Author Topic: Calling shows: Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!  (Read 17296 times)

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VSM

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #15 on: May 11, 2006, 04:27 am »
Congratulations !

Remember that you called the show and you were responsible for the success of the technical aspects of it.

GIVE YOURSELF THE CREDIT YOU DESERVE.
Ordo ab chao

ESM_John

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #16 on: May 11, 2006, 09:34 pm »
Quote from: "centaura"


The other thing that I'll do, in combination with the 'keep quiet on headset' is I will tell folks of breaks in cueing.  Just a simple "Okay folks, we have two pages free here".  

-Centaura


In my theatre, we say "okay guys, time to bake a cake!"

ljh007

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calling heavy sequences
« Reply #17 on: May 12, 2006, 01:45 pm »
I'd like to add one note about calling complex cue sequences - work to cut your syllables to a minimum, and make it a habit. You won't have to think about making your calling more efficient - it'll already be as effecient as it gets. An excellent SM I worked with was very meticulous in his language, but when he came up on heavy sequences he would get flustered with getting all the words out. He normally would take time to describe some cues in standby ("Standby rail cue 22, which is the main rag in...") - it's a nice reminder but just too many words when you're moving fast. So instead of "video monitors turn off - go" he eventually started saying "TVs - go" (which didn't confuse the crew because they had been briefed about needing the onstage video switched off in the blackout, and since the TVs were already on, there was only one thing "go" could mean: turn them off). This MUST be your habit so that it will be natural to you and relieve that much more stress when you're in the thick of it.

samthestagemanager

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thanks KC
« Reply #18 on: May 22, 2006, 11:02 pm »
thanks for posting that topic. I am in a similar situation, i'm one of the only stage managers at my school..
i'm stage managing oklahoma this summer and am worried about calling the show. the director is a good friend of mine and i keep panicing about dissapointing her.
all of those tips are great!

isha

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #19 on: May 23, 2006, 09:08 pm »
Oh I'm very partial to Oklahoma...that was my very first show in stage management....a bit like being thrown into the deep end of the pool and being expected to swim...but it was good times.

BREAK A LEG!!! the show can be lots of fun....

during the run I satred saying "FOOT!" everytime I was mad or frustrated. It was pretty funny.
~isha

Debo123

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Re: thanks KC
« Reply #20 on: May 24, 2006, 12:19 am »
Quote from: "samthestagemanager"

i'm stage managing oklahoma this summer and am worried about calling the show. the director is a good friend of mine and i keep panicing about dissapointing her.
all of those tips are great!


I'm sure you know this, but one of the best things you can do is stay calm. Keep a bottle of water next to you and just breathe and take a sip whenyou have a complicated cueing sequence. If you panic then you can't focus, and that is where you'll make mistakes that you can prevent. :-) Remember that you are also learning the cues- nobody calls a show perfectly the first time- that's why we rehearse!  :wink:

samthestagemanager

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #21 on: May 27, 2006, 02:43 am »
you make a good point. sometimes i have to remind myself that techs are actually for the stage manager & crew. we are allowed to make mistakes as well (what a surprise :wink: )

isha

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #22 on: May 27, 2006, 03:20 am »
the thing that can be frustrating tho, is when so much else is messing up/not working, that you can't use your techs for your calling practice. (highschool theatre) Sometimes I wish people would listen to my deadlines and finish theings when I know they need to be finished, then the show would be soooo much better
~isha

KC_SM_0807

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #23 on: May 27, 2006, 11:49 pm »
So I just wanted to tell everyone that the show went AMAZINGLY WELL thanks to all of your comments and tips.  We sold out our last two performances, and all of the cues were flawless. The last performance was recorded and I just got the tape.  I was blown away by how great the show looked on stage!  It was by far the best show I have ever done AND due to my hard work, I was asked to SM the season opener, CATS, that opens in October.  So kudos to all of you for helping me out!
"Perhaps, therefore, Stage Managers not only need to be calm and meticulous professionals who know their craft, but masochists who feel pride in rising above impossible odds."

KFullerton

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #24 on: May 30, 2006, 01:51 pm »
I know it's a little after the fact, but I thought I'd chime in with some suggestions (and echo some others).

I used to use dots in my book, but my current SM professor loathes them with every fiber of his being. Now we're required to use the pencil/ruler method and just go with it. I like it SO MUCH MORE. I'm very big on organizing my books and having things look nice (to the point to where I redo things later, which I need to stop doing b/c it takes too much damn time) and it just reduces the clutter 10 fold, and plus...dots fall off. I was calling a show and had three cues missed b/c my dots disappeared.

