PROFESSIONALISM: Help, I'm being sabotaged!

[Tempest]

I'm usually someone who, not only ignores slights, but doen't even notice them.  But even I have noticed this woman's behavior, and besides baffling me, it's really starting to worry me as well.
The Office Manager, or Managing Producer, or whatever it is she's calling herself this year is trying to make me look bad.  It's been going on for over a year.  I don't really have much contact with her, except, she is my liason for cast and crew contact information, and that's where she tries to mess me up.  
For last year's fall show, she "forgot" to inform me, or the cast, about a canceled matinee performance...making me look bad.
For last year's Christmas show, despite asking several times, she failed to give me complete contact information for designers, and never gave me the scenic designer's info.  I was told, "You're just using the kid's show set."  A very pissed off scenic designer stormed up to me at the first production meeting wanting to know why, "I wasn't informed about this meeting."  "I was never informed about you."  Again, making me look bad.
This year, as I began asking her for cast and crew information for the Christmas show, I got two names, no e-mail addresses or phone numbers.  A week later, I asked her again and she answered a question I didn't even ask, and did not answer my question.  Meanwhile the producer sent me names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers for all designers, so I know the information was readily avalable.  Oh, and she failed to inform me as to the name of the Director of the show, who happens to be the other Producer, and aforementioned Producer's husband.  
My latest request has been for the names and contact information of my apprentice crew.  She responded by asking me to send her my incomplete contact sheet and she will input them for me.    What!?
I do not want to send this woman my contact sheet.  I am quite sure that she will change something besides inputing the requested information.  And also, I'm tired of her trying to take over aspects of my job.  She made the SM and crew strike list for the last show.
Out of self defense, I've begun CC:ing Helpful Producer on all my communications with my problem contact, but I don't want to go explaining my problem to the Producer, because this person is a permanent staff member, and I'm on a per-show basis.  All my colleagues, at my other job, that I've discussed this situation with say it sounds like she is threatened by me, but that's ridiculous.  I don't want her job.  I don't even know what her job really is!  The only thing that messing me up is going to do for her is (I guess) make her feel superior and powerful, and make the theatre more difficult to run.
So, what does everyone think I should do with the contact sheet situation?  I'm so looking forward to getting all this info so I don't have to deal with her, anymore!

Edit added label to subject line-Rebbe

[NomieRae]

I run into people like this on occasion and it drives me batty!

I'd say save a second copy of your contact sheet and then send it to her to input the missing info then you can cross reference to be sure nothing else was changed.

To play devils advocate--this person may not realize how much you're becoming the brunt of all these "missed communications" and how much her not sharing information is effecting you. While it is a no-brainer to stage managers that we need all the information for the production, some office type folk take offense at that sort of "sharing" of power.

In the past, just calmly explaining that it makes BOTH our jobs easier if the SM has all the information from the start seems to help in most cases. In one case where the person above me wanted to be "in charge" of all pertinent info I started referring people to them... "Oh, I actually don't have access to that information, please contact XXX for it, she can get it for you" after a few dozen e-mails flooding her inbox she realized how much easier it'd be just to let me have the info in the first place.

Would love to hear how things turn out--don't get discouraged!

[maximillionx]

This seems like a complicated situation.  I would go to the producer.  You've already started CC-ing and asking them for the correct information,  so why not bring up the problem? A mediator like the producer could be what this situation needs, just tread carefully.  It sounds like blame/name-calling/etc... is exactly what will aggravate the situation.

Maybe this Office Manager/Managing Producer should handle all the scheduling and meetings if she's "threatened" by the job.  That would probably just open up more problems though.

Good luck!

[Rebbe]

This really sounds frustrating.  I don’t know if it helps you to think she’s just incompetent, rather than out to make you look bad, since from what you’ve posted that sounds like a possibility.  I’d try to talk to my supervisor at the job.  You could frame the conversation in terms of “can we talk about the most efficient way to communicate contact information/strike needs/etc,” rather than laying blame about how she’s not doing it.   If they say that it comes through the person you’re having issues with, then you can bring up the specific examples you’ve noted to show that system isn’t working (not just for you, but others suffer too).

