Topics

1

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / CALLING: Actor Calls

« on: Oct 06, 2006, 04:19 pm »

Most of the stage managers in my area give actor calls from Places.  As in, "5 minutes until Places" and so on.  Some of them, consider Places to be at 5 minutes before the scheduled start time.  I am guessing that means a 5 minute call is actually 10 minutes until the curtain.

I was taught:

1.  Calls are from scheduled curtain.  ("5 minutes" is 5 minutes until curtain, and so on)

2.  Do not call Places until you know we are not holding the curtain.  Places is when it is time for the show, not at the 5 minute mark.  It is a waste to have actors get restless standing around backstage, as we hold for the next 10 minutes or more while people park their cars.



How is it done?  How should it be done?  What were you taught?

2

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROFESSIONALISM: My Strings are Unstrung (SM quits show abruptly)

« on: Sep 28, 2006, 10:01 am »

Last night I went to view a local production of the musical 1776.  I will be substituting for the light board operator this coming Saturday matinee, and I needed to watch the current op work and learn the show.

Upon my arrival, I went upstairs to the balcony and tech table ("booth").  I was the first one up there.  I found a note with the producer's name on the outside.  I opened it and out fell two keys on a ring.  I read the note.  The gist of it was, "Due to personal and professional conflicts I cannot continue to call cues and give calls."  I took this to mean the SM resigned.

It was unsigned.

I debated putting the note down and pretending I never found it.  But after a moment, I went back dowstairs and presented it to the Producer.

He tried to draft me into calling the show, which I would have done, but I suggested that my wife who had seen the show multiple times and would be able to attend more performances than I should do it.  Luckily, the current lightboard op knew the show well enough not to need calls and my wife just ran sound and spotlight.  And the ASM backstage didn't rely on cues so all was fine.