One thing that I'm very greatful the school I'm at is willing to do is that during tech, more specifically wet tech, nothing moves unless I say so. I know some places are hellbent on getting out of there fast, but I've managed to get the directors to see that sometimes you need time to work a difficult sequence and they understand, and we're still out of tech by 9:30-10pm most times.

Also, and again it helps b/c I'm in educational theatre right now, I tend to know the designers fairly well. On both shows I had this past year I knew the lighting designers very well (both undergrads) and there were two impossibly hard cue sequences in both shows (Mass Battle and MacDuff/MacB fight scenes in MacB and the blinding scene in Equus) so we set some time aside before tech or before the opening night show to run the sequence with each other so we could see how things needed to be timed. It really helped.

A thorough paper tech is nice too, but sometimes it's just not possible. Equus was a rushed paper tech b/c the director was an idiot and just "didn't get the point of doing it".

Anyway, hope some of that helps....but above all..SCREW THE DOTS!

samthestagemanager

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #25 on: Jun 06, 2006, 07:13 pm »
congratulations on your success KC!

I agree with the dots, I used to use them but they drive me nuts.
I've never tried the ruler things though, I've always thought i wouldn't like it.
Something I have found that have the benefit of dots, but don't fall off are these little arrows. They come in 5 different colors and you can point them exactly to the right line. I just write on the arrow, ex. LQ5. I have a color for each type of cue.

SMJon

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #26 on: Jun 09, 2006, 12:04 am »
One of the problems I find with tabs/arrows/post it things is that they tend to fall off if you use your book heavily.  Over a long run (like 6 weeks) you tend to lose one or more tabs.  Those sticky things do not stick forever.  Plus with the script being used and pages being turned they may rip or get pulled off.  I use the good ole pencil and ruler method because then I know that my cue will be there next time and it didn't fall off.  Also you can circle/highlight a specific word or even syllable (yes, some people get so anal that they want you to call LQ 45 on the final "t" of the word or something like that).  
 
If the show is locked in (the cues are set and the designers have gone home for rest of the production run) sometimes (depending on the length of the script) I will put pages in protectors so that pencil doesn't smear or smudge.  I am a stickler for clean crisp pages and writing.  Too many times I see SM books with marks and writing and little notes that are completely pointless and just extra stuff to distract.  I once had a show with 5 lighting cues.  That's right only 5 and my call script had ...5 things in it.  That is it.

VSM

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #27 on: Jun 11, 2006, 05:07 am »
I agree.
Even with page protectors you can alter cues with the ever-present Sharpie. My current show is a remount and I am using the original script with a few changes for the new venue. We opened tonight (Megf was there) and my pages now go to the page protect library.
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Mac Calder

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #28 on: Jun 11, 2006, 05:57 am »
Quote from: "SMJon"
Too many times I see SM books with marks and writing and little notes that are completely pointless and just extra stuff to distract.  I once had a show with 5 lighting cues.  That's right only 5 and my call script had ...5 things in it.  That is it.


That is why I like to keep two scripts - I have my "calling script" - the only thing it has within it is cues. Then I have my "rehearsal script", which contains the lot. I usually use the rehearsal script up until the end of tech - then I have it all transfered into my calling script by first dress. I still do the calling script in pencil, because it is by no means permanant, but the book is usually in pristeen condition at the end of the run. The rehearsal script though, is a mess. There are notes on all sorts of things written in margins etc.

When I was taught to SM, my 'mentor'/'instructor' said to me "Before you call the show on dress #1, errase all the extra information that you do not need from your script" - well I did it that way, and by opening night, I was fed up with all the extra 'noise' on the page and had written a calling script. There is also an added bonus which I did not notice until I did my first tour. If you errase the extra information from your script, when it comes to maintaining the show, you loose all of the information you pick up during a show. With a rehearsal script, I can pull it out and say "No, we decided to do it X way because..." and voila.

KC_SM_0807

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Calling a HUGE Show... HELP!!!!!
« Reply #29 on: Jun 11, 2006, 04:16 pm »
I use two scripts as well, one calling script and one rehearsal script.

It makes such a difference.
"Perhaps, therefore, Stage Managers not only need to be calm and meticulous professionals who know their craft, but masochists who feel pride in rising above impossible odds."