Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Topics - nick_tochelli

Pages: [1]
1
Employment / Employed LORT Design positions by Gender
« on: Jun 11, 2015, 11:08 am »
Fascinating look into the genders of those employed in LORT Theatres in design positions. I believe most of us had an inkling the swings in gender would be like this, but what I was floored by is how uneven it actually is.

http://howlround.com/who-designs-in-lort-theatres-by-gender

Has anyone else noticed a different trend where they work? Are there more women lighting, scenic, and sound designers where you are? How about guys designing costumes? I personally would have been interested in the SM split, but I get the point the author was aiming for.

2
The Green Room / Do you ever forget how?
« on: May 04, 2015, 05:29 pm »
My last production was in November of 2011 and it was one of the more challenging shows for me to navigate. Not only in terms of the tech values, but there were also cast issues, venue issues, Secret Service "issues" (that gets quotes because the Secret Service do as they please and I'd never dream of getting in their way either), and a lot more. I knew this was going to be my last show in potentially a very very long time/ever, and I was proud of how I conducted my business and handled the production. It came off excellently and if I can pat myself on the back I thought I called a wonderful show.

Now some 3.5 years later after barely stepping foot into a theater in that time, with the exception to sell theaters things, I got a phone call from a good friend and a company I still have ties to. They happened their way into a production calendar at a space in NYC when another show canceled. So they are remounting a successful one night engagement they did in March. However because of the last minute nature there are conflicts galore with the cast and also the stage manager. PSM had an unavoidable conflict on Saturday night and it was during  the tail end of tech. So the call comes at 3pm to see if I can make it in that night to finish up tech. Hour and a half later I'm on a train back into the city.

Get to the theater, and after some quick reminiscing with friends and introductions to new cast members I hop behind the tech table, quickly learn the PSM's script marking style and begin to do my best to imitate it so she can easily follow when she returns, and my mind just dropped right back into it. I have the long forgotten lingo back in my mouth, I have my timing and cadence....

We tech through the final 10 pages of the script. Run that twice. Take 30 and come back for a full run. So I only see the final 10 pages of the script and now I am calling a show cold without having seen the play and I don't even know the story. What I do know, however, is the director and designers really well. If I was working with them it would be approximately the 7th or 8th show we would have worked on together in some capacity.

Having not called a show in 3.5 years I was actually pretty pleased with how I did and the only true cluster much I got into was when I got lost in the script (between skipped lines, paraphrases, added lines and the stage directions and dialogue positions being reversed....don't get me started on that one!) the show went off without too much of a hitch. Oddly enough the worst call I made was during the 10 pages I had teched myself because....why not?

So hey....guess stage managing is a little like riding a bike. You just have to get back on and get going and it will all come back to you. Just a little story I figured I'd share. Never close the door because you might get pulled out of "retirement" someday and get to relive the magic.

3
The Green Room / Peter Pan Live
« on: Dec 05, 2014, 09:33 am »
Given the overall theatrical....let's call it specialized attention from last year's Sound of Music Live, I'm a little surprised no one broached this subject yet.

Once again NBC created a cultural event for hate watching. My facebook feed said it all. "Who dressed these people?" "Wonder who's news anchor is the father of Tiger Lily?" "Walken is horrible" and more. I can't help but feeling that this is the same nonsense we heard about from 3 years ago (or so) about the actress who tore apart Into The Woods production and everyone destroyed her for it. There was a cry of "we're all in this together" and "if you can't be supportive, don't say anything about your fellow actors." How are these live performances of musicals any different? Also, how is it that no one reviewing these shows online understand that both the Sound of Music and Peter Pan were also live stage musicals and that's what these are based off and not a movie.

So did anyone watch it? Opinions? Am I entirely off base in thinking these musicals deserve more support from theater workers? Should they become a new holiday tradition?

4
http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/15/peter-pan-proposal-video-sandor-sturbl-pops-question-to-wendy-at-peter-pan-the-never-ending-story-in-glasgow-4263469/

Peter Pan proposed to Wendy onstage during a production....this isn't something that can happen without a modicum of preparation. So what do you do when the potential groom to be comes up to you with this plan?

I mean....if nothing else the entire production is about how Peter isn't going to grow up. Now this actor "ruins" the story by proposing. Call me a grump and a grouch but there is absolutely no way I permit this. If we want to move this to The Green Room I'm ok with it 

5
The Green Room / Apollo Theater in London Roof Collapse
« on: Dec 19, 2013, 04:49 pm »
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25458009

Matthew posted this on facebook and it's the best article I've seen thus far on it. Sad day. :(


Edit: Not Balcony. It was the roof that collapsed.

6
The Green Room / PATRON SMASH!
« on: May 16, 2013, 12:09 pm »
http://gothamist.com/2013/05/16/heroic_theatergoer_smashes_cell_pho.php

An article from the Gothamist depicting in glorious detail an individual getting fed up and taking a rude patron's phone away from her and threw it across the room.

Don't say you haven't wanted to do the same thing at one point or another...because then you'd be lying.

7
The Green Room / Ghostlit
« on: Feb 13, 2013, 10:57 am »
In the continuing theme of Apps in the world of theater, a former colleague of mine has developed a website and iPhone app called Ghostlit. It's available now on the app store. The entire concept is you can sign up for free (and anonymously if you choose) and you can rate theater's you've worked at. It's actually pretty similar to what we have set up here with the internship tab.

It's no where near to a complete list of theaters, but you are able to suggest theaters to the developers and they can add them. App is not necessary, you can go through the website to do the same thing you can on the app.

