Author Topic: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!  (Read 7702 times)

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BalletPSM

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Not sure if this belongs in "tools..." but thought I would start here.

I'm in the process of cleaning out my grad school office - 3 years of shows, classes, and a small apartment have led to...well....a lot of STUFF.  I have two FULL shelves of production binders, class binders, books bound from classwork, show notebooks, etc.  I have at least 5 drawers of office supplies, tape, tools, and various notepads, labels, and other paper-type products.  I have 3 different versions of "kits" in three different kinds of bag - a tackle box, a toolbag, and a little black bag type thing.  I have a mini-coffee pot, a ton of power strips and extension cords...just...stuff!

I live in a 450-sq foot apartment with minimal basement storage and if I move, chances are it will be to an even smaller space without any basement storage!

I've never NOT had an office since finishing college several years ago (had a resident position right out of school), so for me, the move out of this office is so much more than just cleaning out - it represents a transition from a stable, settled, regular position to the world and life of the freelancer (cue dramatic music theme here).  So all this crap has been great because I've had a separate home for it; I've had my apartment life and then my office life.  And now I don't have that...now I just have...well, my apartment life!

So...where does the keeping of all this stuff end?  How much do I hang on to because I'm a stage manager and I might need that someday - and how much do I give away/donate?  I'm curious - where does everyone else draw the line at what they hoard and what they decide is not worth hoarding?  Freelancers especially - this is new territory for me and I'm really interested to know the psychology behind what you keep and what you decide is not worth keeping! 

I know there is a huge long thread on "a stage manager's kit" but I'm trying to go just a little deeper than that...

Thanks for your help & support!
Stage managing is getting to do everything your mom told you not to do - read in the dark, sit too close to the TV, and play with the light switches!

babens

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #1 on: Jun 02, 2011, 10:38 am »
I stopped keeping show binders/prompt books once I finished grad school, and only saved them while in grad school for portfolio review.  If a theatre doesn't want to keep them in their archives, as is their right, then I certainly don't want them.  Since 99.9% of all my paperwork is done on the computer I do save those files, but physical copies just take up valuable space.  So into the recycling bin they all go.

As for all of the supplies you might see if other students want them.  It was always interesting to see the annual spring purges/give aways as people realized they were going to (most likely) be moving soon.

missliz

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #2 on: Jun 02, 2011, 12:13 pm »
I moved out of my theater to freelance a few months ago and have held on to/found most useful:

ALL the tapes. Spike, gaff, glow, duct, ALL.
First Aid Kit.
Small toolset.
Empty/mostly-empty notebooks/pads, pens and pencils, you know.
All my regular SM kit stuff- hand sanitzer, breath strips, hair ties, post-its, etc

My theater only wanted a few of the books, so the rest I trashed but saved the notebooks because they can be expensive!

Basically anything reusable I kept. Rest was trashed or donated to the theater (like the extra duct tape).
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

loebtmc

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #3 on: Jun 02, 2011, 12:35 pm »
I admit that I am a packrat - but that comes from doing too many tiny low-budget shows where rehearsal props or other incidentals are presumed to be my bailiwick whether I am acting, directing or stage managing. While I have learned to say no (or rather, "I don't own that") for a lot of things, I still find instances where, at least for rehearsal, I have something that can stand in for an item. Yeah, I need to get over that, and the compromise for me is that I bring in something I don't mind losing (or won't break) or that, in no way, can be what is needed for the show - they are gonna have to find the real prop on their own.

As someone who works a lot on the road or at places without an office or central space, I keep any unused office supplies. And of course binders are re-used. But I like keeping scripts. Whether it references how something was solved, or I do a show more than once, or an actor friend is abt doing that show, or even just because I have always had a library of scripts (as well as other theater and non-theater related books) and this is a great way to add to that, I save all my scripts. One of these days I may change, but for now, I love seeing the stacks of different shows and rereading plays just for the love of it.

[on edit] I shd prob clarify - I keep ONLY the script, and it goes in my script library. The light/set/sound/costume plots, the WWW etc all go into recycling. I keep one hard copy of the final contact (computers have been known to crash, I have frequently been in a position to recommend folks I've worked w to other shows) but that's in a separate file with only contact sheets.
« Last Edit: Jun 02, 2011, 05:06 pm by loebtmc »

smccain

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #4 on: Jun 02, 2011, 01:59 pm »
I know the AEA office in NYC collects binders that people would otherwise be disposing of. Not sure about the other offices, though. I was told they are binders for stage managers and actors to use instead of creating more waste. It's one of their green initiatives. You might want to consider donating your binders there.
Sean

nick_tochelli

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #5 on: Jun 02, 2011, 03:42 pm »
Totally agree with the Equity's Binder Reclamation Project that smccain mentioned. It's really fantastic for anyone who doesn't have the cash (or a budget) to buy 20 binders for cast members, and crew.

