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Messages - JPL

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1
Would love to have Rope, by Patrick Hamilton.

Thanks.

2
The Green Room / Re: ARTICLE:The Flea theatre payment to actors
« on: Jan 11, 2014, 08:56 am »
A good article.  Thanks for posting it.

3
I could use an e-script (score, too, if its available) for Sweeney Todd.

Thanks,

John

4
The Green Room / Re: A Sticky Wicket
« on: Mar 23, 2012, 10:45 am »
Thanks for the additional responses.  As I indicated in my original post, if the behavior is purely personal, it is none of my business.  It only became an issue when it raised problems for the company, i.e., having to scramble to find alternate housing which came out of their pocket. 

Host housing is a fairly common way for companies to stretch their meager budgets, and I've certainly spent my share of shows in people's guest rooms.  You are always mindful that you are representing the company while in your host's home.  While I've never had anyone stay with me while I was in host housing, numerous singers have spoken of it, and they always ask their hosts well in advance, or they get a hotel.  As for more casual encounters, I'm sure they happen, but as far as I know they've never become a problem for the company before.

Again, I thank you all for your advice.  That is why I posted, to gain the benefit of other people's experiences and to clarify my own thinking.

5
The Green Room / Re: A Sticky Wicket
« on: Mar 22, 2012, 03:47 pm »
Dallas, thank you very much for the link, I was sure this had been covered before but wasn't sure where.  I hadn't even considered the legal ramifications.  I just went straight into problem-solving mode.

I will abide by the wisdom of the group as indicated in the above thread and keep my mouth shut.  Come to think of it, that's good advice most of the time.

Thanks.


6
The Green Room / A Sticky Wicket
« on: Mar 22, 2012, 12:23 pm »
I did an opera last year with a small company who put their singers up in host housing.  One of our singers had to be moved when his host left town for a few days and did not want him there in her absence.  It turns out that he was trolling for sex partners on the internet and bringing them to his host's home for, um, quick encounters.  She objected to this, and the company had to find new quarters for him.  They wound up putting him in a hotel, at added expense to an already slim budget.  Needless to say, he won't be hired back at that company.

I just got the cast list for my next show with a different company, and this singer's name is on it.  This is a company I've worked with before, so I know the people there.  The question is, do I tell them what I know of this singer's problem elsewhere?  If I do, am I forewarning them and heading off a potential problem, or am I spreading tales needlessly?  If I don't, am I at risk of causing the company problems which could have been, if not avoided, at least anticipated?

If this were a question of professional behavior I would have no problem warning them up-front of what I know.  If it were purely personal behavior it would obviously be none of my business.  But what about personal behavior which could affect the company, even if it's in an area which is not part of my responsibilities?

Your advice, and especially your experiences with analogous situations, would be welcome.

Thanks.

7
The Green Room / Re: Picture Wars!
« on: Jan 08, 2012, 02:08 pm »


Because sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

8
Does anyone have the Andrew Porter translation of The Magic Flute, preferably in Word?  E-mail JPLipe@aol.com.

Many thanks.

9
The Green Room / Re: Picture Wars!
« on: Dec 30, 2011, 02:49 pm »

11
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Rules on Cans
« on: Mar 27, 2008, 11:36 pm »
I'm pretty loose on headset, but I will happily fry anyone who talks during a standby.  More than once, I've had to say (in my most aggrieved tone) "Please don't talk during standby!"  Usually this is followed by a contrite, "Sorry, John."  Repeat offenders are run up the flagpole by their favorite body part.

John

12
Whenever I've done this, it has just been a rectangle of white gaff with the numbers written with a Sharpie.  Quick, cheap, easy, never a complaint.  I like the idea of strips of luan, though, if you are roaming from space to space.  The fabric would be more easily portable, but I would think it would need to be a non-stretchy fabric.

John

13
Stage Management: Other / Re: New to Opera questions
« on: Feb 29, 2008, 12:32 pm »
As to singers' behavior, yes and no.  I find that the better the singer, the better the behavior.  The top singers in the business are a breeze to work with.  The show up on time, they know their staging, they sign in, they treat their co-workers with respect, they make my life easy.  The farther down the totem pole, the worse the behavior (in general).  The singers who give me the most problems are the ones who aren't as good as they think they are, who think they should be singing in better companies, or the ones on their way down the ladder, who never got the success they are sure they deserved. 

You are working with students, who are still at the stage where they think they know everything, and expect to be treated like stars, even if (especially if) they are only in the chorus, since they obviously should be singing the lead roles instead of that no-talent bootlicker who was cast instead of them. 

Apprentice artist are almost as bad, since they are fresh out of college, and are sure that the fact they have made it into a program means they are on their way to the heights. 

At the next level, which most singers never get to, they pretty much realize that they are lucky to be singing instead of waiting tables or selling hardware, and they are much easier to work with.

You will soon see that these are very broad generalizations, that most singers are actually pretty good to work with, which is one reason I love opera.  But at each level, the bad ones stand out, and at your level, you have more problem children than you need.  The good ones, the ones who, from an SM perspective don't exist because we never have to deal with them, are the ones who will succeed and have a career.  You'll be seeing them in the future.  The problem children?  They need to learn an important life skill - how to say "Paper or plastic?"

John

14
>>Meetings:  None of us is as dumb as all of us.

Meetings are a way of wasting far more time as a group than you could possibly do individually.

15
You don't have to be in any union, if you are working in a non-union company.  Many of the small and medium sized companies are non-union.  Some of the medium sized houses and pretty much all of the large houses are union.  They are represented by AGMA, the American Guild of Musical Artists.  That is the union you would have to join to work in a union house.

John

EDIT: this reply was to the question about opera, not about Broadway. -- PSMK

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