Messages

1006

Uploaded Forms / Re: Weekly

« on: Jul 25, 2009, 03:43 pm »

the weekly sched is director by director, I think - before a few years ago I never posted more than a master calendar and a today/tomorrow, altho the director always told me what he or she intended to accomplish by the end of a given work week. But recently I have been working w several different directors on (as noted) large shows where they felt it helped the cast (esp those in fewer scenes) to see where we were headed by the time we got to them - still, agree that my weekly paperwork has tied to directors who work that way - with most other folks (which was up until abt 5 years ago), posting/working out weekly schedules that were given to the cast were pretty useless cuz schedules/rehearsal needs change too fast to do more than day-to-day work -

1007

Uploaded Forms / Re: Weekly

« on: Jul 25, 2009, 10:12 am »

(love THE FULL MONTY) - I agree w all notes above, they need to be as long as they need to be, tho I too format slightly smaller - but also concur that (as w johnmurdock) I use character rather than real names for schedule other than ensemble/chorus (last name first initial). Too many folks w the same names - and it's easier for actors and director to remember what they're doing w the character names (oh yeah, it's the scene where we .....) - and it makes life easier before we know everyone's names.

I usually give everyone a master overall calendar (1-2 pages), but post the weekly rehearsal sched (listed as most above have, wiht everything we hope to get to by Sunday) in smaller fonts, and a one-page today/tomorrow rehearsal sched in large easy-to-read font (gives us a goal for the week, and reality for the day).

1008

Employment / Re: Workers' Comp

« on: Jul 18, 2009, 04:24 pm »

Similarly, we had an actor who was asked to roller skate on stage for a show break her wrist falling while practicing her roller skating on her own time, initiative and volition. On the one hand, it was for the show. On the other hand, no one had suggested she practice roller skating near the rehearsal venue (far away from her home), after a long day of rehearsing and in a big, crowded, public venue where injuries are far more likely to occur. Fortunately for the theater, she was not considered a worker's comp charge (tho, I suppose, a good lawyer cd have argued the other way had it gone that far).

1009

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Good digital Sheet music sites/help finding music

« on: Jul 09, 2009, 08:59 pm »

ALSO Rick Starr at Hollywood Sheet Music - they lost their brick-and-mortar store but are now operating online - he is freaking amazing - if it can be found, he can find it - and may even know the arranger who can get you the particular non-published version you seek -

http://www.hollywoodsheetmusic.com/

1010

Employment / Re: Forced to be stuck in a rut. Please help.

« on: Jul 01, 2009, 12:04 pm »

Lots of good advice here - definitely take action, initiate a discussion, and make your perspective clear, focused and positive - keeping in mind  that being a PA and working your way up is a good thing; you can learn a lot from seeing how other people work in similar circumstances and (kmc307 aside) most of us can find great value in not being in charge right off the bat cuz (having trained a lot of "fresh outta school folks") there are many, many things they don't /can't teach you in college -

AND paperwork is a good thing on certain levels. Since SM training was learning on the job when I started, I found that running other people's copies was a great way to see how they took notes, what was left off, how to encourage reading between the lines for delicate issues - as well as why certain departments preferred one-sided or two-sided copies, etc, so now, when I stand there making my own copies (cuz, for many smaller companies, I too often have to stand at the altar of xerox) I can anticipate our needs accurately.

BUT I want to add one note to the mix, and that is attitude. HOW do you make copies? And I don't mean how do you lay the paper and hit the button, I mean what do you do while you stand there. Do you use the time to understand what you're copying and why? Do you chat up the assistant, the secretaries, the office staff (all of whom are valuable support to your career and often have great inside info that can help you take the next step). Do you do it before being asked, always with a smile and a winning attitude - not servile, but as an equal team member, an example of how capable and willing you are to help accomplish the shared goal? Do you take initiative when you think of something that might support the team? Regardless of how they percieve you now, if you do it because (to borrow a phrase) there are no small tasks, only small productions, and in theater everyone is equal and equally important, you can alter their perception to see you as an equal, an adult and someone who deserves a chance. It sound silly I know, but it's true - your attitude can make all the difference.

I totally get that you don't want to be the admin asst, and I totally get that they may not be ready to move you up (whether it's limited help or limited vision on their part) but a willingness doing whatever, fully and with a good attitude, can go a long way when you are trying to break in.

1011

Employment / Re: Lowering your expectations

« on: Jun 29, 2009, 02:46 am »

I had to laugh when I saw the topic. Most of my work is out in the regions and in LA, in spaces where compromise is the name of the game. There was perhaps one theater that had even close to up-to-date equipment, a production office (off site, abt a mile away), and established relations. My first LORT contract (many years ago) had even older and sadder equipment than many of LA's 99-seat houses. Even the most recent house, a very nice modern theater with some decent bells and whistles, has no SM office or internet access anywhere near the theater, the booth is makeshift at best, there is a standing light board op only because he doubles as the house babysitter for the center. Most smaller theaters refuse to acknowledge the SM getting more pay for boards in hopes we will simply do it all and not mention the rulebook - along w maintaining props, doing quick costume repairs and doing perishable runs. I have been in houses with no TD  and where the circuitry was a joke, so when a lamp blows they assume it will be repaired by magic... or the SM under the table; houses where I had to schlep all props daily to various rehearsal spaces since we had nothing ongoing or permanent, etc etc etc.

