Author Topic: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)  (Read 32655 times)

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PSMKay

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #45 on: Aug 19, 2012, 04:22 am »
Which actors? Are they of comparable size? When can we get them in for a fitting? Do we have enough time left in fight call to do "blind walking" call nightly? Before we terminate the contracts for the horse, trainer, hay delivery service, stabling and custodial crew for the horse... scenery... are we sure we want to make this change? The only free actors in scene VI have just exited V stage left and through the trap respectively. Can we fix that blocking to minimize the complications or are we looking at hiring a horse-ass specifically for this scene alone? Do you need suggestions as to actors that would make a good horse-ass? (I know several.)

New Note: The song "Money" mid Act One will be an audience sing-along.

iamchristuffin

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #46 on: Aug 19, 2012, 09:00 am »
Are lyrics going to be printed in the programme? Are they going to appear on a screen? How will lyrics be made available to blind, or poor-sighted patrons? Is the song well-known enough that viewable lyrics are unnecessary? Will the conductor need to face the audience? If so, do the orchestra need a  camera and monitor to see his face at all times? Do the audience need to be seated according to voice range? Will there be actions, or props, required for the audience?

New Note: The character of 'Fred' will give birth onstage. The director has requested realisim (i.e. He wants to see placenta.)

On_Headset

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #47 on: Aug 20, 2012, 01:42 am »
Do we have enough left in the budget to purchase both pregnancy padding and a set of functioning labia for Fred? What effect will this have on laundry? Will we need multiple labias (labia? labiae?) for maintee/evening days?

Will the baby be born alive, or stillborn? If alive, do we need to procure an infant? (I know a guy...)

How realistic will the delivery be? Will we need to designated a "splash zone" in the audience?

This is an Equity show: if the placenta is going to appear on stage, will it need a union card?


NEW NOTE: at the beginning of act 3 scene 1, the director has asked that an actual bear be procured in order to perform the direction "Exit, pursued by a bear".

DCPSM2012

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #48 on: Aug 26, 2012, 02:37 pm »
Has Felix specified the species of bear he requires? I know where we can find grizzlies, but polar may work in tandem with the show’s current motif. Should the bear be long-hair, or short? Will it need a muzzle? Will the company be feeding it? The bear eats a fish just before the exit- should this be trout, tuna, salmon, real, fake, or Swedish?

Has anyone informed George of this new development? Does his contract cover possible mauling whilst running from a bear? Last season his contract covered live sharks, but he put up quite a fuss about the swordfish, so we should double check.
In which direction is the exit? If George runs out stage left, then the bear will need to be less than six feet tall in order to make it through the door. From there the prop tables will be in the way of any persons or animals larger than four feet around. If George runs out stage right, we will have to use a bear cub, as George will be crawling through a doggie-door. Whereas if George takes the upstage doors, we can use any size bear, so long as its fur is polka-dot (The fur has to blend in with the curtain behind the set, or the exit will be more of a badly timed walk-off).

Do we need a trainer? They’ve been in pretty short supply since that whole “Spiderman” fiasco, so how much are we willing to cough up for one? Will the trainer be union? Is he considered to be an actor, or a technician?

Lastly, how do we get the bear offstage after its reappearance in Act III Scene ii? Any other night, we could park the cargo-truck in the shop and have the bear run straight in- but Ernie has called in sick, and his co-driver plans to be intoxicated the evening of the closing performance. And every evening prior.

New Note:
   The lighting, costume, and set designers have now all been written into this evening’s production of “Hello Dolly.” They will all be dressed as though they are all the same person, and will be seen fighting with each other in the background of every scene. 
"You can grow old, but please, please, never grow up. Not all the way."

On_Headset

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #49 on: Sep 06, 2012, 12:30 pm »
If our insurance will cover it, I foresee no problems. Dress them in street clothes: all designers have closets full of plain blacks, they can count any wardrobe damage as a write-off, and it's not like we're paying for their health coverage!


New Note: The set designer has decided to "radically deconstruct patriarchal norms of theatrical performance vis-a-vis the dominance of subject over object" by seating the audience on the stage, with the show to be performed in the house.

loebtmc

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #50 on: Sep 06, 2012, 01:04 pm »
(Amusingly, I have done that in four different shows - now back to the game....)

jcarey

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #51 on: Sep 20, 2012, 11:26 am »
If our insurance will cover it, I foresee no problems. Dress them in street clothes: all designers have closets full of plain blacks, they can count any wardrobe damage as a write-off, and it's not like we're paying for their health coverage!


New Note: The set designer has decided to "radically deconstruct patriarchal norms of theatrical performance vis-a-vis the dominance of subject over object" by seating the audience on the stage, with the show to be performed in the house.

Questions of Logistics
Where will the audience be entering from? For example; will they purchase tickets at the box office, proceed through the house and onto the stage to their seats? How many seats are available to be sold? Are there adequate ADA-approved seating options? Are there 2 clearly marked and available emergency exits? Are there any hazards backstage that the patrons need to be aware of/protected from? Should an usher supervise the audience entering the stage? Scenery will have to add railing to the front steps leading onto stage as well as around the apron.

Questions of the Show
Will a set be designed and built around the seats? Will the seats be part of the set? Is there adequate walking, running, and movement space between seats? Can anyone stand on the seats? Should we manufacture platforms to cover the seats or are they removable? Should stage lighting be refocused into the house (now playing-space) or should we use the pre-existing house lights? What will we use as backstage area? Where will the SM call the show from? Where will the sound and lighting booths be?

