Messages

106

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROFESSIONALISM: Conversations with actors

« on: Jul 24, 2009, 02:50 am »

I had a gig this week followspotting a massive production of A Midsummer Night's Dream - eleven actors performing a fairly severely cut-down script, full symphony orchestra playing Mendelssohn's incidental music and eight young ballet dancers - and for various reasons was early to the tech rehearsal.  I was killing some time chatting in the dressing room corridor with the actor playing Flute, who happens to be a good friend of mine, about a different (and wonderful!) show which I've been doing a bit of work on.  The director came along the corridor, heard what we were talking about, and proceeded to tell me off for discussing the different show with the actor!  Apparently it's a "psychological thing, they must be allowed to concentrate on their own show and don't need distraction."  Sadly I was too gobsmacked to retort "excuse me, this is a private conversation and you have no right to regulate that."  I've worked with this director before, and while he is undoubtedly a brilliant man, he can also be one of the most difficult, picky, controlling, nasty people I've ever met, but this is a new extreme!!  The actor in question was as stunned as I was - and pointed out that he had about three lines, so it wasn't like he was struggling to remember them all; it wasn't like I'd barged into the dressing room of an actor I didn't know and started banging on about how wonderful the show was, it was simply an idle conversation with a friend!  I have never been told not to discuss other shows with actors before - has anybody else?!

107

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Libretto vs. Score

« on: Jun 30, 2009, 11:15 pm »

I work in a pretty similar fashion to Valence - blocking and choreo notes go in the libretto, then I call from score.  I have varying methods of producing my calling script; sometimes I get a script and a piano score and go at them with scissors and glue, sometimes I retype (or scan and OCR) the script, scan the music and insert it as pictures into the typed script, and my latest and greatest method is to get an electronic copy of the script (retype or OCR), and then get the piano score into Sibelius (either by scanning it in - Sibelius does have its own OCR-type engine which will convert scanned pictures of music into actual music! - or by getting it from the MD if it's a rearrange, as my next musical is) and copy and paste from Sibelius into the electronic script.  It's only the latest version of Sibelius that lets you do that, but it's an absolute godsend.  The scanning the music as pictures works, but you do end up with a huge Word (or whatever you're using) file - I think my script for The Producers came in at something like 133mb.  I'd advise using the score if you're comfortable reading music - it just means you can be so much more precise in your calling.

108

The Green Room / Where and when are you at your best?

« on: Jun 29, 2009, 10:01 pm »

This is something that I've been thinking about for the last couple of days, after a conversation with the two other SMs in the company that I work for - we all three have totally different strengths and things we're good at, which makes us a very well-rounded department and we can assign people to shows according to the needs of the show and cast.  So, where are you at your best, where do you do your best work?  Personally, I'm at my best on musicals; our musicals are unique in that we have a small, oddly shaped space with no wingspace and no flying which makes shows like The Producers a huge challenge.  I do best when I'm coping with a big cast, a director and MD who are relying on me to make everything happen, not enough time or money, hundreds of costumes, props coming out my ears, massively complex technical requirements and lots of pressure.  Put me in that situation and I thrive!

109

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Director Dilemma

« on: Jun 23, 2009, 05:21 am »

Definitely sit down with him - ask him what his expectations of you are, and also tell him what you think you're going to be doing and what you want to get out of the show.  I've been in a similar situation, except that I was being employed as a stage manager and had plenty of experience, but my director just did not trust me in the least, to the point of going to the production manager (my direct boss, who knew I could do the job properly) and asking him if he thought I was going to cope alright and get through production week.  Thankfully he said that he trusted me implicitly, and we did get through production week remarkably easily (it was a complex show) and since then she's had a lot more trust in me and we've developed a good working relationship.  Some directors you do just have to prove yourself to, and once you've done that you're fine.  Just keep trucking on, do your job properly and you'll find yourself earning trust where it's due.

