Messages

121

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: tips for glo dots

« on: Feb 07, 2015, 04:50 pm »

I usually cut strips of glowtape ahead of time, but I'd never heard or thought of putting them on wax paper. Sounds like a great time saver: thanks for the tip.

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Self-Promotion / Black Pearl Sings

« on: Feb 06, 2015, 08:57 am »

Black Pearl Sings!
Theatre in the Park
Raleigh, NC
http://theatreinthepark.com/calendar/event/44

It's my second time around with this cast (we did the same show last year at a different theatre). Fun little two hander for women: I encourage anyone who has a production nearby to check it out.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Plain large paper grocery bags

« on: Jan 22, 2015, 02:04 pm »

Thanks for the suggestions: I was able to get one from a Chinese place in town.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROPS: Plain large paper grocery bags

« on: Jan 21, 2015, 10:35 pm »

Does anyone know the best place to get plain (no logos) brown paper grocery bags, the kind that everyone used back in the day? I can always do what I did before (take two apart and glue them back together with the inside facing out) but that wasn't very sturdy and ended up falling apart halfway through the run.


Edited to add topic tag- Maribeth

125

December Madness 2 / Re: FINALS: Excel vs Webmail

« on: Jan 01, 2015, 08:35 pm »

Wow, this was a tough one. I would hate to wake up tomorrow and be told one or the other didn't exist (*shudder*). But here's the thing: while Excel is really nice, I could plug the gap with other tools. It's convienent, and makes things easier, but I could conceivably do my job just as well without it.

Webmail, though? A communication job without email? Sure, we could go back to the days of phone trees (easier now with cell phones) and actual mail, but the document sharing capabilities of webmail can not be beat. Sending out announcements to the entire production without email just fills me with horror. I don't think there is a true substitute for email. It is an indispensable tool of the world we live in.

All that being said, I'm very happy to have my spreadsheets as I prep paperwork for my next show.

126

Introductions / Re: Hello, Hello!

« on: Dec 31, 2014, 09:53 am »

Welcome from a fellow Tar Heel! Hope you have a successful upcoming semester.

127

December Madness 2 / Re: APPS Division FINALS: Clock vs Text Messaging

« on: Dec 23, 2014, 08:13 am »

They just keep getting harder and harder. I really hate to choose one over the other here (just thinking about doing without either gives me shudders). But I had to vote for text messaging over clock. Why? Because the worst that will happen if I don't have a clock is that I'll have to be more conscientious about keeping up with what's going on and how long we've gone in rehearsal, and won't really affect anything but general bookkeeping for shows. But no texts? When I'm trying desperately to get up with actors stuck in traffic, my designer because a board or prop or scenic element is no longer working, or even just for my ASM backstage to suddenly let me know that someone's sick or hurt (yes, we have headphones, but sometimes not everyone has them or they don't stretch very far)? It's really a no brainer. Texts help us stay in communication with everyone all the time, and that's the primary job in SM.

128

December Madness 2 / Re: SOCIAL Division Semis: LinkedIn vs SMNetwork

« on: Dec 19, 2014, 10:07 am »

I'll be the contrarian here: while I love this site, and highly recommend it, I have to say that I think LinkedIn is just a tad more useful as a social network. I view this site as being very useful for a specific set of information (all things stage management), but it's very specificity (while good for info and tips) limits it in terms of connecting with other professionals outside this subset of the population. Just the other night I was at a local theatre's meeting planning their next season, met someone who also works in the film industry (which I'm trying to break into), and we exchanged contact info. I then looked him up on LinkedIn, connected, and now have a dedicated means of sharing my experience with him in all my various professional lives (outside of just stage management).

Bottom line: SMNetwork is the place to go for pure SM matters; for everything else, there's LinkedIn.

129

December Madness 2 / Re: APPS Division Semis, Round 2: Clock vs Camera

« on: Dec 19, 2014, 10:01 am »

These keep getting harder and harder! I'd hate to go through a show without either one. However, I'll have to say I definitely NEED a clock more than a camera. I can sketch out things or write notes rather than take pictures (even if having a picture of that prop-laden table is a lifesaver), but I don't have an innate sense of time. A clock to time things, and give breaks, is essential.

130

December Madness 2 / Re: SOFTWARE Round 3: Photoshop vs. Filemaker

« on: Dec 08, 2014, 08:30 am »

Wow you guys really put a hard one up today. As someone who works in web development in my own other life, I can not imagine doing without either of these tools (though I'm a GIMP girl all the way now). I'm going to have to mull this one over before casting my vote.

131

December Madness 2 / Re: SOFTWARE Round 2: Excel vs. PDF

« on: Dec 07, 2014, 02:19 pm »

@nick_tochelli: I hear you, totally. I rely heavily on PDFs and would hate to not be able to create them.

That being said, if we had to return to the dark days before PDF, there would still be ways to share that information with others; maybe not as well, but it would still be possible. The same can not be said of doing without Excel (or Calc, in my case, or Drive, or whatever your spreadsheet method of choice is). Tabular display and use of data is very old (predigial) because it works so well to display complex information in a succinct, coherent manner. Through in higher level functions like sorting and formulas, and it's really no contest in the "can't do without" department.

132

December Madness 2 / Re: APPS Round 2: Google Drive vs. Video Phone

« on: Dec 07, 2014, 02:15 pm »

Here's the thing: Video Phone is just a souped up way of doing a regular conference call, and sometimes (often in my experience) not as useful or reliable. Yes, sometimes it's nice to see the person, but you can still communicate anything through this avenue via regular phone, email, etc.

But Google Drive is a method of sharing information that really can't be replicated anywhere else. Yes, you can exchange files via DropBox or Email, but creating a tracking sheet in Drive allows everyone to edit the same doc in real time, while rehearsal is going on. I've tag teamed with a fellow ASM on a Drive doc before to track props, entrances, and exits (You take SL, I take SR, etc.) and it's extremely useful. I don't know of any other digital tool that accomplishes the same task.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PRODUCING: Preshow Music Copyright

« on: Dec 03, 2014, 10:07 am »

This topic is one I've thought about for a long time, and I just had a friend consult me for professional advice. A lot of theatres (mostly community, but even some pro) use canned preshow music now. This music has copyright on it: even if the music itself is in the public domain (like Mozart) the performance isn't. Technically, playing a CD mix before a show is a public performance, which would require at least permission if not royalties. But I have never seen anyone give this idea consideration. Goes doubly for people doing Junior versions of shows and using the soundtracks as preshow (Disney, MTI, etc).

Wanted to know what other people think, and if anyone's ever heard of someone facing an issue with using this kind of music for preshow.

Edit to add topic tag- Maribeth

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December Madness 2 / Re: SOCIAL, Round 1: Facebook vs Yelp

« on: Dec 03, 2014, 10:02 am »

Hmm, I don't really use either one (though I'm growing steadily convinced I'm going to have to join FB for networking purposes, and in film there are things I can't learn about any other way than with FB). Actually, my social media network of choice is Twitter, which is great for learning about new theatre opps (and even getting free tickets sometimes).

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December Madness 2 / Re: APPS: Dropbox vs Text Messaging

« on: Dec 03, 2014, 10:00 am »

Here's the thing: I think DropBox is great for specific purposes (ie sharing major files like pictures and designs). But as far as daily use, what I absolutely need to get through a day of rehearsal and meetings, text messaging pulls ahead. Sometimes people can't answer their phones for whatever reason, or you don't have time for a phone conversation, or people aren't checking their email. But my experience thus far has been that everyone will answer a quick text. Esp. useful for quick questions from the director like, "Will we be able to have that prop in rehearsal tomorrow?"