Messages

1216

The Hardline / Re: Equity? In this economy?

« on: Jan 15, 2011, 02:02 pm »

To answer your questions directly (before I ramble on, and I do ramble on), I have recently departed from a steady full time job and become a free lancer AND relocated cities - I have had no trouble (even though I have been a little stress monkey about it) finding work.  I do not think there is ever a trend of higher paying non-equity jobs then equity-jobs, see down below - but I am working at the higher end of the market. 

There will always be the point when you take your card that your job options shrink.  No doubt.  You will stop being the big fish in the non-equity pool, and become the small fish the big equity pool.  It happens to every one.  It’s like being the best stage manager is East Grand Rapids, and then moving to New York City.  You have to budget for it, and realize you are making an investment in the business that is you.  Once you become an AEA Stage Manager you are competing with every other AEA Stage Manager from Broadway all the way down - there is no beginning AEA Stage Management Card.

Well, I think first of all - the decision to turn AEA or not is a personal one - and the discussion is more akin to a discussion about religion or political parties.  You know what is best how you want to run your business, the level and types of shows you want to work on.  How you want to handle health insurance, pension, retirement and the likes.  It’s an extremely personal professional decision - and should not be taken lightly.  It will open doors, and shut doors - you only you know if you are ready for that kind of change.

Now, as far as you panicking about jobs being posted.

Has anyone ever seen Lion King advertising for a stage manager for 3,000 a week?  Neither have I,  But they have a lot of a stage managers, and they go through a lot of stage managers.  This is an industry that thrives on who you know.  Directors hire stage managers they know.  General managers hire stage managers they know.  Stage managers hire assistants they know.  Production Manager hire stage managers they know.  Stage management is not an entry level position (even as assistant stage manager).  You become a PA, you become an assistant stage manager, you become a second, move up to stage manager, move up to Production Stage Manager.

These are the types of positions that get advertised for (speaking as someone who advertised for stage managers)

Low paying jobs
Last minute jobs (someone back out)
New Theater Companies / Young Theater Companies (trying to establish relationships)
Sketchy Companies (Companies that are on the boarder line of  legality)
Companies that work out non-metropolitan areas, that don’t have a lot of local stage managers
Companies that are hiring seasonal stage managers (they want a large swatch to chose from)
Companies that want to shake things up.
Companies attached to universities that are REQUIRED to post all positions.

I think 80% of jobs in America are filled this way.

“Hey, Matthew, can you stage manage my Show?”
“Oh, no, I am busy?  I can’t.”
Long sad pause on the other side of the phone.
“Do you know some who can.”
“Let me think about it.”

There is this odd baton passing where if you can’t do the job we somehow become responsible for filling the position.

I don’t think there has been a dip in the AEA jobs there, I think the market continues to be flooded with AEA stage managers - so there may be some tighter competition.  But, there always is that.

EDIT: Spellchecked. - PSMK

1217

The Green Room / Re: Dracula in NYC

« on: Jan 12, 2011, 07:52 pm »

Well, the Dracula with the Ed Gorey designs in the late 70's ran for over 2 years - so it did really well on Broadway.

I did sort of a fantastic stripped down production / bloodless as well - as a Victorian thriller that worked quite well - that went from silly/campy to down right scary - it a very creepy way (the director was quite smart it getting the laughs out of the way.)

I think

1218

The Green Room / Re: Dracula in NYC

« on: Jan 12, 2011, 05:45 pm »

It's sad they can't quite figure out what to do with the Little Shubert Theater . . .

1219

The Green Room / Dracula in NYC

« on: Jan 12, 2011, 05:35 pm »

Spiderman is not the only show under the microscope in NYC . . . this production of Dracula has been watched very closely.

This was in the NY Post . . . a production gone wrong in so many ways . . .

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/dracula_crew_raises_stakes_zZjzDpQruhzrNmgmKUfDXJ?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=

The final performances of "Dracula" last weekend played less like a Gothic thriller and more like the backstage farce "Noises Off."

The antics -- which Tony-win ning costume designer Willa Kim calls "the most bizarre experience of my career" -- began Friday, the day The Post reported that the artistic team was owed $100,000 in fees and expenses by the show's producers.

Here are excerpts from stage manager Brian Meister's report:

7:15 p.m.: Willa Kim informed [producer] Michael Alden that those costumes that have not been paid for have been removed from the building.

I informed Joe Tantalo [theater manager] that some of our actors would be performing in street clothes this evening.

