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Stage Management: Other / Recording of Carmen with sung recits
« on: Oct 02, 2015, 07:14 pm »
Can anyone recommend a recording of Carmen with the sung recits for timing purposes?
Thanks!
Thanks!
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2
The Hardline / Re: AGMA Companies that are not offering travel/housing
« on: Jul 02, 2015, 11:51 pm »
The problem is that these companies are not willing to negotiate, and for a lot of them, you would have to "relocate" for 8 to 16 weeks worth of work, so it's not getting your foot in the door for a job that pays a living wage, it's just a gig.
Sure, if you were planning to move there anyway, knock yourself out.
Sure, if you were planning to move there anyway, knock yourself out.
3
Self-Promotion / Re: Lion King National Tour
« on: Jul 02, 2015, 05:43 pm »
Indeed, congrats! Standby for the 600 series . . .
4
The Hardline / Re: AGMA Companies that are not offering travel/housing
« on: Jul 02, 2015, 03:03 pm »
The timing is unfortunate, as there are a lot of negotiations going on (Chicago, Dallas, etc) , but AGMA has been allowing this to go on for years . . .and of course it's becoming a trend. As more companies note that they can save money by simply ignoring the Travel and Housing clause, of course they are going to cut that corner.
My pointed question is . . .why am I paying dues to a union that simply doesn't have the muscle or will to protect the CBA's it negotiates? I can promise you that if this affected a union Chorus, AGMA would be all over it. Stage Management, not so much. I can't express my disappointment enough. I've stood up for the union at times when I was the only person in the company who cared at all about the CBA. The fact that I got a "Meh" response is just insulting.
If, as BenTheStageMan point out, though, that this an industry wide problem, I have much greater fears.
My pointed question is . . .why am I paying dues to a union that simply doesn't have the muscle or will to protect the CBA's it negotiates? I can promise you that if this affected a union Chorus, AGMA would be all over it. Stage Management, not so much. I can't express my disappointment enough. I've stood up for the union at times when I was the only person in the company who cared at all about the CBA. The fact that I got a "Meh" response is just insulting.
If, as BenTheStageMan point out, though, that this an industry wide problem, I have much greater fears.
5
The Hardline / AGMA Companies that are not offering travel/housing
« on: Jul 02, 2015, 12:31 am »
Ok, so I'm going to stir the pot a little here, but this is worth it to me.
Having worked in regional Opera for over a decade, there is a trend in small AGMA houses to not offer travel and housing although the Collective Bargaining Agreement requires it.
Let me say, first and foremost, that if a company wishes to only hire local, have at it. Advertise the position as such.
Performing a nationwide search for Stage Management, and just ignoring that part of the CBA that talks about travel and housing is an absolute outrage to me, and it makes my blood boil that AGMA is allowing it. A company does not have the right to dismiss or ignore part of the CBA, similar to the fact that I do not have the right to waive part of the CBA while I'm under an AGMA contract.
The response I got when I asked AGMA about it - "It's a trend, and like most trends, it will go away eventually."
Thoughts? Comments? Outlandish accusations?
Having worked in regional Opera for over a decade, there is a trend in small AGMA houses to not offer travel and housing although the Collective Bargaining Agreement requires it.
Let me say, first and foremost, that if a company wishes to only hire local, have at it. Advertise the position as such.
Performing a nationwide search for Stage Management, and just ignoring that part of the CBA that talks about travel and housing is an absolute outrage to me, and it makes my blood boil that AGMA is allowing it. A company does not have the right to dismiss or ignore part of the CBA, similar to the fact that I do not have the right to waive part of the CBA while I'm under an AGMA contract.
The response I got when I asked AGMA about it - "It's a trend, and like most trends, it will go away eventually."
Thoughts? Comments? Outlandish accusations?
6
The Green Room / Re: The Trouble with Paperwork
« on: Jul 02, 2015, 12:10 am »
I find this thread absolutely fascinating.
I don't understand why someone else using your paperwork formatting is anything but a compliment. I'm not trying to take value away from the time and work that may have gone into an individual's paperwork formatting, but it's just paperwork. This is not our greatest contribution to the industry or the production we are currently working on. It's ink on paper. Or just data floating around on a dropbox server somewhere.
