Messages

166

The Hardline / Re: Possibly Stupid NYMF Question

« on: Aug 09, 2008, 11:02 am »

It's actually the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

MITF is the Midtown International Theatre Festvial.

Fringe is Fringe.

Are there any other abbreviated festivals that I'm missing?

167

The Hardline / Possibly Stupid NYMF Question

« on: Aug 08, 2008, 01:54 pm »

Small NYMF crisis impending, and I'm trying to do everything in my power to prevent it...and move out of my apt at the same time. UGH.Small NYMF crisis impending, and I'm trying to do everything in my power to prevent it...and move out of my apt at the same time. UGH.

I know that for a regular showcase you do not need an AEA stage management team. Is this true with NYMF as well? I'm in the rulebook and it just says that you need an SM and ASM, and I don't know if the union requirement is implied b/c it's an AEA rulebook or if it just means that the production needs one of each.

168

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Multi-tool advice?

« on: Aug 06, 2008, 02:11 pm »

The Leatherman Wave is the best multi-tool made. It costs little more than the other leathermans and it is well worth it. Then again, I also do Scouting, so I am a bit more biased towards bigger knives.

this is such and old topic, but i came across it while looking for another and had to add my 2 cents.

I agree about the Wave. I used to be a Gerber girl all the way, but in the last 2 years switched to the Wave and I love it. (I've also lost or had 2 stolen in the same amount of time!)

Ebay, ebay, ebay. I have never spend over $40 on one.

169

Tools of the Trade / Re: The Blackberry

« on: Jul 22, 2008, 05:57 pm »

Went with the iPhone!

170

Tools of the Trade / Re: The Blackberry

« on: Jul 17, 2008, 11:56 am »

So it is time for me to upgrade my PDA. Currently, as i mentioned before, I have an older model Treo, but for the price it will cost me to get a newer model Treo ($129-$199), I could potentially get myself the new iPhone. {If I can find one!}

Has anyone made a similar transition? I know there are a few iPhoners in this thread. What did you use before?

I like my Treo, and the newer ones have Windows mobile, which is nice for me. I'm in the process of fighting with Dell about my laptop and I'm looking to upgrade to a Macbook before Christmas.

I'm so torn.

171

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Tips for Packing?

« on: Jul 16, 2008, 11:47 am »

I only have a couple of tips:

1: Roll your clothes. Fold them up as you would have them on a shelf, then TIGHTLY roll it up. I found that I can fit about twice as many clothes if I roll, instead of just having them folded.

2: Avoid hard cases, unless they are really necessary (ie to protect something). By using soft cases, you gain valuable "wiggle room".

3: Pack the heavy stuff down the wheeled end of the case. That way when you stand your bag up (whilst waiting in a que for example) it will not be top heavy and topple over. It will also prevent "squashage"

As for books, what we used to do was put all our books together on day one, and we would write our names in pencil on the inside of the back cover if we wanted to read it. After you finished the book, you looked inside the back cover and passed it onto the next person on the list (and so on and so forth). At the end of the tour, the owner of the book collected it, erased the inside back cover and it was ready for the next tour.

Great tips, especially the books! That would work wonderfully for a show with a green room as well!

172

Tools of the Trade / What's in your bag?

« on: Jul 15, 2008, 12:29 pm »

There's a lot of talk about what in your kit, and by extension, what would be in your ideal kit, but I'm gearing this question to the other city-dwelling freelancers like myself:

What do you think it is most important to have with you on a day-to-day rehearsal space basis? Sometimes it is less than ideal to travel to a day/temp job with your complete kit and then not be able to leave it (or props for that matter) in a rental rehearsal venue - and often times, where that is changes from day to day.

So I ask out of curiosity, what is most important for you to have with you?

I know my answer...

173

The Hardline / Ensemble Studio Theatre in NYC

« on: Jul 14, 2008, 02:48 pm »

Out of curiosity, does anyone know what contract they work under?

174

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Dressing For The Part?

« on: Jul 08, 2008, 05:04 pm »

As someone who works a full time day job in an office, I have to dress appropriately for work as well as rehearsal. I'm oftentimes a little more dressed up during the week, when I'm coming from the day job. If I have an event at work that i need to be in a dress for, I bring a change of clothes, but otherwise it's business attire for me most days. I always make sure to bring sneakers and/or other rehearsal appropriate clothing with me when I don't start the day that way.

