Messages

1261

The Hardline / A Straight Seven

« on: Oct 10, 2005, 08:05 pm »

But the ASM refused to take a break since there was still rehearsal going on and he thought that by having him take a break, he was being asked "to absent himself from rehearsals or performances" for which he thinks the rule forbids, even though there was an AEA SM in the hall at the time being.

see, if you offered him his lunch break and he refused, then he isn't eligible for OT - it isn't absenting yourself from reh if you are staggering breaks - the rule is really abt any ONE SM rep being there, not both of you (so you could just as well have gone and eaten, leaving him to run reh) - your dept handles its own breaks while making sure everyone else has theirs.

good luck....break a finger - and tell the asm that when you tell him to go to lunch, he goes! (I have done this w my reluctant assistants in the past - sometimes I force the issue by asking them to bring me back something)

1262

The Hardline / HAVE I EVER READ THE RULE BOOK?

« on: Oct 08, 2005, 12:50 pm »

This is what the reps have told me in the past:

the 6-hr option - 6 hrs straight and out, no meal break beyond that new 20-minute food window and no overtime - trumps the "after 5 hours you must have a one hour meal break" since the 6 hrs qualifies as a full day. If you intend to work more than 6 hrs, then you have to have that meal break after 5 hours, and than you work your regular 7 out of 8 or 9 (or whatever your contract and the cast vote is assuming on the first day the cast did the vote for a 1-hr meal break instead of 1.5 or 2).

Make sense?

someone pluck me...

1263

The Hardline / A Straight Seven

« on: Oct 08, 2005, 12:41 pm »

that's just it - as long as ONE of you is there, the rehearsal is covered (unless you are using two different sites and the ASM is at one and you at the other). It doesn't say you both need to be there.

We do these amazing things with calendars to get in all the rehearsal time necessary and staggering the SM lunch breaks so you get a meal (or to pick one up and bring it  back to eat at your desk) is totally appropriate; if your ASM chose to stay instead of taking a meal break, that ASM is NOT entitled to overtime -

And maybe next time you each take a staggered meal break so there is no questions.

1264

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Prop dilemma

« on: Oct 08, 2005, 12:31 pm »

where are you - that has a lot to do w the answer - but assuming you are near Chicago or some other large city:

1) prop shops
2) a college art department can easily build them from papier mache
3) you can build from cutouts from the Hallmark store (or something like a Michael's)
4) go to the thrift shops - you'd be amazed what turns up as former centerpieces!
5) carve it from styro or crumpled tin foil

1265

Tools of the Trade / Creating a prompt book in word...using comments for cues

« on: Oct 03, 2005, 12:30 pm »

me too - sounds interesting


I had my board ops making snide remarks abt my book yesterday - I ignored them, having been taught to make it work in case someone had to come in off the street to call the show, meaning it has lots of extra notations in the margins and the like - FWIW my cues are always the farthest right thing on the page - I always box the GO cue with a line to the word or action, (boxed if that specific) and simply underline the s/b in the right margin - and it'd be fun to see how to make that work on a computer (altho that requires the script on screen as well, and it's been a while since I've typed in a script...)

1266

Students and Novice Stage Managers / getting a glimpse of backstage on broadway?

« on: Sep 27, 2005, 09:37 pm »

you shd be able to find out who the psm/sms are ahead of time, but just in case, you shd write a nice, personal note explaining that you are a SM from out of town and ask for a walk-thru or to meet and greet after the show - and drop it at the stage door prior to half-hour.

1267

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Where do you draw the line? (Producer rant)

« on: Sep 26, 2005, 02:44 am »

Art, as always, is on the money. One thing tho - SMs are often not in the publicity materials, so that one issue, well, just let it go. We shd be in the program and on the lobby board but the rest, esp in 99-seat, is a crap shoot. Focus on the important stuff, like getting a way to communicate w backstage (fer cryin' out loud - we even had a com system with Deaf West, where the cast is mostly deaf!). If you DO get some cheap walkies, make sure you 1) get earpieces (it silences the squawking as you call each other, among other things) and 2) GET REIMBURSED - tell them this is an expense for future shows.

