Messages

1

College and Graduate Studies / Re: Need Help Narrowing Down!

« on: May 22, 2012, 05:52 pm »

Thank you for your advice again, everyone! It actually came down to a really tough decision. I applied and was accepted to DePaul, Emerson, Penn State, Rutgers, Webster, SUNY Purchase, and VCU. After much thought, I've decided to attend DePaul next year! I love Chicago, I love the program, and I just know that it's the place for me. Thank you all for your help in this decision making process!

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: As a student, have you shadowed any SMs? Any cool stories?

« on: Sep 20, 2011, 09:49 pm »

I shadowed a SM last year that came through the DC area, and because of it I wound up with an internship in NY City!

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College and Graduate Studies / Re: Need Help Narrowing Down!

« on: Sep 15, 2011, 08:38 pm »

Thanks guys! I really appreciate your advice, it's helped a lot! 

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College and Graduate Studies / Need Help Narrowing Down!

« on: Sep 07, 2011, 07:55 pm »

Hey Everyone!

I know there are questions about these schools, and I've read most of them, but I would still appreciate any advice/recommendations on narrowing down my own massive college list. I started out with 13 schools, and have narrowed down my list to 9. Ideally, I would like to be around six. Any advice, helpful information, or general pointers you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking (ideally) a school in the city, that offers plenty of opportunity to it's undergrad students. I would also like a school that doesn't have too large of a SM program (in terms of the number of SM's within the program) and that offers many chances to make connections and connect with people working in the industry.

Again, any advice would be greatly appreciated  ! The Schools are...

DePaul univ
Emerson college
Penn State Univ
Rutgers
SUNY Purchase
Syracuse Univ
Univ of IL - U/C
VCU Univ
CCM

5

Self-Promotion / Re: I've found a new home!

« on: May 07, 2011, 02:54 pm »

That is amazing and wonderful! Congratulations and the best of luck!

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The Green Room / Re: Achieving a Professional Understanding

« on: May 06, 2011, 04:24 pm »

Now, here's there thing . . .  it's a confusing message to go out drinking with your group of friends, partying and such, and then the next day show up and expect them to treat you like the boss - sometimes when working with friends, you might need to put the friendship on hold for a bit.  I found, early in my career, until I felt comfortable with my "management" style, I didn't do a heck of a lot of socializing with my cast.  I personally found it very hard to be out at the bar with the cast, blowing off steam, drinking, socializing, etc - and then being the heavy the next day (now, granted, I have little issue with that now.) It would be lovely to have it both ways, able to have the great friendships, and then, turn on a dime, a great manager/employee relationship - but to be honest, sometimes those two relationships do not overlap - you just sort of need to make a decision of what is more important.

Wow, I hadn't even thought about that. I guess in high school friends are a big part of productions, and you're always hanging out with the cast after hours. I've definitely thought a lot about what managing a professional show would be like, but I never really considered that like most professional jobs, your business and personal lives are not intertwined. However, how do stage managers even have friends, then? I know that's a rude question, but the job itself requires so much time, commitment, and effort that I can't imagine when you would have time to meet people and make relationships.

Once again, I'm sure there are a million threads about this, which I will search momentarily. However, I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about this that tie back to my original question?

7

The Green Room / Achieving a Professional Understanding

« on: May 04, 2011, 10:22 pm »

"One of the hardest things about being a student SM is getting your friends to understand that during rehearsal, you’re not their friend. You’re their stage manager, and need respect. If they really are your friend, they’ll understand that they won’t be treated differently than the rest of the cast."

I read this on a blog a few days ago and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since. As a student SM, I can be stern and even strict when I need to be (we are dealing with teenagers here, after all). Though I do try to maintain humor and a positive attitude throughout the production process. However, I am still a peer among fellow students, and often times it's hard to speak sternly to close friends. Often times I have been tempted to cut slack to friends who are late to rehearsal, but I fight the urge.