Maybe the difference is that I work mostly in opera. Every company I go to has their own formatting, font, color paper, etc that I have to use. I'm almost always given a template to use that was authored by someone else. In smaller, regional houses, I have a library of previous paperwork and I generally just find the clearest or most nifty formatting I can find quickly and start the process of data entry.
I don't understand why it seems that some of us are so precious about our paperwork format. It's not a bad thing, it's just something I don't understand. If anyone wants to explain it, have at.
I just have this mental image of Gollum rifling through pages of Running Sheets in the gloom of his cave.
I don't understand why someone else using your paperwork formatting is anything but a compliment. I'm not trying to take value away from the time and work that may have gone into an individual's paperwork formatting, but it's just paperwork. This is not our greatest contribution to the industry or the production we are currently working on. It's ink on paper. Or just data floating around on a dropbox server somewhere.
Maybe the difference is that I work mostly in opera. Every company I go to has their own formatting, font, color paper, etc that I have to use. I'm almost always given a template to use that was authored by someone else. In smaller, regional houses, I have a library of previous paperwork and I generally just find the clearest or most nifty formatting I can find quickly and start the process of data entry.
I don't understand why it seems that some of us are so precious about our paperwork format. It's not a bad thing, it's just something I don't understand. If anyone wants to explain it, have at.
I just have this mental image of Gollum rifling through pages of Running Sheets in the gloom of his cave.
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Tools of the Trade / Re: POLL: Paperwork Ownership
« on: Jan 16, 2014, 03:05 pm »
Another point that I'd like to make, specifically with the paperwork I create in opera, is that I don't consider paperwork for me. Paperwork is standardized in a number of opera houses across the country and that formatting was developed to provide consistency as productions move from company to company. That formatting was developed, however, not because of the needs of Stage Management . . . it's the run crews, carpenters, flymen, and various other technician who have to read, understand, and quickly reference that paperwork that's really the important thing. We don't create paperwork for ourselves, we create it for other people in the first place.
I worked with a lighting designer some years back who obviously loathed stage management . . .so I took him out for a drink. After gently questioning him on the subject, his general response was "I just don't understand most stage managers. They think that the size font that they use is their artistic contribution to the show. Don't stage managers realize that their role in this industry is so much more important than that?" I really took that to heart. Perhaps that's the reason I just don't get upset about the issue of sharing paperwork. What we do, and the art of what we do, is incredibly more important than any paperwork formatting I can create or use, and since the formatting is actually for the ease of use of other people . . . I think I have larger things in my life to worry about.
I worked with a lighting designer some years back who obviously loathed stage management . . .so I took him out for a drink. After gently questioning him on the subject, his general response was "I just don't understand most stage managers. They think that the size font that they use is their artistic contribution to the show. Don't stage managers realize that their role in this industry is so much more important than that?" I really took that to heart. Perhaps that's the reason I just don't get upset about the issue of sharing paperwork. What we do, and the art of what we do, is incredibly more important than any paperwork formatting I can create or use, and since the formatting is actually for the ease of use of other people . . . I think I have larger things in my life to worry about.
8
Tools of the Trade / Re: POLL: Paperwork Ownership
« on: Jan 16, 2014, 12:27 am »
I always supply my employer with production paperwork for archiving purposes, the driving idea being that if the show is ever remounted my paperwork could be reused for that remount, whether or not I'm hired.
I remember heatedly discussing this issue with a fellow SM here on the boards to such an extent that the other SM left the community. In every company I have ever worked at, and certainly now that I teach Stage Management to some degree, I have never encountered a problem with sending or receiving a previous production's paperwork so the formatting, information, or general concept could be studied, copied, etc. I really just fail to see why anyone would really get worked up over this issue. This is how we teach, and how we learn; and especially here at SMNetwork, if we are not here to exchange ideas then I fail to see the purpose of the community entirely. If we punish members for asking for help, what kind of professional community are we?
