Messages

16

The Green Room / Re: summer vacation

« on: May 13, 2012, 02:43 pm »

Well, I'll be spending two months working in summer theatre in a 'destination' town - known for hiking and biking trails, wakeboarding, nearby beaches and golf - so does that count as a vacation?

If not, I know the only real vacation I'd likely take is something immediately afterwards, when there's still the cash in the bank not yet going to, y'know....living. But then, there's something perverse about packing (again) to go on a vacation. Kinda almost feels like work.

17

The Green Room / Re: SMASH - the TV series

« on: May 08, 2012, 03:44 pm »

Well planetmike, being something of a traditionalist (and older than I care to think about), I have no real problem with the SM calling the show from backstage. And heck, with the technology available these days in the way of monitors, infrared cameras and the like, its a whole lot easier than in 'ye olden dayes'.

I 'get' the value of the SM seeing / calling the show from the front (albeit often in sealed room as far from the stage as humanly possible), but I often miss the connectivity of being on the deck.

(And jeez, if I think about it, I even recall the British terminology PS and OPS - though thankfully, I never had to use it)

But I digress...

18

The Green Room / Re: SMASH - the TV series

« on: May 02, 2012, 12:27 pm »

I'd agree babens, except that those professions are not (generally) seen by the public to be a band of curiosities, riff-raff and ne'er-do-wells who don't 'really' work and only live for their own self-gratification.

There may be bad cops, lawyers and doctors portrayed with a raft of personal foibles, but at least its because they have a stressful 'real' job as far as viewers are concerned.

And really, you know we just get together the week before Opening to mount a production, right?

19

The Green Room / Re: SMASH - the TV series

« on: May 02, 2012, 09:09 am »

Jeez. Soap'y, or what? Its a wonder the production is getting mounted at all, given the amount of time everyone of seniority seems to bedding each other - or just wishing to. Seems the only one not 'getting any' is the Stage Manager - so maybe a grain of truth found in the series after all...

 

But as she appears to be the only SM on the project - and seems to be spending most of her 'free' time chasing down errant ensemble members - maybe she just hasn't the energy.

Meanwhile, even while making allowances for the writer's artistic license, it's still a worry to me that SMASH offers its viewers (even if they are just Broadway fans, folks in the biz, some gay men and those people who live in the Mythical Iowa where all talent waits its turn to come to New York) such an unrealistic - and unprofessional - view of the process.
Its fairly disappointing to me that a writing colleague could appear to be so clueless - and perhaps particularly galling to realize that they're making more per episode than most working theatre people make in a year. I mean, what's the current WGA rate for a 60 minute network show - $35,000?

Sigh.

20

The Green Room / Re: SMASH - the TV series

« on: Apr 28, 2012, 11:38 am »

Cringeworthy? Yes, even the TV critics are catching on -

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/04/hate-watching-smash.html

The original music is fine (no surprise there) and its nice the SM is finally being given more interactive lines and situations (however unlikely) - but you know you may be in trouble when a rather fun Bollywood fantasy number essentially condenses all of the episodes storylines and characters thus far into a 3 minute extravaganza...

21

The Green Room / Re: SMASH - the TV series

« on: Apr 12, 2012, 03:03 pm »

"...The fact that they have Kat McPhee as the better choice vs Megan Hilty already tells you how much reality they are willing to face...."

Ah, well - I don't think the writers (or even Steven Spielberg) would dare screw with the Great American Theatre Cliche: the kid from Iowa with no big city experience beats the seasoned theatre pro to get the starring role.

Blame Busby Berkeley.

 

22

The Green Room / SMASH - the TV series

« on: Apr 12, 2012, 12:36 pm »

Okay, I'll admit it - I have been watching this. Part of me wants the series to succeed - if nothing else but to celebrate the industry - but part of me is watching it as if slowing down to look at the scene of a road accident. And I guess I should be pleased to hear that it's been renewed for another season (something no other behind-the-scenes of theatre series has done), even if it's been getting progressively more 'Soap Opera' as its been going along.

All that said -

Acknowledging the license of writing a fiction and freely admitting I have never been involved in the workshop / rehearsal process for Broadway (though yes, for London), it's still pretty clear some of the writers are pretty loose with the realities of the process, too. There's been a couple of real clangers  so far, but - and here I finally get to Stage Management - I'd be disappointed if AEA and the SMA didn't, even informally, express dismay over how the role of SM is portrayed in the series.

Rather than show the SM - if only in a minor role - as an active member of the artistic team, and an interlockutor between all parties in rehearsal and production, they've given the poor soul the job of announcing breaks during heated moments in rehearsal.

"Let's take 5 minutes."

No sign of the SM discussing matters with the Producer, the Writers, the Directors or Cast. The closest the SM has gotten to talking to 'Derek', the Director, was a variation on this line last week, where she said, from across the rehearsal hall -

"We've still got 2 minutes, Derek".

An immaculately tidy SM desk, no sign of members of the Company conferring with the SM after 'meltdowns' in rehearsal (which seems to happen with terrible regularity in this world), no sign of the entire company going out for lunch or drinks together....

Not entirely a useful impression of the work we do, all in all. Pity when SMASH is offering the public a fictional 'behind the scenes' account of something as big as a Broadway show.

Oh, and while we're at it - I'm trying to imagine what theatre Stage Door person would let someone uninvolved in the production past them, especially during a performance - and which ASM would then happily let that person watch the production from the wings, partially blocking their view, with nothing more than a gesture to be quiet?

Just sayin'...

