Messages

1

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Taking over a show

« on: Mar 05, 2007, 09:51 pm »

Hi, Nora.  How did this end up going for you?  I'd be interested to hear about your progress since we last talked, especially since someone linked you to my post on a similar topic.  What have you learned about the takeover process from this experience?

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Employment / Re: Part-Time Work

« on: Feb 07, 2007, 01:49 pm »

It sounds like you've found a decent part-time job. 

Mine is carpentry- I'm pretty experienced at this, having been a master carp before, so it is easy to pick up load ins/ strikes and even to work part time on builds.  Plus, since the day job is still with theatres, they tend to be more understanding about flexibility.

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The Hardline / Re: Help? (Seeking contact info for AEA Rep Eastern Region)

« on: Jan 22, 2007, 02:29 pm »

The name of the proper rep for my situation is Gisela Valenzuela.  I tried calling again and was able to get connected to her through an operator.

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The Hardline / Re: Help?

« on: Jan 19, 2007, 02:37 pm »

Thanks, I will try these people.  For my pressing questions, I spoke with the woman I know who has been their Special Appearance stage manager in the past.

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The Hardline / Help? (Seeking contact info for AEA Rep Eastern Region)

« on: Jan 18, 2007, 01:08 am »

What is the name/ phone number/email for the Eastern Region Business Rep?  I tried calling the number for the NY office but it asks me to enter the name of the person that I'm calling and I don't know who the proper contact person is. 

I feel silly asking this but I'm a very new member of AEA and am still trying to learn the proper way to do things.  I did try sending an email to the Business Rep through the Equity website and am still waiting for a response from that.

My upcoming contract is a Special Appearance contract and I am trying to determine what rulebook I will be operating under so that I can begin studying it and answering a few questions that the director has.  For my current show the rulebook was sent to the theatre with my SM packet a few weeks before rehearsals began.  However, for this next show (at a different theatre) I was told that I need to contact Equity about the rulebook.

My most pressing question is whether it is possible for a rehearsal to be held with union actors (also Special Appearance) without the stage manager present.  There is one day that I must miss due to a prior commitment (which I hate but it cannot be avoided and the director agreed to it).  It is a span of three hours.  I believe the answer is that he can only rehearse with the non-union actors if I am not there, but I want to look this up.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Response to "calling a show by feel" from "things you would never hear..."

« on: Jan 18, 2007, 12:49 am »

I have had the note, "feel it more" before on individual cues for shows but on my current one I kept getting, "feel the entire show" and, "think of yourself as the fourth actor".  I asked the director if she had any advice on feeling it, especially as I was still trying to learn what happens visually in the scenes with no dialogue. 

I agree that it is important to be able to feel a show and still learning how to do so.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: I need everyones opinon...

« on: Dec 28, 2006, 12:47 am »

For one show that I worked on in a small theatre, my sound board op and I were seated in an upper row of the audience near the stage, with no separating wall.  I developed a system of writing her cues on index cards in a tiny binder.  I drew a box around each cue number to make it stand out.  I put my thumb down on the number for a standby and lifted it for "go".  This worked well and I was able to coordinate it with my own cues (I was also running lights).

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The Hardline / Re: Roth IRAs?

« on: Dec 17, 2006, 01:44 pm »

Thanks, guys.  The reason that I am attracted to ROTHs is the fact that the tax comes out now, rather than in the future when I'm sure the rates will be higher.  I do have some money in money markets/ various other places and the time has come to sort it all out and set up an IRA of some sort.  There is a whole lot of information to go through on this topic and I'm going to return to checking it out once I have completed prepping for my show.

One of the things that I need to look into is how much of this can be handled online.  I'm assuming that the specific offices that you are mentioning are New York offices (and I'm in the Baltimore area).

9

The Hardline / Roth IRAs?

« on: Dec 10, 2006, 07:03 pm »

I've done a search on this and only came up with hbelden's post on 401ks.  I will be a new member of AEA as of next week and have been exploring the Equity website.  I see that it is possible to set up a 401K through them but would prefer to have a Roth IRA.  Is it possible to do this through Equity or would I need to join a plan on my own?

10

The Hardline / Re: Fight Captain Selection

« on: Oct 22, 2006, 02:33 pm »

I don't anticipate this becoming an issue on this particular show.  We haven't begun rehearsals yet for it- I am just interested in learning as much as I can pertaining to combat rules because I have worked on several that had quite a bit of fighting in them.

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The Hardline / Re: Fight Captain Selection

« on: Oct 22, 2006, 02:14 pm »

Thanks VSM.  That is what I will do.  Like Rebbe's, my show is an SPT contract and the rule book doesn't even get as specific as those that you mentioned.  ("All Actors who participate in a fight shall run through the routine before each performance.")

This may not be the case with this show, but how do you handle fight calls when there are a lot of fights (more than 15 minutes worth) to go through before half hour?

This will be my first union show as the stage manager and I want to be sure that I do everything properly.

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The Hardline / Re: Fight Captain Selection

« on: Oct 22, 2006, 11:54 am »

What if no one from the cast is qualified to be fight captain (or if all of the cast is involved in the combat)?  I will be working on a union show soon that has a very small cast and the only one who has significant combat experience is the lead who does all of the fighting.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Handing over a show

« on: Oct 04, 2006, 04:59 pm »

Thanks, guys.  We weren't at the point of having a calling script yet, since this was right before tech, but I did have preliminary cues written in.  I agree that it is an odd time for a handoff, but that is the way our schedules worked out (this show lost its original SM so I had to step in at the last minute).

14

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / COMMUNICATION: Handing over a show

« on: Oct 01, 2006, 08:14 pm »

Do any of you have any tips on making a handoff of a show (from rehearsal stage manager to performance stage manager) go smoothly?  I was just a part of one that I feel could have been improved upon.

I feel that I did my best to share all existing information that I had about the show but, possibly because we have different styles of doing things, she did not seem to want much input from me.  I understand (and am fine with) the need for her to establish her authority on this production (and want nothing but the best for it).  However, I feel that if she had been more receptive to things such as my offer to talk her through a difficult cue sequence, things could have gone more smoothly and even saved time during tech.  At the same time, I was not going to force anything on her.  I typed up the difficult sequence and had it available in case she wanted to refer to it.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: What do you want to tell Actors???

« on: Sep 13, 2006, 01:27 am »

"Joining this show at the last minute has really screwed me.  Even though I've been with it since the second rehearsal, it is a difficult show that I had no prep time for.  I'm doing my best to catch up and help you guys have a good show."