Messages

16

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: LX 56 was late- PSM Error

« on: Oct 03, 2007, 02:42 pm »

A couple of seasons ago, our former Artistic Director stopped me and told me that he had stepped into the show currently running (which he had directed) the night before and had seen a couple of cues mis-called.  He asked me to talk to the SM calling the show and find out why the error had not been mentioned in the performance report.  The AD then wondered to me just what else had gone wrong over the run that had not been mentioned in the reports...
I think the performance report should be an accurate account of what went on with that show.  If you would mention a late entrance, or line problems, or a snag in a scene shift, I would think you would mention an error by a board op or the SM.  Fair is fair, after all.
Not long ago, I had a problem with a board op constantly being late on taking cues off of my GO.  She was spoken to by me and later by myself and production management.  The end result was that she was dismissed.  My reports were used as a record of her performance and cited in the discussions that were held.  I suspect it would have been harder to have her removed had it not been for the paper trail of the performance reports.
I think it is important for the crew to know that you will hold yourself responsible for your own mistakes and know that you set just as high a bar for the call of the show as you do for any other element. 

17

Tools of the Trade / Re: SM Computer

« on: Aug 13, 2007, 08:42 am »

I keep my laptop open during rehearsals.  During the typical rehearsal, I have a blank rehearsal report, blank rehearsal report, prop preset paperwork, and scene/character breakdown open almost all the time.  Most of the production heads and staff at the theatre know that the most unobtrusive way to get a hold of me during rehearsals is to shoot me an email (much less distracting to everyone else in the rehearsal hall than having to answer a phone - even with the ringer off) that I usually can get a response off to in the next couple of minutes. 
As far as programs, I pretty much stick to Microsoft Office programs - mostly Word and Excel.  I have tinkered around with OpenOffice as well and have found it to be a great alternative and well worth it for people who are not willing to drop the money that Microsoft charges. 
Having a laptop open in rehearsals is great for those shows where there is no dramaturg in rehearsals, too.  A director wants to know how much a British pound was worth during the 1950's and you can look awful good getting them the answer in 30 seconds with a computer, internet connection, and Google. 
I don't know if it will ever replace my binder, though.  Having the most up to date paperwork on there is great and I do have most everything that is in my binder also on my laptop.  I bring it to most meetings as well and can edit schedules or other paperwork in meetings as things are discussed.  I actually have never used it for line notes.  Perhaps because that is something that I usually leave for my ASM. 
I've never had a director, actor, or anyone say that my laptop is a distraction in rehearsal.  And once I get into tech, everyone and their assistants seems to have their laptop or tablet PC open to the point where I sometimes have to remind people to shut their lids to get a decent blackout in the theatre.

18

SMNetwork Archives / Calendars in MS Word

« on: May 03, 2006, 08:31 am »

I create my rehearsal and performance calendars in Word as well.  I find most people are using Word on a PC or Mac or have a program that can read Word-based tables pretty easily.  

If you want to see an example, go to
http://home.twcny.rr.com/stuartp/smforms.htm
and click on Rehearsal Calendar to download an old calendar of mine.