I remember heatedly discussing this issue with a fellow SM here on the boards to such an extent that the other SM left the community. In every company I have ever worked at, and certainly now that I teach Stage Management to some degree, I have never encountered a problem with sending or receiving a previous production's paperwork so the formatting, information, or general concept could be studied, copied, etc. I really just fail to see why anyone would really get worked up over this issue. This is how we teach, and how we learn; and especially here at SMNetwork, if we are not here to exchange ideas then I fail to see the purpose of the community entirely. If we punish members for asking for help, what kind of professional community are we?
9
The Green Room / Re: On surviving a life in theater
« on: Nov 01, 2013, 05:32 pm »
I'm late on this thread, but I think it's a bit obtuse to say that actors have a harder life than anyone else. Forget fame and fortune, few actors who set out for that ever actually achieve it.
So what are you left with?
The responsibility for your own happiness.
I could list 10 other careers off the top of my head where people have a harder life. Is that comparison fair? It's only as fair as the actors who choose to compare themselves with their colleagues.
The ultimate fact remains that life has it's ups and downs. It's part of the human condition. We all have the responsibility to act and react in a way that serves us, makes us happy, or at the very least gets you through the day. We all have those moments of wondering "what if". . . .and you can choose to dwell on that thought and let it spiral up or down, or move on to the next thing in front of you. Do the best you can at any given moment in time, recognize that everyone lives in their own reality, and by all means try to live as gently and with the grace you wish to be remembered by.
If you meet a stage manager who calls better than you, has a better organizational skill set, etc, you can choose to feel insecure, you can choose to learn from them, or you can choose to do nothing at all. Is one option better than the other? That's for you to decide.
So what are you left with?
The responsibility for your own happiness.
I could list 10 other careers off the top of my head where people have a harder life. Is that comparison fair? It's only as fair as the actors who choose to compare themselves with their colleagues.
The ultimate fact remains that life has it's ups and downs. It's part of the human condition. We all have the responsibility to act and react in a way that serves us, makes us happy, or at the very least gets you through the day. We all have those moments of wondering "what if". . . .and you can choose to dwell on that thought and let it spiral up or down, or move on to the next thing in front of you. Do the best you can at any given moment in time, recognize that everyone lives in their own reality, and by all means try to live as gently and with the grace you wish to be remembered by.
If you meet a stage manager who calls better than you, has a better organizational skill set, etc, you can choose to feel insecure, you can choose to learn from them, or you can choose to do nothing at all. Is one option better than the other? That's for you to decide.
10
Employment / Re: Advice or moving cross country to stage manage
« on: Nov 01, 2013, 03:40 pm »
For what it's worth . . .
Gigs like SF Opera are attainable, but you are probably going to need years worth of experience before they'll hire you as an ASM even . . .and you could wait a lifetime to call something there. While it's completely fine to have a dream job, think about the reality that you will have to pay your dues in the regional opera circuit for a while. During this time, my advice to you would be to base yourself out of a city that has a much lower cost of living than SF.
Also . . .I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of heat for this, but in my experience, remember to be business minded about your career. Part of what we do is art, and part of what we do is to be in business for ourselves. Do not move across the country unless you have a job waiting for you. In this day and age, it is very easy for an employer to hire you from wherever you are coming from, and THEY will pick up the tab for your relocation. If your dream is to become an AGMA stage manager, start the discussion about AGMA agreements, what companies should be paying for and what you should expect to pick up the tab for. I recently had a conversation with a young ASM working for an AGMA company who relocated and got an apartment before he signed his contract. If he knew what he was doing, we would have known that travel to that city, and housing during the duration of his contract would have to be payed by the employer, but he negated that by paying it out of his own pocket because he didn't know any better. The full value of any contract includes travel, housing, per diem . . . .don't sell yourself short by paying for things your new employer should pay for. They are counting on you to not be business minded, no matter how friendly they seem. The nature of the business of management is to pay you as little as possible and get the most productivity out of you. Hence, the importance of unions. That, however, is an entirely other post.
Gigs like SF Opera are attainable, but you are probably going to need years worth of experience before they'll hire you as an ASM even . . .and you could wait a lifetime to call something there. While it's completely fine to have a dream job, think about the reality that you will have to pay your dues in the regional opera circuit for a while. During this time, my advice to you would be to base yourself out of a city that has a much lower cost of living than SF.
