Messages

1411

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: New to SMing

« on: Apr 04, 2010, 03:53 pm »

To be honest, you don't need a degree in theatre to do this job, your don't need a masters degree in theatre to do this job.  You just need to be able to do the job.  I have worked with fantastic stage managers who never once took a theatre class (ex-computer programmers, ex-school teachers, ex-administrators).  Having a degree is just experience that you can build on, but you can get experience on the job . . .

1412

Employment / Re: work samples?

« on: Mar 31, 2010, 11:46 pm »

That all would be great - to give potential employers an insight into your level of work, and your style of stage management.

Where ever you work, they may already have paperwork they want you to use, but it will help give them a view into your style.

1413

Employment / Re: work samples?

« on: Mar 31, 2010, 12:32 am »

When I hired interns, I like to see a some samples from various shows - so, a couple calling pages,a prop list, a run book, etc, etc . . . just something to show how you approach the work.

1414

The Green Room / Re: Show post-poned due to quitting actor

« on: Mar 26, 2010, 07:21 pm »

I think the big thing to keep in mind that at certain levels, everything is scripted . . . from what people "leak" to what is stated off the record to "official press releases", and unless you were there, you may never know what truly happens.

I had an incident where the Press Department and various members of the producers sat in the room scripted out what the official story was - something that I doubt many people would believe, and then what the "unofficial story" was going to be - none of these had anything to do with the truth.  Smoke and mirrors.

1415

The Green Room / Re: Burnt Out

« on: Mar 21, 2010, 08:37 pm »

This is a huge career issue for Stage Managers.  I have been working pretty much straight for the past ten years, the longest I have NOT been working on a show was one six-week break I took, the rest of the time, the longest time between shows was ten days.  I have been at my current job for six years, 52 weeks a year, most of the time in rehearsal (doing up to six shows a year).  And I was reaching a breaking point; luckily I know myself pretty well, and started to look for the "next thing" to keep my mind, my body, my soul challenged.  When you get bored, things begin to irritate you – as things begin to irritate more, you are pushed to the burning out mode – at least that is true in my history.  I know about three years in any sort of given circumstance, and I start needing something new in my life . . . part of this is from the fact my parents moved the family every three years as I was growing up.

You have to learn yourself, and know WHY you do this job.  There are two types of burn out - the day to day, and then sort of the more long term "Career" burn out.

As far as the day to day - take care of yourself - eat right, get some sleep, laugh, drink water, learn to delegate, learn to say "no".  Too many people try to be Superman or Superwoman as a stage manager, remember you are human, with all that good that comes with that.

Now, as far as career burn out - take care of yourself on the day to day level, but learn to look ahead - somewhere keep that early career mentality of future plans - where do you want to be in one year?  five years?  ten years?  Don't loose sight of running your career like a business, and make sure that you are taking care of the business.  Figure out WHY you do this job?  Are you getting your needs met?  Are you getting the challenges you need?  Remember, no amount of money makes up for some of the downsides of this career - including the time suck this career can take.  You need to make sure you are getting your intangible needs met. 

My helpful advice to anyone going through the "Am I burnt out?" question - is question what is changeable in your life that can make your career more fun, more stable, more exciting, more challenging . . . are you geographically bound?  Look into moving.  Are you stuck in one theater?  Try working at a new theater.  Do you need to move a level?  Work in a smaller theater?  Work in a larger theater?  Try dance, opera, music, circus . . .

Take a vacation . . . if you are a freelancer, you need to program down time.  If you have a full time position, make sure to take the downtime.  AND REALLY RELAX.  (Learn how to relax . . . a lot of stage managers, myself included, don't know how to relax, disengage.)

Make other things important in your life - date, get a pet, have a hobby, spend time with your family, spend time with strangers outside of theater - whatever.  But, if THEATER isn't the only thing in your life, then when you career gets "irksome" and pushes you to burn out . . . you will have other things that can help stabilize and ground you.

And remember, they may come time when you are “done” stage managing.  There is no rule you need to keep doing this for the rest of your life.  The skill set and experience you gain as a stage manager can easily transfer to other jobs, other careers.  And remember, there is no rule if stop stage managing to do something else that you can’t come back.

1416

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Labtop vs. Pencil and Script/Notepad

« on: Mar 19, 2010, 07:49 pm »

Ceres, all those things to update during rehearsal are great . . . but I have to admit, from both my personal experience, and watching other stage managers, once the computer is open and you start working on it DURING rehearsal, your attention is drawn to the laptop.  And if your job is to keep the room moving, rehearsal going, and pay attention to everything happening in the room, the distraction of the open computer has proven to be a problem in my personal experience.  Seriously, I have had actors stop acting until the SM stopped typing and throw a big fit about it.  I have also seen directors just shut the laptop on a stage manager.

