MORALE: Alertness

[javnine]

How do you stay alert in rehearsal/tech/performance when you're exhausted or you've seen the show 100+ times or any other circumstance?  

I know it's unacceptable to fall asleep.  I know as stage managers we're supposed to pay attention to the show at all times to maintain artistic integrity, witness anything that goes wrong, and basically just keep an eye on things.  How do you do that?

[theatreannie]

idea from a professor of mine: you can focus on watching a different element of the show each time- while still paying attention so you can call your cues. 

one night pay attention to the lights, another sound, costumes... etc

[zayit shachor]

If you're in a theater where you can see the audience from the booth, it's fun to keep an eye on more engaged audience members and their reactions.

Another fun thing to do is discuss the play itself on headset during longer periods without any cues.  When I ASMed The Threepenny Opera, we used to have in-depth conversations about why Macheath did this or Jenny did that.  If you're able to watch the show and chat at the same time, it's a great way to keep alert.

[Scott]

If you're in a theater where you can see the audience from the booth, it's fun to keep an eye on more engaged audience members and their reactions.

Another fun thing to do is discuss the play itself on headset during longer periods without any cues.  When I ASMed The Threepenny Opera, we used to have in-depth conversations about why Macheath did this or Jenny did that.  If you're able to watch the show and chat at the same time, it's a great way to keep alert.

So you're not taking line notes or watching blocking for maintenance?

Whatever work for you...but I can't say I could condone in-depth chatting on headsets in any circumstance.

(Besides, I think when you reach 100+ performances, you are generally dealing with understudies/swings being put in as actors take vacation time, call in sick, etc., on a regular basis.)

[MatthewShiner]

Another way, akin to watching just one production element - is to focus on one actor through the show, and really get to know his track.

It's really helpful when they go out, because you begin to notice the subtle aspects of their performance.

[BLee]

I like to play games with myself that deal with the quality of the show. For instance, I will recite (from memory and quietly to myself) a different actors lines and pin point any slight differences. Or I'll play "track the prop" where I will notice how the props moves through the space. (Ex. In my last play there was a travel pack of kleenex that moved constantly) I just have to come up with little tricks to make the show seem new and exciting every night.

Of course, I've never SM'd or been involved in a long run production of over a month, so I'm no expert at 100+ performances.

[GalFriday]

Having called a show past it 6,000th performance, of which I was present for 1,000, you must find a way to keep it new. We had the advantage of a very fluid show with new artists in new parts all the time. There is almost always someone performing a new, or fairly new, cue or an artist who has been doing the cue for ten years. It is interesting to see the differences.

It also helped performing different tracks (Caller, SR, Rover). Three different SM perspectives can make a week fly by.

Sometimes during unbearably long boring scenes....I watch the audience - at least for them the clown is still funny.

- Dani

[ljh007]

I used to occasionally play games with myself to see how much of my "distraction project" I could get through before the next cue. This was often silly things like embroidery or crosswords. I would pick my warning line for the next cue (before I needed to call warnings for others or anything), and work on my side item - while still keeping a keen eye on the performance of course. The trick was to see how much I could accomplish before my warning line came for each portion of downtime, each night.

Not the most amazing solution, but as someone who thrives on multitasking and the stress of deadlines, it worked well for me.

[Jessie_K]

I fold origami flowers out of post-it notes.  I can fold them without looking for the most part and it keeps my hands busy between cues.

[javnine]

I force myself to stand up if I get sleepy, and if more is needed, I usually try to do stretches or jiggle my leg or something physical - all while still watching the show.  Of course, that depends on where the booth is and if I'm visible to the audience.  I also try to have a drink (tea or carbonated beverage, etc) on hand.  And, if really desperate, a snack.

It's when these things fail that I run into trouble.

[Nbayard]

I play with play-doh keeps my hands busy so I can concentrate, and I only need one hand to do it so I can write or turn pages with the other.

[yoyomankind]

Silly putty is always a plus.  You can always make a small copy of your script on it to follow occasionally.  And it's multitude of uses make it's an invaluable device to stimulate the mind.

I myself have never used it, but I was a Sound Board Op for a show where the stage manager would use it to keep from getting bored in the 1/2 hours that there were no cues in the show.

[centaura]

When I did shows that ran for 100+ perfs, I was on tour and that was enough to keep you going no matter what.  Yes, the show was the same, but the venue and crew was constantly changing and that kept me on my feet.  One day you're dealing with a 30' proscenium, and the actors are slowing themselves down and cramping trying to keep the blocking realistic, and then you'd hit a 70' proscenium and the actors are trying not to run to keep their entrances and exits.  Another time, you're dealing with a full IA crew that's highly departmentalized, the next day you're at a university where you're wondering if you're going to have a load-out crew, since the students got their credit for showing up at load-in.  I never really wanted to do stationary shows for 100+ perfs, as I could see where that would get really boring.

-Centaura

[chops]

I've been known to keep a free weight in the booth and do curls during the show.  It keeps your blood running and tones up your arms fairly quickly.  Just remember to switch arms every once in a while.  Other than that I normally memorize a couple of parts of the show and call them from random places.  A wireless headset is key for that one. 

[spikesgirl]

We did a production of "The Misanthrope" in which there were 20 light cues for the entire show (and some night, there were more light cues than people in the audience).  It was tough to keep anyone awake during that show, but I gave folks little toys to play with, like the gifts you get at kids parties (pin ball, get the ball in a hole, hang man, that sort of thing).  We also chat on the headset - not the thing to do when you've got a cue heavy show, but it does help pass the time during long periods.  Mostly I just keep telling myself that this is my job.  I get up and move around a little, study the audience, whatever it takes.  I have, on occasion, drank large amounts of beverage just so I would be uncomfortable enough to not have to worry about falling asleep.  Not a great way to do it, but necessary during some of the Revivial stuff.

Charlie