Crikey! I don't think "intense" accurately qualifies the situation...that's a lot of AV! I agree, though, that keeping your designer informed and feeling supported by you is the way to go. It makes me wonder why he feels like he's just a "helper" and, might it have to do with the way he chooses to receive his information regarding the production. Curious
This community theatre is on the campus of the local community college, so they have a lot of access to various college resources -- including this professor. He's extremely good -- very good at what he does. Which is why I think the director wanted to work with him. But I don't think he realized the scope of this until now, when we actually started blocking (this is a new play -- I've been working on it since February...the director's been working on it since 4 years ago....maybe I'll put something up about it in the self-promotion). Anyway...now he's hired a local AV company to do all the set up and implementation; he's just going to collect the images and video and put that all together, and then work with the switcher when we get into tech. okay yeah I'm going to post this elsewhere.
On this topic...I think we've touched on this idea before -- how much information is too much information, and who actually needs to know everything? Does the administrative assistant in the box office really need to be on the email list for all rehearsal reports and production meeting notes? My thought is no, becuase the box office manager is on the list and anything their assistant needs to know, they will tell them(example, these three seats will now be sold as obstructed view, make sure to adjust prices as such and tell patrons when they order). I think that we who "dole out the information," as it were, are the ones who need to control that and moderate who receives what and if we know that something is really important, we need to take pains to make sure that whoever needs to know that hears it as quickly as possible. If someone who's not on our regular list needs information (like the shop manager is out of town and a costume ripped, so I have to call the manager's sister who's handling things while they're gone), it's our job to get it to them in whatever way works!
In my situation, I have a designer who doesn't want to receive a lot of email. To a certain extent, he's right, and I completely understand his point -- he doesn't need to know that Actor 1 is now going to be doing a somersault and so his costume needs to allow for this. I can't force him to open and read all rehearsal notes -- for crying out loud, I can't even get my regular designers to do that sometimes! So, I've got to figure out a way to get him the communication he needs, and get what I need from him, without making him so mad that he quits or never wants to work with me again.
Email is great for this kind of thing -- I can just set up two lists, and if something pertains to him in the RR, I can send it to him, if it doesn't, I won't. I know he'll read it, since I'm only sending him what pertains to him.
The kicker here is if I don't realize that the note for the lighting designer that says "Actor 4 will now take their entrance from SL and their special for that scene needs to be adjusted" affects where he hangs projector 5. Here's where the message becomes key, and the medium of its transference doesn't really matter. Again, I think I have to use my best judgement. I'm in the "better to know that not know," camp, but a lot of people aren't.
I think that in our quest to know anything and everything connected with a show, we sometimes assume that everybody else does too. They really don't. Often, designers want to do their own thing and even when we think they'll care about something, they don't. I've stopped sending RRs and Prod Mtg. Notes to the rest of my office staff (marketing director, development director, administrator) at the ballet -- I found out they don't read them at all. To which I jokingly screamed at them, "what!? But there's stuff that pertains to you on there!" They answered, "No, you think they do, but they really don't. If there's something that actually affects front of house, then tell us. But asking for another sword really doesn't concern us. At all." They were pretty adamant about it. Since I want to know everything, I just figured they did. But they really don't. So now if something truly concerns them (like we have to cut seats because we're building a thrust or something), I just talk to them about it or send them a personal email.
More time consuming for me, I guess, but my job is not to make my job the easiest thing in the world - it's to make the show run smoothly, and if this means I have to send 4 emails instead of 1 and make 2 phone calls and 1 house call, then so be it. Yeah, okay, that can suck sometimes, but that's what I get paid for. That's why I do this. =)
Effective communication has to be effective for everybody, not just the stage manager. If email isn't effective for someone on the staff, it is my job, not theirs, to make it as effective as possible for them. We can't expect everybody to be as diligent in their emailing as we are. Just becuase I sit at a computer 8 hours a day in my office and then 3 hours a night at rehearsal and then 2 hours after that at home doesn't mean that Mr. Properties master does. He shouldn't be -- he should be in the shop building!
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