Messages

16

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Sweeney Todd Rehearsal Dilemma

« on: Sep 08, 2014, 10:36 pm »

rehearsal table - where you and the director sit to watch rehearsal.  So instead of the set moving in a transition the director would walk to the part of the set that was going to face downstage for the next scene.  Basically, you rotate around the stationary rehearsal set up.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: MEDICAL PRIVACY: When an Actor Gives You Private Medical Information, But...

« on: Aug 26, 2014, 10:14 pm »

Good prompt Ruth!

Medical privacy is such a delicate subject, and walking the line between protecting the show and the producer's interests, liability issues and an adult actor's personal choices is always complex.

I've come up against this issue a few times, though not as urgent as the ones Ruth suggested.
-a woman early in her pregnancy but who would be four months pregnant by the time we hit tech and was going to be in a flying set piece in the show
-someone undergoing occasional chemotherapy who told me that the days following treatments there would probably be some side effects visible onstage
-someone four years clean of cancer, so not quite at the official remission point but didn't want to write down anywhere that they had cancer

But honestly, compared to the unexpected things we deal with, injuries that arise mid-process, real life sneaking into the room, etc, any medical issues that are disclosed beforehand are a little easier to deal with.  You have time to think and plan and have those talks about 'what should we be concerned with? what can we do to mitigate the impact this has on the show and your medical condition? what are warning signs things I should be aware of? under what circumstances would you want the rest of the cast to know your condition - do you plan on telling them at some point as you work together?'

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The Green Room / Re: Tragedies and other space invaders

« on: Aug 12, 2014, 09:21 am »

When the Boston Marathon bombing happened last year my school cancelled final dress rehearsal of an opera, as well as the other rehearsals that were scheduled to happen that evening.  The bombing took place in the afternoon, before casts were called, but many people were at the theater already.

The show I was working on lost a rehearsal to the shelter in place order later that week.

Fast forward one year and on the anniversary of the bombing another opera was having their final dress rehearsal when we heard that suspicious backpacks had been abandoned at the marathon finish line and the area was being evacuated again.  We let the cast and crew know so they could plan their travel home, that break went a little long then they dove back into the opera to finish tech.

I was in a performance on President Obama's first inauguration day, the whole cast was jubilant and had more than a little trouble focusing.  I think that's  both extremes, but I have also had numerous shows where cast members find out about major accidents or sudden deaths that change the tone of the room and wreck havoc on scheduling.

19

The Hardline / Re: assigning Dance Captain

« on: Aug 04, 2014, 04:32 pm »

This was a big discussion in the NEAT negotiations as well.  We argued for the best person capable to be dance captain, and said if they were EMC that's acceptable as they were making steps to become full AEA members and this would give them a nice addition skill to include on resumes.  How you follow the rules in your contract depends on the reading of your rep and your producer.  If the choreographer has serious concerns they should speak to the producer.

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Deputy?

« on: Aug 04, 2014, 04:27 pm »

Regarding a 'deputy' in non-union educational settings-
I teach at Boston University and for years they elected deputies for shows without any clear idea on why or what the duties were.  Last year we changed it to electing a cast representative to completely remove the title of deputy from the equation.  Below is how we defined the role in our student handbook:

Company Representative
The Company Representative (or “Company Rep”) will serve as spokesperson and act as advocate for the cast during the production process. Elected by majority of the cast at the first rehearsal of every production, the Company Rep will be noted on rehearsal reports and daily calls for crew and faculty to be aware of the assignment. The stage manager may conduct the election but is not eligible for election. The director should not be present for voting.
The Company Rep will bring cast concerns to the stage manager and/or the director. If the stage manager or director is unable to address the concerns sufficiently, the Company Rep will communicate said concerns to the appropriate faculty or staff members. In the case of MFA directors, this would be the MFA director’s advisor; in the case of faculty directors this would be the Assistant Director or the Director of the School of Theatre.
At the conclusion of any production process the stage manager will provide all members of the ensemble with Production Evaluation Forms to be filled out after the opening performance. The ensemble will fill out these forms and the Company Rep will be responsible for collecting and returning completed forms to the Assistant Director of the School in a timely manner.

