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1171

Articles from the Old Site / Where's Rise and Fall?

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

The scene is the messy apartment of a bodybuilder, bringing home his young
protegé to stay with him for a while.  The two sing a duet about the
mess.  At one point, the younger one, looking for something intellectually
redeeming in his mentor, optimistically points out a copy of "The Rise and
Fall of the Third Reich," a rather hefty tome, sitting on the floor of the
apartment.  

     

Younger: You've got "Rise and Fall"
Older: What's "Rise and Fall?"
Younger: At least the second half.
Older: It's just the right height for training the calf.

     

At the top of the scene, to set the book, the older bodybuilder kicks the
book out onto the stage, sliding it along the floor to its place.  On this
particular night, he gave it rather too swift of a kick, and it went sailing off
the edge into the house.  We giggled, but forgot about the line that was
coming up until right before it happened...well, all of us except for the actor
who kicked the book!

     

Younger: You've got "Rise and Fall"
Older: Where's "Rise and Fall?"

1172

Articles from the Old Site / Raindrops Keep Falling on my Cyc

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

(submitted by C. Potter)

     

I was working backstage for a semi-professional theatre company on a production of "The Mikado".  As we don't have our own theatre, we were renting one of the local ones.  The theatre was built in the 20's, and remodeled about a year before our show.  The remodel included a lovely sky cyc, which served as the backdrop for most of the show. 

     

After final dress, the skies opened.  The roof leaked in one small spot....Right over the cyc, almost center stage.  Luckily, someone noticed this mid-day after the showers stopped, and placed a few fans on it to help it dry.  ...  As you know, sky cycs have to be just the right shade to pick up colored lights properly.  It didn't look too bad, unless you turned the lights on....
Unfortunately, the theatre couldn't (and still can't) afford to replace the cyc, so it's still got some lovely water marks on it.

1173

Articles from the Old Site / She didn't like the "Sprite" in this one.

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

(submitted by nole)

     

I didn't actually stage manage this one (fortunately!), just crewed.  A few years back, I worked on a Pacific Islander festival at the state Art Gallery.  This included a Samoan fire dance, including twirling fire batons, fire eaters, 40 gallon drums with fire in them and about a million old fruit cans around the stage border filled with
kerosene, old rags and (you guessed it) set on fire.  The highlight of the show was two full sized bull models made out of tin in the middle of the dance area, that spewed fire and firecrackers out of their mouths on cue.  Not the sort of show that you want ANYTHING to go wrong on, or wear a polyester shirt, for that matter. 

Unfortunately, we'd got the guys from the local radio station to help us move the bulls to the stage area (it was an outdoor gig, much to the relief of the Gallery's insurers) which was thirsty work, so they all drank a couple of plastic bottles worth of Sprite each.
Unbeknownst to us they then threw the empty bottles into the bull's mouths, without
realizing they were stuffed with firecrackers.  The show goes stunningly well, up until the bull scene where the dance leader lights the firecrackers.  All the plastic bottles catch fire, along with a few other bits of garbage these radio bozos have thrown into the bulls, and we're left with two bulls spewing flames out of every orifice and threatening to explode .  Two of us grab fire extinguishers and duck and weave our way through about twenty firestick-twirling dancers to get to these bulls before one of them melts/explodes/goes into orbit and stick the nozzles down their throats (the dancers didn't even falter, and they're
making so much noise that yelling 'stop' isn't going to make an ounce of difference).  Problem is, you only get about one good squirt out of the average fire extinguisher, so the ducking and weaving is repeated again for replacements.  The other problem with CO2 powder extinguishers is that they produce this disgusting white powder that makes people choke and get runny eyes, so for the rest of the show the fire twirlers were coughing like crazy and couldn't see properly.  Apparently the gallery's safety inspector drank about four beers in ten minutes after that little episode, and got the shakes if you even lit a match beside him... 

1174

Articles from the Old Site / Did she really kill herself?

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

(Submitted by Justin)

     

I'll keep this simple. It makes it that much more "horror"ifying:

Romeo and Juliet. Last scene. NO knife for Juliet to kill herself. NONE. She screams at a fellow actor who comes back onstage with a gun and says, "This gun won't make any noise..." The worst thing I've ever experienced in my life. I had four
heart attacks simultaneously. She tried to cover, put it to her chin and wilted on top of Romeo. After it was over, the audience left saying - "Did she actually kill herself? Was that supposed to happen? Interesting directing choice..."

