Messages

16

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Overly Involved Playwright

« on: Oct 24, 2008, 05:37 pm »

This last summer, I worked on a world premiere and the playwright was at all rehearsals. He was very helpful to the process, especially when it came to rewrites. It was nice to have him there to ask him why he wrote what he did. This play had historical accuracy as it was the story of two real people's lives. The director was actually the person who commissioned the playwright to write the show and they had an excellent working relationship. The playwright would give notes, but would typically involve the director and ask if she agreed after he gave his reasoning for the note. She normally agreed.

There were times when the playwright said that it had to be played a certain way and the director was okay with that as it was his script and she wanted to make his intention clear.

My advice would be to sit the director and the playwright down to come up with an agreed-upon verbal contract regarding notes and how things should be handled in rehearsal. The director-playwright relationship is very important in a newer work and should be a healthy one for the process to be a good one for all involved.

17

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Working with a Russian Director

« on: Oct 24, 2008, 05:20 pm »

This year, I will be stage managing a show at my college as my senior project. The playwright a faculty member in our department and is about the 900 Day Siege in Leningrad. (When the Nazis surrounded St. Petersburg and cut off food supplies, dropped bombs, etc.) The director has been chosen and is from Russia. She speaks first grade level English and will be bringing an interpreter with her to translate for her. This is going to be an incredible process. I have spoken with the playwright, who has been arranging for her to come. She has an extensive background in theatre, working at the Moscow Art Theatre and being the current artistic director for the Russian Theatre of Estonia.

Here's the deal. The playwright has told me that she doesn't know what a stage manager is. I am a little worried about this. He has tried to explain to her what I do and that I am very competent, but she is under the impression that I am like an assistant director. Has anyone been in this situation before? Do you know what the equivalent of a stage manager is in Russian theatre? Does anyone have experience working with a Russian director who has never directed in the United States? I am just looking to get some background information, but I have been unable to find information on Russian theatre that I can actually read.

I look forward to this experience as I believe it will challenge me as a stage manager and collaborator, but it makes me nervous. To add to the stress, it's a world premiere and our college is making a really big deal about this production, so a lot of eyes will be in our direction.

Any background, advice, help, etc?

18

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Rules on Cans

« on: May 03, 2008, 05:41 pm »

My friend was stage managing a show at her college, and one of the technicians sushed her when she was trying to call a cue. He wanted to finish his conversation. Let's just say that after the show they had a nice little chat.

19

Tools of the Trade / Re: Cue light system

« on: May 03, 2008, 05:08 pm »

I have never used a cue light system. I have worked many a load-in for the performing arts center in town, but have never really understood how it works. What situations would you use it? Would it be only for fly systems? And, is the stage manager responsible for setting it up? I feel that I am totally missing out. None of the theatres at my college have fly systems, so we haven't needed it. The only time we use flys are when we are at a venue downtown doing a show, and I have always just called a fly cue on headset.

20

Tools of the Trade / Re: Headset Side

« on: May 03, 2008, 05:02 pm »

I use my right ear because my left ear has impaired hearing. It's not horribly impaired, it's just that I would rather use my left ear to listen to the show while the right ear is for headset stuff.

21

Tools of the Trade / Re: The Internet

« on: May 03, 2008, 04:56 pm »

When giving the cast a rehearsal schedule, I will post a copy on the call board, I will send a digital format through email, and I will give each actor a printed copy at the first rehearsal. At least in the educational theatre realm, I still have actors who forget and will show up at the wrong time, anyway. It's an uphill battle sometimes. I am a big supporter of using the Internet. Since I am stage managing at the college level, most of the actors have computers, and all have access to a computer.

Our college just recently started using Google Apps for our email client for our college email, which means that we can all share calendars. Although I am done stage managing for the season, I look forward to utilizing this feature next year in the productions.

22

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Tech Questions

« on: May 03, 2008, 04:48 pm »

I always run tech rehearsals from the booth, unless I call from backstage. I call the show during tech rehearsals wherever I will actually run the show from. It gives me an opportunity to see things as I will see them during the show. To aid in communication with the production staff, I have headsets out in the house for the director and the designers and they can give me feedback on timing or any other issues. If I need to call a hold, I have a god-mic in the booth with me. When I stage manage the Varieties show at a different venue, I call from offstage and if I need to hold, I just come out onstage and talk to the designers from the stage. I haven't had an issue running things this way, yet.