Also . . .I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of heat for this, but in my experience, remember to be business minded about your career. Part of what we do is art, and part of what we do is to be in business for ourselves. Do not move across the country unless you have a job waiting for you. In this day and age, it is very easy for an employer to hire you from wherever you are coming from, and THEY will pick up the tab for your relocation. If your dream is to become an AGMA stage manager, start the discussion about AGMA agreements, what companies should be paying for and what you should expect to pick up the tab for. I recently had a conversation with a young ASM working for an AGMA company who relocated and got an apartment before he signed his contract. If he knew what he was doing, we would have known that travel to that city, and housing during the duration of his contract would have to be payed by the employer, but he negated that by paying it out of his own pocket because he didn't know any better. The full value of any contract includes travel, housing, per diem . . . .don't sell yourself short by paying for things your new employer should pay for. They are counting on you to not be business minded, no matter how friendly they seem. The nature of the business of management is to pay you as little as possible and get the most productivity out of you. Hence, the importance of unions. That, however, is an entirely other post.
11
Employment / Re: Salary Requirements
« on: Jan 06, 2013, 02:39 pm »
I'm sure everyone on here is going to have a different opinion for you.
If it were me . . . you mentioned it's a full time position, so I would give them a yearly figure, make it a range, and make sure to label it "negotiable".
As to how much . . .if you know what you need on a yearly basis JUST to survive, add 5-10K to that and there's your figure. If they can't pay you what you are worth, you don't want to work for them anyway.
If it were me . . . you mentioned it's a full time position, so I would give them a yearly figure, make it a range, and make sure to label it "negotiable".
As to how much . . .if you know what you need on a yearly basis JUST to survive, add 5-10K to that and there's your figure. If they can't pay you what you are worth, you don't want to work for them anyway.
12
The Green Room / Re: "I can't do that on stage."
« on: Jul 04, 2011, 02:17 am »
Oh, this is one of my favorite stories.
I was working on a major new production of an opera . . . big house, big name singers, who shall remain nameless.
There were maybe 4 hand props in the entire show. The leading soprano goes onstage without the dagger which is central to this incredibly long and boring scene that she's in. Realizing she's forgotten it, we are scrambling backstage to try to get a super who can "ninja" this dagger out to her in some way, when the soprano takes matters into her own hands, changes the blocking, crosses the stage and leans against the downstage side of the SR doorway. She leans offstage and "whispers" as loudly as she can "DAGGER!", (while making an exaggerating stabbing motion in the air) and goes back to leaning up against the door frame.
Perfect. So I run the dagger over to her to hand it to her . . .and I'm literally standing RIGHT next to her . . .and she won't take it. The pocket that this dagger needs to go into is on the onstage side of this HUGE white dress she is wearing. So . . .the audience saw my hand reach across her and her dress, with the dagger, put the dagger in the pocket, and disappear. Not awkward at all.
Now, granted, she had walked past all four stage managers and none of us realized she didn't have it until it was too late.
The next performance, she forgot the only other hand prop she had in the show.
I was working on a major new production of an opera . . . big house, big name singers, who shall remain nameless.
There were maybe 4 hand props in the entire show. The leading soprano goes onstage without the dagger which is central to this incredibly long and boring scene that she's in. Realizing she's forgotten it, we are scrambling backstage to try to get a super who can "ninja" this dagger out to her in some way, when the soprano takes matters into her own hands, changes the blocking, crosses the stage and leans against the downstage side of the SR doorway. She leans offstage and "whispers" as loudly as she can "DAGGER!", (while making an exaggerating stabbing motion in the air) and goes back to leaning up against the door frame.
Perfect. So I run the dagger over to her to hand it to her . . .and I'm literally standing RIGHT next to her . . .and she won't take it. The pocket that this dagger needs to go into is on the onstage side of this HUGE white dress she is wearing. So . . .the audience saw my hand reach across her and her dress, with the dagger, put the dagger in the pocket, and disappear. Not awkward at all.
