Messages

31

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Stage managers do make coffee

« on: Feb 22, 2007, 02:24 pm »

I had to mentor a stage manager for a student-produced musical this year, and I referred her to Stage Managers Do Make Coffee. It helped her out so much. A wonderful resource.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Tense Director During Tech

« on: Feb 21, 2007, 11:25 pm »

It's funny you should mention this about this time. I am currently stage managing a show that opens up tomorrow (Feb. 22nd). It is a college production and we have a guest director, who happens to be a faculty member's wife. Before this show, I was really excited to work with her. She is a very fun person, from the little time I have spent with her. However, when rehearsals actually got started, things changed drastically. This show seems to have become the the show from Hell. Not only that, but the director has to be the worst director EVER!

On to my point: I am not only a stage manager in our theatre company, but I am also the master carpenter. During the daytime, I am in the scene shop working on a show; at night, I am a stage manager. The way our school works is that during the month of January, many students study abroad and the band and choir do a tour. Well, our props coordinator was in China touring with the band, and the scenic designer was in Peru studying art and architecture. Well, she didn't understand that we were all students and we have other things going on in our lives. Every rehearsal, there were tons of complaints about what wasn't done on the set and how slowly it was coming along. (Remember: I am the master carpenter, thus that is a direct insult to me.) She would change tons of things and expect them to be done by the next rehearsal day, but our theatre company doesn't require shop hours for our theatre majors during the month of January. Also, she did things like write out light cues, which stepped on the toes of the lighting designer. (Before even seeing his design.) A week and a half after costume parade, she decided 2 of the characters' costumes needed to be changed entirely. She even went so far as to disallow her actors from helping out with a paint call because they "needed their sleep." (Even though they had the entire day before off. She goes behind everyone's back and tells them to disregard our notes. (Even the ones that jeopardize an actor's health and the set's well-being.)

Everyone knows this kind of director, the kind that is actually an actor wanting to be a director. Well, the actors generally didn't like her because she is used to working with children and she shows the actors what she wants rather than letting them develop their own characters. Our faculty technical director has tried to explain that we are students and have full-loads of classes. Also, she will just say to change something, but won't say what. I have tried to get her to elaborate, but she doesn't do it.

Yesterday was our first dress rehearsal. She only had 1 note for me on the timing of a cue. Tonight, she yelled at me, after yelling at our technical director for something stupid, because apparently I have been missing the opening couple light cue timings every single time. However, this was the first time I have heard of it. Mainly, I suppose I just had to vent, but has anyone else ever been in a situation like this? Any advice. Thanks.

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College and Graduate Studies / College Stage Management Guide

« on: Jan 31, 2007, 06:06 pm »

I attend a small, liberal arts college in Sioux Falls, SD. I am theatre major and our program has a class on stage management. I start the stage management class on Monday. However, I have read about 5 books on stage management. Including the textbook for the class. I have also stage managed shows before taking this class. My professor called me and let me know that he thought the class would be a waste of my time because of my experience. To make it more challenging, he wants to sit down with me to rearrange the class for more advanced level stuff. He proposed that I write a guide to stage managing at our college. As everyone knows, stage managing is different anywhere you go. The goal is that if someone wants to stage manage a show at Augustana College (my school) they have to read this guide to see how things work. I will also be helping out with the class as a teachers assistant. The question is in regards to guides. I know a lot of colleges have stage management guides. However, what types of information does yours include? I don't want to skip out on any information that might come in handy. What do you think?

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Who runs your production meetings?

« on: Jan 24, 2007, 06:31 pm »

During college production meetings, as the stage manager. However at the summerstock theatre I worked at last summer, the artistic director ran the production meetings.

35

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Legal Pads

« on: Jan 02, 2007, 03:34 am »

I went out and bought a legal-sized pad that has spirals at the top. It's really nice. I think I am going to like it. Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

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SMNetwork Archives / Re: Legal Pads

« on: Dec 31, 2006, 05:12 pm »

Thanks for the information. Do you know a store that carries the sprial-bound legal pads? I must be using a cheaper brand without knowing it. I must learn to be pickier next time.

