Messages

181

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / I may sound like a complete ignoramus for asking this...

« on: Aug 01, 2005, 10:21 pm »

For a quick background I like The Stage Management Handbook by Daniel Ionazzi.  My favorite stage management book though is The Backstage Guide to Stage Management, by Thomas Kelly.  That book is far more in depth.  I think its better to start with a more basic book like the Ionazzi one or the Stern one, which is what I used in college.

182

SMNetwork Archives / PC vs MAC

« on: Aug 01, 2005, 10:11 pm »

One program I've found that I love is Visio(PC).  I use it for calendars,  preset diagrams, and covers for my callbook, amongst other things.  It has CAD capabilities(though I haven't explored those fully yet).  It is an extremely user friendly program with many applications.  

Aside from that, I use Word for as many things as I can.  I have a strong dislike for Excel and only use it when I have to to achieve the look I'm going for, usually for my scene character breakdowns and timing grids.

183

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Backstage or Booth?

« on: Jul 31, 2005, 10:10 pm »

I have never had to call a show from backstage, and that being said, I personally cannot imagine myself liking it.  I've called from a variety of booths, from straight on, to the side, and even once on the catwalk opposing the acting area in a black box.  One of the things I've learned in the past few years is to trust others more, and I like the overall view of everything that is going on onstage(usually...depending on the booth).  It strikes me that being backstage would be a little distracting from the business onstage and in the script, but as I've said, I've never had to try it.

184

SMNetwork Archives / PC vs MAC

« on: Jul 31, 2005, 09:27 pm »

I've always been a PC person.  But as others have said, its what I've always used.  I think its key to use what you're comfortable with.  In the case of PCs, yes, you may need to take care of it a little more, but you can keep it virus and spyware free by running programs like AdAware and Spybot Search and Destroy, and using Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer.

As USB memory sticks become more and more popular, there is less reliance on floppy disks which becoming phased out even on PCs now, so it has eased communication between all types of computers.

185

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / how do you get their attention?

« on: Jul 23, 2005, 05:02 pm »

I've found that "Ladies and gentlemen we are back from our break, we are back" in a loud, clear, cheerful voice works well.  I've found that actors tend to respond the most respectfully and promptly whne treated the most respectfully.

186

Employment / SMs in other roles

« on: Jul 23, 2005, 04:57 pm »

I found that early on, I used to enjoy doing a little of everything, but as I've progressed in my career, I prefer to focus on my stage management duties and make my work the best it can be.  On the show I'm doing now(I'm non-union, its a semi-pro gig), I am also running the light board, and I'm constantly reflecting on how much easier it would just be to call this show as opposed to op it as well.  Several years ago, I would have preferred being the op because its taken me some time to get used to trusting others to do as good a job as I think I can in a given situation.  I've gotten better at delegating as I've worked more in the assisting positions since I've gotten out of school.

187

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Blocking notation help, anyone?

« on: Jul 23, 2005, 04:49 pm »

I used to record blocking by numbering the lines(in fact that's how I was trained in school), until I started working on predominantly new plays, where massive influxes of new pages and line order changes were common.   Now I record blocking by numbering actions, skipping numbers as I go...2, 4, 6, etc.

188

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Rehearsal/Performance Reports

« on: Jul 23, 2005, 03:51 pm »

I've never had a completely blank rehearsal report.  At the very least, it has my work period and break period times at the top and I always put SOMETHING under general, even if it was just what scenes we accomplished in that rehearsal.   I often have reminders meetings, or reminders of something that has been discussed and promised in the departmental sections, even when I have no new notes.

189

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / new play!

« on: Jul 23, 2005, 12:54 pm »

Yeah, new musicals are pretty crazy.   I've worked with a bunch of playwrights who use Final Draft, and it makes things much easier and keeps it all neater than using Word.  I always keep a master though, on any show I do(even if they're not new) because I don't like to copy my script.  Usually there's a ton of writing in it, and I don't trust our tempermental copy machine to not eat it.

190

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / new play!

« on: Jul 22, 2005, 03:13 pm »

I've done predominantly new plays in the last year, and I think they're one of the best challenges for a stage manager.  I love them.  My last 5 have all had the playwright in residence for the rehearsal process, and one thing I've noticed is that its always different.  Sometimes it can be very trying, especially when it becomes a situation where the director is letting the playwright have so much control that there are essentially two directors in the room.  Sadly, I've found this more common. I had one really great experience recently where the playwright was more or less a silent observer, occasionally calling the director over to discuss a potential change.  

The most important thing I find wit  rewrites to to keep the information clear.  I always format text changes the same way in my rehearsal reports, and put the changes in order by page number regardless of where they came in the rehearsal day.  My format is:
Pg. #, Character, ACTION(change, cut, add, etc), "old words" to "new words".  
If it is a very small word change, I follow that with "  so that the line reads "new complete line"  "

191

Tools of the Trade / stopwatches?

« on: Jul 22, 2005, 02:58 pm »

I fell in love with the time I now use back in February, after using a supervisor's.  It's a white Radio Shack timer with a large display, and its silent.  It has a clip on the back, so I can put it on my belt during intermission, and it also has a magnet so it can be propped up in easy view during rehearsal.