     

1175

Articles from the Old Site / Don't Give That Girl a Gun!

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

(submitted by Lindsay)

     

Alright, this was a long time ago, and I was stage managing a SMALL professional theatre production of Lend Me a Tenor.  A few days earlier, we had a crew person quit on us, so needless to say I was calling the show in a french maid outfit, heels, fishnets and all.  The booth was only big enough for myself and my light board/sound board operator.  (Did I mention I was running the spotlight too?) 

     

So, the set is divided down the middle by this cut-away wall with a door in it between the 2 rooms.  The set is a rotating repertory set, so most of the flats are held together by 12 foot pieces of moulding.  This dear actress was having a bad night.  She enters from the 'kitchen' with a set of champagne glasses.  She sets them down, and I hear tinkling (she broke off the stems).  Then begins a long chase sequence.  She runs around the sofa and picks up the champagne bucket, then slams it onto the tray that it's carried in on.  The tray had a glass top.  Shatters it.  She runs into the next room and hits the wall, sending a 12 foot piece of moulding crashing off the set, onto a vase of flowers, and hitting a borrowed antique dresser.  She then proceeds to pick up the moulding, ad lib a line "These damn cheap hotels" and toss the moulding out a doorway US, narrowly missing the rest of the cast waiting for an entrance.  So, at intermission, I was out there cleaning up the
hotel in my little maid's costume, and screwing the moulding back into the set with a giant yellow DeWalt.  Classy, no?  The poor actress proceeded to break everything glass in 3 shows that summer.  (We managed to replace all of her glassware with plastic versions.)  Gotta love live theatre!

1176

Articles from the Old Site / The Night the Lights Went Out in Chi-Town

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

     

I've finally gotten far away enough from this one to tell the tale...So, the
theatre that I currently work in (yes, currently!) is housed in a City College
building.  Which is all well and good, except that we don't control the
facilities folks.  Normally an okay thing, but on one particular afternoon
last July, on the closing performance of a major musical, the thunderstorms came
rolling in about a third of the way into Act II.  The crew was gabbing over
headset about how loud the rain sounded on the roof.  One of the leads was
in the middle of a solo dance number...and then the spot op yelped.  That
was all I heard, because the headsets then went dead.  Then the lights went
dead.  Lightning zap straight to the transformers of the building, with 45
minutes left in our closing show!  No chance of calling in the
rent-a-custodian from the Government-hired staff.  Fortunately, it was a
matinee.

     

We piled the audience out into the lobby, still well lit in that eerie,
thunderstorm yellow kind of way.  The house staff poured the wine, intended
for our post show party, into the sturdy few house members who decided to
stay.  We scrambled around in the pitch black hall for a few minutes trying
to figure out what we're supposed to do.  I finally come up with a plan--we
do the rest of the show as a staged reading, a cappella, in the
lobby.  There is some debate, but the cool head prevails.  We all
troop upstairs to the lobby.  The Managing Director, already flipping out
over the whole little power outage thing, accosts me and asks what the plan
is.  I say we've got it under control, and start calling the actors to
"places."  It was at this moment that the debate erupts-- an
alternate plan, proposed by our diva as we were heading up the stairs has
confused the cast.  The Managing Director hears this, blows a fuse at me
for lying to him and saying things were under control, and fires me on the spot.

     

The two main actors muscle up to the Managing Director and step in the
way.  "We'll do it Kay's way, thanks."  After the show, one
of the actors confessed that he was to blame for the whole snafu.  (He
wasn't really--I love that man!)  I find it truly amusing that six months
later, I'm still Resident Stage Manager of the company and the Managing Director
has quit.

     

Oh yeah, and the shrieking spot op?  His unit arced at him as the power
blew.  Heckuva day.

1177

Articles from the Old Site / You'll put your eye out

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

(Submitted by Kris D.)

