Author Topic: AEA LORT SM's--What would you do if:  (Read 7307 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

RuthNY

  • BTDT Editors
  • *****
  • Posts: 511
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA Eastern Region Stage Manager Councilor
  • Current Gig: ALABASTER
  • Experience: Professional
AEA LORT SM's--What would you do if:
« on: May 22, 2006, 11:42 am »
To All LORT AEA SM's,

What would you do IF:

At the end of the last day of the rehearsal week, on Sunday night, the director turned to you and said he would e-mail the schedule for Tuesday's rehearsal to you on Monday, your only day off. (He does not say when he'll send it, just "when it is ready," meaning one would have to wait around for receipt of said schedule, on the theatre's e-mail system, on the day off.)

AND the theatre requires e-mailed schedules to go out to the artistic team and office staff, hard copy schedules to be posted in several locations around the theatre, hard copy schedules in several "high-level" staff mailboxes (they don't want e-mails), and a "Hotline" voice mail, of course, recorded for the cast who is supposed to have at least 12 hour notice of the next rehearsal call.  

When the director is adamant that he will not be pressured, when you've just finished your 52 hour tech. week and need the entire day off, and when the cast needs to know the schedule by Monday night,

What would YOU do?

(By the way, this is a resolved situation, so I don't need immdiate assistance. I'm just interested in your takes on the matter)
"Be fair with others, but then keep after them until they're fair with you."
--Alan Alda

ORTaurean

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 57
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
AEA LORT SM's--What would you do if:
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2006, 02:43 pm »
my first thought - instant problem solving thought - is to make the rehearsal an all call until you know more.  Then, if you need to make phone calls, you make phone calls.  Maybe leave the all call message with an additional note to call back after a certain time  prior to rehearsal allowing for travel.  If the director doesn't give you a proper schedule in time, the rehearsal report can note that, apologies can be made, and if you have to pay trhe actors extra for their time, the rehearsal report notes the issue with scheduling and the higher-ups know you did you best working with what you had.
Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly.
-Rosiland Russell

MatthewShiner

  • Forum Moderators
  • *****
  • Posts: 2478
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Freelance Stage Manager; Faculty for UMKC
  • Experience: Professional
call
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2006, 04:06 pm »
I had this happen to me in rehearsal.

I recorded the span of day with all called, asked them to call back and the re-recorded the call.

The thing is you need to give the actors 12 hour notice, and I was was under the impression that the day off doesn't count . . . for example, if you have rehearsal starting at 12:00n on Tuesday, you would need to give notice of the span of day 12:00m on Sunday.

It's always sticky to turn to a director and go, no, i am not going to deal with this on my day off.  I have never said that, but I do know it's in my right.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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.

nmno

  • Guest
AEA LORT SM's--What would you do if:
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2006, 08:09 pm »
Hmmm, I was never under the impression of the 12hr/day off issue...  Interesting...

To answer the question, I've had to do this a couple of times. Got the span of day then I let everyone know via the email distribution list and the hotline adding "but I regret that the specifics of the Tuesday schedule are not complete but will be emailed and recorded by XXpm on Monday."  (My next day schedule goes on my report so it documented that way) This usually covers enough bases.  I write-off posting the schedule in the theatre until Tuesday - people are smart and figure it out.  (In a pinch, maybe write out a quick "tentative" schedule to post on a main callboard.)

I do let the director know that I need it by X time (and if necessary I'd lie, saying that I have a prior engagement and won't have access to phone/email past X time - never had to lie though).  This way, I know that I'm only dealing with work stuff between 3-3:15p vs letting it own my day.

Here's the thing, yes, we're tired and deserve/need a day off, but after a long week a director can be tired as well. And on Tuesday, I'd rather work off a well thought-out schedule than something thrown together on Sunday night at 1am, that doesn't cover everything we need to hit or is a bad use of people's time. Or worse, sitting waiting around at 1am while the director struggles to come up with something coherent.  I want to get in my pajamas asap!

Perhaps I've been lucky, but I've never had a problem when taking this approach.

akearson

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 36
    • View Profile
    • http://
AEA LORT SM's--What would you do if:
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2006, 02:24 pm »
What is surprising to me is that in all cases it seems that SMs are willing to put out a schedule (record or email) on Monday. If the director needs time to think over a schedule, then they need to realize that it will affect the entire company. The day-off is the day-off for everyone including stage management. I don't work on the day off, so in the instances where the director is unable to give me a schedule, I put out a full company call and a span of day. When I come in on Tuesday morning, I will try and reach anyone not needed at the top of day.