110

Tools of the Trade / Re: Wireless Headset Technology

« on: Jun 11, 2009, 02:23 am »

One of our local crew bought himself a CellCom set - 8 beltpacks and the base station - a couple of years ago.  I used it for the first time recently and did not want to give my beltpack back at the end of the run; aside from the sheer joy of not having a cable, the audio quality was pretty much as clear as you ever get through coms, wired or not; the programmability of the different channels was brilliant (I handed over to someone else partway through the run, and to have a channel so I could talk exclusively to her while she learnt the show was an absolutel godsend) and they were very easy to use and ultra-reliable.  They definitely get the thumbs-up over any other wireless coms I've used.

111

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: "We have a 45 minute hold for the Obamas."

« on: Jun 05, 2009, 05:17 pm »

- The air conditioning broke down on the hottest day of the summer; we did manage to get it fixed before the show but had to hold 15 minutes to let the theatre get down to a workable temperature before starting the show.
- The sound system fritzed out completely after interval - noise going in but no noise coming out at all.  Happily one of the cast is a great comedian, so he did 30 minutes of stand-up while the noise boys frantically sorted the system out.
- A bomb scare in a building which backs onto us; The Glass Menagerie went up 55 minutes late (which made for a very late finish - not a short play!).

112

The Green Room / Re: How do you keep in shape?

« on: Jun 01, 2009, 05:52 pm »

In rehearsal, I very rarely have a carpark (long and complicated story!) so I ride my bike to work - takes me about twelve minutes, and I find it does kickstart me into the day pretty well.  It can be a bit unpleasant during the winter (although we tend to get more frosts and sunshine rather than rain and hail) but it does kepe me relatively fit.  When I'm on evening show calls, I run three or four days a week and go to the pool a couple of times a week - can't manage it when I'm in rehearsal though!

113

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Care and Feeding of your Crew

« on: May 27, 2009, 05:20 pm »

I've just come off a production of Miss Saigon, staffed almost entirely by volunteers (some of whom were fantastic, some of whom were not!!) and as it happened, someone in the crew would bake a cake or some muffins or biscuits almost every night of the show, and bring it in for the crew to share.  We didn't ever organise it, it just happened, and I honestly think it did make a difference - it was a happy show anyway, and the baking just added to it.  It also revealed some hidden talents - the head flyman made the best date scones I have ever eaten!

114

SMNetwork Archives / Re: I could have kissed them!

« on: Apr 24, 2009, 08:44 am »

Not so much an "I could have kissed them" moment, but one of those lovely moments that make you feel happy - so this seemed like a good place to share it!  I was having a chat with a couple of guys on my crew tonight, and we were talking about how we got our starts in theatre.  One of them was saying that something that really influenced him in going into the industry was being given the "best backstage crew" award at an event we have here called Stage Challenge - he'd been crew chief for his school's entry.  I suddenly remembered an outstanding crew and crew chief that we'd had through the year that I ASMed the Stage Challenge - I realised it was the same school that this guy had been to, and so I asked him what year it was - sure enough, it was the same guy!  He's now a fully-fledged and very well respected professional technician (if horrendously cynical for one so young!) - nice to know that the award really did mean that much to him!  It also turned out that the other guy had been the runner for the event that year - I shouldn't really be surprised, because the theatre scene here is not huge, but still funny when things like that come almost full-circle!

115

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Props List and Production Manager

« on: Apr 23, 2009, 07:24 am »

I usually flick a copy of my props list and updates to it to the PM when I e-mail it to the props manager - my PM doesn't read it in-depth, but it's an easy way of him being aware that we're on top of things.  He doesn't insist on it but likes to get them.

116

Tools of the Trade / Re: Making prop red wine

« on: Apr 20, 2009, 06:09 am »

I've always used blackcurrant juice darkened down with either flat Coke or caramel food colouring (you can buy it at home brewing stores), with a tiny drop of blue food colouring to make red wine.  I used this for Arsenic and Old Lace last year, and it got spilt on a white tablecloth almost nightly; I found that provided I got the tablecloth into a bucket of water fairly quickly (Wardrobe chucked it in the wash the next morning), it washed out fine - might not be practical for a wedding dress to be washed daily though.

