Author Topic: TECH: Tech Questions  (Read 10671 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Cristin

  • Tourist
  • *
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
TECH: Tech Questions
« on: May 02, 2008, 02:53 pm »
I'm looking for advice about where to run a technical rehearsal from.  I've always run my techs from the house or some equivalent location where I could easily confer with the director and designers, but at my new theatre their SMs usually run techs from the booth.  I'm worried I'll feel very cut-off being essentially in a different room from the rest of the production team, but I know a lot of stage managers prefer to run techs from the location they'll be calling in.  Why do you prefer one location to another, and does anyone have any advice for making a tech rehearsal from the booth run as smoothly as possible?

Also, I was always taught that, unless there was some imminent danger, only the stage manager should be calling holds to reduce confusion and maximize limited tech time.  I have a control-freak director who I'm worried will seriously derail the single afternoon (!!) that we have to tech our show with minor notes about acting, blocking, etc.  Am I within my rights to ask that all non-emergency holds go through me, or was I taught wrongly about that?  

Thanks!
« Last Edit: Jun 09, 2009, 02:17 am by PSMKay »

jaslada

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 17
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Experience: Community Theatre
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2008, 04:06 pm »
I agree- I prefer to sit in the house for the inital tech - to easily confer with directors & designers. I move to the calling location after the initial tech(s). This is really what you are most comfortable with.
I also find it very helpful to have a 'chat' with the director about the mechanics of the tech rehearsal...stressing the 'tech' aspect & asking him/her to refrain from giving any artistic notes so as to allow me and the tech staff enough time to do our jobs completely. I have this chat prior to the tech rehearsal. I also let the cast know what the mechanics of the tech will be....Q-Q or a stop & start run....explaining exactly what we will be doing and what my expectations of the  cast will be.
Unfortunately- you will always find directors who feel that 'tech' time is lost time artisitically. I try to remember not to work with those directors- given the option....however, I discovered last night that am going into a scheduled 6 hour tech for House of Blue Leaves in two weeks - with no ME and a novice lighting designer who does not know how to hang lights....it's always a challenge....break a leg...
 

Jessie_K

  • Superstar!
  • *****
  • Posts: 528
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • International Stage Manager of Mystery
  • Affiliations: AEA, AGMA, SMA (on leave)
  • Current Gig: Queen of the Night
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2008, 05:40 pm »
I agree- I prefer to sit in the house for the inital tech - to easily confer with directors & designers. I move to the calling location after the initial tech(s). This is really what you are most comfortable with.
I also find it very helpful to have a 'chat' with the director about the mechanics of the tech rehearsal...stressing the 'tech' aspect & asking him/her to refrain from giving any artistic notes so as to allow me and the tech staff enough time to do our jobs completely. I have this chat prior to the tech rehearsal. I also let the cast know what the mechanics of the tech will be....Q-Q or a stop & start run....explaining exactly what we will be doing and what my expectations of the  cast will be.
Unfortunately- you will always find directors who feel that 'tech' time is lost time artisitically. I try to remember not to work with those directors- given the option....however, I discovered last night that am going into a scheduled 6 hour tech for House of Blue Leaves in two weeks - with no ME and a novice lighting designer who does not know how to hang lights....it's always a challenge....break a leg...
 


Eek. Never ask a director to refrain from giving artistic notes.  Find a way to allow both to happen.  Often the tech process can inspire a director or give the director cause to make adjustments to match what the designers are doing.  Theater is a collaboration.  The designers can do their jobs better if they are seeing the real product onstage, so if the director needs to work with actors to meld with tech, let him/ her do so.

Examples of how to integrate tech and directing.  When the LD is busy writing, suggest to the director that it might be an opportune moment to work with the actors.  Then when the LD is finish, let the director know that you are ready to show him/ her the lights.

As an SM, you must find a way to keep ALL departments moving forward.  This does not mean stopping the acting/ directing process for tech.

All of this leads to why it is best to tech from the house.  If you are sitting near the director and designers you can better judge and guide the situation.

