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Messages - DCPSM2012

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1
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: High School SM
« on: Feb 13, 2013, 12:54 am »

1) Start off differentiating yourself from the cast. They can't see you as a peer. You have to be held to the level of respect they give the director. Make that clear

Alec, you make more than a few decent points, and they are tips I wish I wouldn't have had to learn on my own. However, I feel that you're a bit at fault with your first suggestion. Especially in high school. True, the cast should respect you. However, they should not be made to think (Or influenced to think) that the stage manager is "better" than any other member of the production team or the company. Being respected and being a peer are often the same thing. Stage Managers should be respected- but that respect has to be earned, just like any other position- not asserted.

Sadly (Like most industries) Theatre can be an environment of large egos and little minds.
Respect is key. However, asserting dominance or demanding respect is not. Earning respect will get you places, nrs2014.

Hope this helps!


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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: High School SM
« on: Feb 10, 2013, 07:25 pm »
Hi!
Just another High School Stage Manager popping in to say hello!
After Three and a half years with the same director, I've just started managing a show with a brand new creative team. So I feel where you're coming from. I think your best bet is to ask the director exactly what he/she expects from you, and how they expect you to do it.
I've found, however, that it helps to go the extra mile. They may not tell you explicitly to take attendance or do a sign-in sheet- but if they have a "3 absences you're out" rule, it helps to do it regardless. This goes for other things as well. But be very careful not to overstep. Remember that the stage manager is not generally a part of the creative team, and stepping on toes can cause more problems than it is really worth.
However, having that extra bit of paperwork already done ahead of time when the director asks you to do it for them can make a great impression.
 My first show as a PSM was a musical as well, so I wish you the best of luck. You'll have a blast!

3
The Green Room / Catchphrases
« on: Nov 05, 2012, 01:54 am »
In my current, and rather short, high school career as a stage manager, I have been accused and accredited with many things. One of which was having a catchphrase.
Out of sincere curiosity and general interest, I propose a competition. Were stage managers accepted publicly as super-heroes, what would the best “Stage Management Super-Hero” catchphrase be?
I’ll start out with what I’ve been told I use the most often:
“It’s on my list!”

4
I find it a bit ironic that the members of the "next generation"- who are more likely to have smart phones, tablets, etc.- are the most likely candidates to misuse their tools. Most technology now being connected to the internet, the temptation to "just check this one thing" that has nothing to do with the job at hand, grows stronger when using said technology- doesn't it?

 I remember reading somewhere on smnetwork that sometimes it is best to pull your head out of the computer, take a pen and paper, and focus solely on the stage- keeping your eyes off the screen and on the people.

Quote
I still do the same paper work, but just being able to do it while at rehearsal and have it all on the same device makes it easier. Basically, I don't need to search for my paperwork. It is all in the same app and the easily accessible.

True, having the multi-functional applications to run blocking and sound and lighting and what-have-you is great. Amazing even. I'm jealous of the efficiency of it all, to be honest. But there is something to be said about manually writing out your notes. When you write something down, your body connects to the information, as well as your mind. Once you've written notes out, more of the details seem to stick. (Speaking for myself). The few times I've used a laptop to take notes and record blocking, I've found that the information simply becomes data. Keystrokes. Then when I have to answer a question about my computerized and "technologically up-to-date" notes, I have to return to the notes to find the answer. However, when I've physically marked out the information, I can usually recall it without referring back to the paperwork.

I can't condemn anyone for going paperless- in fact that's most likely the direction that the industry is heading- but maybe some things just deserve to be written down.

5
I partially agree with Matthew here- but I feel like you shouldn't have to work to keep things "separate".

I haven't had much experience- but maybe it's best just to be civil to everyone, even those who don't return the sentiment. If you make friends, you make friends. If you stay distant for the sake of focusing on the task at hand, so be it. So long as you understand that business is business, and everyone is there to do a job, then the issue of "friendship" shouldn't matter so much.

On the one hand, I've got friends in a cast who listen to what I have to say and more-or-less follow through on what I'm asking them to do. On the other hand, I've got friends who try to use our relationship to take advantage and weasel their way out of working. It's this hand that you have to worry about- especially in high school. Not everyone understands how important a show can be to a stage manager- for many kids, it's "just a high school show". When performers start abusing your relationship with them, it's time to draw the line.

Case in point though- if you're civil with everyone, then your reputation is likely to proceed you. Be fair, but not brutal. Focus on running a smooth and efficient show, and everything else should fall into place.

Best of Luck!

6
Whilst wearing a dunce cap. :) Brilliant!

7
"I think I should say exactly what I'm thinking the instant I think it."

YES!!!!!

8
Each stage manager will be issued a bag with the mechanical equivalents of Hermione's purse and the Tardis. The bag will also contain the qualities of the Room of Requirement, so that anything you or anyone else could possibly need in the entire universe is constantly and consistently at your fingertips.

Any person or persons (including actors, technicians, patrons, and producers) acting like unreasonable seven-and-a-half-year-olds  will be trussed pig-style to a baton and flown above the set. They will not complain. They will not sue. They will take their punishment silently, and be considerate to everyone for the rest of forever.

9
Has Felix specified the species of bear he requires? I know where we can find grizzlies, but polar may work in tandem with the show’s current motif. Should the bear be long-hair, or short? Will it need a muzzle? Will the company be feeding it? The bear eats a fish just before the exit- should this be trout, tuna, salmon, real, fake, or Swedish?