 

23

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Sorry - short notice: S.M. Arts Conference

« on: Apr 04, 2012, 11:20 am »

April 19 - 28 in Toronto!!

16th Annual Conference. Mostly workshops on extending skills or understanding Agreements. Individual sessions can be attended, or a conference pass is available.

Though I've never had the opportunity to participate myself (invariably out-of-town or, ahem, between incomes), I've heard very good things about the past conferences and know that it has been attended by SMs (and those interested in it) from outside of North America.

All the bumpf is here -
http://www.stagemanagingthearts.ca/conferences/toronto-conferences/toronto-2012

24

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Do you call from house or backstage?

« on: Sep 09, 2008, 11:31 am »

But you have to admit that a lot has changed since then. The role of Stage Manager (specifically in theatre - though I haven't worked opera or "official" ballet so I can't speak on those) has expanded and with the communication systems now available there is more leeway for the Stage Manager. The SM has added responsibilities.

And on a completely separate note that is irrelevant to this conversation, but relevant to how much theatre has changed from that point - women now out number men in Stage Management when that was not the case 30 years ago.

Technology and the times change - job changes.

I dunno...

Short of the occasional chandelier crashing down, helicopter landing on the stage or massive elevator revolve, I'm not seeing 'a lot has changed' in regards to what a SM's calling responsibilities are.
As for the job itself, I will admit things have changed and responsibilities shifted, and I'm not sure that has always been A Good Thing.
Much depends on the Company involved, but to my mind, I'm afraid I'm seeing more often the position of SM to be a whole less artistic/production-centric. Keep up with the paperwork - but a solid artistic expertise (useful once for giving notes to actors - and they accepting them) or production knowledge (if only to understand the needs from Designers or the PM and TD) is often less expected - or desired.

This odd bend towards the secretarial (sorry, administrative) may also explain why there are fewer male SMs now - however un-PC that might be to imply.

Meanwhile, there's a lot of SMs out there now calling shows via an audio tick track or stopwatch rather than having 'learned' the show and being one with the Company and the audience - and that's how Managements want it. One wonders how long it will be at this rate before SMs become redundant in calling a show - a computer program will 'read' the script, following along with voice recognition and visual cues by camera, giving Qs to the computerized lighting, sound and flies as noted in the script. This would imply a SM would have more time to watch the show for notes, but more likely, the expectation is that we'll be there to simply override an errant computer. And for that, you could be anywhere....

Sorry. I really digressed.


Again, I've called from both onstage and the booth - and while I recognize the benefit from seeing the production as the audience does, I believe the distances (and often sealed environment) of the booth often places the SM at a disadvantage from the event onstage and audience reaction. And regardless of how much 'technology and times change', that's still the reason we're there.

25

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Do you call from house or backstage?

« on: Aug 26, 2008, 01:09 pm »

Reading all this one wonders how shows were possibly mounted, called and notes given by SMs prior to, say, the mid-70s when it became fashionable to shift SMs to a booth.

Obviously theatre, opera, ballet and like were produced in a artistic and supervisory void previously. Who knew?

 

26

The Hardline / Re: Equity SMs: Running LX?

« on: Feb 28, 2008, 05:11 pm »

Its an 'extra duty' for SMs in Canada, too - and subject to negotiation and a Rider to do so.

I did it recently (push Go) but made it very clear that was as far as I would go - there needed to be a Tech at hand should the board go squiffy or one of the Macs (moving lights) go on its own personal journey. I got a highly skilled Tech who was responsible for the whole rig and doubled as my followspot op - and was only feet away from me at the board.

And yes, things did happen....

27

Tools of the Trade / Re: Presentation Software for MAC

« on: Feb 28, 2008, 08:58 am »

I think you're asking about two different things here -

If you're looking for presentation (that is, Powerpoint'esque) software, you might look at the product that's included in the freeware NeoOffice -

http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php

NeoOffice is the Mac-friendly version of OpenOffice - pretty much a free equivalent to Microsoft Office.

Meanwhile, if you're seeking software that can handle live feeds (type?), then I'm at a bit of a loss. Surely that simply needs an adept operator on the Mac - and perhaps more than one monitor so that the feeds can be monitored before going live.
I mean, essentially you're looking for a switcher....

28

Tools of the Trade / Re: Business Cards

« on: Feb 21, 2008, 09:36 pm »

Name
Professional Affiliations

Address
(hey, I'm giving out a card as a business gesture, not as a drunken pickup)

Phone
Email

And a headshot
(visual reminder always helpful)

Formatted by myself, printed on gloss stock business cards - white, no graphics. I'm the SM, not the Production Designer or the person responsible for Program layout.

29

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Do you call from house or backstage?

« on: Feb 16, 2008, 12:47 pm »

The thing is, all new theaters seem to be directed towards the booth calling, and as many of these are in university or large arts complexes...

Ah yes - venues designed by modern 'theatre architects' (or worse, those who 'specialize' in recreation or arts centres) with little/no practical knowledge of the needs or functionality of theatre. And those that do (or seek guidance from those that do) often find its those elements they incorporate are the first things on cutting block when budgetary concerns are discussed with people with even less knowledge than they.

FOH and the House will continue to look swell, but the rest may be a hodge-podge of ill-conceived (but cheap) design by neccessity - regardless of how that may affect the productions mounted, the connection between the audience and performers and the necessary link between the performers, their SM staff and their techs.


Oh, but don't get me started....

30

Stage Management: Other / Re: Il Trittico

« on: Feb 13, 2008, 07:17 pm »

Jeez! Gianni Schicchi - I got drafted in at the last minute to SM that years ago.

Richard Margison as the tenor....

Have fun!