I asked Joe how large our house was this evening. He replied "180 . . . 120 of those being comps."

7:20 p.m.: Alexander Morr [producer] called on my cellphone asking to speak to Willa.

7:30 p.m.: I called the ½ hour explaining to the cast that Michel Altieri [Dracula] and Emily Bridges [Lucy] would be performing in street clothes. (The cast took this news more or less in stride.)

7:40 p.m.: Alex agreed to present Willa a check in the amount of $8,630.83 by tomorrow at 3 p.m.

8:08 p.m.: The red velvet curtain at The Little Shubert rose majestically on our handsomely costumed production of "Dracula."

NEXT???

"Next" turned out to be an e-mail sent to the cast Saturday morning by fight director Rick Sordelet, who's owed $4,000.

"Because the producers refuse payment, I have no choice but to ask that my Intellectual Property not be used in the final performances," he wrote.

He asked the actors not to perform the exorcism and Dracula not to break the mirror.

"There will be no cape disappearance; Dracula will simply walk out the door," he added. "And there will be no fight or staking at the end of the play."

As the actors were trying to figure out how to kill Dracula without a stake, the designers gathered backstage before the matinee.

Kim threatened to remove Dracula's cape from the theater if her check didn't arrive, while set designer Dana Kenn threatened to remove his coffin.

Paul Alexander, the director, was screaming at the designers, threatening to call the police and have them arrested.

The Shuberts got wind of the situation and dispatched five security guards to the theater.

"They were there to protect us from Paul Alexander," says Kenn. "The Shuberts took the position that we had every right to be in the theater."

The police arrived and took stock, deciding that backstage hissy fits aren't punishable offenses.

Meanwhile, Morr raced in from Connecticut with Kim's check. He arrived at intermission, and was immediately set upon by the designers, who demanded they be paid as well.

As this confrontation -- caught on video by Sordelet -- played out, Alexander retreated to the bathroom, saying he was "not feeling well."

In the end, the designers decided against disrupting the production out of respect for the actors.

"We felt they should be allowed to do the final performances with dignity," Sordelet says.

"Dracula" played its last, uneventful performance Sunday. But the producers haven't given up on it yet, if only because they retain the rights to the play for at least a year if their production can run a few more paid performances.

They're trying to reopen on Thursday with money raised from sources in Italy.

(Apparently the critic from Corriere della Sera never got around to reviewing the show.)

But if "Dracula" does come back to life, the designers will pursue its producers with all the determination of Abraham Van Helsing.

"If they open again and don't pay us, we will take everything out of the theater that we can get our hands on," says Kenn.

"And you can quote me on that."

michael.riedel@nypost.com

1220

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: How to tape out a staircase...

« on: Jan 11, 2011, 08:00 pm »

But again . . .

Here's where I really want to step back and ask the bigger question . . .

If the staircase is SOOOOOOO important to the blocking of the show, then why couldn't the production manager work it out so you could have ONE rehearsal room with the rehearsal staircase?

It's interesting.  I think that often Production Managers/Production Supervisors often put together the production of "least resistance" and then pass on that production onto the stage manager, who sort of sits there going "WTF?". 

I was in a situation where the production manager didn't talk to me or the direction and made assumptions about rehearsal hours, days and preferences, and books rehearsal rooms based on that . . . and ended up booking rooms that were totally unusable for us . . . when one phone call to either of us could have save time, saved money, and been better for the production in the long run.

(Sorry, this is sort of my rant about the part of the production that happens long before we step on . . . )

1221

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SHOWS: Ragtime! Advice

« on: Jan 11, 2011, 07:55 pm »

Everything will depend on your designers and director's vision for the piece.  The origional Commerical Run was stylized, but had very specialized and tricked out scenic pieces and props, but some productions since then have been very simple.

1222

The Green Room / Re: Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark

« on: Jan 11, 2011, 07:53 pm »

No, Wicked is not afraid of Spiderman - but it's sort of astonishing that Spiderman, with out a star, with out good (or any) reviews, and with pretty scathing word of mouth is pulling in those numbers . . . but this holiday season in NYC was sort of over the top as far as ticket sales . . . almost every show had a record sales week.

Theater is a dangerous career.  We need to understand the risks inherent in the job, and do our best to limit them, but it's there.  Look at the Broadway shows . . . Lion King, Wicked, Mary Poppins, Phantom . . . all of these big musicals have had major injuries . . . an actor I worked with stopped performing for almost 5 years due to an injury in Phantom. 