Now, granted, she had walked past all four stage managers and none of us realized she didn't have it until it was too late.
The next performance, she forgot the only other hand prop she had in the show.
13
Employment / Re: Free Lancing Tactics: How Far in Advance
« on: Jun 11, 2011, 03:48 am »
I book myself as far in advance as possible. If I have a situation where a better offer comes up, I've never had a problem presenting that and asking for a release of the contract due to more renumerative employment.
Granted, it's only happened once or twice, but I think most people get it and understand . . .if you've got a decent gig and a GREAT one comes up, just be honest and look out for number one . . .everyone else is. As long as you are telling the truth and giving everyone enough time to find replacements, you should be fine.
Granted, it's only happened once or twice, but I think most people get it and understand . . .if you've got a decent gig and a GREAT one comes up, just be honest and look out for number one . . .everyone else is. As long as you are telling the truth and giving everyone enough time to find replacements, you should be fine.
14
Employment / Re: Taxes for independent contractors...
« on: Jun 11, 2011, 03:42 am »Annoyances:
4. I have to pay SUTA/FUTA (unemployment tax) which I normally wouldn't have to do if filing as an individual.
Kay,
Does that technically mean that if you were to become unemployed or under employed that you could file for unemployment to supplement your income . . .say, during your slower months?
15
Employment / Re: lighting design?
« on: Jun 11, 2011, 03:36 am »
I have been the de-facto lighting designer on a few occasions.
Once because the LD that was hired was completely incompetent and the director and I knew that if we were going to make it through lighting sessions with an ounce of sanity I would be setting levels . . .so although I didn't hang and focus, I made a list of channels and started calling out levels, first as more of a suggestion and then just took it over. We lit the whole show in two sessions. It would have taken days otherwise. the LD didn't seem to mind as he couldn't possibly have cared less in the first place.
The other major one that comes to mind is an opera where a lighting designer simply was not hired, and I felt the production and the piece deserved more than "lights up/lights down". Being as that production had nothing to lose by letting me dabble, they agreed and I went to town. It was a credit for me and gave me the opportunity to learn, although it was trial by fire. When I wasn't in rehearsal I was hanging, focusing, and I did my own lighting sessions and lit over the top of rehearsals. Having almost no set at all, I'd like to think my design created acting areas and defined spaces a little bit more as well as popping color out when appropriate. Better yet, I had no notes from the LD during tech except my own. That production also toured, so I did the advance work on the next venue on what should have been my days off. I hold no grudges . . .I learned a ton during that process.
Lastly, I did a festival of short plays in DC many years ago. Again, just dabbling, but after you've heard LDs calling out levels for years, it isn't hard to figure out the basics, figure out what works and what doesn't, and keep the show moving forward.
I am honest, though, and never promise more than I can deliver.
Once because the LD that was hired was completely incompetent and the director and I knew that if we were going to make it through lighting sessions with an ounce of sanity I would be setting levels . . .so although I didn't hang and focus, I made a list of channels and started calling out levels, first as more of a suggestion and then just took it over. We lit the whole show in two sessions. It would have taken days otherwise. the LD didn't seem to mind as he couldn't possibly have cared less in the first place.
The other major one that comes to mind is an opera where a lighting designer simply was not hired, and I felt the production and the piece deserved more than "lights up/lights down". Being as that production had nothing to lose by letting me dabble, they agreed and I went to town. It was a credit for me and gave me the opportunity to learn, although it was trial by fire. When I wasn't in rehearsal I was hanging, focusing, and I did my own lighting sessions and lit over the top of rehearsals. Having almost no set at all, I'd like to think my design created acting areas and defined spaces a little bit more as well as popping color out when appropriate. Better yet, I had no notes from the LD during tech except my own. That production also toured, so I did the advance work on the next venue on what should have been my days off. I hold no grudges . . .I learned a ton during that process.
Lastly, I did a festival of short plays in DC many years ago. Again, just dabbling, but after you've heard LDs calling out levels for years, it isn't hard to figure out the basics, figure out what works and what doesn't, and keep the show moving forward.
I am honest, though, and never promise more than I can deliver.