Messages

166

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / What do you want to tell Actors???

« on: Mar 19, 2006, 10:21 pm »

How about:

"If you would like to add a prop for a bit of business, ask.  Don't just pantomime it, and hope I pick up on what you're doing."

167

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Applications and acceptances HELP!

« on: Mar 15, 2006, 10:25 pm »

I also was in a similar situation last year.  I had been accepted to work(read: intern) at a large summer theatre festival, albiet with no pay.  It would have been great for the networking alone, if there hadn't been this other job on the horizon.  I received an offer for this first position the day before I interviewed for a position with a local new plays festival.  Now, this job, while less prestigous, paid very well and I have a strong interest in new work.   This interview went extremely well, perhaps the most comfortable interview I have ever had, but then I waited.  I waited for over a week, putting off the large festival (I made it a point not to answer my phone...which may have not been a great move, but it kept me from lying to anyone point blank).  I finally got in touch with one of the women I had interviewed with for the second job, the artistic director, and explained that while they were my first choice, I had another offer that I really needed to address one way or another.  She emailed me back within an hour and said not to take that job, that the production manager would be in touch with me.  He emailed me an offer within the next hour.    I accepted the position with the group I really wanted to work with, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and will be returning this summer.   Sometimes it really pays off to play one group off another group, to show the interest that other see in you.

168

Students and Novice Stage Managers / prompt books

« on: Mar 13, 2006, 11:32 pm »

I archive my shows in large (like the 11"x15" ones) manila envelopes.  That is the standard system that the mainstage at the theatre I work for uses.  Blocking script, & calling script go into the envelope(s), along with a CD of all the show's paperwork, and hard copies of ground plans, renderings, etc.  The outside of the envelope is clearly labelled with the show's title, season, director, stage manager, and the contents of the envelope.  I keep my binders and reuse them on subsequent shows.

169

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Gender and Age Issues

« on: Feb 22, 2006, 12:15 am »

I had an interesting situation this past summer when I was stage managing for a new plays festival with a foundling company that was sort of a summer off shoot of the grad program I work with during the year.  This summer program was more closely linked to the University that comprises the name, while the grad school itself is more closely linked with the regional theatre that comprises the name.  I had one director who has worked for the University for many, many years and is very set in her ways, very entrenched in the world of academia, and less familiar with professional theatre, which this summer program was an attempt at.  It took a lot of advocating for myself to get her to realize that I wasn't one of her students(even if only a year older than some of them), that I had very real expectiations of what my job was, and even more so knew how to do it well.  Ultimately it was proving the last part that got her into the right mindset.

My background is such that I expect to be the youngest, or one of the youngest.  I started stage managing when I was 16, at my local community theatre, then I was working in the local small professional theatres at 19 (where I was the youngest by like 10 years on some shows).  Last year I interned...  I'm 23 now, and I find it very strange this year, working for the grad school, to start having actors younger than me on a consistant basis.  

In the fall I did my first show ever where I was older than the director.  It was a negligible difference (I've got 5 weeks on him), but it was strange to think back and realize that I've NEVER been older than my director, in the eight years I've been doing this. The closest I've come for is someone 3 years older... On my current project I'm the youngest, but when this class graduates in May, its less and less likely that I'll ever be the youngest again.

170

Tools of the Trade / What goes inside a SM Kit?

« on: Feb 12, 2006, 03:53 pm »

I used to carry an extremely extensive kit, full of all sorts of tools, office supplies, first aid, etc.  This was extraordinarily useful in college, and I used to be the one that the stage management professor picked to show off my kit to the Intro to Stage Managment class.  Now, however, I carry a lot less of the 'bulk' that I had before.  I have a lot of peculiar fix-it type things, and things not common to your average office supply closet or tool closet or first aid kit.  But as for the common things, I'm glad to finally be in a position where I can expect the theatre I work for to provide the basic supplies out of their budget.    Now, I only tap my own supplies if its something that the theatre does not have in stock.

171

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Need help with writting SM resume

« on: Jan 22, 2006, 02:13 pm »

I'd also be willing to share my resume.  Let me know.

172

SMNetwork Archives / How does one deal with being a stage manager and a friend?

« on: Dec 23, 2005, 07:03 pm »

This is always a tough situation.  I've had a situation recently with a friend who drinks too much who has been in several of the last shows I've done(I work for a graduate school, so I have the same actors over and over again).  The situation has forced me to create a set of criteria in which I have to bring up the issue, because I realize that there's a difference between being concerned as his friend and being concerned as his stage manager.  My two criteria are 1. the alcohol never makes an appearance in rehearsal, and 2. his behavior is never problematic.  I've never had to call him on his behavior.  He's been professional enough to not bring it into rehearsal, so I can just be concerned for him later, as a friend, and not have to be an arm of the administration.

173

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Workshoping a show...

« on: Nov 12, 2005, 11:18 pm »

Whenever I'm workshopping a play I do a few things differently than I would  on a regular play.

* Always make absolutely sure that the date appears on all pages.  Some playwrights are good about this, and some never remember.  If they haven't done it in their computer program, you should write it in the same part of the page (for easy reference) on your master.

* I find that it is best to maintain a master script, in addition to your prompt script, so that if someone for any reason needs a few pages, or the entire script you have a clean copy that is completely up to date to Xerox for them.

* I personally find it is easiest to write my blocking in the left hand margin of the page the text is on when I am doing a new play, so that when you have to replace the page, you don't have to replace the one preceeding it(or following it, depending on which side you take blocking on) as well.  You can just line up the blocking from the old page X with the text on new page X if it is even remotely the same text.

