1261
The Green Room / Re: Snacks
« on: Sep 28, 2006, 09:55 pm »
I used to keep a box of cereal near me most of the time. Cheerios or Crispix -- nothing too small, nothing crumbly and nothing sugary.
News:
14 Jan 2021: Happy 21st birthday, SMNetwork! I replaced the old broken mobile theme. -K
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1262
SMNetwork Archives / Re: The new SMnetwork
« on: Sep 26, 2006, 09:57 pm »
Yes, the jokes section (and all the rest of the content!) will be back. I can't even look at the code until a) I come to the end of the 70 hour work week season and b) I redo the company website for the day job. I gotta do the stuff that I get paid for first.
1263
Stage Management: Other / Re: Operations Management
« on: Sep 16, 2006, 07:44 pm »
I remember you! You've been around the Network since the very beginning!
1264
SMNetwork Archives / Re: Stage managers do make coffee
« on: Aug 11, 2006, 10:36 pm »
I first found Carissa's site when I was building the first version of SMNetwork, and took a lot of inspiration from it. I'm impressed that it's still around!
1265
The Hardline / Re: SMA (and AEA) Discussion
« on: Aug 05, 2006, 06:17 am »Just one thing that came to mind: What if here on SMN, our profiles, (like underneath our avatars on each of our posts, along with Karma and stuff,) could show if we're members of AEA, SMA, IATSE, Student, etc, and include a "Choose not to respond" option.
Good idea, and done. Not checkboxes, could only do a text field for immediate purposes, but it's there now as a field called "Affiliations."
It will show up under your name on every post, and also in your profile when viewed by other visitors.
And now that I can do custom fields, I may also add a field for kit lists that shows up only in the profile view.
1266
SMNetwork Archives / Chicago SMNetwork Meetup?
« on: Aug 01, 2006, 09:40 pm »
I've been noticing a handful of Chicago-based folk pop up on the membership list. I'm wondering if there's enough interest for an SMNetwork meetup out here. Anyone who's interested let me know.
Bear in mind that I'm no longer an SM myself, but I would certainly love to meet some of you in person anyhow!
Bear in mind that I'm no longer an SM myself, but I would certainly love to meet some of you in person anyhow!
1267
SMNetwork Archives / Happy Stage Management Memories?
« on: Jul 27, 2006, 09:02 pm »
It seems we spend a lot of time here discussing stuff that went wrong, misbehaving people and horror stories on this board. As an alternative to all the grumping about, what are some stories from the job where everything went right? Or when you and your team got a chance to really shine? Go ahead and brag a bit.
1268
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Extra Info In Script
« on: Jul 25, 2006, 10:52 pm »
It does depend on where the publisher got the information. Some companies print from the playwright's final manuscript, while others print from the prompt book of the first production. Take a look at the directions given and certainly make note of them, but do a little parsing to figure out what is necessary to make various "bits" work and what is subject to the interpretation of the director and designers.
Of course, if you're doing something by, say, Eugene O'Neill, who was well known for loading his scripts with detailed stage directions, you'll want to stuff more seriously. In this case, the "talking rapidly" bit is essential Neil Simon characterization. On the other hand, the bits about "tuxedo," "second landing," and "comes to the rail" are fine if you're working on the same set that they used for the first production, but not so good if your set varies wildly from the original.
Of course, if you're doing something by, say, Eugene O'Neill, who was well known for loading his scripts with detailed stage directions, you'll want to stuff more seriously. In this case, the "talking rapidly" bit is essential Neil Simon characterization. On the other hand, the bits about "tuxedo," "second landing," and "comes to the rail" are fine if you're working on the same set that they used for the first production, but not so good if your set varies wildly from the original.
1269
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: The Ultimate Decision
« on: Jul 11, 2006, 12:54 pm »
I tend to follow my father pretty closely in terms of career choices. He did computer coding back in the 70's. I do coding now. He taught adult computer education, I taught web design. Now he sells houses and I lease apartments. When I was a kid, Dad did theatre so I did too.
When I was little, he was a director for community theatre. I saw his staging of "Oklahoma!" the night that the lead actor went down and my dad had to stand in as Curly. I'm not gonna say that I loved it or that it changed my life, because I was three and nothing really has that effect. It was there.
My mother started me on ballet lessons at age 3 as well. I'd lost a year of physical development due to a lengthy hospitalization as an infant, and she was anxious to help me recover some of that lost time. (I never really did, but I'm grateful that she tried.) I started learning and performing with both ballet and piano. This continued through middle school with some acting roles as well, although never in one of my dad's shows.