     

I was Deck ASM for my college production of Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. We had a brilliant set designer, but this time he was bordering on madness: 14 separate moving set units all slid around
each other like a giant friggin' transformer to become the different sets. The five main units were all at least 7feet high and weighed hundreds of pounds each. Once they got rolling, they didn't stop! Our first scene shift in Tech Rehearsal took 2 hours. I managed to get the shifts down to no longer than 54 seconds for the biggest one, 23 seconds for the smallest. The Director had a fit because he said they were way too long. I ignored him. Anyway that's just the back story. In the second night
Performance, one of my Run Crew comes flying offstage at the end of a scene shift whispering frantically to me that the stage pin that locks one half of the huge double staircase to the floor did not throw home properly. So this monstrous, castered staircase is about to be danced on with a
kick line of half naked girls and the only thing holding it to the floor is NOTHING! I gesture frantically at the rest of my crew ushering them all under the stairs with me where we all immediately grab on to the legs and plant ourselves as firmly to the floor as possible. And the whores danced away as we learned what car shock absorbers felt like. The scene was long, and it was hot under there. So we all had to take our shirts off so we didn't melt and then put them on again, and all come spewing out from under the stairs for the next scene shift. After that, we were never able to consistently get the stairs to lock properly so we inevitably had to dive under the stairs at least once or twice per performance. What a run.

     

And then there was the time my eye bled.

     

Same show. The actress playing the waitress was your quintessential egomaniac who had no idea the world
didn't revolve around her. Remember those high-speed, several hundred pound, death machine, transforming set pieces
I mentioned? Well, despite my telling her innumerable times to NOT STAND THERE, YOU COULD DIE!, she
insisted on standing right in the middle of their staging area backstage during the scene shift before her entrance, holding her prop: a ceramic plate. Well, one time, as she was sidestepping a 500 pound, 7foot tall behemoth of a bedroom unit hurtling past her at approximately Mach 10, she dropped her plate, bringing the scene shift to a literally screeching halt as everyone tried not to run into
each other or get ceramic chips rolled up into the casters. Everyone, including me, dove to pick up the pieces. As
I stood up I raised my eyebrow right into a particularly sharp piece of plate that an actor had picked up and was simply standing there holding at my
current eye level. I shoved the idiot out of the way and went on to finish the scene change, and
couldn't figure out why I couldn't see out of one eye. Till i got backstage to a mirror and saw the blood pouring down my eye from the gash just above it. Sigh. Thankfully, it
wasn't that bad, and I was able to clean and bandage it well enough to finish the show. But
I was a bit unhappy. We all have our off days, I guess.

1178

Articles from the Old Site / How to strike Lighting Instruments

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

By Tom Warnecke

Well, it's the final night and you've had a great run. Now, the sad part, your weeks of hard work and toil and this wonderful creation has to come down. It all gets loaded into cases and thrown on a truck to get sent somewhere else for someone else to play with! So before anything happens, take some happy snaps of your rig for the memories, unless it was a crap gig!, then you'll be happy to see it go.First things first, If you get the chance... give yourself twenty mins after the show to unwind, have a cuppa and just let the world pass by. Bumping Out can be a stressful process so you need to be relaxed.

Okay so once you're on the stage, keep in mind the safety practises. Every department will want to get their gear out right NOW. It's a busy place so safety is paramount. If you have anything on the ground, get rid of that first. Floor stands, groundrows and truss can all be dangerous with people walking around them and they can be easily damaged if someone steps on them.

Once you've got your floor gear out, it's time for front of house. This is usually a two person job, sometimes three. Because you're working over people's heads, empty your pockets and fasten tools to your belt. Remove all lighting accessories before de rigging the fixture. Put these in a box or clipped to your belt so they cant go anywhere. Then unpatch the fixture (making sure the socket is dead) undo the hook clamp and finally undo the safety chain. If the front of house bars are permanently in the roof, attach a rope (See @1) and lower the fixture to floor level.

[@1 - do this by making a loop at one end, slide the rope under the yoke and then back over the hook clamp]

Front of house and floor cleared....if the stage is free (or fairly free), drop your LX Bars. Drop all at once and get half a dozen people to de rig them. This makes it quicker. Remove all accessories and put them in the case. unpatch the fixture and undo the hook clamp and safety chain. With moving lights, you may need to lock the yoke or mirror. To lift some of the heavier ones may take two people.
Put all lights into their roadcases.

Finally control gear, this is simple. unpatch the dimmers, clear the desks' memory and put them in the cases.

