Messages

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: RUNNING: How do you decide when to cancel a performance?

« on: Mar 25, 2011, 01:04 pm »

In my theatre the only time a show is ever canceled is if the power goes out and is out for longer than 20 minutes (the allotted time that we can hold our equity actors in a building with no power). 

We have gone on in the face of:

--A fire alarm that liked to go off 15 minutes before the end of Big River causing to have to evacuate the entire building and hold the show for over half an hour three separate times.

--Drowsy Chaperone; Man In Chairs father died in the middle of our run, he didn't have an understudy because he's one of those 'Come rain or shine I'll be there' actors.  Our managing director went on for him for three shows with script pages hidden around the set.

--A snow storm in December that shut down one of our major highways, people were late but we went on. 

Ah theatre   The show must go on!

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Tools of the Trade / Re: Bubbles!!!

« on: Mar 25, 2011, 12:31 pm »

We used bubbles during a childrens show a couple of years ago and found that as long as the bubble solution itself didn't spilled onto the stage (like an actor tipping their machine and a puddle ending up on the floor) the actual bubbles themselves didn't create that much trouble hitting the stage and popping.  Between shows we made sure to mop really well using warm water and adding some Slip No More to our mop water. We didn't have any problems with our production you just have to be careful about spilling the solution

Carpet sounds like an ok idea depending on cost though...I imagine that would be expensive...and on what else is going on in the show, would carpet be feasible?

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Tools of the Trade / Re: Glow-in-the-dark Glow tape

« on: Mar 09, 2011, 12:06 pm »

We have been using it this season, and have been overall pretty happy with it.  It doesn't glow as strongly as the old version, but is sufficiently bright enough to see in blackouts, etc.  It sticks much better than traditional glow tape (although not as well as gaff), but can be covered with clear marley tape on the floor if the glow is in small pieces (particularly when used for dance).  It is much faster to put down than the paper backed glow and can be torn instead of having to be cut with scissors.

It was nice to be able to tear it instead of cutting it with scissors but I would say that was its only real perk.  I usually take a few minutes of down time in rehearsals (either during sing time or on a 10) and cut some small pieces of glow for use in tech so it wasn't a huge help but it was nice. 

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Tools of the Trade / Re: Glow-in-the-dark Glow tape

« on: Mar 08, 2011, 01:25 pm »

We used it at my theatre last summer and didn't like it at all.  It didn't stick well (and it calls itself gaff tape!) and barely glowed even after being charged for a full minute with a high powered flashlight right on it.  We ended up doing double work because we put it all down and then had to pull it all up the next day and replace it.  So I give a big thumbs down.