New Note:
John has wants to change the period from the 1920's America to 1960's England.
"A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."

- Douglas Adams

leastlikely

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #52 on: Oct 09, 2012, 02:46 am »
How does he plan on handling dialect coaching - are we hiring an outside coach, should we order CDs, or do we already have a coach on staff? There are of course the obvious major differences in Costumes and Hair & Makeup, so we'll need to touch in with the designers ASAP. If any of the men need to start growing their hair out, I'd like to be able to let them know by the end of this week. Or are we going to wig them now instead? Let's check in with with Set too. In the old version, the men spent the second act trainhopping - we are cutting the boxcar and the setting for Act II will now be city streets. Furthermore, please everyone be on the lookout for script changes, as we're going to be replacing some of the period-specific slang.



New Note: When Sam re-enters at the end of I.5, he should have a new tattoo.

LCSM

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #53 on: Oct 09, 2012, 05:24 pm »
Will the tattoo be real or fake? Is the actor who plays Sam up for getting inked? If fake, how easily will it come off? Where will the tattoo be? In a part of his body that could be covered by a costume piece, so as not to show the tattoo prior to this scene? Will we have to worry about the tattoo rubbing off on his clothing? What about in the Act I Sc.3 milk fight? Is there, in fact, enough time between his entrance and previous exit to apply the tattoo, rendering the three previous questions redundant? Will it be somewhere where he has hair on his body? Will he need to shave off a patch of hair for the tattoo? Will it be somewhere the actor might be less inclined to expose? Is he comfortable with that? What is the design? Is it vulgar? Is the actor comfortable with that too? Is it a professional-style or gang-style tattoo? Who is designing the tattoo? Hair and Make-Up? Will Costumes have/want input?
 
NEW NOTE: In Act I Scene 3, Sam and Jude will unload the milk bags from the USL milk crates, and use them to have a waterbaloon fight.

On_Headset

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #54 on: Oct 24, 2012, 08:26 pm »
How are we going to ensure that the milk bags explode when thrown? (Every bag I've seen has been made of plastic tough enough that you need to cut them with scissors. Throwing them at someone would probably have the same effect as throwing a beanbag.)

How many milk bags will we require? Would it be cheaper to rent a cow for the run? (Does the cow need an IATSE card?)

Can we have the costumes laundered and refreshed in time for two-show Saturdays? Do we need to double up?

Will we be taking any steps to protect the clothing of audience members? (Maybe we could give them free t-shirts afterwards? "I Got Creamed At The Swan Theatre"?)

NEW NOTE: When Angie opens her eyes at the end of the dream sequence (Scene 12), one member of the audience should be dressed as the Woodland Sprite from scene 2. This must come as a surprise to the entire audience--including the person involved.
« Last Edit: Oct 26, 2012, 02:19 am by On_Headset »

RachelSM13

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #55 on: Oct 26, 2012, 04:46 pm »
What does the costume for the Woodland Sprite look like? Does it require putting on multiple pieces? How will we ensure the audience member picked will fit into the costume? How do we get the audience member onstage-does a member of the cast bring them up? Is the audience member picked by an actor in the scene or is (s)he previously determined by Stage/House management? Will the audience member need to say any lines? For how long is the audience member onstage?

New note: The director would like it to be raining onstage for Act II.ii. This rain should turn to snow mid-scene as the scene takes place in November.

PSMKay

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #56 on: Nov 03, 2012, 01:14 am »
What's our overhead clearance? Enough for rain pipes? Do we have somewhere that can hold the weight of the water tank? How much rain are we talking about? Do we have at least four spare line sets over  the outdoor area for a rain bar and snow cradle? Will we be able to keep enough space between the rain bar and the snow cradle to keep the snow from getting soaked every night? How much snow are we talking about? Is there any "outdoor" staging that would require actors, costumes or props to get wet? Will we need to switch from lavs to belt packs so that we aren't amplifying the sound of rain on the deck?

New note: After December 19, Dolly Parton will be replaced by Shania Twain as Blanche in "Streetcar!: The Musical." 

(Oh, and if you're joining us from TMZ.com, I'm joking. JOKING. Ha ha funny.)

On_Headset

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #57 on: Nov 21, 2012, 03:29 am »
The only problem I foresee is that we'll need to dig through wardrobe for some padding to enhance the shape of Ms. Twain's front bumpers. While her cow-catchers are no doubt an impressive piece of work, Dolly has had a team of blacksmiths working on hers around the clock since 1972, and there's simply no comparison between them. The only way to avoid having to completely redo the costumes is if we find some way to add an awful lot of clang-clang-clang to Shania's trolleys, but I'm sure we can pull something together. Cross my heart.

NEW NOTE: Due to budget cuts, Romeo and the Nurse will have to be double-cast.

On_Headset

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #58 on: Dec 18, 2012, 05:42 pm »
Perhaps a different note...

NEW NOTE: the producer's wife has seen a preview and decided that the final act is too dark. Can we find some way to make the Nazis bursting into Anne Frank's attic less threatening and cynical?

LCSM

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Re: Hell in a Handbag (A Game for Stage Managers)
« Reply #59 on: Dec 18, 2012, 07:21 pm »
Um, yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXj-SCx5dY#t=02m35s

But is the Producer willing to quit and replace himself with Bialystock and Bloom? Can we get him a nice severance package?


NEW NOTE: Lois will shave Connie's head completely, in full view of the audience, during the hair salon scene at the end of Act 1.

 

riotous