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SMNetwork Archives / I used to act..now I work
« on: Mar 07, 2006, 03:18 pm »
I consider myself a convert.
After 12 years of acting I am stage manager for David Ives' "Lives of the Saints"
Now I know how the play actually gets put on.
Here is what I am dealing with:
A director who micro-manages SO much that he jumps up on stage to direct his actors between ever three or four lines... He goes so far he even tells them what inflections to use when saying words. Works with Shakespere but NOT needed with Ives' "Saints"
A cast that is so double cast within the separate roles that when one is missing me and my crew are tossed into the mix to read for them..btw the director blocks us even though there is no way we'll be doing this role.
A crew that insists on talking to the director for things they should be talking to me about which results in the director chewing me out.
A light tech that never shows up, and thinks he can figure it out once dress rehersals have started.
A sound tech that is AWOL and the director insists that if this is the case the sfx should be done live... this includes three gun shots, canned laughter and a car chase scene done by a television...
A set designer that will "get around to it" when it comes to building a prop that is crucial to one of the plays (A talking washing machine that has to swallow someone)
I've developed a serious twitch in my left eye and an obscene hatred for the director who was once a close friend of mine.
I love this job and thank goodness for this site, I was on the verge of a nervous break down and reading through this I know I am not alone in the world. You are all celebrities to me, can I get some advice on how to fix these problems?
Oh yes, and yesterday our clumsy director knocked over and shattered the martini glasses used in one of the plays. When I commented how I was going to go shopping for a replacement he said they weren't important... It is taking all of my patience not to kill him. 8O
After 12 years of acting I am stage manager for David Ives' "Lives of the Saints"
Now I know how the play actually gets put on.
Here is what I am dealing with:
A director who micro-manages SO much that he jumps up on stage to direct his actors between ever three or four lines... He goes so far he even tells them what inflections to use when saying words. Works with Shakespere but NOT needed with Ives' "Saints"
A cast that is so double cast within the separate roles that when one is missing me and my crew are tossed into the mix to read for them..btw the director blocks us even though there is no way we'll be doing this role.
A crew that insists on talking to the director for things they should be talking to me about which results in the director chewing me out.
A light tech that never shows up, and thinks he can figure it out once dress rehersals have started.
A sound tech that is AWOL and the director insists that if this is the case the sfx should be done live... this includes three gun shots, canned laughter and a car chase scene done by a television...
A set designer that will "get around to it" when it comes to building a prop that is crucial to one of the plays (A talking washing machine that has to swallow someone)
I've developed a serious twitch in my left eye and an obscene hatred for the director who was once a close friend of mine.
I love this job and thank goodness for this site, I was on the verge of a nervous break down and reading through this I know I am not alone in the world. You are all celebrities to me, can I get some advice on how to fix these problems?
Oh yes, and yesterday our clumsy director knocked over and shattered the martini glasses used in one of the plays. When I commented how I was going to go shopping for a replacement he said they weren't important... It is taking all of my patience not to kill him. 8O