Check it out if you feel so inclined: Ghostlit.com and search Ghostlit in the Apple App store. He told me droid is in development right now and should be out soon.

8
The Green Room / ARTICLE: Rights, Royalties and Script Changes
« on: Feb 01, 2012, 10:15 am »
http://www.stage-directions.com/current-issue/28-feature/3967-script-change-.html

Great article about how one should go about actually making changes to a protected piece of work.

I especially keyed on the Utah Dinner theater that ended up closing it's doors after sinking 20k into a show, and had to close it down because they were caught making changes. Copywright laws aren't something to toy with!!

9
The Green Room / Backstagejobs Article about Fire Safety
« on: Jan 04, 2012, 09:01 am »
I found this article listed on backstagejobs and I think it's something everyone here should read as we tend to be the first line of defense for safety in the theater.

http://backstageat.backstagejobs.com/?p=845

Give it a read. Hopefully some of these things we all naturally do, but if you don't, its a good reminder of why fire safety is so important in the theater. I especially keyed on protecting the audience because they are our guests and it is our responsibility to make sure we do everything in our power to keep them safe.

EDIT: Read too quickly. Article is actually from backstagejobs

10
The Green Room / Picture Wars!
« on: Dec 23, 2011, 04:52 pm »
Alright everyone: It's time to start one of the most unique, creative, compelling forum games known to mankind! Without further ado, I present to you...

Picture Wars!

How it works:
  • When taking a turn, post an image. (All you have to do is click the button right below the Bold "B" in the task bar and it will automatically insert the appropriate tags [ img ] [ /img ] (without the spaces). Then insert the hyperlink to the image you want to post between the "img" tags. And Done!
  • The image you post should 'beat', 'kill', 'defeat', 'best', 'destroy' / <insert synonym here> the image posted before you.
  • If it's not clear how your image defeats the image before you, add a small description
  • Use common sense when deciding which image to post. Try to avoid nukes, black holes, and so forth
  • Ironic and funny responses are allowed! In fact, they're what make the game even more enjoyable.
  • Keep it within community standards! While it may be tempting to "win" by posting a bikini clad lady covered in oil holding a machine gun........that doesn't fly here. PG at most please!!
An example:
Quote
Player A:

A lovely house.

Quote
Player B:


Quote
Player C:

Slowly but surely, but it'll work eventually.

The next person could post an oven (to melt the screwdriver into an unrecognizable blob), a sniper (to shoot the screwdriver out of the user's hand), or one of many, many other options.
Be creative!

Experience learns that it sometimes takes a bit to get running, but once it does, it can be really awesome.

So let's get started!

I'll start off, with the same image used in the example:


11
I am working on a production that is very heavy in the projections department, but is also a complex lights/sound show too so I'll have a lot of words in my mouth all at once. I've worked on a show like this before and I had the projections called as "AV." On occasion, this lead to issues with the projectionist missing his cues because he couldn't hear/understand his cues (I'm not exactly sure how much stock to put in this as a communication error on my end as he got fired before our two week run ended for incompetence). I am certainly willing to admit it might have been on my end in terms so I'm hoping to improve my calling on this production.

How do you guys and gals call your projection cues? What label do you give them? Is there a basic accepted industry standard that I don't know of?

Edit to subject line-Rebbe

12
The Green Room / Hurricane Irene and your Company's plans
« on: Aug 25, 2011, 03:40 pm »
So as it has become evident that Hurricane Irene is coming to mess the East Coast up somethin' awful, I was wondering what is happening to your show's performances. I know it's supposed to hit New York on Saturday night right around the time curtain goes up on my show and my producers are talking about postponing or outright canceling and refunding tickets (showcase code, hard to put in an additional performance to make up for it). It should be getting to North Carolina later today and early tomorrow.

Has there been any other talk about canceling shows this weekend?

EDIT: Latest update says that Irene will actually reach New York Sunday morning/afternoon, so instead of affecting Saturday night shows, it's gonna disrupt Sunday matinees instead.

13
Tools of the Trade / Covering Tattoos
« on: Jun 13, 2011, 08:35 pm »
I am looking for a tattoo cover up makeup that will not run, smear or stain. Want to know the best part? It's to cover up a lady in a wedding dress....so the not bleeding part is clutch. There's not going to be enough of a budget to clean the dress off if it bleeds. So what have you guys used in the past?

I looked for this topic, but I couldn't find anything covering it. If I missed it, I apologize and please point me in the right direction.

14
The Green Room / Life (As Seen Through Performance Reports)
« on: Dec 23, 2010, 01:31 pm »
Sometimes you just need to create a goofy topic and hope it brightens your day a touch.

If All the World is a Stage, then there must be performance reports for everyday activities. What I'm looking for here are news events put through the lens of a Performance Report. For instance:

"During this afternoon's performance of POTUS, Mr. Obama slammed his left hand on the table after signing the DADT bill. This was an unexpected blocking change, and resulted in a slight stinging sensation in his palm for the rest of the performance. We gave him an ice pack back after the show."

Or

"Tonight's performance of Convenience Clerks was abruptly interrupted when a 1989 blue Crown Victoria was driven through the set by a patron. The show was halted for a few moments for the cast to figure out how to finish the show with a car blocking their path to the store entrance, then realizing there was no longer a wall and the show could continue."

Give us a show title, the event as seen through a Performance Report, and how it was resolved or dealt with. Standby silliness, Silliness: Go!

Pages: [1]