As you strike the rig.... keep in mind a few things.

A - Roll up leads as you go and put them in piles according to length, this makes it easier to check before loading.

B - If you've changed lamps, modified the gear or anything like that, mark it with a piece of chalk and write down what you did. Keep these seperate so the hire company will know which ones they need to check.

C - Simple OHS. Make sure communications are available. Stage LX Power must be off for strike and finally make sure everyone knows what they're doing. When in doubt, ask!

Hope this helps.

[Full membership]

1179

Articles from the Old Site / Joining the Stage Managers Association (SMA)

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

All information on this page is taken directly from the SMA's membership site.  Check it out there for updates.  If you would like to join, you can fill out the online application, and then mail in a current resume.  Or, you can download the application in Acrobat format from our own Forms Archive, or from the SMA's website.Full membership

Any person who has worked under a recognized contract of any branch of the 4A Unions (AEA, SAG, AGMA, AFTRA) as a Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager, or who can demonstrate comparable experience as a professional stage manager, is eligible for full membership. Full members enjoy all benefits and privileges of the SMA, including eligibility to serve as a member of the Executive Board, and the right to vote in elections and on SMA issues.

Initiation fee: $25.00

Associate membership

Any person who demonstrates an intent to pursue a career as a professional stage manager is eligible for Associate Membership. An Associate member may attend all meetings and gatherings, and serve on committees, but has no voting privileges. Once an Associate member feels he or she qualifies for Full Membership, he or she may apply for a change in category, subject to review by the Membership Committee.

Initiation fee: $25.00

Affiliate membership

Any person or organization demonstrating an interest in the field of stage management is eligible for Affiliate Membership. Affiliates will receive quarterly summaries extracted from the Newsletter, invitations to selected Forums, and a copy of the SMA Contact Sheet.

Affiliate dues are $40.00 per year. Affiliate members pay no initiation fee.

Membership dues are pro-rated for new members as follows:

If you join between	Full	Associate
January 1 and March 31	$40.00	$30.00
April 1 and June 30	$30.00	$22.50
July 1 and September 30	$20.00	$15.00
October 1 and December 31	$10.00	$  7.50

1180

Articles from the Old Site / How to join AEA

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

AEA is the American union of actors and stage managers.  It offers a ton of benefits, including regulated pay scales, mandatory breaks, health insurance, and a credit union.

Joining AEA ("Equity") is the threshold step in the eyes of many performing groups that separates the amateur stage manager from the professional.

 However, once you are a member, you are no longer allowed to work for companies that do not sign union contracts.  It is an often-times difficult decision to make.  Non-union companies generally play to smaller houses and pay far less, but are also the home of some of the more adventurous work being produced in the modern theatre world.  Equity houses will earn your bread and butter, but often have to sacrifice the adventurousness of their repertoire for more audience-friendly material that will fill the seats.

Equity has recently redone their page at www.actorsequity.org to include their rulebooks and steps for joining the union, as well as many other useful tidbits about the organization.  I've snagged their membership process from the site to repost here, but I strongly encourage you to stop by their page for further information.

From the AEA homepage:

Initiation Fee:  $800

An actor or stage manager who meets one of the three eligibility requirements and pays $300 of the initiation fee within six months of filing an application will be granted full membership in the Association. Both membership status and any dues and fees previously paid are forfeited, however, if a performer fails to complete payment of the full $800 initiation fee within the two-year maximum time period. Contact the Membership Department for further details.

Eligibility Requirements:

Signing an Equity Contract. If you have been signed to one of the standard Equity contracts, you are eligible to join AEA from the date of the signing of the contract. However, certain LOA, SPT, TYA, and MINI contracts have additional requirements that must be met before applications can be accepted. Please check with the Business Representative for the agreement that covers your contract.

Membership Candidate Program. The Membership Candidate Program allows non-union actors and stage managers to credit their work toward Equity membership. After 50 weeks in accredited theaters, the registered Membership Candidate may join the union. Visit the Membership Candidate Department for more details. (SMNetwork note: This is also called the EMC program)

Open Door Admission. Eligibility is also available by virtue of one's membership in, and employment under, any of the sister unions. (SMNetwork note: The sister unions are SAG, AFTRA, AGMA, and AGFA.)  If you join Equity by means of a sister union affiliation, you must be a member in good standing of the sister union for at least a one-year period. In addition, you must have been employed under the jurisdiction of the sister union as a principal performer (or for at least three days work comparable to an "extra" player).