117

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: A Chorus Line

« on: Mar 30, 2009, 09:15 pm »

Any one have thoughts, the Lighting designer thinks that his assistant, who is the board op too, should call the follow spot cues for the show.  I disagree though, especially since I know the board op and she has a tendancy to take cues whenever she feels like it despite what may be happening else where.

I dislike lighting ops calling followspot cues; I've worked shows where we've done this and it just turns ugly way too often.  I've done shows where we've had a specific spot caller, completely seperate from the SM, and that has worked pretty well - but nope, I'd be arguing against the lighting op calling spot cues.

118

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Requests for Electronic Scripts -- Post 'em here!

« on: Mar 23, 2009, 05:55 am »

Am mid-Miss Saigon at the moment and to be honest, I started off with the libretto but quickly discovered that even for writing down blocking, it's hopeless as it's sung through and there are a LOT of instrumentals.  Normally on a musical I always take blocking down in a libretto rather than a score but this one has had to be a score from the start.  So yeah, my advice would be that even if you're not a music-reader, go with the score as it'll make your life a lot easier.

119

SMNetwork Archives / Re: I could have kissed them!

« on: Mar 18, 2009, 05:40 am »

I had an absolutely hideous phone call with a director I'm about to work with last Monday (completely bawled out for several things which are not my fault or even my job, with a deaf ear turned to all my attempts at explanation); it was so bad that when the production manager, my boss, phoned me half an hour later to check if everything was OK, I was still so upset that I could barely speak to him through the tears.  This particular director is the former artistic director of the company, and while he is an incredible director, he can be an incredibly unpleasant man when he wants to be.  The problem is that if I stand up to him, he'll make my life an absolute misery and so it's easier to take the flak and then start with a clean slate (he at least doesn't hold grudges provided you don't argue with him).  Normally I don't get upset by him, just steaming mad, which is much easier to deal with, but this time he got to me.  When my boss heard how upset I was, he rang the director straight away and informed him that there is no way he is going to stand for production staff being spoken to the way he had spoken to me.  So, when I had a meeting with the director yesterday (with the production manager there for moral support) he was all sweetness and light and consequently we got a lot achieved.  No apology, but then I hadn't expected one - we didn't even mention Monday! 

So, while I know it's his job, I could have kissed my boss for backing me to the hilt and, although I normally hate anyone doing this, fighting a battle for me!

120

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / REHEARSALS: "We'll sort that out at the theatre"

« on: Mar 12, 2009, 06:35 am »

A bit of background: I'm currently involved with a production of Miss Saigon which a local (well-respected) amateur company is producing.  It's obviously primarily amateur actors, although quite a few of them are drama school graduates who are now in other jobs because they can't find paid work as an actor, so they're doing the show to keep their skills tuned up.  Kim, the Engineer and John are professionals who are all being paid - basically they couldn't find anyone who could sing it well enough and was prepared to do it for nothing.  The director has directed a lot of big shows around the country - although all for amateur societies as far as I know.  He's also choreographing; I don't like the way he works, but I can get past that - everyone has different methods, right?  Anyway.  We were rehearsing The American Dream tonight when one of the chorus (a drama school grad - very smart kid) said "I had a costume fitting the other day, and I showed Wardrobe this move (it's a bend at the waist, as close to heads on the ground as they can get) and they said that our costumes won't allow us to do that."  The response from the director was "Don't ever say things like that to Wardrobe.  They don't need to know about things like that, we'll sort it out when we get to the theatre."  I had to be restrained by the other two ASMs who were sitting either side of me, as I was ready to jump up and beat him around the head with my script - that is, when I'd recovered from the shock hearing him say that!  As the evening continued, people were asking questions which were quite logical, sensible questions I'd normally expect to be answered very quickly.  His response every time?  "Don't worry, we'll sort it out at the theatre."  It's going to be one hell of a tech rehearsal, and I'm starting to be rather scared!  How can you leave the cast not knowing how things are going to work before the tech?  They're all going to be incredibly insecure when we get to the tech and it isn't the director who'll have to pick up the pieces, it's me and the other SMs.  Thank goodness for a crew with fantastic heads of department (I couldn't have asked for a better team) and two full days to tech the show, but it's still going to be long, drawn-out and painful.  

Just needed to rant!