Messages

151

The Green Room / "Multi-tasking" actors and designers

« on: Nov 10, 2010, 11:48 am »

I've noticed this trend the last few shows I've worked on, and I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed it in their work, as well.  I have a lot of actors and designers (and the occasionl producer) "multi-tasking" multiple shows at once, AND it's affecting the show I'm working.  I realize that to make a living actors and deisngers need to work on more than one contract at once, (heck, I even have a day job) sometimes, but up until the last year or so, I've never had experience with it seriously affecting the show I was working on, with them.

However, in the last year, I've worked a couple of times with an otherwise brilliant sound guy who has never been to a tech, ran half a tech without either sound or lighting designers in the space, canceled or seriously abbreviated three rehearsals because a vital actor suddenly had a "shooting day," had to string along a young hopeful understudy without actually going to the expense of hiring her (in a theatre that typicaly doesn't do understudies) because one of the cast members "might have a film gig one week in the run, and can't guarentee filming will wrap up every night in time for me to get to the theatre," (that one made me ill, it was so unfair to the prospective understudy) and had to re-shuffle an understudy's tech put-in two days before it was to happen because the producer rented out the mainstage space to a conference the afternoon we were scheduled to rehearse.

Has anyone else noticed an upswing in this sort of behavior in the past few years?  And how on earth do you deal with it when the Producer says, "That's ok, we'll work around it," but doesn't give you any lee-way to actually work around it?  I'm getting so frustrated with being the only person working on a show acutally focused on the show!

152

The Green Room / Re: Just a random what if....

« on: Nov 08, 2010, 08:04 pm »

Dancer-sm, you're asking for a friend, right?   

I'll come totally clean: I've had feelings for, or, to be more honest about it, a crush on, performers more than once before.  Hey, we work with people who are attractive and engaging for a living, and SMs are only human!

And besides letting myself enjoy the flutters that come with those feelings, I did absolutely nothing about it.  I didn't treat my crush any differently in rehearsal, performance, or notes.  I didn't write anonymous letters or leave presents in their dressings rooms.  And I didn't speak to anyone about it, certinaly not the object of my attention.  I had a nice, safe, little secret that could bring a mysterious smile to my lips, on occasion, and didn't hurt anyone or put anyone at any risk.

If I had run into my crushes, in a non-theatre situation, after the show closed, I might have tried my chances.  But only once the working relationship was completely over.  Besides, if all you have in common is theatre, that's (generally) a REALLY bad idea.

There are literally billions of people, in the world, not involved in your show and, even if you're working on a giant opera, less than 300 who are.  Work and romance typically don't mix, but that is a decision everyone has to come to on their own (unless there are rules already in place in your workplace, in which case, always play by the rules.)

Now, I do see that your experience is listed as high school, which is a slightly different kettle of fish.  My senior year, my boyfriend was the lead in the show I stage managed, BUT we were already dating well before he was cast and I was picked to SM.  In my opinion, middle of rehearsals of a high school show is a bad time to start a relationship with anyone!  If the feelings are still there once the show closes, I'd say then is the time to go for it!

153

The Green Room / Re: Why is it that...

« on: Oct 28, 2010, 10:39 am »

...when there's a cue you have to take off a visual action, like a performer flipping on a light switch, or turning on a television, the set is always designed in such a way that you cannot see that action from the booth?

154

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Blocking Script vs Calling Script

« on: Oct 28, 2010, 10:28 am »

I am usually able to keep my blocking book pretty clean (or fix it so it looks pretty, later), and I never put blocking on the same page as script, always on the back of the opposite page.  So, I go ahead and put my cues in the same script I used for blocking, along with pre-show, intermission, and post-show duty checklists.
The exception to my no-blocking-on-script-pages rule is if the cue is off a visual.  "LQ17.5 (as girls stand up) GO" is an example from my last show.

155

The Green Room / Re: On anti-success

« on: Oct 20, 2010, 12:11 pm »

I follow zenhabits, too (though not very successfully, truth be told!), and I loved the article on anti-success. 
My idea of success isn't huge.  I want to have time to sit in a cushy chair in front of a window, with a mug of tea and read.  I want to have friends feel loved enough to drop by without notice.  I want a clean and uncluttered house.  I want to make just enough money to not worry about needing it, and not so much that I worry about what to do with it.  When I can wake up in the morning (or afternoon, depending on the show!), look at the day ahead and smile, I've become a success in my eyes.
I've felt this way since I got burnt out living up to my parents expectations my senior year of college and decided being a B student was good enough for me.  And have always had a lot of trouble expaining my idea of success to most other people.
The rat race is sooooo ingrained.

156

The Green Room / Re: Best one-liner from a performance report

« on: Oct 15, 2010, 10:09 pm »

"Jack, nice adjustment on the pee."

157

The Green Room / Re: What did you learn today?

« on: Oct 15, 2010, 10:09 pm »

Today I learned, no matter what the joys of a portable go button (wireless keyboard with a 30' range for a nice new Mac running the latest version of Q-Lab!), you cannot experience said joys if you mis-place your portable go button (luckily, it was only for 30 seconds, or so.  Just forgot to move it from where the house light controls are to where my script was after intermission, and no cues for two minutes.)

158

The Green Room / Re: I can't believe I just had to do that...