1181

Articles from the Old Site / Stern's Stage Management List

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

This is a wholly useful list of what a Stage Manager must accomplish on the job.  It is taken from Lawrence Stern's Stage Management, one of the central texts on the craft.  

A chronological approach and priorities
(Some of these would not apply to high school stage management, but would apply to professional/touring stage management)
	Task	Priority	Coordinate with
BEFORE REHEARSALS BEGIN
Get things to run smoothly on stage and backstage		A
Gather equipment		B, E, F
Be aware of police, fire and municipal regulations		A	Producer, Tech Director
Inspect safety conditions		A
Get to know the theatre		B
Make a diagram of the stage		C	Tech Director
Check out the fuse boxes		C	Tech Director
Make a diagram of lighting instruments		C	Tech Director, Lighting designer
Keep a to do list		B
Make a prompt script		A, B, D	Director
Identify the problems of the script		A	Director
Write out plots		B, C, G	Director, Technicians
Make master calender		B, C	Everyone
Schedule staff meetings		C	Producer
Distribute rehearsal schedules		B, C	Producer, Director
Arrange the callboard		C	Producer
Distribute and explain company rules		C, G	Producer, Director
Keep a budget and record of your expenses		A	Producer
Obtain audition forms		B, C	Producer, Director
Prepare staff, crew, cast lists		C	Production director, Staff, Crew
Make gel patterns		D	Technicians
Make supply directory		E
Post emergency numbers		A
DURING READINGS AND REHEARSALS
Prepare audition rooms		B, C, D	Producer, Director
Post notes for readings		B, C, D, F, G	Production director
Accept resumes		E	Director
Control scripts		B	Director
Make preset diagrams		A	Director, Tech director, Scene designer
Prepare for rehearsals		B, D	Director
Post running order		B, D	Director
Supervise department heads		C	Production department heads
Control required forms		C	Producer, Director
Conduct deputy election		B	Union, Cast
Keep cast on time		A, B	Director, Cast
Distribute itneraries		C	Producer, Cast
Distribute touring agreement		C	Cast
Post duty roster		C	Everyone
Make checklists		B
Supervise props		A	Property Master, Producer, Director
Distribute scene shift diagrams		B, C, D	Scene designer
Contribute to advance letters		C	Producer
Maintain order		B, E	Director
Call rehearsal cues		A	Director
Take blocking notation		B, C, D	Director
Make French scene diagrams		E
Spike set pieces		A, C	Tech director
Prompt		C	Director, Cast
Give rehearsal, publicity, costume calls		A	Everyone
Warn cast		E	Director, Cast
Keep rehearsal log		E
Submit rehearsal reports		B, G	Producer
Time rehearsals		B, D	Director, House manager
Post photo calls		E	Publicist, Director, Costumer, Cast
Prepare lighting sheet		B, C	Lighting techs
Work on load-in; brief crew		B, C, D	Scene designer, Tech director, Crew
Make shift plot chart		C, D	Tech director
Supervise arrangement of scene dock		C, D	Tech director
Supervise technical rehearsal		A	Director, Tech director
Choreograph scene changes		B, D	Tech director
Prepare area lighting diagram		C	Lighting designer
Prepare regeling plans		C	Lighting designer
Post sign-in sheets		B, C
Place curtain call light cues on lighting sheet		B	Director, Lighting techs
DURING PRODUCTION
Conduct lighting check		A	Lighting designer, Lighting techs
Post scene shift diagrams		B, C, D	Tech director
Give calls (prior to curtain)		A	Cast
Caution audience		C	Producer
Call late actors		A	Cast
Coordinate with House manager		A	House manager
Give cues		A	Technicians
Check immediate effect of each cue		A
Supervise shifts		C, D	Tech director
Inspect shifts		B, C, D	Tech director
Time performances		B	Director
Walk the curtain		D	Tech director
Time curtain calls		A	Director
Maintain sets		C, D	Tech director
Be aware of cast morale		A	Cast
Keep the show in hand		A, C	Director, Cast
Post V.I.P. list		F	Producer
Rehearse understudies, block replacements		C	Producer, Director, Cast
POST PRODUCTION
Distribute strike plan		B, C, G	Tech director
Post changeover schedule		C, G	Producer, Tech director
Supervise moves		A, B, C	Producer
Write letter to next stage manager		F
Write critique		D
Write letters of recommendation, thank-you notes		F
IN GENERAL
Make contact file		E
Make a theatre information pack		C, F, G	Producer, tech director
Get acquainted with unions		C, E
Send out resumes		A
Read theatre news		E
Keep in contact with theatre acquaintances		F
Start a theatre library		F
A:	I have got to do this first. The quality of the production will be adversely affected if I don’t.
B:	I have got to do this because if I don’t, time and energy of staff and cast will be wasted.
C:	Someone else may do this well, but I have got to make sure it gets done.
D:	I can assign this task to a subordinate if I make sure it gets done.
E:	I will do it if I have the time, and it would help, but we will survive without it.
F:	A luxury, I will leave it for last.
G:	This might be useful for another show, but will be useless here.