This summer, I will be stage managing at the Black Hills Playhouse, and I will probably call from the house as it will be inconvenient to be in the back of the balcony. It'll be an interesting experience for me as I am used to in the booth.

23

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Flying Carpet...

« on: May 02, 2008, 03:32 am »

It's funny this topic should be brought up now. I just saw a horrendous flying carpet at a production at one of the state universities in South Dakota. Their flying carpet was a 6ft tall raked 4'x8' platform with a carpet stapled to it. Below the carpet were 2 stagehands moving the platform around. They were masked with scrim fabric around the outside. The carpet just kept doing figure eights during "A Whole New World." It was really not a good effect, so just be careful not to do that with your carpet. I had to restrain myself from laughing.

24

The Hardline / Re: Guest Artist Agreements

« on: Apr 08, 2008, 04:11 am »

I am going to be in a similar situation this summer. I will stage managing for a summerstock program and the first show has a couple equity actors. This puts my mind at ease. If I follow the guest artist contract I should be good. Thanks everyone, even though I didn't ask the question!

25

Tools of the Trade / Re: Box Office Software

« on: Apr 02, 2008, 03:42 am »

In addition to stage managing, I also work in the box office at a performing arts center in town. We use AudienceView. It is a very powerful box office software and you can run every report under the sun. It's a little complicated for our facility as it is a visual arts center and a science center and a cinedome theater as well. It's also quite the hefty investment, but I figured it might help.

26

Tools of the Trade / Re: MY NEW TOY!

« on: Mar 30, 2008, 05:09 pm »

I look forward to the day where I can get a MacBook of my own   Just curious, what are your opinions of the new Mac Air?   It looks so thin!   I'd love to be able to carry around something that light, but then I worry that it would break if I dropped it (not that other laptops wouldn't also break),  or even bumped it.   Might be good for simple things (like organization and notes during rehearsal) but not graphic/memory-intensive programs, or that is the impression I get.   

I didn't get the macbook air simply because it was more expensive and had less features. If having a really thin laptop is super important to you, go that route. The thing that really gets me about the macbook air is that it has no CD/DVD drive. If you want that you have to use one of the very few ports it has to have an external one, which would be a pain to carry around. Look at Youtube and type in MacBook Air parody to get an idea of the functionality of the macbook air.

By the way, it is so great to be part of the Mac community finally. Everyone who has a mac loves to talk about it with other mac users, so I feel like I have joined this new world and have barely seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to new discoveries. Thanks for all the support everyone!

27

Tools of the Trade / MY NEW TOY!

« on: Mar 29, 2008, 04:07 pm »

Hey! I know it may not be anything special, but I just had to share with some people. I bought a new MacBook yesterday and I am soo excited to finally have one. Now I can do my rehearsal reports right there in rehearsal as I get the notes! Not only is this a laptop, but I just made the switch from PC to Mac. So far, I LOVE it! Thanks for letting me indulge myself.

28

The Hardline / Re: Stagehand Wages

« on: Jan 29, 2008, 03:47 pm »

I work in a half union house as a stagehand and as a non-union member, I get $10 per hour with a 3 hour minimum. I live in Sioux Falls, SD.

29

Tools of the Trade / Re: SM Computer

« on: Aug 23, 2007, 04:32 am »

I use my computer vigorously for rehearsal reports, production meeting notes, audition forms, cast lists, and most of my paperwork for my production book. However, most of my information for those forms and notes comes from my legal pad that sits in my production book. I am a visual and physical thinker and don't think I would ever be able to veer from the standard binder-notebook method.

Most of my computer use comes from the hours upon hours I spend tweaking my forms. It's kind of a guilty pleasure. I love improving my designs for my forms. It's the inner-geek coming out.

30

College and Graduate Studies / Re: Stage Management Colleges

« on: Apr 22, 2007, 05:58 pm »

My friend, Miranda is in her Junior year at the Webster Conservatory for Stage Management. She spent her semester this year interning at the LaJolla Playhouse as a production assistant for a show that is on it's way to broadway. They have a great program and are very reputable. So, if you are looking for a conservatory environment, I recommend them. There are also plenty of really good liberal art colleges as well. (I prefer the more-rounded theatre experience to prepare me for stage management, but everyone has different tastes.