I’d echo NomieRae’s idea about the contact sheet; just save your own copy.  You could even cut and paste info that was missing out of her attachment and back into your original if you feel confident the info you do have is correct, and don’t want to re-proof every number and letter.

[Tempest]

So, this is sort of an old topic, now, but I thought you guys might like an update.
I've been CCing the producer on all my e-mail correspondences with my trouble staff member, and finally got all the information I needed...from the producer.  So not her job.
Then I started getting e-mails from this woman, demanding that I change nomenclature in my e-mails, reports and paperwork.  I mean, we're talking stuff as petty as, "Please don't ever refer to the theatre as the Name of Theatre.  It's just Name of Theatre."  Or, "Change your "Front of House" category in your rehearsal reports to Admin."  I'm dealing with a show with 50 quick changes, delicate timing on light and sound cues and an occasionally temperamental actor (though I love him, so it's ok), and she's worried about three letter words?
But this week, I finally put my foot down.  Tuesday, three of the five people involved in the show, including my two Apprentice/Crew, were late, and only one called.  I put in my rehearsal report a reminder to call me if you're running late, with my phone number and instructions for them to program it into their phones.
Wednesday, I got an e-mail from Trouble Lady, who is head of the Apprentice Company, telling me that SHE knew that the crew would be late all this week due to other jobs, and they didn't need to call me.  They’d get there as soon as they could.
Astonished, I e-mailed her back, just before rehearsal (CCing the Producer) responding that yes, they do need to call, as a great deal of the work this week is teaching the backstage track.  If they're going to be five minutes late, we can wait.  If they're going to be 45, we can do something else constructive with that time.  Either way, I need to know.  I told her that I appreciate that she's the head of the Apprentice company and is trying to protect their interests, but they're also my crew, and need to follow the same rules and procedures as anyone else involved in the production.
During rehearsal I got a call from her, telling me that she got my e-mail and I needed to call her back on my next break and we needed to have a conversation.  I didn't really want to go tattling to the director and producer, but now she was crossing the line, and I had a quick conference with my director, who kindly offered to call her back and have the conversation for me.  I told him no, I need to defend my own authority.
When I did call her back, she didn't answer.
Next day, I got an e-mail from the Producer I'd been CCing.  She totally agreed with me, that I need to manage my staff as I see fit, and to let her know if I have any more issues.
Trouble Lady barely spoke to me when I went to the office yesterday to print a report.
I'm hoping that putting my foot down, and being unafraid, nay eager, to have that conversation with her will make her realize that I'm through being trifled with and I will not have my authority in the rehearsal hall usurped.  Though, from reports from other people in the theatre lead me to suspect that she's just going to be sneakier in her attempts to undermine me.  I'm not the first to have power struggle issues with her, apparently.
But now, I've gone from faintly annoyed and disgusted by childish behavior to quite angry.  Since I'm in communication with EVERYONE on a daily basis, I don't think there's much her backstabbing can accomplish.  And I'll be on the lookout. 
Geeze, as if theatre wasn't hard enough!   

[MarcyReed]

I am going through a similar issue in my college presently. It is difficult being a student Stage Manager with Students and Faculty to work with. This post helped me so much in dealing with the conflicts I've had over the past week, so thank you! I hope said Problem Lady realizes all of the hard work you do to make the show run smoothly, and I hope your relationship with her improves!

[Tynumber5]

I've had a similar problem at my college this fall. I was stage managing our production of Trojan Women and for some reason unknown to me one guy was the student TD, the set designer and the A/V person. He did not do any of his jobs, no matter how many times I reminded him that it needed to be done. Eventually the LD took over the set and TD and the student in charge of the A/V department took over the A/V. I'm still not too sure why he didn't do anything. The only reasonable answer that I had come up with was that he hadn't been cast in the show, even though he made it obvious that he really wanted to be in it as well as what part he wanted.

