Author Topic: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?  (Read 15894 times)

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ReyYaySM

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Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« on: Feb 25, 2011, 01:45 pm »
An actor came up to the booth to visit me before a show and was surprised that I hadn't added some sort of personal touch to the booth, much like the actors decorate their dressing room mirrors.  I had never really thought about it before.  Do you decorate your booth in anyway?  Hang/post a picture?  Have a special item that you must have with you in the booth when you call a show? 

BeccaTheSM

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #1 on: Feb 25, 2011, 02:32 pm »
My dad recently remarried a woman who I adore as a stepmother. When they came back from their honeymoon in Mexico, they brought me a tiny hand-carved fish whose tail bounces like a bobble head. It only takes up about 1 or 2 square inches, so it's space efficient for those crazy tiny booths, but its a wonderful tiny reminder of the support of my family. Plus the fish is bright and striped, so it instantly adds a bit of fun to the booth.

Since I'm freelance, I don't have a booth that's all mine -- if I did, I would probably decorate a bit more. But I've found that just a little token of familiarity or of sentimental value can go a long way to help comfort and relax me, which I always look for right I call the first standby.
Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos. - Stephen Sondheim

Thespi620

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #2 on: Feb 25, 2011, 02:44 pm »
I tend to bring something small that either relates to the show or to something going on in my life--for my most recent show, the lead actor gave everyone a little, 2'x3' picture frame with a clip art of flowers in it--that sat right next to my notebook. Another time, I taped a lucky poker chip from a production meeting to the top of my call box.  I tend to work in black box or other non-conventional spaces, so I rarely have a real booth per se--but those little trinkets are always comforting to have around, I find.
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Mac Calder

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #3 on: Feb 25, 2011, 04:44 pm »
I have Hailey the Hilarious Monkey. If I am going to be oping in one position for a while, Hailey comes to work and attaches herself to a monitor, lighting desk, sound console or vision mixer somewhere.

Balletdork

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #4 on: Feb 25, 2011, 05:26 pm »
I keep show gifts in the booth for the full run~ which was awesome this past December- we did 8TRACK: The Sounds of the 70's and the cast got me a lava lamp!!!  ;D

On_Headset

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #5 on: Feb 25, 2011, 10:55 pm »
Surely my sharpies count!

This one's named Doris, and this one's named Charity, and this one's Peter... why are you looking at me like that?

SMLois

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #6 on: Feb 25, 2011, 11:28 pm »
I have Cue, the headset duckie who tours with me to ever booth.  He's adorable.


VSM

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #7 on: Feb 26, 2011, 01:32 am »
wow...
Ordo ab chao

lsears

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #8 on: Feb 26, 2011, 08:13 am »
I had to actually think about this question for awhile.  My call script and my little box of must-have supplies with the certain stopwatch and flashlight feel so personal already that I don't feel the need for anything more.  Except my coffee cup.  Surely that counts as a personal touch. 

I guess I also am almost never in an actual booth, just at a call desk backstage, s there isn't a whole lot of opportunity for personal stuff.

SGU312

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #9 on: Feb 26, 2011, 10:00 am »
I have Cue, the headset duckie who tours with me to ever booth.  He's adorable.


Like SMLois, I also have a SM rubber ducky. I also have a vampire rubber ducky and a light up ghost sitting on the table with me.

bex

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #10 on: Feb 26, 2011, 11:19 am »
I have Cue, the headset duckie who tours with me to ever booth.  He's adorable.


I actually saw your blog a few months ago about the rubber duck, and bought one for the rest of the SM team at my theatre for Christmas, so now all 3 of us have matching Headseat Duck booth buddies!
You will have to sing for your supper & your mortgage, your dental coverage & your children's shoes, over & over again while people in desk jobs roll their eyes the minute you start to complain. So it's a good thing you like to sing.

SMLois

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #11 on: Feb 26, 2011, 11:30 pm »
I think we've actually bought the store out of duckies! I went online to buy one as a gift for a friend and they didn't have them available anymore. SAD.

loebtmc

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #12 on: Feb 27, 2011, 11:47 am »
lots of places to buy in bulk (cheapest is 1.30-1.80 per, sold in minimums of 50-100) - but if you give these as gifts all the time it might be worth getting 50!

here's one of them - they'll send a sample for $1.80 with $20 shipping deducted w a future bulk order

http://www.imprintitems.com/custom/spl/4114896?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=SPLfeed

missliz

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #13 on: Feb 27, 2011, 07:11 pm »
I have a silver Buddha charm taped on the wall (a very zen actress gave it to me). Right now I have some racy pinup-girl cards hanging around- a gift from my current (all-male) cast.
I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least. -Ionesco

MatthewShiner

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Re: Do you add a personal touch to your booth?
« Reply #14 on: Feb 27, 2011, 10:12 pm »
besides the tequila bottles?  no.
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