But remember, this is ultimately the director's show and he/ she can override you and work acting notes and you basically have to deal with it.  (Unless union rules are being abused).

J

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 103
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2008, 06:41 pm »
I second Jessie_K's comment.

Cristin

  • Tourist
  • *
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2008, 06:43 pm »
Let me clarify.  I don't have a problem with her giving notes and continuing to work during the tech process, particularly if - like you've said - we're working on something else, like lighting, at the time.  My question is do you let the director call holds at their discretion, or do you have all holds go through you as the SM?  For instance, if she wants to work a piece of blocking but I'm in the middle of running a complicated sequence of cues, I could make the decision to finish the sequence before calling a hold and letting her address the blocking.  This is the way I've always done it in the past, but a recent director I worked with really had a problem with it, so I was wondering if there was some standard operating procedure about holds during a tech that I don't know about.    
« Last Edit: May 02, 2008, 06:52 pm by Cristin »

J

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 103
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2008, 07:00 pm »
I have never told a director that all holds need to go through me.  I've never been taught that either.  Usually a stage manager will call most of the holds (and obviously has to to some of the people on headset), but there's nothing to stop a director from stopping a sequence or scene on his own. That being said, many directors recognize that we, as stage managers, are quite efficient in stopping a scene on all levels, and will turn to us to stop things when the director wants.

Also, unless I "can't" go on because of technical malfunctions, cue-to-cue rehearsal, etc., I usually will keep moving forward until the director WANTS to stop. 

There's no standard. All directors are different and all will work in different ways...which leads to one of the most important talents of a stage manager--flexibility. We have to remain flexible and be able to work with many different types of people.

zayit shachor

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 175
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • http://thankyouten.blogspot.com
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2008, 01:37 am »
I've only had to run tech from a booth once, and although I much prefer doing it from the house, it's not as bad as you might think.

My best advice is to talk to your ASM beforehand and make sure they understand that they will be your eyes and ears not only backstage but in the house as well.  Every time you call a hold, your ASM should bop out onstage as unobtrusively to see what's going on.  A lot of the "can we move on?" stuff that you would normally say to your director will go through your ASM.

Good luck!

Nbayard

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 34
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: NIU, Stage Coach Players
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2008, 10:34 am »
I've always been told (at the school I attend) that Tech is for tech and the acting should be pretty well set. Especially since they dont always stick to the 6 week of rehearsal route.  But we do have a director that is notorious for not finishing blocking until tech or after tech or even Opening Night they get to the last act.  So it's a confusing cycle while working with that particular director. 
I have also been told that the actors and director shouldn't work on stuff too much because it will make the techs run less smoothly. I have actually had that happen, but the actors weren't just in a hold.  They were moving around and acting like idiots where after a break the director sat them all down and got upset at their professionalism - Its a long story as to why there wasn't as much structure in rehearsals as I was trying to put into place so once we move into the space and add all of the other elements into the show it wasn't a madhouse... But venting sorry - the point I was making is that the SMs at my school are told one thing and thats the tech is for tech. 

nmno

  • Guest
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2008, 11:34 am »
I usually run tech from the house.  Ask the theatre if there is a reason why they run tech from the booth...  Maybe they have a reason or maybe it never occured to them to run it from the house.
Even if I'm in the house, I do try to use my ASM to get information when the director goes up onstage to work with the actors, even going so far as to leave their mic open so I can eavesdrop on the conversation.  But this can be tough too on the ASM depending on how much they have to coordinate backstage.
As to holds, at the start of tech, or during the last rehearsal in the studio I give a little talk about tech.  One of the things I mention is that unless it is a matter of immediate safety to please keep continuing until *I* stop them.  There are often unseen scene shifting or costume changes or timed light or sound cues that we need to work out and allow to run through and stopping for small things really sets us back.  Eg. you don't have a prop (either b/c you forgot it or it wasn't preset properly) just keeping going, mime it and at the next appropriate time we can stop, we'll address it.  Have this talk with the director in the room and hopefully s/he will hear the message.
Especially if you are working from the booth, have a headset or phone so your director can communicate with you - so they don't have to shout out or use a god mic.
If you are having problems with a director stopping a lot during scene shifts, use the TD and designers as your allies.  Your LD is probably just as frustrated that he can't see is timed LQ's complete properly because the director keeps stopping  and the director might listen more to another "creative" team member.