« on: Oct 15, 2010, 12:25 pm »

Less funny and more, "What are people thinking!?" 
I just had to ask our house manager to post a guard by the set any time the audience is wandering (pre-show, intermission, post-show, post-talkback), because they are stealing and eating our prop mints.  A different style show, I'd just set the mints at places, but that's not an option for this house!

159

The Green Room / Re: Exercise!

« on: Oct 14, 2010, 11:32 am »

This topic has been merged with "How do you keep in shape?".  Please, continue discussion!

I'm fond of yoga, myself.

160

The Green Room / Re: SM Hobbies

« on: Oct 14, 2010, 11:28 am »

"SM Hobbies" has been merged with thread "How do you Play."  Please continue disucssion!

161

The Green Room / Re: Convolution Creep

« on: Oct 10, 2010, 09:28 pm »

Oh my.  We're housed in an old school, so there's a metric ton. 

About five doors you have to give the hip-pop while turning the key to lock or unlock.
You have to walk all the way through the dark booth and up three stairs to turn on the booth lights.
The clothes dryer doesn't have a knob anymore.  You have to turn it on with pliers.
If you run a coffee maker AND the mini-fridge in the rehearsal hall simultaenously, you blow the fuse for the whole room.
The audience bathroom isn't on the same level as the restrooms, and there's no elevator, so if a wheel-chair bound audience member has to use the restroom, they have to be driven  in a car all the way around the theatre, toted up one threshold stair into the hall, and wheeled to the bathroom, then reverse process to come back.  This results, as you can imagine, in plenty of top of show and post intermission holds.
The backstage toilet can be heard flushing, during the show.
The water isn't safe to drink, unless it has been filtered.
And my particular favorite: You have to unplug the backstage fridge to use the microwave.  If you run the microwave and fridge backstage at the same time, you blow the breaker.

162

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROFESSIONALISM: How would you as SM respond to an actors' stolen car?

« on: Oct 05, 2010, 12:00 pm »

This is a situation from long ago in my career, but as I'm working with the same actress, again, and it came up anecdotaly, I thought I'd pose it to the forums as a good "what would you do?"

The cast had left the theatre after the evening show, and between my post-show duties, locking up, and switching the laundry, I left the theatre about 45 minutes later.  Only to find my entire cast and a few of their signifigant others standing around the parking lot.

During the show, one of the actresses car had been stolen.

In aforementioned situation, what are your responsiblities as SM?

As it resulted, the actress wasn't too upset (she hated her car), and even found a $100 bill on the ground, where her car had been, and took her castmates drinking with it. 

As the parking lot was rather isolated, and the police had already been called, I went out to the street to direct them back to the site, unlocked the theatre so the cast could go back in and get a bottle of their wine from the fridge and some cups, relocked the theatre, ensured the cast would dispose of their cups and the empty bottle in the dumpster, made sure the actress had a ride home, and left because it was very late and I had an hour drive home, and there were seven people standing around the parking lot, so everyone was safe.
I sent an addendum to the performance report when I got home.

What would you have done?

Edit to subject line-Rebbe

163

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROPS: The hardest thing you've had to do in the dark.

« on: Oct 01, 2010, 06:33 pm »

I did a production of Chinamen in college, in a small thrust space with a TINY "backstage," a corridor about two and a half feet wide immediattely behind the US wall with three doorways into the performance space.  The director told me, "I'd only do this show with you as my SM, because you're the only person I know who could handle it."  If you're not familiar with the show, it's a one act British dinner party farce, in which two actors play five characters.
Lights actually took their own cues, just up at the beginning and down at the end, and because of the limited space, I was the entirely of the crew; another person wouldn't fit.  I had to wear a black mask and gloves because of the doors and their sight lines.  I had to be invisible while being, frequently, in full view of a third of the audience.
Catching the fully set dinner table from the actress who then had to crawl under my legs to make her next entrance at the other end of the stage ten seconds later was a little tricky, but not the worst.  Late, simultaneously I was helping with a quick change with one hand, pounding on a wall with another, kicking over a crash box with one foot, and screaming, "Mummy, MUMMY!  There's a lady and a man FIGHTING in the bathroom!" (in posh accent) at the top of my lungs.  In the dark.  Half blindfolded by my no-face mask.
After that, I can do ANYTHING in the dark!

164

The Green Room / Re: Thread to vent about / Actors behaving badly / As haiku only

« on: Sep 30, 2010, 01:39 pm »

Costume designer:
New pants dry clean only? I
was never informed.

(what a mess!)

165

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: CALLING: Light Board restart WWYD?

« on: Sep 28, 2010, 01:03 pm »

I've had this happen, too, and in a theatre where I didn't have a board op, just little ole me.  Because the lighting wasn't integral to the show, I did exactly what loebtmc said.  Up went the works, down went the master, and when order was retored and the board was in the right Q, I took the master back up and the work lights out. 
In a show where lighting was integral (say a magic show, or something in which you're using shadow to mask action elsewhere) I'd work a little differently.  Provided the current scene didn't need magic lighting, I'd let it contine (while working to get the board back up) and then pause the show, with an announcement at the scene break.  If it did I'd have to make a spot decision as to whether revealing the magic or pausing the show, mid-scene would be more distracting.
Luckily, I haven't worked in a theatre where rebooting the board takes more than one or two minutes, tops.