As to crew, well, in 99-seat sometimes they ARE last-minute. Can you be ok with simply just not doing what can't be done and thereby letting them figure it out? If you can resist saying "I told you so" after stating that those are things that require more bodies to accomplish, you get them on your side to solve it cuz they suddenly get that it's abt the show rather than writing it off as just some SM's opinion.

and - break a leg -

1268

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / musicals

« on: Aug 29, 2005, 12:21 pm »

mc - I see what you are calling standby now and yes, the downbeat is the first note w the prep for it what you are calling standby, tho no musicians I know in the US call it as such - but that is neither here nor there. Even having sung w conductorless ensembles and small quartets, and having friends w small conductorless string trios and the like, someone - someone specific - designates the start and the tempo.  The director and MD can decide on tempo (w input from the performer) but the performer rarely starts a piece of music, and even those w perfect pitch need a note - at least a bell tone to get the key. Most of the time the music starts before the singer. And then there are cut-offs. etc. So (back to the original qq) there needs to be an MD or, if not, at least a first chair who takes on the responsiblity in the band, someone who is acting as the MD designate, even in small rock bands or combos  (in my experience usually, tho not always, the keyboard).

If indeed you are arranging the rehearsal space for the musicians, I can understand why you would need to be a part of that - again, I don't normally deal w negotiating space for them until we get to tech, tho you being at a university might be the difference.  My experience here is that the producer arranges that, just as they arrange our rehearsal space and theater rental dates. My combos/bands/ whatever have used a studio or the MDs home or the theater or the rehearsal space when we are not in it, in which case the MD needs our schedule to work around, but I don't need to know the specifics other than it is happening (tho the MD will let me know where he/she is working if their reh overlaps ours in any way).

Once we are in the theater, the MD always has access to the SM phone as needed, and in this day and age has a cell as well, so unless I am asked, I leave chasing down missing musicians to them. I have run shows with (as Heath mentioned) 3 and 4 deep sections so while we all got to know our regulars pretty well, it was up to the MD to make sure we had a full complement night to night and to chase down the missing parts if necessary.

As to "farting around in the pit" - (love that) - well, the pros just don't. Perhaps tuning involves a little playing of music, because it keeps you warm on, say, a string instrument - and hearing a chord or a run of notes confirms either its correctness or where any tuning might have been missed. I gotta add - I have worked w some TERRIBLE orchestras while on tour, players not deserving the term musician (and brother, once you deal with pick-up orchestras and the vast range of what you might end up with on a nightly basis, you really appreciate touring with the band), but none of them have treated house-open unprofessionally. Sounds like you have had some really bad experiences w community-level intrumentalists. But I would always rely on the MD (or the MD-designate) to relay instructions to those folks rather than telling them myself because of the protocol issues, and what it would mean to the backstage morale and general run of the show.

1269

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / musicals

« on: Aug 28, 2005, 12:04 pm »

mc - Sounds like you do things very differently - I have done a ton of musicals, both as a performer and as a SM, and am also a classical musician so I have worked from all three POVs, from orchestras to bands to piano/drum/bass combos.

You gotta have a MD - someone who not just is in charge of the musicians but also, tempo, dynamics etc - and generally the marriage of the actors with the instrumental sound. While the director is indeed the conceptual center in terms of vision for the overall piece, the MD is indeed his/her creative equal, same as choreo or any member of the design team, and in terms of the big choices on the same plane as the director. I patch the rehearsals for music, dance and acting work w the actors, and the MD rehearses the orchestra/band without any input or scheduling or concern from me until we get to tech. Attend orchestra rehearsals? I don't even know when they are. As long as I know it is getting done, which is the MD's responsiblity, I don't care until tech.

THEN we work together to make sure the musicians have time in the space, time w the performers, a sitzprobe and so forth.

As to inclusion on the contact sheet, I only tracked the orchestra/band members when they were our consistent musicians. The MD gives me their pertinents for emergencies but only the main and first-tier subs ended up on the final contact sheet (the one compiled for closing night of all folks associated w the actual running of the show), certainly when I was on the road and we had a pickup orchestra city by city. Had we been carrying the orchestra, as some shows do, I would have had all their info, but in my experience the MD (or suitable designate) chased down missing musicians. They operate from a different world, and an SM calling them would have been considered a breech of protocol. Of course, this may be different on big shows that travel with full complement, esp as we all get to know each other far too well.....