Sarah

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 203
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Noises Off
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2008, 01:03 pm »
What JHos, Jessie, and nmno said and this:

Quote
Also, unless I "can't" go on because of technical malfunctions, cue-to-cue rehearsal, etc., I usually will keep moving forward until the director WANTS to stop. 

This has been the norm with a lot of directors with which I've worked, but I would add designers into the mix, as well. After particularly heavy tech sequences, I turn to the designers at the tech table (in the house, and then I move to the booth for first preview) and ask if they need to see the sequence again. Usually, it's obvious when you need to stop and revisit a sequence, and the director, as JHos has pointed out, is usually adept at knowing this. For example, if the LD or SD needs to see a cue execute or re-write a portion of a cue, then we stop and I will usually make an annoucement if it's going to be a long-ish pause. Something like, "Hold please.The actors should remain in their places until the LD finishes tweaking this cue, then we will [move on] or [take it from...]. Thank you for your patience."

smccain

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 67
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Stage Managing Life
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: I am the PSM for Theatreworks USA's national tour of Charlotte's Web.
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2008, 04:48 pm »
I always run tech rehearsals from the booth, unless I call from backstage. I call the show during tech rehearsals wherever I will actually run the show from. It gives me an opportunity to see things as I will see them during the show. To aid in communication with the production staff, I have headsets out in the house for the director and the designers and they can give me feedback on timing or any other issues. If I need to call a hold, I have a god-mic in the booth with me. When I stage manage the Varieties show at a different venue, I call from offstage and if I need to hold, I just come out onstage and talk to the designers from the stage. I haven't had an issue running things this way, yet.

This summer, I will be stage managing at the Black Hills Playhouse, and I will probably call from the house as it will be inconvenient to be in the back of the balcony. It'll be an interesting experience for me as I am used to in the booth.
Sean

MatthewShiner

  • Forum Moderators
  • *****
  • Posts: 2478
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Freelance Stage Manager; Faculty for UMKC
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #11 on: May 03, 2008, 04:59 pm »
I have always teched a show from the house, with the lighting designer usually within whisper distance from me, and the director either right in front of me or right behind me.  I will call the show once form the booth before previews.  (Now granted, when I am in the house, I do have an IR monitor and other camera shots I will use during the show.)

Sitting in the house just makes it easier to communicate with the full tech staff in person, not just over headset - it's hard enough to communicate with the full tech staff over headset backstage, to add the director and other designers and departments over headset would drive me crazy.

I also HATE having to use the god mic to communicate with the cast or the rest of the creative staff  - I like being able to just use my natural voice.  I am also a stage manager who is not afraid to get up onstage and help figure out a problem.  Being in the booth would just take me out of the room - which I think would make it really hard to tech.

I am also a huge fan of letting the director direct in tech - first off - it often fills up the time while we are writing.  (And to be quite frankly, once you add sound, lights, props, set - there are some things that are going to change, and the director needs to react.)




- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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.

sievep

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 204
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AGMA
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2008, 05:16 pm »
To throw my own two quirky opera cents into the mix . . .