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SMNetwork Archives / Legal Pads

« on: Dec 30, 2006, 11:37 pm »

I was wondering if anyone else has the same problems I have. Every single legal pad that I have gotten has had pages come out of the pad when I don't want them to. Does anyone have a solution to this problem or is it just me being dumb? I would really appreciate finding out any alternatives to legal pads or a brand of legal pad that works really well. Thanks everyone, I hate my legal pads right now.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / NEW WORKS: Producing New Plays

« on: Dec 07, 2006, 01:27 pm »

Hello everyone. I have a particular dilemma. I am currently stage managing a production called Kin. This show is about the eugenics movement in the 1920s here in the United States. However, the director is having the playwright make changes to the script. This proves making my production script nearly impossible. We printed out a bunch of copies of the script a while ago, and there have been re-writes since then. I need to update all the scripts before Sunday, because we have our read-thru. Has anyone else gone through this? If you have, let me know any hints or tips. This is going to drive me crazy with all the constant changes. There are more changes anticipated as well. Thanks everyone!

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College and Graduate Studies / Re: Little help please... (Seeking College Recommendations)

« on: Nov 26, 2006, 08:53 pm »

I might be putting my head on the chopping block... but I would recommend that you go to a liberal arts school and get a degree in anything, then move on to a stage management career after college. Take theatre classes and certainly learn everything you can while you have the chance to approach SMing academically. But having a well-rounded background is something I have come to value. I would give the same advice to someone planning to be an engineer who might want to enter a special tech program, or a senator's son who was determined to take only poli-sci classes at an ivy league school. Take advantage of your undergraduate years to learn everything about anything. When you graduate, you'll be able to balance the theatre's budget, write the dramaturgy essays, measure groundplans in alternate bases (just for fun - or if you're taping on a linoleum tile floor^*), because you took accounting, English, and math, plus theatre. I just think that undergraduate studies are the time to get an excellent, well-rounded education base. Specialize your studies in grad school, and/or get hands-on experience in the real world. This is my opinion, and I'm a huge fan of a liberal arts education. I'm sure all the die-hard theatre schoolies out there will shout me down, and that's ok.

*If you're taping on a linoleum floor, like in a church basement or cafeteria or something, measure how big the tiles are. Sometimes they're 12", in which case you're good to go - you're already in base 12; more frequently they're 9", 8", or 6". As long as they're an even number, you can quickly convert all your groundplan measurements to the base of the tile measurement and then just cound tiles instead of fussing with the tape measure. In the end, you save a little time between doing the extra math up front and taping a little faster. Nerds like me think this is great. See - you should have stayed awake in algebra.

I agree with this 100%. My college is liberal arts, and I couldn't be happier. I have some friends who go to conservatory, and they don't know anything about how a business runs (theatre is a business) because they don't take business classes. They also don't take classes on communication within an organization. I highly recommend liberal arts. Sometimes the generals are a pain in the butt, however they prove to be extremely helpful.

40

Uploaded Forms / Re: Reports and minutes (Performance, Rehearsal, meetings)

« on: Nov 22, 2006, 12:24 am »

Here's an example of my production meeting notes. Let me know what you think.

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: In Need of *YOUR* Opinion!

« on: Nov 16, 2006, 12:56 am »

Look at what else is out there for references for stage managers. You will find that they will repeat a lot of stuff in the different books. Look to see what else others have repeated over and over. They will, no doubt, be the most important things. There are already some pretty good resources out there, so maybe making your own might not be the most efficient way. Good luck to you!

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: To Capitalize or not capitalize...

« on: Nov 16, 2006, 12:51 am »

Do not capitalize. It is not a proper noun.

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College and Graduate Studies / Re: SM Approach Statement for ACTF

« on: Nov 06, 2006, 03:58 pm »

They way I interpreted the meaning is basically: How do you stage manage? How do you go about it? What is your motto, and what makes you a good stage manager?

Does that make sense? If not, let me know and I'll be happy to elaborate.

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SMNetwork Archives / Re: Stage managers do make coffee

« on: Nov 05, 2006, 06:37 pm »

I have also read it and was extremely pleased with the content. I have it bookmarked and I like to refer to it every now and again.

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SMNetwork Archives / Re: Who makes the best SM's? (My Joke)

« on: Nov 05, 2006, 06:32 pm »

Gay Women make the best stage managers.
Followed by Gay Men.
Followed by Straight Women.
Followed by a floor lamp.
Then straight men.

(This is a joke I usually share with my staff)

I think that it will always be an individual who is a good stage manager, and not a sex or sexual orientation.

But if you speak in broad generalizations and sterotypes, the my joke holds true, in my opinion.  BUT, that is based on my personal experiences - some of the best SMs I have worked with have been women - but there are a lot more women stage managing, thus, just plain odds would make it true that the best SMs I have worked with are women.

If you are going to play with broad generalizaions, then you are going to loose and offend.

and, what is the "best" sm?  How do you compare?

Where do the ambiguous men go?