!   ;)
It only happened once!  :D

11
The Green Room / Re: Favorite Easter Candy
« on: Mar 19, 2010, 05:37 pm »
Mmm... spiced eggs & peeps. [drool]

Thank you, Easter Bunny! (Bawk, bawk!)

12
The Green Room / Re: Best showing of appreciation from a cast?
« on: Mar 19, 2010, 05:34 pm »
I once received a gift certificate for a massage at a local spa. WONDERFUL!!

13
Pre-show you should monitor sign-ins for chorus/supers/dancers/children, make sure artists are on time (not only for their arrival, but to wigs & make-up). Check all prop & costume presets. Typically, during the show you'll be cuing entrances on one or both sides of stage, making sure that the performers walk onstage with their correct props/costumes and being the SM's eyes and ears backstage. You may also be asked to escort the maestro from the pit to the stage for curtain calls.

Going into tech, you should have a working knowledge of your set so that you can troubleshoot problems ("um... Isn't there supposed to be masking flown in here?"). Very often the SM is in the house and not backstage during the first few techs, so they will be dependent on you to communicate what is happening that they cannot see. The 30 seconds that it takes to get the chorus lined up into their entrance positions can seem like 5 minutes if the director and SM don't know what is causing the delay. Most stage managers would rather have too much information than risk not getting the one critical bit that saves the day!

Good luck, and feel free to PM me with more questions.

14
The Green Room / Re: How do you "play?"
« on: Mar 09, 2010, 01:15 pm »
For a quiet night at home, I like to curl up on the couch with a good book and a good bourbon. But for a night of fun out with friends, karaoke!

15
Also, if you know the rehearsal schedule and have time to do it, wait to add scenes until the day that they are rehearsed. That can let your cast get used to each color/scene slowly, rather than have to cope with a rainbow of patterns on the floor all at once.

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