I do not bemoan my fate - I found that I actually enjoy the challenge of being creative with limited resources and limited support, I know where I draw the line - what I will and won't do - and I certainly appreciate the health weeks since most of the time the pay sucks, but all those lovely perks you mention? I dream of working in a situation where I get to do the SMs job. And just the SMs job. With a production office. Using the theater's office supplies. Having a phone besides my cell as the company line. And so forth...

1012

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Making coffee (and other novice assignments)

« on: Jun 28, 2009, 11:26 am »

and folding origami rabbits.

I opened WONDERETTES and until I got someone else to do them, we had an almost-nightly cootie-catcher to replace - it was amusing, all the girls knew how to do it, as did our director of course, but all the boys who came thru had to be taught.....

1013

Tools of the Trade / Re: Digital Prompt Books (Do you use them?)

« on: Jun 21, 2009, 11:51 pm »

I can't imagine the time to type in the script and then type in the cues. I love my post-it flags that move around easily w changed cues, and I have done too many one-person shows that don't follow the same pattern night to night (whether intentional or the actor just jumps around cuz that's the way their brain worked) - and it's just faster w a paper scrip - I know where I am going, and where I'm going back to, faster in a binder

1014

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: paycheck = percentage of the house?

« on: Jun 19, 2009, 01:40 am »

in the west, the HAT (Hollywood Area Theatre) contract and a few others have a basic weekly salary for rehearsals and performance supplemented by a percentage of the box AFTER a certain dollar figure or percentage has been reached. For example, my nightly performance reports on a HAT show requires a house count broken down by comps, discounted and full price tix (which I always got from the house manager at intermission), and the producer is required to report the weekly box office figures to AEA, which calculates and confirms the additional pay (well, AEA calculates to make sure the producer has done his/her calculations correctly). I worked a show for 6 months at the Canon that basically doubled or tripled our minimums every week we were sold out, which was most of the run. It was lovely...

1015

The Hardline / Re: Cancelling a performance

« on: Jun 18, 2009, 02:21 am »

(we used to have a running gag in 99-seat that if the cast outnumbered the audience we could cancel with impunity, but never in AEA - and regardless, here the cast did not outnumber the audience)

We all understand how it feels when the cast equals (or outnumbers) the audience, but it seems to me that the actor and SM cancelling would mean they shouldn't get paid for the nite either. We get paid for a cancelled show when we show up ready to work and the producer or someone else in authority decides to pull the show, but the performers cancelling for a small house and then getting paid? seems totally inappropriate - and very iffy, ethically speaking.

1016

Employment / Re: Blacklist of companies for SMs?

« on: Jun 14, 2009, 12:17 pm »

I was thinking abt this list when I saw that a particularly....challenging actor had been hired at a theater in PA and wanted to discretely figure out if I could warn the SM - I can't affect her casting (I don't find the actor so freakin' amazing but CDs and directors seem to be sucked in), but I wrestled with it being only fair to give the SM a heads up of what was coming their way -

of course, better judgment won out, and  I must hope this person will shoot themselves in the foot and/or finally  learn some difficult but vital lessons BUT it is so tempting to share this info.

Which is why this blacklist being completely private is so vital. It is not my places to destroy someone's career before they start, and everyone deserves a second chance and maybe even a third (we all have bad days - yes, even SMs).

1017

Employment / your first paid SM job

« on: Jun 07, 2009, 07:05 pm »

How did you get your break? Where did you start, professionally speaking, and how did it work out? Let's share some stories of starting out in the business, sharing how we started, the mistakes made as a new professional (union or non) SM, techniques you wish you'd been taught, etc -

1018

Employment / How do you get jobs>

« on: Jun 07, 2009, 07:03 pm »

In this economically challenging world, and so few opportunities to be resident SMs these days, how are you looking for and finding work, and what methods have been successful for you? Do you cold call, email, blast your resume out, use every friend you've ever made in theater, what? And are you branching out, training in other arenas, filling holes in your education, or staying with what you know?

Let's share some ways we've found work!

1019

Employment / Re: Working in LA

« on: May 25, 2009, 02:03 pm »

just a side-note - CTG does not have non-union ASMs, tho they are allowed PAs (other than perhaps the Kirk Douglas, which has mixed requirements), same w the Pasadena Playhouse, where they are allowed non-AEA understudies too - but in my experience and for whatever reason, CTG takes PAs from the local universities (where their small pool of regulars teach) but prefers to interview/hire SMs who have NOT grown up/ worked/based in LA, and esp now under Mr Ritchie. I know amazing SMs who can't get into the building while folks who have one or two regional credits, or even one NY Showcase Code on their resumes, get called in to meet right away. Frustrating.

1020

The Hardline / Re: Equity, transfering between countries

« on: May 18, 2009, 02:26 am »

FWIW, speaking as an AEA monitor here in the US, we have reciprocity with Canadian Equity but NOT with British Equity for auditions - don't know if this mucks anything up in terms of working over there, but it's worth being aware of this -