Messages

181

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Help, I'm being sabotaged!

« on: Oct 23, 2009, 01:27 pm »

I run into people like this on occasion and it drives me batty!

I'd say save a second copy of your contact sheet and then send it to her to input the missing info then you can cross reference to be sure nothing else was changed.

To play devils advocate--this person may not realize how much you're becoming the brunt of all these "missed communications" and how much her not sharing information is effecting you. While it is a no-brainer to stage managers that we need all the information for the production, some office type folk take offense at that sort of "sharing" of power.

In the past, just calmly explaining that it makes BOTH our jobs easier if the SM has all the information from the start seems to help in most cases. In one case where the person above me wanted to be "in charge" of all pertinent info I started referring people to them... "Oh, I actually don't have access to that information, please contact XXX for it, she can get it for you" after a few dozen e-mails flooding her inbox she realized how much easier it'd be just to let me have the info in the first place.

Would love to hear how things turn out--don't get discouraged!

182

Tools of the Trade / Re: Google Websites

« on: Oct 21, 2009, 04:04 pm »

I'd love to do this for more shows that I freelance on. Especially small showcase productions where you don't necessarily have a "home base" let alone a call board, office, etc it'd be nice to have a one stop website for everyone to check, and would save me lots and lots of emails 

183

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Broadway SM arrested

« on: Oct 18, 2009, 06:58 pm »

I couldn't wipe the shock off my face when I heard this...that poor cast and crew to have this happen and have that trust broken.

I would really like him to step up to the plate and take responsibility (and apologize) to the cast and the union for his gross misconduct.

What frustrates me most is that the only widely seen press stage managers usually get is "The SM of this show was injured.." and now "This SM was a peeping tom..."

184

Tools of the Trade / Re: Google Wave - SMNetwork Sandbox

« on: Oct 13, 2009, 09:53 pm »

I'm in!

--Invite sent!--

185

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Offshoot from Are you always completely honest?

« on: Oct 13, 2009, 09:52 pm »

I usually do, but mostly because I'm a masochist at heart and would rather call out my own mistakes than get them in notes from a director/gm/etc.

186

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Are you always completely honest?

« on: Oct 11, 2009, 07:37 pm »

I agree with much that was posted--I tend not to write too much on my report as far as audiences, etc unless it was especially different than usual "Full house, lots of new laughs" but covering even the very small things in a report becomes important if down the line there needs to be a paper trail to back it up.

It's interesting you brought this up, because I'm ASMing a show, and the SM doesn't put many things in the performance report that I would. She doesn't tend to watch the stage (granted, it's a cue-heavy show, but I was surprised!) and ends up missing things that happen onstage and doesn't put them in the report. Boggles my mind.

I agree the SM and ASM need to be on the same page as far as notes. The last show I did I was running LX, and calling a quite cue heavy show and couldn't possibly see every little thing happening in the wings/etc and my ASM was integral in letting me know.

Although to play devils advocate-on short runs or shows with very little staffing (i.e. it's me and 3 other people reading the reports to begin with) there are a lot of things that don't necessarily go in the report. A broken prop for instance, if we fix it before it hits the stage and there are no further issues, and I follow up on it after the show...I don't mention it in the report.

187

The Green Room / Re: audience callbacks- the ones you want, the ones you don't

« on: Oct 07, 2009, 12:56 pm »

While I was out with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with Theatreworks we had one that had me cracking up at the sound board.  After Peter first receives his sword and subsequently kills a wolf a little boy in front of me let out "Damn, Peter f***ed that wolf up."

Gotta love kids. I have similar stories from many performances of a children's nutrition show (by a company...very similar to theatreworks) that I did last fall. Here are my top 3 faves:

Kid in the first row waiting for show to start: "You know what? I already have this game on Xbox"

A pre-K little guy got scared at our 'monster' in the show and started crying. His teacher calmed him down by telling him that it's not real, it's all pretend. The rest of the show any time anyone came on stage "That's not real! That's pretend! You're not really Okra!"

And by far my fave--as the SM I was in charge of the sound setup/running/strike so as I'm wrestling with cables at one cafe-gym-atorium some kids walk by and see the speakers and cables and scream: "AWESOME! THEY BROUGHT A DJ!"

188

Tools of the Trade / Re: Eartec headsets

« on: Oct 07, 2009, 12:43 pm »

I own the Eartec Cyber headset and LOVE it for most applications. There are some times when it is difficult to hear, such as having an opera singer singing beside you, but for cueing at the tech table all day there is nothing I'd rather have.

I also have an Eartec cyber and I think it's the best thing I've ever bought myself. For the louder shows that I do (or when I'm not in a booth) I usually revert back to a single muff or a double muff headset...but the cyber is amazing I even have LD's always asking me where I got my headset.

189

The Hardline / Re: Staged Reading--AEA Day off?