1182

Articles from the Old Site / Questions to ask your new boss

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

A friend of mine passed this list on to me.  While some of these questions require some delicacy, they are all things you will want to know from the production manager/managing director/whoever can answer them before you sign anything, or at least very shortly thereafter.  These questions are useful for any production, equity or not.

1. Where is/are the: fire extinguishers, first aid kit, nearest emergency room, fire exits, Equity cot?


2. Explain the theatre's hierarchy.


3. Who is in charge of maintenance of props, wardrobe, electrics, etc.?


4. Who is providing rehearsal props?


5. Who distributes paychecks? Who deals with questions about paychecks?


6. What is the housing situation for the company? Who deals with questions about housing?


7. What is the show's cancellation policy?


8. What is the show's understudy policy?


9. Who cleans the dressing rooms? Who cleans the green room? Who cleans?!?


10. What is the smoking policy?


11. Who locks up the building at night?


12. Is there an engineer on duty?


13. Can you get a tech crew in any earlier than tech?


14. Who maintains the "in case of emergency" forms?


15. What is the company's disciplinary procedure?


16. Is there a production assistant?


17. Who gets the prompt book when the production is finished?


18. Explain the in-house communication system. Is there a phone the company can use?


19. Is the Stage manager expected to file daily rehearsal/performance reports?


20. Is there an office the Stage Manager can use?


21. Where is the heating/AC control? Who controls it?


22. Who is the house manager?


23. Where can valuables be stored?


24. Who's responsible for dimmer check?

1183

Articles from the Old Site / How to make good coffee

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

 

1. Get rid of the old coffee.  This means anything that's been sitting around for more than two hours.  If you're not sure, smell it.  If it smells burnt, throw it out.  NB: it is common courtesy to warn everyone within earshot before you empty the coffee pot.  Some folks like it burned, or don't want to wait for a fresh pot.


2. Rinse out the coffee pot.  This means all of it: the urn or carafe, and the basket that holds the grounds.


3. Wipe the urn or carafe dry.  Oils from coffee can build up on the inside of the urn or carafe, making your coffee taste more and more bitter with each new pot.


4. Fill the urn or carafe with the desired amount of water.  If you have a water filter, use it.


5. Place a filter in the basket that holds the grounds.  Even if you are using a percolator, using a coffee filter can help keep the grounds from collecting at the bottom of the urn.


6. Fill up the filter with coffee grounds, using the ratio of one teaspoon for every cup of coffee you are planning to make.  For stronger coffee, use more grounds, not in excess of one and a half teaspoons per cup, unless you're out to make coffee syrup!


7. Plug in coffeepot.


8. Set a hand towel or paper towels all over the area near the coffee pot to help catch drips and spills.


9. Go attend to more important business.


10. If you are not satisfied with the coffee you've made, feel free to experiment with the amount of grounds you put in.  If someone else is not satisfied with the coffee you've made, you're being taken for granted, and they can make their own bleedin' coffee!

Things to watch out for:

• Don't put an empty carafe back on the burner.  It will crack.


• Don't leave the coffeepot on with no carafe.  Someone will burn themselves.


• Don't leave the milk container too close to the hot coffeepot.