I shred all my old paperwork now a days. Especially contact sheets. Honestly, I don't keep anything physical from my shows anymore. If a company doesn't want the book, I shred it unless I feel the need to file it away for some reason.

Think of it this way: Figure out exactly what you do definitely want to keep in your three bags, and then whatever else you think you might want to keep if it fits in the bag it goes. That way it's taking up the same footprint in your apartment, but you have more stuff that you might potentially use and won't have to spend the money on again.  if it doesn't fit in those bags: donate it to the department for use later. I'm sure directors and future SM's will gladly take some notebooks, or office supplies.

In my apartment I have two small shelves of a skinny bookcase for my SM supplies. If it can fit on those shelves, I keep it. I have tape measures, spike/gaffers/glow tapes, gooseneck light, pens/pencils, my featherweight headset, a couple of binders, and a couple of legal pads. I have traditionally kept a med kit as well, but I haven't got around to replacing it since my last production ended. That's all I generally keep on me at all times for a production as a freelancer.

BlueRidgeSM

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #6 on: Jun 03, 2011, 10:22 am »
I have kept pretty much every single show book and at some point I have to figure out what to do with them, because at this point they are taking up an entire bookcase.  I have only ever been able to part with the ones from shows that I really disliked (and over the last 10 years, there have really only been two or three of those).  Everything else is on the shelf.  I always clip newspaper articles and include those in my book along with a copy of the program.  It's nice but I live in a 600 sq foot condo and already have a chronic book problem (my living room is dominated by a bookcase that is six feet tall and ten feet wide).  I know I should just start shredding but it's hard to part with them!

BalletPSM

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #7 on: Jun 03, 2011, 03:22 pm »
Thanks for the advice so far - I have a very vested interest in teaching (one of the reasons why I went to graduate school), as well as research/writing, so parting with production books is not really an option.  I did recycle a few boxes of notes and old paperwork that wouldn't really mean a whole lot down the road - which was a tough decision since I am one of those stage managers that tends to write notes in random places and I keep every single scrap of paper/post it/notecard/etc. that I use throughout the course of a show. =)  I also work for a lot of dance companies who tend to put pieces into their rep.  I always turn over a copy of the call and other pertinent paperwork to the company, but like to hang on to my own copies as well.  As an example, I worked for a company last fall that is now remounting the same show here in town and then taking it on tour to the Dominican Republic - I'm going to be working on both productions.  I just pulled out the book again yesterday!

Progress so far - done a lot of cleaning out of my closets in my apartment and am planning to set up a mini "supply cabinet" of all my spare supplies (paper, notepads, binders, tape, post-its, etc.) on one shelf of the closet, and then have one complete kit with all the essentials (stapler, three hole punch, pens and pencils, post-its, personal items, etc.) that I can grab and go.  I'm setting up one of those three-drawer plastic things with all the miscellaneous power strips, batteries, etc. to keep in the bottom of the closet, and then will be putting together a rubbermaid bin that is the complete "mobile office" for when I really do have to bring everything to a gig - coffee pot and filters, hot water pot, foam roller, Pilates ball (as I said - I work with lots of dance companies!), file box, etc.

I'm eliminating the drawer unit I had set up in my apartment that had miscellaneous office supplies, paper, etc. and just folding all that into the stage management supplies stuff in the above paragraph.

So that's the news so far.....keep the suggestions and ideas coming; it is great to hear how other folks organize their freelance lives!

Stage managing is getting to do everything your mom told you not to do - read in the dark, sit too close to the TV, and play with the light switches!

MatthewShiner

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #8 on: Jun 03, 2011, 05:48 pm »
I think eventually you might figure out what is "keepable" and what is "tossable" - parents with a garage might be able to store stuff for the long term.

One of the benefits of a digital age is an entire show can be stored on a DVD . . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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.

Rebbe

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #9 on: Jun 04, 2011, 07:29 am »
Here is a thread about How Long to Keep Old Prompt Books that might also be helpful:  http://smnetwork.org/forum/index.php/topic,5861.0.html.  There are lots of ideas there about going digital to save space.