« on: Oct 04, 2009, 01:56 am »

Checked in with AEA rep for this staged reading and we are not required to take a day off, but I scheduled one anyway to keep the sanity intact. We just redistributed the hours we were rehearsing so we're not missing any time. Thanks everyone for all the input!

190

The Hardline / Staged Reading--AEA Day off?

« on: Oct 02, 2009, 06:21 pm »

I'm heading up my first staged reading, under the standard 29 hours as part of NAMT here in NYC and the only rehearsal constraints it gives are the following:
-29 total rehearsal/tech/performance time
-14 days of total rehearsal/tech/performance time

but says nothing about a standard day off after 6 days...is this an exception, or should I try to schedule one? Granted we're only doing 2-3 hour rehearsals, but currently the calendar reads 8 days in a row.

Can you tell I'm new to AEA?

191

The Hardline / Re: NYMF Showcase - three 8 hour days or 2 10 of 12's??

« on: Sep 02, 2009, 11:16 am »

Thanks for the advice-- talked to our AEA rep today and he said to go with the 8 hour day on 9/30.

Also, I'll point out that if you're doing the 8-hour days, you cannot rehearsal starting at 12n (if you're calling your AEA cast for that whole time) because according to the rules, 'the combined rehearsal and performance time shall not exceed
eight hours.' Unless your show is 90 minutes or less in length.

Thanks for the reminder--Our show has been produced before and  runs around 1hr 10Min so we should be just under the 8 hour mark. That'll be one crazy day...load in, tech, final dress, and opening all in 12 hours..gotta love NYMF!

192

The Hardline / NYMF Showcase - three 8 hour days or 2 10 of 12's??

« on: Sep 01, 2009, 09:57 pm »

Hi All--

Quick question..planning on calling a business rep in the AM but wanted to pick your brains as well...

Under our NYMF Showcase Code we are given during the last week of rehearsals either three eight hour days or two 10 of 12's.

So the way our calendar breaks down the last few days is:
Tuesday 9/29 - REHEARSAL 6-11pm
Wednesday 9/30 - REHEARSAL 6-11pm
Thursday 10/1 - TECH 12-6, Dinner 6-7, Half Hour 7:30, Performance 8:00

My question is this... since it is limited to 8 hours in the code, does our day of tech/first performance count as one of our 8 hour days?
 
Also, My director wants to do a 10/12 on Wednesday 9/30...and possibly one 8 hour day on 9/29. From how I read the code it seems that it is an either/or situation and not a mix and match. Or is it just a numbers game of total hours?

Thanks for help in advance!

193

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: What exactly is the role of a PA?

« on: Sep 01, 2009, 10:46 am »

In my experience/understanding, the PA acts as almost an Assistant to the ASM in terms of lineage. Essentially when I was a PA I was given tasks that required leaving the rehearsal room quite a bit, tracking down props, making phone calls, logistical things such as helping with transportation of costumes/scenery/props/etc.

The way I thought of it was that I was doing all the nitty gritty stuff that the SM Team was unable to do due to union regulations/time constraints/sanity. All of it needed to get done and luckily they had a PA to do it!

I'm sure people's experience varies from show to show--would love to hear how other people worked!

194

The Hardline / Treating all actors as AEA in a showcase?

« on: Aug 30, 2009, 07:49 pm »

Hi All--

So I'm doing a NYMF AEA Showcase where only 3 of 13 actors are AEA. So of course we've tailored all scheduling/breaks/meals/etc to the showcase code we're operating under.

However, my director is under the impression that the other 10 actors can be called for longer hours, with less notice, less rest time, etc...etc...etc and is essentially treating the AEA actors like the "exception" rather than the rule.

I'm gently nudging the director in the direction of treating everyone equally and not trying to resist the code's guidelines--if not only to avoid the potential hazardous scheduling that would arise, but to try and treat everyone's time with respect and professionalism.

While I do understand only 3 actors will sign the signature page with Equity on first rehearsal I feel it's unprofessional and sure to start a riff among the cast if we start treating the groups so differently. (It doesn't help that the leads are the AEA members..)

How do you feel on this issue? It's so murky to me...

195

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Keeping up morale when the house is small

« on: Aug 30, 2009, 06:45 pm »

I've found in the past having the creative team (designers, directors, producers) stop in for a few shows if the houses are small boosts company morale because most of the time the feedback is positive and constructive and leans away from how small the house may be.

Although I did do a show where it was one person who wrote/starred in/produced it, and when the house was small she knew because she got the ticket counts, and she was inconsolable and the shows suffered those nights. Tried everything I could think of at the time-nothing got through.

So I guess--try a variety of tactics and see what works with the specific company you're dealing with. Maybe some social time after the show? Maybe some extra praise for a good performance? Food? Takes some experimentation.