In high school, I continued with piano in the school jazz band, flute in the youth symphony and acting in the drama club. I got fed up with the faculty head of the drama club phoning in the directing, so I started my own group in the summer to allow student directors (i.e., me) to take a hand at it. We did pretty well. I shifted my focus away from pre-med in my college search and focused on undergraduate theatre programs instead.
My college program was entirely liberal arts - no conservatory training available. I talked with my father about the best way to train up for being a director, and his advice was to learn what every other person in a company did before trying to direct again. So I did. I did construction, electrics, props, stitching, light design, set design, production management, accompaniment & pit orchestra, pyro, run crew, board op and stage management. The head of the tech department had glomped on to me as someone with enough skill to SM for the larger musicals they were putting up, and I wound up doing that for a couple of years.
The decision to drop focus on directing altogether didn't happen until my last year in college, when I finally got the chance to direct something again. After 3 years of tech including 8 productions as a stage manager, I couldn't STAND myself as a director. My inner stage manager kept giving me the evil eye. I only really called on the directing skill a couple of times after that. Once for a restaging of a show around an absent actor with no available understudies. The other was the remounting of a one man show that I'd originally SMed.
When I was little, he was a director for community theatre. I saw his staging of "Oklahoma!" the night that the lead actor went down and my dad had to stand in as Curly. I'm not gonna say that I loved it or that it changed my life, because I was three and nothing really has that effect. It was there.
My mother started me on ballet lessons at age 3 as well. I'd lost a year of physical development due to a lengthy hospitalization as an infant, and she was anxious to help me recover some of that lost time. (I never really did, but I'm grateful that she tried.) I started learning and performing with both ballet and piano. This continued through middle school with some acting roles as well, although never in one of my dad's shows.
In high school, I continued with piano in the school jazz band, flute in the youth symphony and acting in the drama club. I got fed up with the faculty head of the drama club phoning in the directing, so I started my own group in the summer to allow student directors (i.e., me) to take a hand at it. We did pretty well. I shifted my focus away from pre-med in my college search and focused on undergraduate theatre programs instead.
My college program was entirely liberal arts - no conservatory training available. I talked with my father about the best way to train up for being a director, and his advice was to learn what every other person in a company did before trying to direct again. So I did. I did construction, electrics, props, stitching, light design, set design, production management, accompaniment & pit orchestra, pyro, run crew, board op and stage management. The head of the tech department had glomped on to me as someone with enough skill to SM for the larger musicals they were putting up, and I wound up doing that for a couple of years.
The decision to drop focus on directing altogether didn't happen until my last year in college, when I finally got the chance to direct something again. After 3 years of tech including 8 productions as a stage manager, I couldn't STAND myself as a director. My inner stage manager kept giving me the evil eye. I only really called on the directing skill a couple of times after that. Once for a restaging of a show around an absent actor with no available understudies. The other was the remounting of a one man show that I'd originally SMed.
1270
SMNetwork Archives / PM Spam
« on: Jul 11, 2006, 12:06 pm »
OK, It's come to my attention from a LOT of you that someone spammed the entire membership with pornographic messages last night. I've gone ahead and banned the member responsible.
Prior to this point, any registered member could send bulk PMs. I have restricted it now so that brand new members cannot send PM's at all until they've posted at least one message to the board at large.
EDIT: After getting deluged in additional copies of the spam message from dutiful SMNetwork members trying to report the guy, I've gone into the backend and deleted all PMs sent from the spammers' account. So, the 188 of you who hadn't deleted the message from your inbox yet will never have to dirty your hands with it.
Prior to this point, any registered member could send bulk PMs. I have restricted it now so that brand new members cannot send PM's at all until they've posted at least one message to the board at large.
EDIT: After getting deluged in additional copies of the spam message from dutiful SMNetwork members trying to report the guy, I've gone into the backend and deleted all PMs sent from the spammers' account. So, the 188 of you who hadn't deleted the message from your inbox yet will never have to dirty your hands with it.
1271
Employment / Re: Websites
« on: Jul 05, 2006, 11:39 pm »
Here's my original personal website, courtesy of the Wayback Machine:
How SMNetwork looked back in the beginning.
Web design takes a lot of practice and picking up skills along the way.
It's a bit daunting to look at all the stuff that was amassed in the old site from the perspective of trying to bring it back in a coherent home-grown form.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that it does take practice and looking at a whole bunch of both good and crappy sites before you figure out what works and what you hate. And how to do it.
How SMNetwork looked back in the beginning.
Web design takes a lot of practice and picking up skills along the way.
