Author Topic: RUNNING: Taking Show at the Last Minute  (Read 5365 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Michelle R. Wood

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 164
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • website
  • Affiliations: EMC, East Carolina University
  • Current Gig: Resident Stage Manager at Temple Theatre
  • Experience: Professional
RUNNING: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« on: Jul 08, 2014, 09:34 am »
Got a message this morning from someone I've worked for before. There's been an emergency, and I'm stepping in for an ASM tonight (dress rehearsal). Anyone ever had a situation like this before? Any advice?

Edited to add topic tag. -Maribeth
« Last Edit: Jul 16, 2014, 06:35 pm by Maribeth »
"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." -- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1932)

loebtmc

  • Forum Moderators
  • *****
  • Posts: 1574
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SAG, AFTRA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Caroling, caroling now we go — and looking for my next gig!
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« Reply #1 on: Jul 08, 2014, 10:16 am »
Remember to breathe.

Be early. Walk thru w the SM. Get paperwork, script and anything else you can ahead of time. Bring a note pad and take copious notes for yourself (drawings work well - and much better than photos, cuz by drawing.writing stuff in, like handwritten notes, it locks into your brain and you can label w language that will make sense later).

Hopefully the ASM has written SOMETHING down. Unless you are replacing someone for incompetence, see if you can chat w the current ASM for any QC/handoff or special care/feeding issues.

Dress is when everyone is still figuring stuff out, so no need to panic.

And breathe.

Maribeth

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 1056
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA
  • Experience: Former SM
Re: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« Reply #2 on: Jul 08, 2014, 10:29 am »
Ask questions and take good notes. If you can get some time to walk the backstage track beforehand and ask questions of the SM or another backstage crew person, that would give you a little bit of a dry run. If there's anything tricky, like a fast quick change, it would be worth seeing if you can practice it with the actor once, or at least talk through it.

Break a leg!

hbelden

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 412
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« Reply #3 on: Jul 08, 2014, 02:48 pm »
Safety first.  Are there any set moves that could put someone in danger? Will you have adequate run light with the current set/light plot?  Make sure your flashlight has batteries.  Have a backstage script for reference. Are you doing any shifts or cues yourself?  What are the warnings for each of your cues?

The calmer you appear, the more confidence everyone backstage will have.

Break a leg!
--
Heath Belden

"I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right." - Sondheim
--

Michelle R. Wood

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 164
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • website
  • Affiliations: EMC, East Carolina University
  • Current Gig: Resident Stage Manager at Temple Theatre
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« Reply #4 on: Jul 09, 2014, 02:16 pm »
Thanks for all the great tips: fortunately, it's not a scenic heavy show, so the most important thing I do is hold the door at key moments and watch that it doesn't slam (space constraint). Like you all said, lots of notes and questions is key. It helps that I've worked with a lot of the people before, so I felt very comfortable jumping in.

Something else I've noticed even in productions I've worked on for a while: I'm the the kind of person who likes to just do it, but I've learned that often it's helpful to resist stepping in and let others handle things when you really don't know what needs to be done. It's a hard temptation to master, but I think a big part of the job is learning the wisdom between stepping in and not.
"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." -- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1932)

dallas10086

  • Superstar!
  • *****
  • Posts: 562
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Current Gig: Freelance PSM; currently Charlotte Squawks 12
  • Experience: Professional
Re: RUNNING: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« Reply #5 on: Jul 25, 2014, 01:48 am »
Be sure to let us know how it went!

Michelle R. Wood

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 164
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • website
  • Affiliations: EMC, East Carolina University
  • Current Gig: Resident Stage Manager at Temple Theatre
  • Experience: Professional
Re: RUNNING: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« Reply #6 on: Jul 29, 2014, 01:59 pm »
To all interested: the show went very well. Once I got through the first night things were much easier. Opening was tricky: I had to take a few notes on things, but after that it was the same as any show, even if I checked my cues a bit closer than I normally would at that stage in the production. We had some great reviews and attendance really picked up in the second and third weekends (sold out houses).

One thing that was really weird was the fact that I never got to "see" the show performed. Usually by the time a production opens I've seen the show hundreds of times and I'm super familiar with every aspect of it. I noticed that sometimes, as we were setting up for the night, house management might ask me a question as to where things occurred on stage and I'd have to ask the other assistant for clarification. Weird feeling.
"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." -- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1932)

SMeustace

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 115
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: Theat Troupe Theatre Company
  • Experience: College/Graduate
Re: RUNNING: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« Reply #7 on: Aug 01, 2014, 04:24 pm »
I've always been on the other end of this situation. Putting in/training a new addition or replacement of an ASM. Sound's very interesting. I've always been to afraid of throwing a thousand things at them on the first day..

I would love to hear more about your experience. 
"On the first day the lord said....Light cue 1, GO! Then there was light".

Michelle R. Wood

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 164
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • website
  • Affiliations: EMC, East Carolina University
  • Current Gig: Resident Stage Manager at Temple Theatre
  • Experience: Professional
Re: RUNNING: Taking Show at the Last Minute
« Reply #8 on: Aug 04, 2014, 07:00 pm »
@SMeustace: I was very fortunate that 1, the show was not very technically heavy (no major scene changes except at intermission), 2, I'd worked with most of the cast/crew & in the space before, and 3, the crew had a tech rehearsal already slated for earlier in the day to clean things when I could come in and learn the show. I arrived with script, pencils, and sticky notes ready. The SM walked me through everything with cues, then the ASM and I discussed how to handle things like traveling props.

I'd say how much you throw at them depends on their familiarity with the show and the space. I was very familiar with the theatre, so some things we could breeze over and get right down to business. If hadn't ever worked there before, though, I'd have needed more info on that front. I also had been able to watch clips of the show online prior to the show and knew most of the cast, but again, without that knowledge I'd have needed more help in that regard.
"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." -- Thomas Edison (Harper's Magazine, 1932)