Messages

151

Uploaded Forms / Re: Line Notes (for going "off book")

« on: Oct 01, 2006, 12:25 pm »

This is the newest line notes form I've created.  It's sort of a combination of all the things I liked about forms I've used in the past.  Just enough slots on the page so that the actor's head doesn't spin when they look at it, and the boxes are big enough to get in the info you need.

152

The Green Room / Re: Snacks

« on: Oct 01, 2006, 12:11 pm »

I like pretzels.  I like to bring in things for my actors to munch on during rehearsals, and the big vats of pretzels from the discount store are usually it.  Of course, I usually end up eating a bunch myself.

153

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: The Ultimate Decision

« on: Sep 30, 2006, 12:57 am »

I got into theatre in the first place because I had the drama teacher for homeroom my freshman year of high school, and she was trying to get everyone to audition for "The Miracle Worker".  Got cast as a random blind girl.  For two years I played itty bitty parts in the high school producitons.  Then I auditioned for the local community theatre, and did not get cast because I can't sing AT ALL.  I still wanted to participate, so I ASM'd.  The SM and I both kind of made it up as we went along that summer, and I was hooked.  I sought out books to teach me more than what had figured out on my own.  For the rest of high school I stage managed for the occasional school productions, but mostly for the community theatre I started with, and the local community college.

When I graduated from high school, I was very close to leaving theatre because my high school drama teacher had made it unbearable in my last few months.  However, I was won over by the head of the theatre department at college orientation, and it turned out she was the SM advisor as well.  Upon learning that stage management was what I wanted to do, I got to take the stage management class (usually for sophomores and up) my first semester.  I ASMed a lot, and stage managed a few student shows and 2 mainstage shows.  Through college I worked for small, local, professional but non-Eq theatres. 

I graduated from college with a BFA, and took an internship at a LORT theatre, which I think was absolutely the right choice for me.  I proceeded to stage manage for the grad school attached to this theatre, and now I'm back on the mainstage as a PA.

154

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Calling Mics

« on: Sep 26, 2006, 08:51 pm »

I agree with most on this.  I do not call the mics if its musical, or mic heavy.  If there are a few scattered occurances of a mic, I will call them.  Personal preference.

155

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: director's power

« on: Sep 18, 2006, 11:32 pm »

In college theatre, especially with a faculty director, the lines get a little blurry.  Its hard assert yourself like that when you're in a position where the person you're questioning has grading power.  Was the LD a student or a professional? 

Recently, I did a grad school showcase in NYC, and we were horribly behind because our space was terrible, so the LD couldn't be there on the afternoon before we opened.  He knew that things were going to come up in that rehearsal that the two directors would want adjusted, so we set it that as soon as the rehearsal was over, I would pull out my cell and call him, describe the adjustments (with cues numbers ready), and he'd talk me through programming the change.  The director would look at it, okay it, and we'd move on.  Professionally, this is closest I've come to the director making changes on their own, but it was with the consent of the LD, and it was due to circumstances beyond all of their control.

As for minimal changes after tech, I disagree.  I've certainly had shows where my LD is giving me completely new cues for sequences up through the final preview.  Granted, after tech MOST changes are in intensity, most of the LDs I've worked with will throw in new cues here and there, link cues that were previously seperate, etc. for as long as they can.

156

College and Graduate Studies / Re: Equity Courses

« on: Sep 18, 2006, 11:21 pm »

We didn't have a specifc course for Equity stuff, per se.  We had a strong, written out production policy in my college, that was based on Equity rules.  I took Theatre Management twice (1st time for credit, 2nd time I audited for a new teacher's perspective). In this class the final project was the "create" our own new small professional theatres.  The first time I took the class, the professor wanted us to fully take into account the restrictions of the SPT contract.  So I read through that then.  I let the rest of the team be more creative, and I was the nay-sayer in terms of policy, and budget.

Independently during college, because I had an interest, I also read the LORTand NEAT contracts.  We had no formal instruction in it, but I sought it out.

157

College and Graduate Studies / Re: College advice

« on: Sep 11, 2006, 12:15 am »

I went to the University of Rhode Island.  A medium sized program, state school.  The theatre department offered BFA degrees in acting, directing, technical theatre, and stage management.

158

College and Graduate Studies / Re: College advice

« on: Sep 10, 2006, 10:36 pm »

My degree seems to be somewhat uncommon...I went to a state university, with a moderately strong theatre department, that grants a BFA, not a BA.  This seems to be an exception to how people list the difference between the degrees.  I had to take a number of general education credits, in additions to general theatre credits, then had a large number of credits focused on stage management (including related stuff in other departments like managment, and business/crisis communication).  I found it to be a great experience, because though I went into college knowing for sure that I wanted to stage manage, I wasn't ready to give up the other areas that I'd liked to dally in. 