It's a bit daunting to look at all the stuff that was amassed in the old site from the perspective of trying to bring it back in a coherent home-grown form.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that it does take practice and looking at a whole bunch of both good and crappy sites before you figure out what works and what you hate. And how to do it.
1272
Stage Management: Other / Re: What's the most unusual job you've had?
« on: Jul 01, 2006, 12:59 am »
Good one, centaura.
For me I've found that nearly every job I've taken has involved the skills from stage management in some way.
Within a performance sphere, SMing for Improv was probably the oddest version of the craft that I was ever privileged to try. The show in question essentially relied on the SM for pacing and placement of scenes. When a scene got slow, it was up to me to judge it and switch, choosing from any of the other set locations on stage. (Between that, running spot for Beckett's "Play" and getting bumped from SM to remount director on a production, I pretty much got to take out all of my SM demi-god fantasies in one year...)
Lately, though, I've found that my new job (apartment leasing and property management) has an eerie amount in common with the old job. I'm working with people under high stress with very picky tastes. I'm wearing many different hats. I'm present for load ins and load outs. I see people with their masks off, and frequently in various stages of undress. I'm putting together tons of paperwork and assuaging egos. Nobody is particularly wealthy other than the investors. I'm involved with a kind of "performance" every day. And excessive intermingling with the folks on the other side of the performance is in this case not only discouraged but illegal. I'm required to note all kinds of variations on interior scenery and point them out to the necessary parties. I'm frequently crawling into dusty, damp or dark places. I come home covered in sawdust and paint. I'm doing quite well at it and having a blast.
For me I've found that nearly every job I've taken has involved the skills from stage management in some way.
Within a performance sphere, SMing for Improv was probably the oddest version of the craft that I was ever privileged to try. The show in question essentially relied on the SM for pacing and placement of scenes. When a scene got slow, it was up to me to judge it and switch, choosing from any of the other set locations on stage. (Between that, running spot for Beckett's "Play" and getting bumped from SM to remount director on a production, I pretty much got to take out all of my SM demi-god fantasies in one year...)
Lately, though, I've found that my new job (apartment leasing and property management) has an eerie amount in common with the old job. I'm working with people under high stress with very picky tastes. I'm wearing many different hats. I'm present for load ins and load outs. I see people with their masks off, and frequently in various stages of undress. I'm putting together tons of paperwork and assuaging egos. Nobody is particularly wealthy other than the investors. I'm involved with a kind of "performance" every day. And excessive intermingling with the folks on the other side of the performance is in this case not only discouraged but illegal. I'm required to note all kinds of variations on interior scenery and point them out to the necessary parties. I'm frequently crawling into dusty, damp or dark places. I come home covered in sawdust and paint. I'm doing quite well at it and having a blast.
1273
SMNetwork Archives / Planned SMNetwork downtime - June 30, 2006
« on: Jun 28, 2006, 10:48 pm »
Please plan on SMNetwork being down at some point between 11PM Eastern Time on June 30th and 6am Eastern on July 1. The server is being taken offline for an aggregate core router upgrade, including the addition of more RAM and upgrading the IOS. Site will be down from 30 minutes to two hours.
Thank you for your understanding.
-Kay
Thank you for your understanding.
-Kay
1274
Job Postings / How to post a job.
« on: Jun 28, 2006, 10:14 pm »
Hi! Thanks for thinking of us as a place to find good stage management help. Here's a few things that you might want to know.
When posting a job, please keep in mind that this is a forum for stage managers around the world. Try and include as much info as you can in the topic, including location and union requirements if it will fit.
If you can, please include an expiration date for the posting so that the moderators can weed out the obsolete postings more easily.
Also, bear in mind that this site has an in-house private messaging system that allows members to contact each other without resorting to email. Even if you leave an email address, our members may contact you via this messaging system ("PM System") instead. If you do not wish to receive replies by PM, please state as much in your posting.
When posting a job, please keep in mind that this is a forum for stage managers around the world. Try and include as much info as you can in the topic, including location and union requirements if it will fit.
If you can, please include an expiration date for the posting so that the moderators can weed out the obsolete postings more easily.
Also, bear in mind that this site has an in-house private messaging system that allows members to contact each other without resorting to email. Even if you leave an email address, our members may contact you via this messaging system ("PM System") instead. If you do not wish to receive replies by PM, please state as much in your posting.
1275
SMNetwork Archives / Re: The new SMnetwork
« on: Jun 27, 2006, 10:51 pm »
Thank you.
Yeah, I'm watching the karma closely. For now it's amusing.
Love your Pratchett slogan, BTW.
Yeah, I'm watching the karma closely. For now it's amusing.
Love your Pratchett slogan, BTW.