Author Topic: CALLING: "calling a show by feel"  (Read 15844 times)

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smsam

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To be honest I don't really mind if the notes goes to my ASM or me and likewise I don't mind if an actor asks me a question about set or costume. Whatever happens, on my productions, the person concerned will always talk to the actor. Even for example if an actor comes offstage and says to my ASM "oh can you tell Sam my phone ring was far to late tonight" and then my ASM tells me and I know exactly why etc. I will still go and discus it with the actor and assure them that I'll more carefully watch it or correct them and tell them it was in the wrong place etc. This, I feel, shows that me and my colleagues care! Equally I always try and speak or check in with my company (depending on size) before and after each performance. A good way of doing this I often find is going round the dressing rooms to give the half hour call face to face and then after just sticking your head in each dressing room and saying well done and reminding them again of the next call. This provides ample opportunity for them to grab me and raise any issues with the performance etc.

Whatever I think its always far better that the cast member comes to Me or my ASM about issues than bitching about problems behind our backs (which can often happen) and so situations are never resolved!

Sam x
Sam x

malewen

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For me, when I'm trying to find the exact placement of a cue I often ask the designer what the cue is for - you know "the cue is for when character X turns back into the room" or "it's with the button of the music" or whatever.  Many designers I work with will let me "find" the cue.  It is important to know the time of the cue and how far into the count that you actually see/hear something. The trick with this is not to be defensive you make a mistake or when you are just wrong.  Take the note from the designer or director in a constructive manner - admit that you were early or late.  This helps to establish a positive working relationship and will tell them that you are paying attention to their artistry.  I find it easier to repeat a cue correctly if I understand what it is for.

Balletdork

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Quick note on FEELING:

I've just finished calling a show that I had only seen once before opening and it was such a challenge- I'm so used to KNOWING the show that I had a heck of a time calling this one!

I must encourage everyone to keep your skills sharp in the sense of FEELING the cueing so you are confident in your abilities to call without KNOWING...

 ;D

TechGal

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I must encourage everyone to keep your skills sharp in the sense of FEELING the cueing so you are confident in your abilities to call without KNOWING...

For those of us who tend to have longer breaks between shows, but never know when we might be asked to step in on a project a the last minuet, how you you recomend that we do that?  It can be hard enough to keep your skills sharp in terms of the normal SM duities when you're not working regularly.   

 
« Last Edit: Jan 30, 2007, 10:42 am by TechGal »

TechGal

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After reading the other posts and thinking about it more I've decided what I already thought was correct, calling a show well just takes practice.  LOTS of practice. 

Did anyone ever find that to call a show you had to have experience, but in order to get experience you had to find a director/producer who's willing to let you do it for the first time?  It took me over 4 years to find a person who was willing to take a chance on me.  For a long time though, it really felt like a catch-22.   

OldeWolf

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I think you are spot on with that observation. There may be personalities more or less suited to the task, but practice and determination will make most anyone proficient at calling a show if they want to do it. I agree, too, that getting the chance to do it, to face the cold fear or the giddy excitement head on, is the biggest challenge for those of us who really have a hunger to do this crazy job. That's where school can be a Godsend. I was thrown in to the deep end of the pond in my second semester in the Theater department at my community college. They needed an SM. I had non-theatrical management experience, but was TERRIFIED of calling a show. Woke up nights from nightmares of having brought the show to a crashing halt because of some blunder in my calling it.

I did make some mistakes in that first production. There were a couple of calls in that show that I NEVER got right and my LX saved my butt every time. These days there are still call sequences that I struggle with, calls I occasionally miss, but I have several small plays lined up over the next few months and directors calling to discuss scheduling future productions. Every one is a little easier, but even the small ones seem to keep the luster of the first one. I love my job.

Owen 
All the world's a Stage...

dancesm

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Quick note on FEELING:

I've just finished calling a show that I had only seen once before opening and it was such a challenge- I'm so used to KNOWING the show that I had a heck of a time calling this one!

I must encourage everyone to keep your skills sharp in the sense of FEELING the cueing so you are confident in your abilities to call without KNOWING...

 ;D
Yes!  I SM lots of dance festivals,  sometimes writing hundreds of cues over the course of 3 or 4 days, working each piece only once - tech/then run - and then calling them hours (or days) later, having seen many other works in the interim.  While I do take notes, make diagrams and have the board ops mark my GO times, I don't generally call off the times, I just use them as a gauge.  In these situations, KNOWING would be a luxury; I think that not being afraid to feel the cues has been a great asset to me in these situations.

LCSM

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For me, when I'm trying to find the exact placement of a cue I often ask the designer what the cue is for - you know "the cue is for when character X turns back into the room" or "it's with the button of the music" or whatever.  Many designers I work with will let me "find" the cue.  It is important to know the time of the cue and how far into the count that you actually see/hear something. The trick with this is not to be defensive you make a mistake or when you are just wrong.  Take the note from the designer or director in a constructive manner - admit that you were early or late.  This helps to establish a positive working relationship and will tell them that you are paying attention to their artistry.  I find it easier to repeat a cue correctly if I understand what it is for.

This reminds me of the "actor's homework" I've got to do for class productions: writing out the line, writing out my inner monologue, writiong out my motivation, etc. I'd never thought about being able to apply something like that to calling cues, but it makes sense.

 

riotous