During tech I'm always backstage, sitting where I will be calling the show as I have to have access to cue lights, and the paging system and at smaller companies am frequently calling entrances myself.  I have a god mic, the director has a god mic, and we start at the beginning and work our way through, either one of us can stop if we need to . . ."Hold, Please".  When you are ready to resume you pick a rehearsal number or a bar number and away you go, resetting if you needed to. Granted,  opera tech works differently . . . you have 2 Piano Techs to figure out Set and Prop issues, Piano Dress to figure out costume issues, Orchestra Tech to figure out musical issues, and Orchestra Dress, which is the is also called the Final or General Dress, which should be as close to an actual performance as possible.  That's it . . .no previews.  Lighting is done during lighting sessions with stand ins walking the roles.
"This lovely light, it lights not me" - Orson Welles

Sarah

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 203
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Noises Off
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #13 on: May 05, 2008, 12:20 pm »
Quote
I also HATE having to use the god mic to communicate with the cast or the rest of the creative staff  - I like being able to just use my natural voice.  I am also a stage manager who is not afraid to get up onstage and help figure out a problem.  Being in the booth would just take me out of the room - which I think would make it really hard to tech.


Ditto on the god mic thing...unless necessary, I prefer to use my own voice, too. Being able to troubleshoot problems onstage is a boon, and that's really hard to do if you're in the booth. To eliminate the need for the tech staff to set up a tech table just for me, I once tried to run a very short rehearsal on a day before a preview from the booth; though the rehearsal went fine, it was a colossal pain in the butt. I'll never do that again; based on that experience, I can't ever imagine coordinating everything that has to be coordinated during tech, from the booth.

Paul, thanks for the info on opera techs; it's interesting that tech for opera has a progression, instead of trying to figure everything out at once.

MarcieA

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 371
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, AGMA, SMA
  • Current Gig: PSM, Lake George Dinner Theatre/Tri Cities Opera
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Tech Questions
« Reply #14 on: May 05, 2008, 05:00 pm »
I've always been told (at the school I attend) that Tech is for tech and the acting should be pretty well set. Especially since they dont always stick to the 6 week of rehearsal route. 


 But venting sorry - the point I was making is that the SMs at my school are told one thing and thats the tech is for tech. 

I think the thing to keep in mind (from my perspective on the situation anyway) is that college is oftentimes a very idealized situation compared to what can and often times does happen in the 'real world'. Sometimes you only have an actor for 3 or 4 rehearsals before tech hits and like it or not some of the work that would take place in rehearsal (tweaking blocking, movement, etc) needs to happen while cues are being written, or before cues can be written for that matter.

Sometimes you have an idiot LD who writes not a single basic run of the mill lights up on stage cue before tech and what else would you have the actors do while he's writing the show?

Sometimes you only have 2 weeks of rehearsal for a musical with a cast of 40.

I think like everyone else says, the key to tech is to keep all parties running smoothly. While I always like to hope that tech is just for the tech-ing of a show, that isn't always the reality. I think the better idea to keep in mind is the ultimate purpose of tech is to have all elements of the show put together to create a finished product (and while lights, sound, etc are only added during tech, isn't the ultimate end that the show is finished, {hopefully}) and while that may mean holding a cue-to-cue for an extra two minutes to solidify blocking in a particular scene, if it serves to benefit all parties at the end of those two minutes, then perhaps pausing for a moment is the better choice to make.

In regards to holds- I know some actors who will only take a hold from and SM, and while that is a lovely and respectful thing from an actor it isn't always the most effective. I've never forbidden a designer or director from calling holds. Though I hope that they will try to  tell me first though. For example: The show that I'm currently running now has a cast of 20. In one scene 2 people were on stage and 17 were preparing to enter and we did not have good monitor communication or a g-d mike (Aren't showcases just wonderful  ;)). The LD said that we needed to hold before the giant sword-fighting transition, I got on headset to have the ASM stop the actors from attacking the stage and the LD called the hold. I then stepped in with a "We're going to go back and work the lights in that last moment and then take our break. Thank you backstage." I think that worked smoothly and without any question of who was in charge, but that's just me. I like collaboration like that and think there's no issue with doing it that way.

That LD is not the same as the one mentioned earlier who told me that "I was permitted to call a hold if and when he or the director thought it was acceptable," but that's a whole different post...

« Last Edit: May 06, 2008, 02:11 pm by MarcieA »
Companions whom I loved and still love, tell them my song.

 

riotous