Author Topic: Concert Stage Management  (Read 6633 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

The Intern

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 8
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Facebook
  • Current Gig: Stage Manager for Justin Moore
  • Experience: Professional
Concert Stage Management
« on: Dec 09, 2012, 11:57 pm »
Just curious how many folks we have doing Concert Stage Management for bands or artists? What genre/artists/tours are you on right now?

I'm finishing up the Blood, Sweat, and Beers tour with Erice Church. I'm stage manager for Justin Moore, in the direct support slot. I'm building a  6 ft x 24 ft x 3 ft riser set up for this tour. The middle 6x8 is grated aluminum with a 5 step stair case down the front. SetCo Design that i had modded at the beginning of the year. We also carry 4 lighting towers with little Chauvet sharpie wanna-bes and Mac 3k's I think in two of them. The other two have this really neat cheap LED "wall" 3 fixtures wide by 6 tall. I'll have to post some pics. I'm not a lighting guy, far more into audio but pics give the lighting way better justice. Had our lighting show designed by Sooner Routhier. Really killer design, the looks are great!

What are ya'll doing?

Respectfully,
The Intern

smejs

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 475
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, AGMA, SMA, USITT
  • Current Gig: Freelance SM in Denver
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Concert Stage Management
« Reply #1 on: Dec 11, 2012, 12:48 am »
I'm probably not what you'd think of as a concert stage manager - as I work full time for an opera company - but that's primarily what I do. We have about 5 standard school shows we perform, many of which are a series of scenes, but otherwise, we do a lot of community concerts in one-off formats.

I am a fairly one-man band. On smaller shows, I just leave run orders backstage for the singers while I'm out front running lights. For bigger shows, a co-worker or boss's husband follows those sheets. On the rare occasion of a weeklong or more tour, I can hire (or co-erce) a friend to assist. And I'm incredibly lucky to have someone (hi Greg!) who loans me a wireless headset system quite a bit.

I have been able to up our production aspects quite a bit over the last several years. You'd be amazed how helpful a handful of tri-fold wicker screens, a donated Oriental rug (the Guild lady LOVED giving it to us) and our "U.B. - the Ubiquitous Bench" (plastic, looks like marble) can be. And you know those cheesy tables that three spindly legs screw into? They actually look darned good with a nice round tablecloth over them. We've got three of them now (easy to carry as an extra prop table, too, when you're transporting by minivan most of the time). And that colored rope light you can find even easier this time of year? Fantastic for quickly setting up runlight (not only one man band, but limited time).

Erin

avkid

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 259
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Philip LaDue
  • Affiliations: RFL, IATSE
  • Current Gig: Carpenter/Flyman at Count Basie Center For The Arts
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Concert Stage Management
« Reply #2 on: Dec 26, 2012, 08:27 pm »
I occasionally stage manage one of the smaller clubs we run along with being a venue tech and ATD.
We work with all sorts of acts, from 3 guys in a van to 2 or 3 buses and 4 trucks.
Philip LaDue
IATSE Local #21 Newark, NJ

The Intern

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 8
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Facebook
  • Current Gig: Stage Manager for Justin Moore
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Concert Stage Management
« Reply #3 on: Jan 04, 2013, 12:21 pm »
Smejs, I would definitely call you a stage manager. I know this site is a lot of people who "Stage manage" according to how it is done in the opera and ballet world. That's a whole different ball game, one of which I am a fool in. I could not call myself one of them. But there is a whole bunch of other areas where stage management has evolved in different industry and in different ways. I've met a lot of great people who manage stages, and very well I might ad. You should definitely keep your eyes peeled on craigslist for stuff to ad to your set. You can find a lot of interesting stuff for dirt cheap and even free!!!I love those screw leg tables BTW, I have two in my living room right now!


smejs

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 475
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, AGMA, SMA, USITT
  • Current Gig: Freelance SM in Denver
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Concert Stage Management
« Reply #4 on: Feb 12, 2013, 02:35 am »
Thanks "The Intern" - I meant I'm not sure I'm what you would call a CONCERT stage manager...not for a symphony or a specific band, but ours aren't really complete storied scripts.

I hang out at the thrift store sales...every weekend (for both personal and professional finds)...In the past month I've managed to add 2 fake ficus trees (nice ones) and a large potted plant (like a Dieffenbachia, around 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall)...for a total of $30! Also redid a lovely rectangular basket with overflowing roses and vines for about $10. All will be used for our Valentine's concert Love Notes...

jrbucci

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 20
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • My Facebook Page
  • Affiliations: Point Park University
  • Current Gig: BFA in Stage Management @ Point Park University & Production Manager: Hula Lou Theatre Project
  • Experience: College/Graduate
Re: Concert Stage Management
« Reply #5 on: Jun 10, 2013, 04:29 pm »
I've done some SMing for concerts and the like before. Most of my work is in theatre and dance; however, everyone is a musician so I've gotten a few calls. I usually do it because of my involvement with multi-use venues. Usually in that capacity I work as a hybrid general technician and production manager. You don't really call lighting cues for bands. LBOs for concerts are often extremely experienced. Most often I work on the side of the venue to make sure the talent and their support people have what they need and can tie into house systems.

A few times in the past I have helped small bands on small tours. It still feels more along the lines of PMing because you are checking in with venues before going there. Making sure you know everything you need to know to get loaded in and stuff like that. It's an interesting gig for sure.