There is still the problem of fellow peers not giving me the respect that one would usually grant a member of the production team in a professional situation. I may be a student, but I want to do my job well and to the best of my ability, and that means taking on a certain element of leadership. Have any of you ever dealt with actors or members of the cast or crew not treating you with respect or even listening to you because they know you personally? Or people thinking that certain rules don't apply to them because the're your friend? How do you deal with it? Is there a formula for success? Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

8

The Green Room / Re: Suffering from what I call "theatredox"

« on: May 04, 2011, 10:06 pm »

I'm in high school as well, and I know exactly what you mean. Once the shows over, you're done. It's not like you go and find another job, you actually have to wait around until the next season show or if it's the last show of the year, until next year (unless you have a summer program, of course). This is when I usually take a week or so to just recover from the chaos of High School theatre, and simply relax. Because as much as I love stage managing, managing 160+ students as a peer is challenging.

Then of course, I try and focus on my grades. Which take quite a blow when you're working until 8-10:30 for two months straight. And then you find yourself submerged once again in a whole different kind of work.

9

The Green Room / Re: Exercises & Warm-Ups That Don't Suck

« on: May 04, 2011, 09:51 pm »

I haven't read what the other users have submitted for the most part, so forgive me for any repeats. 

I find that energy warm ups are pretty easy to come by, and there are a million of them out there, so I'll focus more on focus warm ups. My director always has the actors start off any warm up with a extensive yoga sun salutation, stretching everyone out and getting us to focus on our breathing.  Then we do the "horse" which is more painful than anything, but really gets us in the hardworking mindset. We all squat down, as if riding an invisible saddle, and hold our arms out in front of us as if holding reigns. When we start feeling tired, we breathe out slowly and pull in the invisible reigns with our hands. A tactic that works wonders for reasons that I will never understand.

Sometimes we'll sit in a circle and close our eyes, and then we'll have to call out the abc's without anyone calling out at the same time. This really makes people listen for each other and "feel" the cast. Then we'll do a character warm up, where the actors will all move about the space, responding to individual environments. Then they'll incorporate their needs and tactics into the environment, and then will start interacting with the other people around them.

I don't know if that is what you were looking for, but there it is. I know that this one might be considered lame, but the hug game has always been a favorite among myself and my peers. As teenagers, we're pretty easy to please. 

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The Green Room / Re: The Stage Manager's Nightmare

« on: May 04, 2011, 09:35 pm »

For me, my nightmares are always about being late. Punctuality is a big thing for me, and I just feel nervous and anxious if I feel that I'm going to be late for even a minor rehearsal. Because it's when you think you're not going to be needed that suddenly something goes wrong and you need to be there, you know?

In my dream I'm always 10 minutes late to opening night of a show that I've been working on, but it's in a theater that I don't recognize. So I can't find the door to backstage, or the door to anything for that matter. But I can hear the sounds of the show coming from inside.

It gets me every time.

11

The Green Room / Re: Sanity is Evasive

« on: May 04, 2011, 09:29 pm »

To reduce stress, I let myself loose in my kitchen.  Usually I come back out with some sort of gourmet cupcakes or cookies and I feel better.  If that doesn't work, its time for a bubble bath with aromatherapy.

Wow, that's actually the story of my life right there. I'm just in high school, but some internship programs for young students like myself are so stressful, I sometimes just feel like breaking down and crying. I don't know what I would do if I didn't love stage managing so much... But when I get home, most times I haven't had time to eat so I just raid the snack cabinet. I will actually sit there in front of the cabinet, opening different bags of chips and eating them all. And then I'll take a nice bath or light some incense.

Sounds very unhealthy, but I work it off, I promise.

12

College and Graduate Studies / Re: Decision: Emerson vs. Mason Gross

« on: Mar 22, 2011, 06:47 pm »

I'm not a professional - but I'm assuming you would appreciate any opinion. Similarly, I am also in high school and have been looking into SM programs for the future. And I also am very impressed with both Emerson and Rutgers. However, if I were in your situation I would choose Emerson. I think the BFA program at Emerson is one of the best, and the connections you could make in Boston are supposedly fantastic.

Then again, I only know this from what I've heard and research. I haven't attended college yet, so it might be wise to disregard my opinion. Just trying to help!