Author Topic: PEOPLE: Producer told me I had to me be nicer in rehearsal!  (Read 5630 times)

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denisezeiler

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 :-\ Hey everyone. Hope all is well. So after daily rehearsals I have a sit-down with the MD, Director, Writer and my staff to work on the schedule for the next day. Don't ask why we can't have a full schedule for more than one day - let me just say every schedule I have created for this production or the director has created for this production has been changed. Anyways, we are sitting discussing the schedule. The MD Blurts out, "you are not stealing people from my zitsprobe!" and storms out of the room. Leaving everyone staring at me like, "oohhh, what's she gonna do now?" I said, "OK, well, I am going to look through what has to be done and email out a tentative schedule when I get home and then we can take it from there." As we are leaving the building, the Producer calls me aside and says I have to be nicer to the director and MD because they are stressed. I just sat there and took everything in. What am I supposed to do?

Edit added label to subject line-Rebbe
« Last Edit: Dec 17, 2009, 12:25 am by Rebbe »

MatthewShiner

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Re: Producer told me I had to me be nicer in rehearsal!
« Reply #1 on: Sep 26, 2009, 11:44 am »
I would assume be nicer to the director and the MD.

I know that totally sounds like a smart-ass comment, but to be honest, if there is a person that is actually observing your work, and is the producer, your boss, gives you a note about your performance, then you should take it to heart. 

I think there is another side to this story, since it seems like your MD just blew up during "the discussion of the schedule".  I am sure he was feeling like during the scheduling process his needs were not being met.

It sounds like there is a little bit of a control issue - just in your comment about the schedule, in that you are trying to plan ahead, and the schedule changes - to be honest, in a lot of productions and types of production, although you can sketch a week or two in advance, you are always going to have change the schedule based on the needs of the production at that time.  I would never dream of setting a schedule, except for rare occasions, until the night before.  (I usually at the top of day I play . . . what is tomorrow going to be if we stick on schedule and draft the call, but at the end of the day, I am usually adjusting based on how far we really got, costume fittings, vocal calls, etc.).

It does seem your Director and Musical Director are a bit stressed, and perhaps need a little more handling with kid gloves.  I think one of the most important skills in stage management is to be able to "take the temperature" of the room and re-act accordingly.  I love stepping into a rehearsal hall with all senses a blazing and trying to figure out who is having the bad day, who is stressed, who is panicked, and who has sort of checked out.  If your producer is picking up on this, then I would try to step back and see how how your interactions with the Dir and the MD might be being perceived. 

You may be nice in all your interactions to them, but they maybe perceiving it differently.
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hbelden

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Re: Producer told me I had to me be nicer in rehearsal!
« Reply #2 on: Sep 27, 2009, 09:57 pm »
I agree with Matthew, there's little point in scheduling more than a day in advance unless you're dealing with a ton of conflicts or the rehearsal period is severely curtailed in some way.

Having said that, there are some events (as opposed to rehearsals) - first day of tech, promotional photo call - that are scheduled ahead.  Sitzprobe is one of those events.  The musical director or orchestra contractor has to get all the orchestra in the same room as the cast, and last-minute changes can't be allowed to interfere with the sitzprobe.  Way too many people, who aren't involved in other areas of the production, ARE involved on that day.  And it's really really hard to reschedule all of them!  Maybe I'm reading too much into it, maybe you were just tossing out a hypothetical quote, but if the sitzprobe was brought to the table in a schedule negotiation the day prior to its happening, I can't blame the MD for over-reacting.
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loebtmc

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Re: Producer told me I had to me be nicer in rehearsal!
« Reply #3 on: Sep 28, 2009, 01:29 am »
I don't mean to jump to any conclusions, but it seems to me there is history here. Perhaps you may want to ask someone you trust - who will be honest with you - if there are things you might clean up in how you approach these tasks.

Also, may I suggest you ask the director, MD and choreo to sit down with you and ask them how they like to schedule things (knowing the schedule will shift) so you can lay out the calendar they want, keeping the list of essential dates in the conversation so the three of them can agree - things like the designer run, sitzprobe, tech, photo call etc, that involve full cast as well as additional folks and require planning ahead. When you have a rough calendar with the locked dates combined with the rough rehearsal schedule, put it in writing and run it past them all; not only will this make sure you're clear on what they wanted, it also gives ownership of the schedule to them, so they try to support the specific goal dates. Once they sign off on your submission, be ready w suggestions to accommodate their requirements as things shift, but remember that they are the ones who decide what they want to accomplish in a given rehearsal.



denisezeiler

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Re: Producer told me I had to me be nicer in rehearsal!
« Reply #4 on: Nov 04, 2009, 10:33 pm »
Thanks all. I took your advice to heart and had a sit-down with the MD. There are so many different angles from this I decided that instead of scheduling in black and white I would be a sounding board for all departments to report to me by 8pm what they needed to accomplish the following day. I then worked this into a daily schedule and electronically sent the schedule out.

Though the acting company wasn't pleased with only getting 24-hours notice of what they needed to be prepared with I spoke with them and following the conversaiton they understood.

CONFLICTS! It is just amazing the amount of conflicts. We didn't have the entire cast on-stage at the same time until we opened. That was a new experience for me.

But the show went up, and was reviewed extremely well. The producers were happy.

SO THANKS AGAIN!

planetmike

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Re: Producer told me I had to me be nicer in rehearsal!
« Reply #5 on: Nov 05, 2009, 07:55 am »
I keep a web calendar listing the dates of everyone's conflicts. And everyone knows to contact me if something comes up, or if a conflict disappears. I ask for conflicts even for days we're not planning to do anything, just in case something comes up and we need to schedule something.

MatthewShiner

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Re: Producer told me I had to me be nicer in rehearsal!
« Reply #6 on: Nov 05, 2009, 12:05 pm »
denisezeiler, what level do you work at?

Note that at certain levels, a daily schedule is generated only 12 hours ahead of time . . . and is pretty much the norm.

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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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