* Try to set up a guideline with your playwright of when you need new pages by in order to have the copied for rehearsal.  Most will try to accomodate you.  Things come up in the middle of the day on occasion (I let my Fringe show playwright do "lunch revisions" sometimes) but you should set up a good working relationship that gets things done most productively.

* When I'm distributing a stack of new pages to my actors, I bind it all together with a Post-it, write on the Post-it the actor's name, the new pages numbers, and any peculiar instructions for inserting them.  This helps you keep track of exactly which actors still need to get their packets, and frees you up from having to explain to actors who are called later in the rehearsal day exactly how to insert all the new pages into their script.  

New plays can be trying for the actors involved, especially if they haven't worked on a new play before, and especially if the production you are working on is more than a reading and they are required to be off book.  I did a play last year as part of a new plays festival and for some reason we were the first show to tech, and the last show to go up, with a week of rehearsal in between.  A week in which the playwright drastically overhauled the play.  Thank goodness, we'd established that our cast would have their scripts early on, to allow maximum revisions on the playwright's part.  It was tough enough to rework the blocking in the week, then quickly put it in to the tech that we'd already done.

You'll learn quickly what type of playwright you're working with.  Some sit back and listen carefully, and give revisions and new pages.  In other cases you have a second director in the room.  Be wary of that.  If that's the case pay extra attention to your cast to make sure they aren't stressed out by this double direction.

All this being said, I love doing new plays. I like the challenge of working with a constantly evolving work, and see it progress through the rehearsal process.  It can be very rewarding...just don't necessarily expect it to be a GOOD play, especially if this is its first workshop.

174

SMNetwork Archives / kit

« on: Nov 06, 2005, 12:49 am »

a lighting gel book- on my last show, during a daytime rehearsal after a preview that was mostly acting stuff, the lighting designer asked the board op if he had a gel book, I said I did, produced it, and he proceeded to make the afternoon interesting to him by working on his color picks for his next show.

I'm not sure if anyone's said this already...tampons.  Your female cast members will be very grateful.

Emergen-C packets.  I like them.  I noticed my actors bring them in a lot, and they're fairly cheap by the packet at the Whole Foods.  This helps to keep folks healthy in the cold/flu season.


Other stuff I find really useful:  a set of small screwdrivers, a 2 prong to 3 prong electrical adaptor, a power strip(as one who likes to have the laptop in rehearsal), and a hot glue gun.

175

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Your book Left or right?

« on: Nov 06, 2005, 12:30 am »

I think I'm going to give 'text on the left, blocking on the right' a try on my next show.  I've never tried it, but it makes sense that I should, being right handed.

Currently, due to the nature of having no support staff, I'm constantly on book.  My blocking therefore(while I do manage to get a fair degree of specificity) is scrawled all over the page of text when I first take it.  I then go back, the next day, and rewrite my blocking neatly onto my blocking forms on the right side, where I have 2 ground plans, numbers which are marked to corresponding actions, and a special box at the top for prop tracking.

I have found, however, that when doing a new play, especially one undergoing a substantial amount of rewriting, it is just easier to write the blocking in the margin of the page it occurs on, so that if it is replaced, you only have to update the one page, as opposed to it and the preceeding.  

I do create a new book for calling, if my blocking script is messy at all, and I keep a seperate filebook for my paperwork.  I like to have just my script in one binder.

176

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Teachers, mentors, learning

« on: Nov 06, 2005, 12:12 am »

I like this thread a lot.  

The mentors I've learned most from have certainly been the other stage managers I have worked with.  I thought that I came through college with a good view of the craft.   When I began as an intern in a LORT house, the following year,  I realized that I would always, always be learning, and that was great.  It's an interesting perspective to sit down with your fellow stage managers in the office after rehearsal, or at the bar, and just discuss events that occur, hear what others have to say.  To have a fresh view on something that you may not have heard of.  The theatre I work at has a mostly resident set of stage managers, and PAs so everyone knows one another pretty well, and it allows this dialogue to happen freely.

The skill I'd like to impart to any stage manager is an attention to detail.  This applies to paperwork, to preset, to having that cup of water ready for the actor who only comes offstage once in the play,  to every facet of the job, and can really make a difference between a decent stage manager and a good stage manager.

177

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Prop dilemma

« on: Oct 09, 2005, 11:20 am »

We do Christmas Carol every year, and the big turkey is made out of styrafoam.  Its nearly as big as the kid who carries it in.

178

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Drop Count

« on: Sep 25, 2005, 11:43 pm »

Right now we've got The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and the SM's performance report includes who was voted Datchery, who was voted the Murderer and who were voted the lovers.

179

SMNetwork Archives / Interview question

« on: Aug 04, 2005, 05:21 pm »

I remember the first time I showed up for an interview really dressed up(very nice slacks, dress top, and nice shoes), and was interviewed by a woman in a T shirt and ripped jeans, I was terrified that I was dressed incorrectly.  Now, normally I wear nice slacks and a nice polo shirt.

Just this week I had an interview that perplexed me on how to dress for it.  It was with a woman I've worked for before(which makes the interview harder for other reasons), who I knew would be wearing a T shirt, shorts and sandals.  I made a choice to dress neatly, but was by no means "dressed up".  I had on my nice jeans, and a button down tank top.  I was dressed up looking in comparison, and ended up pleased with my choice.  It's all about the circumstances.

180

SMNetwork Archives / PC vs MAC

« on: Aug 02, 2005, 09:54 pm »

While I have seen how ultimately useful Unix/Linux can be in terms of security and so forth, my experience(watching someone else do it) is that they are very difficult to install, beyond the abilites of the average computer user.