Messages

16

SMNetwork Archives / sore throat tech

« on: Nov 18, 2005, 12:44 pm »

i usually double-up on my multivitamin the week before tech week. there's nothing so dangerous in there that would build up to a toxic level, and the only side-effect is your pee turns bright yellow LOL.

also - drink more water than you think you can stand - all of your body systems, including immune system, work better when you're well-hydrated.

17

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Your book Left or right?

« on: Oct 28, 2005, 09:11 am »

this is funny- in my most recent show, everyone commented on how "weird" it was that I punch my script backwards, putting the text on the left LOL

I also make two different scripts - one for blocking, planning and notes, and a new, "clean and pretty" one to call from, that doesn't include blocking or prop notes (unless dealing with props is one of my jobs or if I discover a need to remind the run crew of something)

The other habit I have that seems to be oddball is that I don't use columns to separate light, sound and other tech cues. Instead, I surround the cue numbers with circles, squares and triangles, respectively, and then I re-write the word or action where the GO happens.

When there's time, I give a brief reminder of where "GO" is expected, for example, I might say "standby lights 25 and sound G, they'll be together on John's exit" - I suspect that I'm a good bit more conversational than is usual, but I don't know for sure. Literally all of my crew positions have been off-headset, or in a situation where the communication was an intercom, so there weren't individual cue calls, just signposts and emergencies.

18

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / It's Half-Hour: Do you know where your SM is?

« on: Oct 25, 2005, 11:01 am »

I'm always uncomfortable with anything that's done a certain way just because "that's the way it's always been done" - especially if it interferes with my own sense of timing or style.

I also like to have as much face-time as possible with the cast - it's so much easier to assess a problem in person than to try to have a panicked actor describe it over the intercom.

I'd ask if there are specific reasons for the policy, and see if you can't satisfy those needs in another way that makes everyone happy.

good luck

19

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / fidget-buster

« on: Sep 27, 2005, 04:31 am »

a trick i learned in a teacher inservice for kids with ADD:

give him/her a mousepad to tap a pencil against - it doesn't make any noise, and works pretty well at satisfying a fidget.

20

SMNetwork Archives / get a mac :)

« on: Sep 27, 2005, 04:01 am »

the comment about needing to re-format anything from a mac is NOT TRUE unless your PC hasn't been upgraded in a number of years.

mac's are simply WAY more stable than their pc counterparts, and they also last way longer - i recently replaced my first mac laptop, which was some eight years old, and i only recently hit a "wall" of sorts that couldn't be fixed with extra RAM, and only because i want to get into more digital photography work. the old computer has become a juke box that is connected to my stereo and can be controlled from my new computer wirelessly - i challenge you to find a pc with that kind of staying power.