Topics

16

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / SCENERY: Video

« on: Sep 22, 2010, 04:10 pm »

I've been involved with 4 shows which used video projection of some type, and, to be perfectly frank, none of them did a good job with it. In some cases it was such a minor part of the production that nobody paid much attention to it, undermining its purpose, while in the fourth case it was SO front-and-centre that we might as well have just shown a movie and sent the actors home. I've also rarely seen it used to particularly good effect as an audience member--in fact, the only times I've seen video used well are when it is explicitly used as a device within the show (to cover costume changes, to introduce settings, etc.) or when video is projected directly onto performers, which sometimes happens in dance pieces.

Video is an emergent technology within theatre, particularly in community and educational theatre, and part of the problem might also be down to budgets. (If your budget for video is "find royalty-free stuff and plug it into Windows Movie Maker", then, yes, the end-product will probably not be terribly exciting.) So I'm curious: have you ever been involved in a production, or seen a show, which did video really really well? How was it used, and how did its use differ from weaker applications you've seen?

17

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROFESSIONALISM: Your Show Sucked.

« on: Sep 04, 2010, 12:53 am »

I recently saw a remarkably bad show by a professional company.

The cast and material and designs were fine, but there were a number of sloppy errors: a major set piece was visibly broken and malfunctioning, there was inconsistent pronunciation within the company, I counted at least one (maybe two) blown entrance(s), I caught a moment in which a cast member simply forgot to sing, we could see cast members being indiscreet in the wings from the audience, a lavalier microphone was positioned so the actress bumps it against things (while it's live!), a few cues were jumped by various elements... as I said, sloppy errors. This is several weeks after opening, so it's not just growing pains, and if quality is sliding this much, it really falls on Stage Management to crack that whip.

I saw it because I went to school with a member of the stage management team, who buttonholed me immediately after the show. HOW DID YOU LIKE IT, HUH HUH HUH? WASN'T THAT COOL?! And I did my best to "ice the cake": the cast was strong, the music was excellent, the set design was impressive, some members of the company really stood out, and so on.

This has me wondering, though: what would you have done? Is it fair to give a true diagnosis under these circumstances? If you do give advice, would you expect a consulting fee? ()

I'm especially interested in anecdotes you might have of situations in which you've been asked to give similar critiques!

18

The Green Room / Why is it that...

« on: Jul 30, 2010, 08:59 am »

I'm sure we all have a few questions along these lines. Anyone care to share?

Why is it that nobody ever reads my e-mails--unless I make a minor error in spelling or grammar, in which case I never hear the end of it?

Why is it that theatres keep putting up with the jerk who hides in the shadows backstage, emerging only to re-arrange the unattended props tables in order to confuse the actors who would never dream of misplacing their "thing... you know, the thing I need for this entrance, god, I don't even know, just help me find it"?

Why is it that "please sign the callboard" is seen as such a controversial, demanding, dictatorial command by the exact same people who view "sweetie, I know we're at places, but could you pop out and grab me some cigarettes?" as an utterly benign request?

Why is it that, even if you glow-tape your stage until it begins to look like an airport runway, there's always that one cast member who will be just one single step out of the light at the one crucial moment? (And why is it that the director never notices, but the lighting designer always does--from the building across the street, while sound asleep and hung over, no less?)

19

Tools of the Trade / Headset-suitable eyewear

« on: Jun 15, 2010, 06:16 pm »

I wear eyeglasses for distance vision, which presents problems when calling from a booth: the muffs either pinch the glasses into my temples, or bend and warp them, or push them forward until they fall off my nose...

I do own a featherweight headset, and it fixes the problem, but I can't always use it: my current job has me calling from a booth that also contains the (spectacularly noisy) dimmer rack, and without big muffs I can't even hear myself think.

If I can't do anything about the muffs, does anyone have any lines on good eyewear? Contact lenses are an easy solution, but have you tried any other options? (Have you found a frame design that works well with headsets? Does anyone have experience with monocles or pince-nez?)

20

Tools of the Trade / PROPS: LED Throwies

« on: May 18, 2010, 03:57 am »

My current show is a series of five vignettes, and the director wants to use a different sort of practical lighting for each piece: one will have paper lanterns, another will use string lights, etc.

One piece takes place in a forest at night, and we're at a loss as to how to do it, but I've been looking into making a ton of LED throwies. The magnets would be omitted, and they'd be strewn across the set during a movement piece between vignettes. (Once the vignette in question is over, we'd probably sweep them up and store them for tomorrow night.)

Does anyone have any experience working with throwies? I'm looking for general advice, although I also have two specific questions:
1) How long should I expect a throwie to last, in terms of hours? I've heard everything from 12 hours to 2-3 weeks, although I imagine it will vary greatly depending on how much we can spend on batteries.
2) It's possible to use a piece of card or plastic to serve as an on-off switch in order to extend battery life. Is this worth the effort? (Will re-inserting a hundred on-off tabs be a horrible, thankless task every night? Is it relatively smooth and quick?)

21

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Alcohol Backstage

« on: Feb 25, 2010, 08:33 am »

I'm going to be working on a student production over the summer as a sort of SM-TD-Dogsbody chimera, and I'm bumping up against the question of what to do with alcohol.

On one hand, I need to enforce policy. Campus Security forbids open containers of alcohol outside of licensed premises, it's highly unprofessional (IMO) for anyone to be drinking during a show, and the Department of Theatre officially forbids company members from drinking while working on a show.

On the other, these are students. I can't be everywhere at once, and the director has made it clear to me that the departmental policy has usually been honoured in the breach, particularly at opening and closing when pre-drinking in anticipation of the cast party is usually quite rampant.

I'm also at a bit of a loss as to what I can actually do. I don't think I can rely on my ASMs or dressers to keep an eye on things, and I have better things to be doing mid-show than rifling through dressing rooms looking for chorus members swilling out of concealed bottles.

Aside from emphasizing that these policies are in place for a reason and that I'm required by the department to confiscate any open bottles I run across, can you think of anything else I might be able to do in this situation?

22

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROFESSIONALISM: Taking the house back against your HM's will

« on: Feb 04, 2010, 03:53 pm »

One of the House Managers at my current gig is a bit of a wimp. He doesn't like to rush people, he doesn't like to use the PA system, he'll hold the entire house for one single person at the box office... on one occasion, he held the house for a full 5 minutes because he saw someone walking vaguely in the direction of the building from the nearby parking lot. (They walked right past us.)

He's doing his best, and I don't want to browbeat the guy, but shows have gone in 15-20 minutes late as a result of him holding the house until he's absolutely positive that there's nobody else coming to see it, and that's a problem.

At what point do you consider it appropriate for a SM to say "I want the house back now. Close the doors, the show's going up, everyone else is a latecomer"?