• Don't assume everyone drinks coffee.  Have decaffeinated and non-coffee alternatives on hand.


• Don't pay for the coffee yourself.  Keep a coffee fund going through the cast and crew.


• Lighten up on the amount of coffee you put in if you're using gourmet coffee.


• Clean your coffeepot every six months or so by running a course of white vinegar through it, followed by two or three courses of clear water.  Make sure to do this when few people are around, or take it home before you clean it, as it makes the whole place smell of vinegar for a while.

1184

Articles from the Old Site / Ironing

« on: Sep 25, 2007, 08:59 am »

 

Contributed by Kim Forbes

Here are my ironing tips from my recent gigs that required me to do some wardrobe maintenance:

• 
  

  If at all possible, have the theater provide you with a stand-up ironing board. These are easier to deal with than the small table ironing boards that have a tendency to collapse flat as you iron.



• 
  

  Ask your costume designer for a wardrobe list that includes how to care for each costume (steam iron, dry iron, low iron, etc.) Follow these directions very carefully to avoid damaging a costume.



• 
  

  Lay the garment as flat as possible on the ironing board before you begin to help avoid ironing in wrinkles.



• 
  

  Make sure not to trap part of a sleeve or any other part of the garment underneath the portion you are ironing.



• 
  

  Empty shirt and pants pockets before ironing.



• 
  

  When ironing fitted shirts, skirts, or any other garment with a strange shape that doesn't lay flat easily, iron a small portion at a time. This makes it easier to avoid wrinkles.



• 
  

  Hang up the garment immediately after ironing to avoid getting it wrinkled again.



• 
  

  Encourage your actors to always hang up their costumes; this should make less work for you in the long run.



• 
  

  Iron every day so that you have a moderate amount of daily ironing rather than storing up the wrinkles for one big ironing job.

IRONING - "TROUBLESHOOTING"

• 
  

  If some water leaks from an iron while you are steaming a garment, put the iron on the "dry" setting and iron over the wet spot until it dries. This usually takes a few seconds only.



• 
  

  If the iron doesn't appear to be working, make sure:
  1) it is plugged in
  2) it is turned on (some irons can be off even when plugged in)
  3) it is on a high enough setting



• 
  

  If the steam option doesn't appear to be working, make sure there is water in the iron.

IRONING SAFETY TIPS

• 
  

  Never touch an iron to see if it is hot yet unless you want a nasty burn. Irons usually take about 30 sec - one minute to warm up.



• 
  

  Never leave a hot iron resting on a costume, you will burn a hole in the costume.



• 
  

  If you must leave the room in the middle of ironing, it is advisable to unplug the iron and move it to a corner of the room or out of the way of general traffic. Try to avoid leaving an iron unattended when it is plugged in and hot.



• 
  

  Make those around of you aware that the iron is on to avoid accidents.

1185

SMNetwork Archives / Prepping for an upgrade

« on: Sep 21, 2007, 09:47 am »

So it's been a couple of years since the old php-nuke version of SMNetwork crashed, burned, and vanished from the web.  I have been promising since then that I would bring back all the stuff that was lost.  (Articles, Links, Philippa the fish, etc.)

I've finally managed to carve out some time over the next few months to start redesigning the site.  I'm tinkering with the layout on my development server and planning new and devious ways to make you guys happy.

As I move forward, I'll need some volunteers:

1. Beta Testers

I'll want a nice group of 10 people or so who visit the site a lot and would be willing to test out and give feedback on the new site.  Folks with some web design knowledge would be preferred, although some folks who generally have no clue as to what goes into coding would also be good.  This would be a short-lived project, as I hope to launch the new site before the end of the year.

2. Article authors

I'm stealing a page from sfnovelists.com here and hoping to get some folks writing actual articles/blog entries for the main page of the site on a rotating basis.  I'd like to have at least one new article each week.  So, I'm hoping to put together a group of authors from the site's membership who are willing to write about five articles a year for SMNetwork.  You can write more than that or less than that, the articles don't need to be long, and they can be about anything you think might interest the site's members.  Selected authors would get a special designation under their name in the forums.

The authors group will have continually rotating membership.  This project will be ongoing, but with a low time commitment.

If you're interested in joining either group, shoot me a PM.