175

Employment / Re: Stage Management Salary

« on: Jun 29, 2008, 03:42 pm »

I freelance in NY as well, but I've been here for less than a year. I work mostly showcases, so I pretty consistently get just a $500 stipend for the two months.

Before I moved to NY I worked LORT & SPT contracts, anywhere from $300-$750/wk.

I long for the day I sign a contract again..

176

Tools of the Trade / Re: The Blackberry

« on: Jun 27, 2008, 12:40 pm »

I would certainly agree that a blackberry/similar device can be a useful tool for an SM.  I would say though, that saying a device like this is needed for an SM is going a bit too far.

I agree. My husband's got a blackberry for his job, and watching the change between before he had his corporate leash and afterwards, I don't know that I'd want that kind of connectivity. His company purchased it for him, and since he has it he's expected to be on-call 24/7, answering emails at 3AM if they come just because that's when his boss felt like working.

IMO, if something's happening that's that urgent, and I'm not there, and it requires my attention that badly, call my cell phone. During the times of the day when I'm not present for things and it would be appropriate to email, I check my email about 30 times a day anyway... having your email on 24/7 just invites situations that make it so that you can't ever leave work... which makes for mental breakdowns, which is definitely not what an SM needs!

In a lot of ways, what we do, and as a result, what we would use (or do use) our PDAs for is very different than being obligated to wake up and answer an email at 3am from your boss.

I work as a freelance SM in NYC, which means that I am oftentimes in crappy rehearsal spaces that differ from day to day. I don't have an office to run to during a break to shoot a quick email to someone if I need to. For me, having constant access to my email has proven to be a necessity, but not one that has become an obsession. I don't need a 'Blackberry Blackout' or find it hard to put my phone away. It has been amazingly helpful to have it on hand though. I can read and write emails on the bus, or on the train. It is a real time saver in that sense to be connected.

Most importantly though, I can also choose not to answer an email (the same way I choose not to answer a phone call) if I don't feel it's a top priority to stop what I'm doing for it.

Nobody owns me and learning when to say no, no matter how often you're connected is just as important as anything else! Especially for us SMs. Technology related or not, I'm learning as I get older to learn that it isn't the end of the world to say no.

Also, sort of along this same vein, I've noticed that since I've been in NY, many of my actors and designers will now text instead of call to relay information, and I love this! It's so much easier to get a text that says "Trains running slow, I'm 3 blocks away" then have to run out of rehearsal to pick up the phone. Even my directors will text! It's really great.

177

Tools of the Trade / Re: The Blackberry

« on: Jun 27, 2008, 10:05 am »

I downloaded a great stopwatch that keeps running even when I go do something else on the phone.  And the camera works pretty well for preset photos.

What's the name of the stopwatch?

178

Tools of the Trade / Re: The Blackberry

« on: Jun 26, 2008, 02:30 pm »

I'm a Treo girl myself. I currently have a 650 that I bought used on Ebay (I love ebay!!) and I'm looking to upgrade when I renew my phone contract over the summer.

I love that all of my info is at my fingertips, and as a freelancer who is at the mercy of any number of rehearsal spaces across the city, it's great to have my email when i need it. One of the things that I really like about my Treo is that Palm has an application called Documents To Go which allows you to upload Word, Excel and PDF (with PDF To GO) files to your phone and view and edit them. Contact sheets, on my phone!! It's great.

179

Employment / Re: First Aid/Fire Guard

« on: Jun 09, 2008, 11:22 am »

MarcieA,
You would get your fire guard certificate at 9 Metrotech Plaza in Brooklyn. Here is a link to the nyc.gov site. It's technically a Certificate of Fitness. It's Examination F-94, Fireguard for Places of Public Assembly and Fire Guard for Film Studios.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/fdny/html/c_of_f/coff.shtml

Also, here is another site when I was trying to figure it out myself (it's a little more user friendly than a .gov site). It's a theatre company that just happened to have info on their website.

http://horsetrade.info/process/fireguard.htm

Hope that helps!

Thank you so much, it really helps! There are so many different types of exams, and you just completely narrowed it down for me, I really appreciate it!

180

Employment / Re: Listing readings on a resume

« on: Jun 09, 2008, 11:15 am »

Thanks guys. That's what I was doing, but I realised that I had more than just a few built up.