Yeah, it's a pain to stay after an hour, but . . . here's the thing.  I have had assistants in the room for 8 hours, working away on paperwork, and when they look over the report at the end of the day, ask me . . . "When did we change that?", and I say, we worked that in rehearsal today, for about ten minutes, where were you?  The answer is that they had their head in the paperwork, not in the rehearsal.

It's all about style, and there is also the issue of generational differences . . . work with older actors, directors, etc . . . they may not be part of the "computer" experience.  I work with a director, who no matter what I am doing on the computer, they thing I am playing on the internet . . .

I also find, if I type notes as we work, I tend not to be as detailed as I like (I mean, I am split focus) and also, I tend to have to go back and edit a lot - because the note I type at the top of the rehearsal may be changed throughout the rehearsal.

Again, personal style, but I think it's a dangerous path to walk down.  (Who hasn't started to type a note - and bingo, have an actor call for a line . . .)

1417

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Labtop vs. Pencil and Script/Notepad

« on: Mar 19, 2010, 01:04 pm »

I think during runs, and rehearsal, having someone in the laptop all the time, you miss what's going in the room . . . it's easy to open a document and edit something, and get sucked into the work . . .

I often will work in rooms, where laptops need to be shut during rehearsal and are only opened during breaks.

When an actor is acting a huge dramatic scene 3 feet in front of a stage manager, hearing the click-clack of the keyboard is slightly distracting.  Working a comedy or musical, it might not be as annoying.

I firmly believe, based on my experience, that young stage managers often get so sucked into the computer the miss what's going on in the room.

1418

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Question about resume...

« on: Mar 15, 2010, 06:27 pm »

This has happened to me twice . . . both were some pretty high profile commercial projects - one show never got to rehearsal, but I did about five months of pre-production before the plug was pulled, the other got to tech, before the plug was pulled.

Do you need the credits on your resume?  Is the project big enough to want to put on your resume?  If the answer is so, then I would put it down - marking it somehow (never opened).  At least it will lead to an interesting conversation at an interview.
Post Merge: Mar 15, 2010, 06:28 pmOne more thought . . . think of it as an actor who shoots a scene for a movie, but has it cut . . . he still has done the work, no one has seen it.

1419

The Green Room / Re: Best mentions of a stage manager in the press

« on: Mar 12, 2010, 09:13 pm »

Search myself and came across this review quote "The talents of costume designer Murell Horton and stage manager M. William Shiner really emerge here: The lavish looks are cultural references that articulate and underscore the absurdity of the con, and the fast, frequent costume changes are almost a performance in themselves."

I have to say, this will age me, there was an AMEX commercial for the Vegas show of EFX (with Tommy Tune at the time) where the SM was on TV.  Probably the most famous stage manager ever at the time. 

1420

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: Pre-show drink

« on: Mar 09, 2010, 11:26 am »

On the flip side, I once worked on a production where the first two public performances, I had a drink earlier in the afternoon, and the show went great, the one night I didn't have a drink - everything went wrong.  [Just saying, I thought it was in the shows best interest to have the producer by me a drink every night - just as insurance.]

Basically, the rule of thumb, you shouldn't do anything that would some how prevent you for doing the job as you have been hired.  I have had people "work out" too hard, and not be able to do their track due to muscle strain.  I had an actor once who thought it was funny to climb a tree, fell out and broke their arm.  You can go on and on and on and on . . .

1421

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PREP: Taping multiple floor plans?

« on: Mar 08, 2010, 07:46 pm »

Corners only is a good idea . . .

Another option, depending on the size of your hall and the size of trucks is use an industrial carpet to stand in for the truck and you can tape out on that. 

1422

Employment / Re: What if you can't find a stage management job?

« on: Mar 08, 2010, 07:45 pm »

Things like spotlight op, former light/sound installer, etc. I've had people comment on it in interviews because they ARE skills that can help if something goes wrong during a production and you're the only one there to deal with it.

All I am saying is there will come a point in one's career where that is just assumed you know how to deal with the things.

More advance things like automation, foy, SFX, etc . . . may warrant a place on your resume, but I think those things may be better in your cover letter . . .

1423

The Green Room / Re: How do you "play?"

« on: Mar 07, 2010, 01:17 pm »

I am a huge gamer . . .

I actually own every single gaming system - in my living room you can find a playstation 2, playstation 3, xbox, xbox 360, gamecube, wii, and Nintendo DSI and PlayStation Portable - I kid you not.  I am the world oldest 13 year old boy.