As all of this was going on, I made a habit of talking to both the director and the professor who is the TD of the theatre on a regular basis to let them know what was going on. I've also made it a point not to work with this person again, but at college I can't just pick and choose my crew. He was recently a light designer for our dance show that goes up tonight. (For our dance show we have a different light designer for each dance so that every student has a chance to work at the light board if they want.) I am stage managing the dance show with a friend of mine and the guy came up and gave us a list of demands as to what he said was vital to the design of his dance. It included changing the gels on the cyc lights for one dance, as well as flying all of the goods out for the dance. He also gave me the list three days before the show. I told him that it wasn't possible because I did not have the crew backstage to do all of that and it takes far too long to change the cyc lights. He insisted and would not take no for an answer. He eventually quit because the gel he wanted to use was back ordered and we didn't have enough of it.

I've found that sticking up for yourself as much as possible without making it into a fight is the best path. The student I am dealing with is a senior (I'm a sophomore) and was trying to out rule me because he is an upperclassmen and I was not. I argued my points and once it became a pointless fight, I gave up on it and went to the TD and told him what was going on and asked for some help.

I hope everything for you works out. I think keeping in contact with the Producer is a good idea, as is sticking up for yourself.

[computekid]

With regards to Tynumber5, I'm not sure I agree with your methods.  Your actions, as you described them, resulted in your designer quitting the show, presumably within three days of tech.  I'd cringe to think of what must have happened to that poor choreographer's piece after their LD left the show.  Our job, as I've always had it explained to me, is to say "Sure, I'll take care of that," and to just figure it out and take care of it later no matter how ridiculous it is.  There are plenty of Designerzillas in the world, and I figure that if I'm going to continue to be employed by the same venue, I'm going to have to figure out how to work with them and not around them.  I've ticked off the wrong people too many times before not to.

[Tynumber5]

That's a good point computekid. I'd like to think that I wasn't the reason he left (it was the gels that he couldn't get on time) but I did have something to do with it. I did attempt to take care of the problem beforehand but everyone had the same answer that I had: "It's not possible." I'm sure that there were other ways to handle it, but at that moment I didn't think of them. And the choreographer's piece turned out really well actually. Another LD took over for it.

But thanks, I'll think differently about it the next time I work with him.

[On_Headset]

With regards to Tynumber5, I'm not sure I agree with your methods.  Your actions, as you described them, resulted in your designer quitting the show, presumably within three days of tech.  I'd cringe to think of what must have happened to that poor choreographer's piece after their LD left the show.  Our job, as I've always had it explained to me, is to say "Sure, I'll take care of that," and to just figure it out and take care of it later no matter how ridiculous it is.  There are plenty of Designerzillas in the world, and I figure that if I'm going to continue to be employed by the same venue, I'm going to have to figure out how to work with them and not around them.  I've ticked off the wrong people too many times before not to.

What I would say, though, is that sometimes "bumping" someone off your show (for lack of a better word) is really the best outcome.

It's great when we can persevere and strike compromises and run interference and contain hotheads and placate designerzilla and serve the director's every whim and burn the candle at both ends and otherwise throw ourselves on the bomb to keep the show going--but I think we've all been in situations where someone leaving a show was (or would have been) the best all-around outcome.

In this case I honestly think that, as much as you're right that the choreographer got screwed, I'm not sure that having their show go up with a half-finished design by someone who sounds more or less incompetent would have been a substantially better outcome. (I hope this makes sense.)

To be clear, I still consider it to be the nuclear option, but if you've done all you practically can for someone and they still flirt with quitting, it isn't always the end of the show (let alone the world) if you let them push their luck and bring in someone more reasonable to handle things.

[MatthewShiner]

Sometimes the bomb needs to explore, and the best you can do is get everyone out of the way.

Not every story has a happy ending.