I remember 42nd Street apparently at the time, although no huge special effects, was a huge ankle twister and knee damager . . . and that for a dancer . . . can be just as a bad as any other traumatic injury.

1223

Tools of the Trade / Re: How long should one keep old prompt books?

« on: Jan 11, 2011, 12:29 pm »

(All I am saying is there is a point in your career when no one ever asks to see an example of your paperwork or a calling script)

Keeping something for personal or sentimental reasons - go ahead. 

1224

Tools of the Trade / Re: How long should one keep old prompt books?

« on: Jan 11, 2011, 10:51 am »

Um, professionally, usually, all prompt books are property of the theatre, I just turn it over to the producer upon closing . . . I have to tell you, I have zero prompt books in my possession.

None.  Zippo.  Zilch.

I don't know why I would keep one.

1225

The Green Room / Re: Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark

« on: Jan 11, 2011, 01:45 am »

Spider-Man Musical Most Popular on Broadway

The Spider-Man musical Turn Off the Dark, which has a nasty habit of seriously injuring its cast members, was the highest-grossing show on Broadway last week, beating out Wicked. Sounds like Wicked needs to start dropping its actors off buildings!

(from gawker website)

Post Merge: Jan 11, 2011, 06:29 pm
and today . . .  here's the spiderman new yorker cover

1226

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: How to tape out a staircase...

« on: Jan 10, 2011, 07:36 pm »

But seriously, if the staircase is that bloody important, why not get a rehearsal one . . .

1227

Employment / Re: Juggling Acts

« on: Jan 09, 2011, 01:55 pm »

It seems like I am on the right path . . .

There is one job I want due to money, fun, resume weight . . . and oddly it's the long shot, but the one I have the most weight with the GM . . . with him I laid out my cards with the other job offers to sort of speed up the choice.

What I have found out is to be more vocal about about the time line for the decision and the dates for the job (if those are chosen, but as I am learning with some commercial shows . . . these may not be set.)

So, hopefully next week I will either have one offer or the other, or have to make a choice, or have to start all over . . . we shall see. 

But, it finally feels like I am getting a little traction here.

1228

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: How to tape out a staircase...

« on: Jan 09, 2011, 12:10 pm »

Why wouldn't you tape out the stair case like it is in drawn on the ground plan?

What I am asking is, how much smaller is the rehearsal room then the space?

When shrinking the set to fit for the rehearsal room, I always recommend the following trick.  Get a piece of plexiglass that is big enough to draw the rehearsal room in the same scale your ground plan is drawn is in (1/2 or 1/4 inch).  Draw the walls, doors, and other architectural elements of the room on the plexiglass, which will allow you over lay this on top of of the ground plan and figure out the best way to lay out the room (which orientation, etc.)  Once your theater have a 1/4 and 1/2 scale version of these overlays, you can just keep with rehearsal locations. 

Anyway, take the overlay and discuss with the director.  He or she will have a the best idea on how they are going to use the space and where you can loose space and where you shrink areas.  And since the tape is just as much for the directed as the actor (and let's be honest, Actors often ignore the tape), I think the Director should get a vote in how we tape out.

1229

Employment / Juggling Acts

« on: Jan 09, 2011, 03:38 am »

So, as you all know, I am now a free lancer, and I know have some pretty high class problems right . . . in that my show is closing off Broadway, and I have done my due diligence in getting my name out there. 

I have networked my ass off there, and for months really haven't got much response, until this week, I now I have about six shows talking to me, some overlap, some do not.

How much do you tell people during the interview/discussion process about other jobs that you are in the works for.  Right now none of these are interviews - one is "well, it's your resume and one other in front of the director", and "there is one slot open on the team, you are up for it, we will know on wednesday" and "Well, everyone wants you as PSM, we are just waiting for funding" . . .

Like, I am beginning to feel, until I get firm offer with money and dates told to me, and signed contract ready for me . . . no ones needs to know about the other person, until I want to pressure the other one to either come up with the another offer . . .or I make a decision I want the offer in front of me, I call up everyone else and let them off of the hook . . . and wait until the call me, and tell them I have taken another offer. 

I never have been in this situation (i know all of these things could fall through the cracks, and I still could be looking at unemployment from March on . . . but I am hoping for the best, that at least ONE of these offers pans out).

How do the freelances out there handle it?

1230

The Green Room / One of those funny cartoons

« on: Jan 07, 2011, 12:53 am »

okay the SM is a little DIM in this cartoon

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8168575/