21

Stage Management: Other / Re: Royal Opera Live

« on: Jul 09, 2014, 07:37 am »

This is fantastic - for teaching and for friends and family who have trouble understanding what I do.  Thanks for sharing.

Favorite portion is 1:00:00-1:10:00, trouble shooting backstage leading up to a critical moment.

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Self-Promotion / Re: Theatres That Have Opened - Easing the Emergency

« on: Jun 08, 2014, 04:04 pm »

Odyessey Opera - Boston MA, artistic leadership and several key positions filled by folks from Opera Boston which closed unexpectedly in 2011.  First production was 2013.

http://www.odysseyopera.org

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The Green Room / Re: Actor fired after confronting heckler

« on: Jun 04, 2014, 12:12 pm »

There are many articles out today about this incident, LA Times, The Wrap, Playbill - here's the one I plan on sharing with students in the fall, since it asks what can theater managers do to prevent things like this:

http://www.hesherman.com/2014/06/03/when-the-audience-bellows-louder-than-big-daddy/

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The Hardline / Re: To be Honest or to MRE

« on: Mar 21, 2014, 11:57 pm »

Agreed with KMC and VSM.  Last season I was asked to do a show with a possible extension week listed on the contract which conflicted with something I had already booked.  I told the company that I could under no circumstances stay for the extension and they still hired me and dealt with it by asking me to file MRE for the extension week which they ended up using.  I would have rather just had my contract end, but since it was true that the previous commitment was MRE I didn't see an issue with doing it that way.

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The Hardline / Re: Theatres That Have Closed--Can You Say "Emergency?"

« on: Mar 20, 2014, 09:25 am »

San Diego Opera closing at the end of it's current season - quite a surprise.  10th largest opera company in the US and the third largest arts group in San Diego.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Mar/19/san-diego-opera-fold/?#article-copy

26

Tools of the Trade / Re: Half-size binders

« on: Feb 19, 2014, 10:23 am »

Half-sized as in too small to hold 8.5x11" paper or half-size as in 1/2" to 1" ring size, so just narrower?

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The Green Room / Re: Personal Budgeting

« on: Feb 17, 2014, 10:07 pm »

I recommend Ace Budget app to students who are always on their smart phones anyway.  That way they have access to their budget when not at home.  It probably links to your computer, but I can't say for sure.

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The Green Room / Re: 2013 Univ of Iowa survey is live!

« on: Feb 07, 2014, 11:33 pm »

This was great reading tonight, especially paired with AEA's annual summery from last season.  Thanks to everyone who created and contributed to the report!

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: REPORTS: Including break times in report?

« on: Feb 07, 2014, 10:55 am »

I only do this when asked, which come to think of it has only been on operas.  Multiple rooms, staggered break times, odd numbers...too messy for the report, there are other, far more important things I want people to read in the report I'd rather not waste space on a string of numbers that no one is going to read.

The school I teach at requests that student SMs include this in their nightly reports.  I find it tedious but it does help me and the other advisors gauge how a rehearsal room is using their time and gives early warning signs if a graduate directing student doesn't use time well, or if a SM needs to be more assertive in breaking a room or bringing people back on time.  It also helps us know if there is merit to cast members complaining about how their time is being used.  I can see similar reasoning in professional theaters but never voluntarily list times.  I have them in my unpublished notes for the day if anyone every has questions or disputes.

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: E-mail Management

« on: Feb 05, 2014, 10:30 am »

I keep most show related emails but they go into file folders almost immediately, including one called PENDING.  My inbox is not a to-do list or a filing cabinet.  If there is info I need in an email or a task to do then it gets moved to my actual to-do list or show notebook, I want to be able to see everything at once, not sort though emails to be sure I have dealt with all issues for the day, especially when internet access in rehearsal halls is notoriously fickle.  If there is a lengthy email with pertinent info then I'll print it and keep the hard copy on hand.  If I'm working somewhere where I can't print emails sometimes I copy/paste the info into a Word document that stays open on my desktop.  There are many more suggestions for email management on the website uncluttered.com just do a search for the topic.

In terms of keep vs delete I keep things for the purposes of a paper trail.