Author Topic: NEWBIES: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...  (Read 5686 times)

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starsineyes

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So I have been reading all these blogs thinking that I can find some well thought out advice. I have just graduated college in May and I am now the SM for a showcase. I have done a lot of ASM or at least I thought I had. I look at all these messages and I am thinking that my education maybe wasn't as up to date as I thought...there are terms that I have never heard. My professors said they were teaching us real world theatre but there are things that I don't know anything about...So Theatre is mostly a learn as you go? Now I am stressed....
« Last Edit: Jun 09, 2009, 01:12 am by PSMKay »

StageMgr2Stars

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #1 on: Sep 13, 2007, 10:31 am »
every school is going to teach you different things. If you find in a year or two that you weren't really ready to work, maybe look at a grad school. I don't know if that is financially possible but really, give working a shot first. Don't stress. In any college most of the experience comes from working on shows.
-C-

megf

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #2 on: Sep 13, 2007, 11:12 am »
Hi starsineyes,

Unless they told you stage management was easy and simple to learn, you have certainly not been cheated.

Congratulations on your graduation - that's great!

I encourage you to ask about the terms you don't recognize - that's what this forum is about! It's a good thing that you're still encountering terms/concepts that are totally new; every situation will bring unknowns to you, so enjoy the challenges and take it in stride! This board has a wonderfully diverse posting population, from many different places and types of theater and theater-related fields. Theater is absolutely a learn-as-you-go process. No need to stress -

"Remember to breathe, pay attention, and tell the truth."

--Maxine Hong Kingston

starsineyes

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #3 on: Sep 13, 2007, 11:52 am »
Thank you all so much...I am looking into Grad school my dream job is to teach students at the college level. I want to be a director too... I am really excited to learn new things...that is what makes this career interesting- if you stop learning than you need to stop this job...right??? 

ljh007

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #4 on: Sep 13, 2007, 10:54 pm »
If you stop learning you stop living!

It's true with any job, not just stage management. And indeed, true in all areas of life, I believe.
Never lose your sense of wonder or your courage to ask questions.
Very best wishes to you!

LiLz

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #5 on: Sep 14, 2007, 02:26 am »
I learned great stuff in college, especially theory and learned a couple directors' ways of doing things.  Then I stepped into the world and learned a whole lot more.  I think you're beginning a process we've all gone through, including there being times when you're a bit overwhelmed.  It's a-okay ... Enjoy the ride.  This whole crazy learning process is part of the good stuff and will only make you better for your next gig!  Trust what you know and ask about what you don't - you'll be great!  You really seem to care and that counts for a lot.

centaura

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #6 on: Sep 27, 2007, 07:46 pm »
The jargon used in theatre is wide and varied, and some times regional to boot.  The best way to pick it up is to be around it.  Reading threads here is a great, safe way to start - you can either ask in a thread about a term you're not familiar with, or start a new thread in the Novice board asking.  And just exposure to it will broaden your vocabulary.  I worked in theatre for 15 years before I got this job, and have learned new slang here that I was unfamiliar with.  Some of it is in reference to some venue-specific rigging practices, some to things I had just never been around.  Some of it is non-theatre related - I sometimes assist the facility engineer in the off season.  Just keep in mind the principles that you were taught in college, and use them as a base to expand from.  Just knowing what the term stage manager means puts you high above the average Joe on the street as far as theatrical knowledge goes.

-Centaura

avkid

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #7 on: Sep 27, 2007, 10:11 pm »
The best schooling I ever got was on the streets of Compton.

Not.
(had you going for a second there didn't I ?)
Some inspiration:

The aim of education is the knowledge not of fact, but of values.

Knowing is not enough; we must apply!

If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.

We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
Philip LaDue
IATSE Local #21 Newark, NJ

loebtmc

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #8 on: Sep 28, 2007, 02:55 am »
My favorite biochem professor used to remind us, the important thing wasn't so much what we carried in our brains but the ability to know where to go to get that info, whether looking it up or asking the right person. Don't worry abt what you don't know - right now, be willing to ask questions and suss out where to get answers.

erin

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Re: I feel I have been cheated....am I really over my head...
« Reply #9 on: Oct 10, 2007, 05:12 am »
Ask people to clarify or explain!   Every theatre (and group, and person) works slightly differently, and most have their own way of phrasing the same thing.   No education can prepare you for every possibility, so take what you have approach every message as the beginning of a dialogue - not necessarily something you should completely understand at first glance. :)

 

riotous