Has anyone informed George of this new development? Does his contract cover possible mauling whilst running from a bear? Last season his contract covered live sharks, but he put up quite a fuss about the swordfish, so we should double check.
In which direction is the exit? If George runs out stage left, then the bear will need to be less than six feet tall in order to make it through the door. From there the prop tables will be in the way of any persons or animals larger than four feet around. If George runs out stage right, we will have to use a bear cub, as George will be crawling through a doggie-door. Whereas if George takes the upstage doors, we can use any size bear, so long as its fur is polka-dot (The fur has to blend in with the curtain behind the set, or the exit will be more of a badly timed walk-off).

Do we need a trainer? They’ve been in pretty short supply since that whole “Spiderman” fiasco, so how much are we willing to cough up for one? Will the trainer be union? Is he considered to be an actor, or a technician?

Lastly, how do we get the bear offstage after its reappearance in Act III Scene ii? Any other night, we could park the cargo-truck in the shop and have the bear run straight in- but Ernie has called in sick, and his co-driver plans to be intoxicated the evening of the closing performance. And every evening prior.

New Note:
   The lighting, costume, and set designers have now all been written into this evening’s production of “Hello Dolly.” They will all be dressed as though they are all the same person, and will be seen fighting with each other in the background of every scene. 

10
Had something similar to this happen to me on my last musical. Not quite the same, but similar. We had a faculty member who played one of the minor roles who didn't show up to a mationee, the role wasn't much, but he had a song (discovered later that he had to deal with an aggressive student), the booth was warned not too well in advance, but we soon discovered that the stage left ASM had a crew that could run set changes without him for a few moments, luckily had a costume, and knew all the lines and choreography.

Assuming that this is not the case, and that the only option is to use this "guy who someone knows", I would attack this in a few ways.
First, I would see if we have any wireless earpieces- bluetooth, whatever. At this point nearly anything would work- and connect one to an ASM or assistant with a script and his blocking. He needs to know where to go, and assuming that "Benjamin" is like the actor I'm assuming he is, we haven't seen his personal script since the first read. Problems are likely with the earpiece, yes, but it is just the blocking. Not that blocking isn't important, but he has a script. If something goes wrong hopefully he can improvise effectively.

Second option being to write the blocking into the script the "guy" will be using- but that means extra lag for him to read and comprehend it.

Next, I would send someone I could trust- an ASM with limited responsibilities perhaps, or a trusted member of the production if I couldn't do it myself- to sit down with "Guy" and run the entire show, all the lines, blocking, and general bru-ha-ha with him. It's only two o'clock. With two people running the show by themselves, it should take maybe two hours, tops. That gives us four hours to curtains.

If we don't have a costume, he isn't going to do us as much good. Schedule a costume fitting for four thirty if possible, or perhaps at the same time as his "read-through" if impossible to do otherwise. Hopefully this could take less than an hour (we are speaking hypothetically, no?) Leaving us with two and a half hours to curtain, and approximately half an hour before other actors begin showing up.

Thirty minutes to show him props and explain their function to the show. Get the guy enough information to improvise if he has to.

Six o' clock, introduce him to the cast, explain his position. Hand him over to a responsible party to prepare him to go on, then go get your things ready.

Cross fingers. Remind self to kill Benjamin. Offer sacrifice of caffeine to the theatre gods. Hope for the best.

11
I went to Disneyland last summer and had the exact same reaction! Glad I'm not the only one who became excited! :)

12
Prompt book binders shall have flat centers so it doesn't matter which hand you write with.

Yes, Please! How has someone not fixed this problem yet?!

13
The Green Room / Re: Picture Wars!
« on: Jun 09, 2012, 04:33 pm »


But there must be a line...

14
The director will never change the blocking after it has been blocked, except in dire circumstances. The blocking will always be perfect the first time it is blocked, and the actors will take dutiful notes.

As Far as High Tech Goes...

Each actor will possess a sensor in their costumes which is identified by a special spotlight. This spotlight- when programed into a cue- will follow the actor around the stage, making it impossible for the spot op to miss a cue, or overshoot the actor in question.

There will be a mobile raindeck capable of anything from an And Then There Were None window shower, to a Singin' In The Rain downpour. It will never have any complications.

The stage shall also have an optional rake setting- allowing a 360 degree rotation of the deck. There shall storage underneath that shall never interfere with movement of the deck. It shall always be unlocked- and no one shall abuse the power of the "swivel deck."

Did I mention that it also rotates to facilitate productions such as Noises Off and Crazy For You?

15
The Green Room / Re: Funny definitions
« on: Jun 09, 2012, 01:00 pm »
The Keys:

In the Key of Panic- A state experianced by many High-School Stage Managers induced by walking the half-mile to your car after a night rehearsal, watching the director lock the gates behind you, and THEN realizing that the master keys are still attatched to your belt. See Also: "Get back here, you forgot your car keys"

Immediate Identification- When you can tell a certain ASM or director by how the keys sound on their belts when they walk.

Ring Withdrawl- That empty feeling you get when returning the keys for the summer.

Unfortunate Detatchment- The side-most belt loop- usually on the most proficient side of the body- that has come unattatched from a pair of jeans due to frequent "key weight"


"Type 'A' Personality"- A badge worn with pride in some Stage Management circles.

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