And I gotta disagree - one of my favorite sounds as a kid was watching and listening to the orchestra tune in pieces, and then together to A-440 as a collective before the downbeat (which, I might add, is the correct name for what you are calling the conductor's "standby."  That sound was magic to me, and I loved it. Certainly, there are some instruments that can be tuned farther ahead than others, but how far in advance they can tune depends not just on the instrument, and whether it is string or wind or brass, but also on the house humidity and temp range from night to night.  This includes the piano.

1270

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / musicals

« on: Aug 26, 2005, 12:02 pm »

AAhhh - for Oliver!, make sure you have one spare adult body who is your kid wrangler. And this is really really important - that person is NEITHER you nor your ASM but a PA, or a consistent parent. The kids will have long, long periods when they have nothing to do and I promise you, you will appreciate someone whose only job is to be with, manage and keep track of all the kids. Make sure there is a place bearby but far enough from the stage that they can play games and eat and enjoy themselves between scenes and the sound won't carry and interfere w the show.

1271

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / what should I do when there is a death?

« on: Aug 17, 2005, 03:45 pm »

Wow, tough situation. The show must go on and all, and replacing someone who won't know the tricks is a challenge but it's gotta be done, and quickly.

FWIW, I worked a small cast show with regular ushers who we got to know quite well, and when one of them unexpectedly committed suicide had to deal with all this - and it's awful. No matter what you do, someone will be upset and the cast/crew will be affected for a while.

Can you gather the cast and crew and talk this out/vent in a safe place and time with some neutral 3rd-party psych assistance and support? Corny and common as it seems, it really helped us get through the week and do our work until we could take the time to heal.

And we had a little memorial after the matinee, for us.  It helped too...

1272

SMNetwork Archives / PC vs MAC

« on: Jul 31, 2005, 06:13 pm »

I prefer Macs but use a PC. Why? Easy. Most of the small regional theaters seem to have older donated computers - all PCs. It's also why I put a floppy drive into my laptop. That way I can go between my computer and theirs with relative ease and without many of the translation nightmares that occur between older PCs and Macs.

1273

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / I may sound like a complete ignoramus for asking this...

« on: Jul 25, 2005, 09:40 pm »

I circle the initials for characters - that way I can shorthand that Romeo x UR without confusing myself later (no idea how to do it on the computer so no example - sorry)

also, when you finish writing in where you call the cues (which are a  beat or so behind when they actually go, depending on who is hitting the light board and how long their response time is combined with when in the show they need to be complete by) back up about a quarter- to half-page and write another note to call the stand-by (I write S/B lights and sound) and then I call that - how far back you call the S/B depends, again, on your board ops but also with enough time for them to get their fingers in place -

if you are using a manual board and need set-up time, back up a full page from the cue and call a warning - this allows lights/sound/rail/whatever to do the prep necessary to take the cue; the stand-by tells them you are almost ready to call it so they need to be done (or almost done) setting it up by then and be ready to go on your call -

A really good habit to get into - never, and I mean NEVER - use the G (as in GO) word unless you mean it - even in casual conversation - really -

1274

SMNetwork Archives / stagemanager portfolio

« on: Jul 18, 2005, 01:18 pm »

I think the way most of us get them is that we just make copies for ourselves - before leaving any given show, I stand at the company xerox and make a complete copy of whatever I am leaving them - and keep either the original or the copy, depending on my mood.

I used to make two copies of the calling script, one that I cleaned up and included all Qs plus the final blocking for them. Gotta admit I don't do that any longer - I do always make a clean copy but it's the prompt book/calling script I create after we tech, the one I use/adjust as needed for the run.

1275

SMNetwork Archives / stagemanager portfolio

« on: Jul 12, 2005, 04:26 pm »

While I agree w MS, I live in a large city where they can easily check up on my skills. But having worked in smaller and less theater-based areas, I can see from their side that maybe they want to know you aren't just blowing smoke (after all, everyone's references are going to be glowing or you wouldn't list them). So it's worth a discussion/interview over the phone to decide if they are pro enough for you and you are pro enough for them - and then if they need proof, showing a small sample may not be inappropriate. Tho I agree, I've never been asked to show one (well, just recently I was asked to bring a sample of my work to an interview but I never actually got it out of the car).