I’ve always been a freelancer, and kept very little beyond my kit, which is a medium sized tackle box.  I tend to feel that if it is needed for the show,  the producers/theater need to buy it.  If it is something I personally prefer, such as a certain brand of notebook or heavy-duty hole punch, I’ll buy it as needed.  It surprises me that you would have all those coffee supplies and Pilates ball; I can see the value in them, yet it seems like if SMs keep bringing their own the company has no incentive to buy them.  I don’t subscribe to the idea that a good stage manager has everything one could possibly imagine needing readily at hand…maybe if we made higher wages I would change my mind on that, but I just don't see it as practical or cost-effective; your value is in your skills not your stuff.

My process is to think about whether the value of having a particular item always available to me was worth the expense of purchasing it and the hassle of toting it around to different theaters, and possibly needing to pack it up each night.  Things like extension cords and legal pads, even labels and gaff tape, I can anticipate needing and pull or order them through the theater during prep week.  If I’m without something during rehearsals or the show, I can buy it, get reimbursed, and leave it with the theater when we close so I’m not covering the bill or storing it at home.  There are a wide range of things that directors or actors might think they “need” immediately, when it is really more of a “want” that can be addressed within a day or so. 
"...allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster."  (Philip Henslowe, Shakespeare In Love)

BalletPSM

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #10 on: Jun 04, 2011, 12:33 pm »
Hi Rebbe,

I don't suscribe to the idea of stage managers providing everything, but I think when you do work with companies that have very little (and no money to buy anything else, and isn't going to buy anything else, not even a binder for you), it can make everyone (including myself!) happier and more comfortable when the basics plus a little extra are there.  Coffee pot is my personal extra that I've had because I've had an office for the past several years - same thing with Pilates ball...I use it more often than others to sit on during rehearsals.  =)  It's items such as those that I'm struggling with most. 

I think I'm almost done....I have enough book shelf space in my apartment cleared for the books I've had there, enough storage space in our basement to throw my tubs of prompt books, and enough shelf space in my closet to store the extras - kit, tape bag, and spare miscellaneous supplies that I've collected.

Call me a hoarder...but at least it will all be clean, organized, and ready for usage! (and the way I go through legal pads...I can never have too many).  =)


 
Stage managing is getting to do everything your mom told you not to do - read in the dark, sit too close to the TV, and play with the light switches!

Maribeth

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #11 on: Jun 04, 2011, 02:08 pm »
Something to consider if you're looking at keeping old prompt books- you could have them spiral-bound. That way, you can re-use the binders for another project and the books take up less space. It's fairly inexpensive to get them bound like that- usually just a few bucks at kinko's or office depot. I don't really keep paper copies of prompt books, but when I do have anything that I want to hang onto, I put it in manila envelopes- I find that the binder is really what takes up most of the space. If the theatre wants to keep your book and they won't pay for the binder, I would put the paperwork into envelopes and give it to them. I have a heavier-duty binder that has lasted me for 2 or 3 years- I never buy new ones.

loebtmc

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #12 on: Jun 04, 2011, 04:07 pm »
I use brads and the sharpy the name of the script along the side = no expense, no muss no fuss


Maribeth

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #13 on: Jun 04, 2011, 07:49 pm »
I use brads and the sharpy the name of the script along the side = no expense, no muss no fuss

Nice! I like this simplicity.

BalletPSM

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Re: Cleaning out an Office - what to do with all that STUFF?!
« Reply #14 on: Jun 07, 2011, 12:34 pm »
Quote
Something to consider if you're looking at keeping old prompt books- you could have them spiral-bound.

So funny that you mention this.  I had all my coursework from graduate school bound into books for each class/project.  Unfortunately, the office supply store who will bind a book thicker than a couple inches is few and far between (in fact....I haven't found any).  Most show books are several inches (or even several books!) thick and would be difficult to try to bind.  I don't mind hanging onto the binders - and eventually, they will either go to the next office OR continue to live in rubbermaid tubs in my basement storage - or my parents attic.  =) 

The progress of the cleanout - ALMOST DONE!  I have successfully managed to organize myself to my pencil box, ONE tacklebox as my kit, one bag o' tape, a few miscellaneous things that don't need to be in permanent kit (scale rules, measuring tapes, gloves, label makers, etc). and one shelf in my closet of "spare supplies."  I have just a few things to take down from office walls and a couple more power strips to pack up and I'm officially out of there!  Feels good to have it all cleaned out. 

Thanks for your help everyone!

Stage managing is getting to do everything your mom told you not to do - read in the dark, sit too close to the TV, and play with the light switches!

 

riotous