I find gaming a great way to blow off steam, unwind, and keeps me a little more active then just watching tv.
 

1424

Employment / Re: What if you can't find a stage management job?

« on: Mar 07, 2010, 01:15 pm »

Is the "other experience" (sound, lights, acting, directing, etc...) a positive thing for a stage manager to have experience in? We have to deal with those fields as stage managers. I'd think showing concrete examples of those specialties is better than having a stage management resume that is half empty. Or should the typeface simply be made larger or the resume style edited to compensate? What is the point in a career that we only list stage management experience?

Yes, early in your career it might be helpful to fill in concrete examples, but there does come a point in your career where that just muddies your strength and career goals - if you are marketing yourself as a full time, professional stage manager, and that is what I am hiring for - then all I really care about is your stage management skills - there is a basic assumption that you will know about lighting, scenic, props, costumes, etc.

Now if you are applying for an education position (internship) or an early-career position (such as a PA, or non-AEA ASM), then by all means, fill out your resume with such related experience, but be careful.  I have had resumes which list ten shows as stage management but 20 other things.  I really have to ask how much focus are they putting into their career, and maybe stage management is not the primary focus.

The question is when in your career is right to drop those things?  It depends on your resume, your experience and where you are in your career - and to be honest, what sort of jobs you are applying for. 

That's why I think customizing your resume for the job is really the way to go.

(To be honest, I am more interested in seeing resumes with production management or directing/assistant-directing experience then specific run crew position - I am hiring managers, so having people with management experience is vastly more important then if they know how to do a quick change.)

1425

Employment / Re: What if you can't find a stage management job?

« on: Mar 04, 2010, 11:50 am »

As I have posted before, the world of stage management is a very competitive work environment, especially for “living wage” and above jobs.  The economy has impact us in a grave manner, with shows closing, theatre’s tightening budgets, doing small shows and eliminating non-union required positions (such as PA, and interns).  There is no magic answer to “how do I get a job”, but, without knowing the specifics of your situation, let me respectfully offer this generic advice.

1)   Are you applying for the right level of job?  Are you just starting off and are you applying to far up the career track?  (Should you be applying for PA jobs versus applying for PSM jobs).  Note:  Sometimes you can be desperate for work, and apply UNDER your position.  I was recently applying for jobs to fill a gap in my season, and sort of sent out some resumes to summer stock theatres; job paying 1/6 of what I make – absolutely no response.  In this business, sometimes there is something as “over qualified”.
2)   Are you applying at the right theatre level for you?  (should be submitting for more summer stock situations to beef up your resume versus applying to Broadway jobs – okay, that’s an extreme example, but I think you get the point.)
3)   Are you able to open up your search geographically?  I find a lot of your stage managers don’t really want to leave a certain geographical zone.  But there are a lot of good reasons why to do so . . .
a.   If you are having trouble finding work locally, it means that there is either a shortage of local jobs or excesses of stage managers.
b.   There is something about a theatre hiring a non-local that is good for them.  They are bringing in new blood and someone who is only there to focus on the work they are doing.
c.   It also gets you exposed to an entirely different market.
4)   Look at how you are marketing yourself? 
a.   Is resume to generic?  I find a lot of young stage managers throw every single theatre thing they have ever done on their resumes (painted a set, observe a show, worked box office).  In this age of computers, your should be able to customize your resume for the job your applying.  And, at some point in your career you are going to want a “stage management” only resume.  When I am looking for an AEA stage manager, when I see too much “other experience” it reads to me like they don’t have faith in their skills as a stage manager, or, that they professionally lack focus.
b.   Are you just responding to add?  Are you sending out resumes cold?  Are you just e-mailing?  Just sending in hard copies?  If what you are doing isn’t working, try shaking it up.
5)   Request a courtesy interview.  A theatre company many not be hiring right away, but if you reach out and ask to meet with whomever is hiring, they are putting a name to a face and to a person.  I find that I am probably 50% more likely to hire a person I have met then hire them just off a phone interview.  (In fact, I am now implementing a rule where, besides interns, I am avoiding hiring ANYONE that I don’t spend at least 45 minutes with in the same room.)
6)   Network, schmooze.


And then be prepared with the plan B.

You say your second job is applying for job – that’s the life of a freelance stage manager.  I remember when I was freelancing, I would spend sometime during pre-production and update the resume and send it out – with a little note describing the project I just started.

I would also, after re-reading your post, avoid doing another internship.  There comes a point where people will see you as just an intern (same thing is true as a PA – if you PA too long, then that’s what you get labeled as . . . not that there is anything wrong with being a PA . . . but if that is not your end career goal, you should take the next step.)

Good luck, and keep us updated.