Hello, all. I'm an editor who's been involved in theatre on and off since childhood, doing everything from acting to stage management to stage makeup. As I'm now coordinating props for my local community college's Noises Off, I Googled "noises off props", and discovered this board and some terrific threads.
Some of my best stories come from an annual magicians' conference whose shows I SM'd for several years. Each conference had two performances -- an amateur competition in the convention hotel and a professional show on a full stage -- and we had only the conference weekend itself to confirm what the performers wanted and get everything in place. Further, the winner of the amateur competition got a slot in the pro show, and that person (or team) often had no real stage experience.
We learned that last bit the hard way the time the amateur winner had a dove act, which led to one of my best saves and a very strange theatre moment. The magician didn't bring his birds to the tech walk-through, so we didn't realize they were completely unused to stage lights. When he began producing them in the show, they were dazzled and flew away; I immediately radioed the booth, "House ceiling fans off, now!" Thankfully, there were no injuries. His act ended with a blackout, at which I was to slightly split the front curtain for his exit. When I did, he thrust something at me and said, "Here, hold this!" It was a dove. I had no idea how to handle doves; I cradled it loosely to my chest and did the set change one-handedly while he went to catch his flyaways, to the tune of helpful calls from the audience pointing out where they'd gone amidst the MC's increasingly ad-libbed patter. (Trivia: That's a fine way to hold a dove, and magicians who work with animals commonly train them with lights and music to make sure they get used to performance conditions -- but don't count on it!)
One trick I find helpful for show prep is using colored tape flags, a carryover from my editing life. I stick a variety pack to my notebook's cover use them to mark things in that and in the script so I can turn to them instantly, and I write labels on them if needed. I like to flag acts/scenes/splits on the top edge so I can jump right to them. For tech, I also choose a flag color for each person I'll likely have notes/queries for, and mark anything for them with that on the side edge at the exact line; when I get a moment with the director or set designer or etc., I can just flip to each flag of their color. I use one color for myself, too, for things I still need to address. When I'm acting, during rehearsal breaks I flag any trouble spots for specific review later. As each note gets resolved I remove its flag (they're reusable as long as they stick), so it's easy to know at a glance whom I still need to talk with and what still needs attention.
Cheers!
-Lynda