It is because stage managers agree to work on the day off- even something as simple as recording a rehearsal call- that directors and producers expect us to do so. It has been my experience that once the director realizes that I won't put out the schedule on Monday (or record, or make phone calls) and that their only choice is to have the company (in my case upwards of 38 people) sitting around all day unused, they can come up with at least a general schedule. For me, a general schedule is better than no schedule, and I can deal with well thought out specifics and re-posting after the day-off.

The other option, charge the theatre for working on the day off. 2/6 of your weekly salary will get a producer to put an end to that pretty quick.

With all that is expectsed of stage managers both before and after rehearsal, much of which is unpaid, the only sacred thing is the day-off.

nmno

  • Guest
AEA LORT SM's--What would you do if:
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2006, 03:13 pm »
I can see your point about creating an attitude toward the SMs day off.  But I guess these have been "case-by-case" kind of instances.  Thinking of the most recent, I didn't feel taken advantage of by the director - it's not like she was blowing it off to go to dinner with friends or that it was a weekly occurance- it was an extenuating circumstance.  10 minutes of my day off bought me a lot of points to say "no" to other things and I had actors who grateful that they could plan their day in advance (people with childcare issues, other jobs etc) and grateful actors always make my day easier (worth way more than 2/6th).  Maybe that made it easy for me to do:  knowing that it was appreciated and that thank you's would follow.
There are so many things that come up that I can't make happen/can't fix that I guess I feel the urge to do the doable.

MatthewShiner

  • Forum Moderators
  • *****
  • Posts: 2478
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Freelance Stage Manager; Faculty for UMKC
  • Experience: Professional
The expectation
« Reply #6 on: May 26, 2006, 04:16 pm »
Quote
When I come in on Tuesday morning, I will try and reach anyone not needed at the top of day.


I think taking 15 minutes of my day on my day off to record the call and save all the trauma of calling people Tuesday morning is better use of real time.  I would bill an hour of overtime for that.

Yes, I know the rule is time off is time off, but sometimes a little hit for the greater good is what is best.  Where do I draw the line?  I know where to draw the line; you feel it.  This is not a major issue.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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.

MatthewShiner

  • Forum Moderators
  • *****
  • Posts: 2478
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Freelance Stage Manager; Faculty for UMKC
  • Experience: Professional
The expectation
« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2006, 04:25 pm »
Quote
When I come in on Tuesday morning, I will try and reach anyone not needed at the top of day.


I think taking 15 minutes of my day on my day off to record the call and save all the trauma of calling people Tuesday morning is better use of real time.  I would bill an hour of overtime for that.

Yes, I know the rule is time off is time off, but sometimes a little hit for the greater good is what is best.  Where do I draw the line?  I know where to draw the line; you feel it.  This is not a major issue.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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.

akearson

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 36
    • View Profile
    • http://
AEA LORT SM's--What would you do if:
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2006, 04:40 pm »
I think it is really just a matter of priorities. For me, 15 minutes on the day off is a big issue when I try and squeeze it in among school, preschool, soccer practice, homework, karate, groceriecs, housework, and laundry. And if the choice is 15 minutes at the end of the day with my husband or 15 minutes recording a schedule, well on the day off, the husband wins out. When I was young and single, I felt differently.

There are union rules in place to protect our time. We as stage managers give a lot of ourselves. When I am at work, the theatre and the production get 110% of me. As I get older, I guess I draw the lines differently.

Scott (formerly Digga)

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 230
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Scott Pomerico
  • Affiliations: Actors Equity Association, Stage Manager's Association, Alpha Psi Omega
  • Current Gig: TheaterWorks Hartford
  • Experience: Professional
AEA LORT SM's--What would you do if:
« Reply #9 on: May 28, 2006, 12:56 pm »
I also try to make it known that Monday is the day off.  The Directors/Producers that I've worked with have all been pretty good about not requesting anything of me on this day.  This way it's always been my decision if I decide to do anything on the off day.  I never show up in the building on my day off unless I'm checking my mail (I work out of town a lot and snail mail goes to the theatres).  If I get a phone call that I know is work related, I let my voicemail get it and then determine if it's an emergency situation or something that can wait a day.  I can understand if you have a family and other obligations but for me, I'm single and have no real outside commitments except for friends.  If I really want to make the day off my own I travel out of the state for a day and visit my friends.  

I know there are rules and I do my best not to break them just to accomodate the Producers.  Otherwise the above can happen where they start to expect it and you lose the leverage that then Union gave you in the first place.

 

riotous