159

College and Graduate Studies / Re: College Interview

« on: Sep 06, 2006, 11:41 pm »

In terms of prepping for the content of the interview, I've found that its helpful to go through your resume and think about what you got from each show you've done.  Was there a major problem that you handled successfully?  Did you feel particularly challenged by a situation you encountered?  Was there a situation you would have handled differently in retrospect?  What show do you think you learned the most on (because at this phase in your career it is still all about learning)    And in general, what do you think your strengths are, and what do you think are your weaknesses? Why do you want to stage manage?

These are likely the types of questions you'll encounter.  I find that having thought those answers through, in advance, I'm more likely to speak eloquently and confidantly at the interview.

160

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Blocking Charts?

« on: Aug 22, 2006, 11:55 pm »

I use charts in addition to taking notation.  My blocking page has numbers for the notation, to correspond with where I marked the number on the text.  Usually when I take blocking, I scrawl it all over the text page(because its usually just me in the room), and go back and rewrite it on my blocking page.  Next to the numbers for notation, I have 1 or 2 shrinklets of the groundplan.  I use these to have a reference point of where all my actors are on stage on any given page.  In addition, I have a lines for prop and furniture notes below this, For one show, I used my blocking page to track which side of the stage each actor was on on each page, as there was no cross over, and we had to rehearse out of order.  This is what I find works best for me.  Everyone's different.

161

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Giving line notes - a real novice question

« on: Jul 19, 2006, 02:57 pm »

I use a form that has common problems listed in the top of each box, and a line for the correct line, folllowed by a line for what was said.  I rarely use the what was said line, mostly because I'm usually working alone in rehearsal, on book as well, and I barely have time to take down the correct line.  I use a highlighter to point out the part of the line that had a problem.  During a run, I start a sheet for each actor, and mark down the page numbers where problems occur as we go, marking it in my shorthand in my book.  Then afterwards, I go back and fill in the lines.  I like to give actors their line notes before they leave on a given day, so that they have time to look them over before the next rehearsal.

162

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Creating a call script

« on: Jul 16, 2006, 10:20 am »

I like to use the wet erase markers(like Vis a Vis) on sheet protectors.  These don't erase quite as easily as the dry erase ones.

163

Employment / Re: stage management college degrees

« on: Jul 04, 2006, 12:55 am »

I have a BFA in stage management, and through college I'd always intended to go to grad school, because I'd always loved school, loved learning.  I ended up doing an internship at a major regional theatre, and left with no desire to go to grad school in the near future, if ever.    I learned so much more so quickly, both in doing and in meeting these fabulous Equity SMs who would frequently hang out together and talk about issues they encountered and how they dealt with them, then ask for input as to how others would deal with them.  So, in jumping right into the real world after college, I ended up getting some degree of the discussion and feedback associated with grad school.

I didn't realize just how much I'd learned in my intern year until last year when I was working for the grad school (no SM program) attached to the regional theatre I'd worked for.  I was working on one of the 3rd year director's thesis shows, fully produced by the mainstage.  This required working with all of the production departments, as well as the school.  The girl who was stage managing the other thesis show at the same time had come out of the same undergrad program that I did, a year later, and she was a very good SM in college.  It was interesting to work side by side again, and see just how much I'd learned by interning that had just become second nature.

As of now,  I'm still on the track I'd like to be with my career.  If at some point in the future that changes, I may go back to school.  But for now, I am happy with my BFA and on the job experience.

164

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Easy Question (Cut and Paste Prompt Scripts)

« on: Jun 12, 2006, 08:34 pm »

I do not personally cut and paste, but when I have a really lousy photocopy I will cut out the text portion of the page.  I cut off any nasty extra black marks that I can, and white out the rest.  Then I take my cut pages back to the copy machine, where I then re-center and straighten each page.  I put a piece of white paper on top of the cut page so that I don't get those weird black spots that can occur when the thing to be copied does not take up the entire 8 1/2 by 11.   It takes a little bit of time, but its worth it to end up with a beautiful, clean page.

165

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Hospitality backstage

« on: May 12, 2006, 07:55 pm »

When I interned on the mainstage at a LORT theatre last year, it was my job to make the coffee/tea.  This meant a pot of regular, a pot of decaf, and depending on the space, a pot of hot water (one of our coffee pots had a convenient spigot for hot water as it was connected directly to the water supply.)  I had to make sure that cream, milk, sugar, splenda and honey were stocked(the actors contributed for this).   Occasionally, we'd put out snacks in the form of cookies and crackers.   We would also put out Ricola.

This year, working for the grad school attached to the LORT theatre, I don't directly make coffee/tea for my actors, but if we're rehearsing in the main building, I let them go get coffee from the mainstage green room, so long as they are respectful about contributing for supplies.   I really like to make my actors feel taken care of, so I almost always have a snack...I'm known for having a big vat of pretzels, and sometimes I bring in candy.  In the cold/flu season, I put out packets of Emergen-C.