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Messages - anole

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1
Looking for a text document of THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (Tennessee Williams, DPS version if possible).

Thanks!

2
Has anyone emptied herbal cigarettes to use as a pot substitute in a bong? How did it go?

We're doing a musical and the actor REALLY wants to be able to take a hit of something and then exhale smoke, but he has to sing directly afterwards...

3
Below is from the house of the last place I worked, with some commentary from me added. They do a nicely formatted version and a plain emailed version.
I've also had places just fill them out on paper, although I prefer the emailed ones.


HOUSE COUNT: xyz bodies total (__ patrons, __ ushers)
(___ sold regular tickets, ___ sold sale/discount/giftcard/etc = ___ total tickets sold)  (___ canceled by phone, ___ unclaimed tickets = ___ no show total  )

CASH DEPOSIT TOTAL:
Box Office:
Donations:

House Open:
House Closed:   (/turned over)
Act I Start:
Intermission:  (began)
Act II Start:
Curtain:
(then I like to have time out of building included as well)

MOOD/FYI:

(good to have a separate line for weather as well)

(good to have a separate line to note all handicapped/special needs accommodations- how they got into the building, when they were seated & how, if it took too long, if they called ahead of time, their name, etc)

(name of person who did report)
(their position)

4
Looking for Doris Baizley's adaption of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. PM and I'll send my email.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

5
I'm late to the game, but: we fitted a hot water bottle with nozzle sticking up at the opening, then had that inside a pillow she squeezed. The liquid would hit her jaw (she'd hold a hand up to her mouth and cover it) and splash through her fingers all over the table and the husband.
For further spit-ups her head was in the dishpan.
We used a mixture of teas for the vomit to get the color and slight foamy-ness... YMMV if you're in a smaller theater.

Also- instead of real clafouti we used very thin cheesecake without any crust. Easier for the actors to wolf down.

6
The Green Room / Re: How to deal with an unruly ASM
« on: Nov 03, 2011, 04:37 pm »
Man that's a rough situation. I'd want to fire any ASM who broke props like that unless they apologized and had a major attitude change.

You could try sitting down with him privately and saying something to the effect of 'you seem to be frustrated while you're here and I'd like to talk with you and make sure as we go into tech we can work together as a technical team to keep everything running as smoothly as possible for the actors and overall show. I rely on you to be responsible for xyz (calling times, props preset, quickchanges, maintaining a positive energy backstage, whatever) and I want you to be able to be confident in managing these things and in a positive frame of mind while you're here working with us- so what's up? What would you like changed to help you get to where you need to be before we hit tech?'
Then 'negotiate' from there... come up with a few tangible things you both agree on that will change in order for him to step up his actions and mood.

Depending on his attitude it might not be worth it, but in the past conversations like that with an open-ended 'how can I help you do this' question that also include a pointed 'while you're here, I need you to remember to be a positive member of the team we're all on' have helped me solve a number of issues.

7
Tools of the Trade / Re: Headset/ClearCom trouble
« on: Jul 27, 2011, 04:55 pm »
Have you checked the connectors in the back to see if they're loose?

One issue we had was the male connectors in the back of the boxes would get loose- you wouldn't necessarily notice just plugging the cables in, but if you unplugged them and lightly pushed or pulled on the prongs they'd move forwards or backwards in the casing easily. This would wind up stressing then breaking connections inside the box, and sometimes it was accompanied by a loose screw rattling around in the box causing random problems.

Have you tried swapping out the order of the boxes to see if that changes anything?

8
Tools of the Trade / Re: Headset/ClearCom trouble
« on: Jul 26, 2011, 01:27 pm »
We just had to troubleshoot our old ClearCom system too.

Do you hear the noise in only one headset or in all the headsets?
If only one headset, do you hear it all the time or only when you're talking through that headset?

9
I am looking for...

RENT! The School Edition
God of Carnage (the New York version)

Thanks muchly if you have them!

10
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: 2 Shows in Repertoire
« on: May 26, 2011, 04:33 am »
Lots of good advice above. If there's any way you can find space for enough props tables to hold all props without putting them into boxes, do it! Build shelves! It saves a ton of time preshow/postshow during the run.

Another thing I found helpful for cast members (especially younger actors) in multiple shows- post something indicative of the show you're about to do in the dressing rooms. Examples are print-outs of the promo photos, a photo of the set, or a schedule for the day with the name of the show in very large, bolded letters.

11
Tools of the Trade / Re: Multiplay Sound Cue Software
« on: May 26, 2011, 04:08 am »
I'm not sure about Multiplay, however, I've been at two houses that use QLab regularly. I haven't worked a show where we've been able to use it without buying a license for it, so I can't speak to the free-only applications of it. You can either buy a daily license or a permanent license.

That said- I'm a really big fan of QLab, especially in the ability to run sound, projections, and lights (via the midi output) from one spacebar during a show. It GREATLY reduces operator error, and you can synchronize things beautifully in a way that's nearly effortless during shows.

12
Thanks everyone! I dropped off the face of the internet for awhile to handle family things then to return to the end of our tech, but your replies were super helpful. I consolidated to two basic pieces of paperwork:

I've combined set pieces & costumes with props since the same few people handle all of them, so I have a master "preset" list (/checklist) that's broken down by location (onstage, SL wing, SR wing, dressing room) at top of show, and individual crew members are responsible for between 1 and 3 locations.
We've taken photos of all the onstage presets, so I or another crew member can jump in and help with those if we have extra time preshow (although I still make the designated crew member check afterwards, then I cover it in the final walk-through).

Second, I have an uber-run-sheet, with columns for page, scene, entrance/exit, prop incidence, costume worn at entrance/exit, and backstage duty. Everything that happens is on that list, and I have a copy and the backstage ASM has a copy as well so it's easy to confirm places & correct props and costumes a page before entrances (which, yes, we need to do).

Next show I'll try numbering props- probably much easier than 5-word-long descriptions we were using for this!

13
Yep, I've been through that section, love it- I'm working a super prop-heavy show right now (with two weeks till we add food into the mix!), and am particularly interested in how people change their typical procedures to handle a really large volume of props.

14
What 1 or 2 forms/pieces of paperwork do you find the most helpful for shows with 200+ props?
What do you not generate because it's just not helpful or practical anymore?

I'm interested in how you combine or split lists for preshow duties of crew members, props preset locations, transition duties (props and costumes), and a run sheet (that lists entrances, exits, and anything happening to a prop).
-this is assuming your props designer isn't handing you any of this, and you're generating it during/after rehearsals.

15
Employment / Re: Taxes for independent contractors...
« on: Mar 26, 2011, 07:20 pm »
Thanks all!

Has anyone found a software designed for ICs, such as a version of TurboTax?

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