Topics

1

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

2

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.