Author Topic: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.  (Read 11420 times)

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MatthewShiner

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #15 on: Aug 16, 2010, 11:55 pm »
It does seem as if there is two distinct camps here . . . people who are thinking we are talking about watching the show for fun or pleasure, and people who understand that need to watch the show for our responsibilities we have post-opening.

I find it interesting that a lot of young stage managers and a lot of stage management programs do not have directing as a course requirement.  (I was a directing area emphasis in undergrad).  I find that of all my classes I took - including the hours of electrics, costumes, scenery and props - what I do 80% of my time after a show is open is all directing based; especially when we are given the responsibility of training understudies.  I find I learn a lot from working with directors over time, but it was really nice to have the base training to build off - especially a vocabulary to talk to actors with artistic terms rather then just technical.  For example, how do you tell two actors their scene is now 5 seconds to long other then pointing to the stopwatch?

Next month, I have a new understudy who enters the production - that was never part of the origional production or rehearsal process.  Granted, I am lucky in that I have a lot of helpers to get my understudies up to speed, but ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure they can not only pull off the show artistically but technically.  At the end of the day, if an understudy is not ready to go on it's my responsibility (or my responsibility for not telling management the understudy is not ready . . . for what ever reason). 

Again, just underlines an area of stage management that is often just talked about in universities settings but rarely experienced.



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KMC

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #16 on: Aug 17, 2010, 11:29 am »
Agreed Matthew.  Directing is absolutely an essential course for a Stage Management program.  I am very thankful to have had that as a requirement of my degree.
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maximillionx

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #17 on: Aug 17, 2010, 12:15 pm »
Again, just underlines an area of stage management that is often just talked about in universities settings but rarely experienced.

Agreed.  In college, even though it was required to take directing, I never realized its important in stage management until I experienced it for myself.  I find most of the notes I take during a show are directing related now.

About watching the show: I find it difficult to watch 100%, not only because I'm focused on cues part of the time, but because in my venue, I do other work during the show - crew & house management specifically for this show.

Stage Rose

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #18 on: Aug 17, 2010, 07:14 pm »
Forgive me, I was under the impression it was meant that one would sit at the stage door that overlooks the stage or peek from behind a curtain the entire show, instead of doing ones job.  I was mistaken.  Yes, I do know one must watch the show, especially since high school and junior high students have the tendency to drop their props on stage, and I'm frantically radioing the sound booth to give me a break between songs or whatnot so I can run out there before the pointe dancers go on pointe on a rolling stick. (Yes, it has happened....she broke her ankle...almost snapped it. bad....bad.) I do agree with the directing comment however.
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nick_tochelli

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #19 on: Aug 25, 2010, 12:04 am »
I remember when I first moved to New York everyone asked me if I was using Stage Management to vault myself into directing, or if I was a career SM...

...It wasn't until then that I actually realized how much of the job actually revolves around directing. Hard to get to that part with a 14 performance Summer stock gig where the director never leaves town, or in college.

But to the topic at hand: I can safely say I have never been able to focus 100% on any performance of any show. Each show has at least one sequence of cues that requires my attention to go to the book and not to the stage.

The shows where I had just lights up and lights down cues at the beginning and end of the acts, I was focused for that brief moment of running the board/calling the cue to make the cue happen correctly. 

cajundrama

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #20 on: Aug 26, 2010, 11:31 pm »
Do y'all find it hard to stay focused on watching the show during long runs? During an extended run whenever there are a few pages of dialogue without cues or minimal cues I tend to find myself peeking down at the audience or chatting with the ASM or Board Ops (I know it's a really bad habit). Any tricks to keep yourself focused on what's happening onstage? 

missliz

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #21 on: Aug 27, 2010, 12:28 am »
Do y'all find it hard to stay focused on watching the show during long runs? During an extended run whenever there are a few pages of dialogue without cues or minimal cues I tend to find myself peeking down at the audience or chatting with the ASM or Board Ops (I know it's a really bad habit). Any tricks to keep yourself focused on what's happening onstage?


I find it easier to focus on a comedy rather than a drama. That said, when I was doing some large-cast shows, I'd watch the "throughline" for ensemble characters. Most actors, I've found, will create a character for their ensemble role, and there's usually a story during the course of the play (does he/she have a crush on another character? are they evil or good?) It's a nice way to keep engaged AND see if there's any minor acting up during performances.
I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least. -Ionesco

MatthewShiner

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #22 on: Aug 27, 2010, 12:29 am »
I always find watching the whole show night after night difficult.  AS LONG AS YOU CAN DO THIS WITHOUT AFFECTING THE CALLING OF THE SHOW - and you should always watch the whole show, but you can focus you eye for giving notes by breaking down the show in different ways . . .

Ways to spice it up . . .

1) Focus on one character
2) Focus on the odd scenes, the even scenes
3) Focus on one actor (if they play multiple characters)
4) Watch the show focus on one element of design (lights, scenic, costumes, props, sounds)
5) Watch the crew focus on the run crew (or what they do on how it effects the onstage picture)
6) Watch the visual picture of the show (as if you turned down the volume)
7) Listen to the show (Watch as little as possible, but pay attention to what you are hearing)
8) Watch the show paying attention to tempo
9) Before a show, review notes the director gave during rehearsal, tech, previews - see how many of these notes can be regiven.
10) Be on book - see how close they are to the script during a long run.

Hope that helps.


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NomieRae

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #23 on: Aug 27, 2010, 12:40 pm »
Quote
8 ) Watch the show paying attention to tempo
9) Before a show, review notes the director gave during rehearsal, tech, previews - see how many of these notes can be regiven.
10) Be on book - see how close they are to the script during a long run.

these are my top three things to do in a long run because I find it easy to revert back to taking line notes/timing while calling and also in my experience these are the things that usually start to slip. It's a great shift of energy when you mention "Hey, scene 5 is actually 2 minutes longer than it was on opening, especially through these speeches" it always gives the cast a different energy.
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MatthewShiner

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Re: CALLING: Watching 100% of the show.
« Reply #24 on: Aug 27, 2010, 01:39 pm »
Yeah, having times for scenes in a long run is great to note . . . but I find that you sort of have to something better to say then "it's too long" - you need to find a better note to give actor then "this scene is now 90 seconds long" as a motivation - then they may just talk faster.
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

 

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