Messages

181

The Green Room / Re: Funny definitions

« on: Aug 19, 2010, 10:59 am »

I am definitely guilty of AAO. I was debating enrolling in an Awkward Accessory Overload Anonymous class, but then I had a dream about MacGyver being disappointed in me, so I opted not to.

Not only did I laugh and am still laughing, I applauded at my monitor!  Can't disappoint the Mac! 

These are so much fun, I'm thinking of compiling them into a glossary/dictionary style page for my website (with attribution and links, of course), and hiding the link like a DVD Easter-egg.  Would anyone object to having their definition collected there?

182

The Green Room / Re: Funny definitions

« on: Aug 18, 2010, 10:39 am »

Phantom clutch: Accidentally grabbing at your stomach for your stopwatch when you're not wearing one.

  I am the QUEEN of the phantom clutch.  Except when I forget to take the blasted thing off, at all.  Leading to...

Time sickness: The compulsive need to answer the question, "What time is it?" no matter the situation and the inability to stop the phrase, "Thank you five!" from falling from your lips whenever anyone says, "Five minutes."

Awkward Accessory Overload: AAO is characerized by the wearing of theatre "accessories" outside of the theatre environs.  This is typically a stop watch, but may also include flashlights, multi tools, crescent wrenches or other tools attached to the belt, sharpies, pens and pencils tucked in the hair, behind the ear or in the top of the shirt, rolls of tape around the wrists or, in extreme cases, headsets with their connectors dangling.

Awkward Acessory Accomplice: A friend or family member who will sit through an entire meal or other social outing with you, and never mention the stopwatch, tools, writing implements, tape or headset making you look strange and OCD to the rest of the world.  (My sister is the WORST AAA I've ever met.)

183

The Green Room / Funny definitions

« on: Aug 17, 2010, 12:46 pm »

As stage managers, we have to define a lot of things.  From teaching new actors SL/SR (yes, I've had to do that) to explaining to non-theatre folks exactly what it a stage manager does.  Now it's time for some funny ones we're all going to understand. 

Stage Manager's Brain: A condition brought on by having to focus on more than a dozen details at once, with perfect recall, for long periods of time. Characterized by the brain feeling like the abused and ruffled pages of a large, musty, ancient book. Akin to Ice Cream Brain Freeze, without the fun prelude or brief duration.  Usually caused by massive amounts of paperwork.

184

Employment / Re: When is it OK to work for free?

« on: Aug 13, 2010, 12:54 pm »

Like KMC307, I, too refuse to work for less than a living wage.  Though, due to extremely conservative spending habits, my living wage is pretty low.  Three exceptions to this rule: a charity event for a charity I believe in (those I will work for free, considering my labor as my donation), a really really great opportunity to make contacts in a sphere different than my usual one, and a quick one-off show put on by friends or people whose work I really respect.

I've turned down a LOT of work because they wanted to pay me $500 flat, or less, for a six week rehearsal process and three weeks of runs.  I have gone months without a gig because the only ones available are in that range, or expect me to work for free.  I take that down time to really pull in some money at my day job, and get my relaxing time in.

On the other hand, I've done a three night cabaret for $150 flat because it was my sister's roomates' brainchild and it was a freakin' blast.

It tends to be a decision I re-make at each opportunity, though with the exception of the aforementioned charity events, I'l never work completely for free.  How much do I want to do this show?  What are my cash-flow needs right now?  How much do I like the theatre/director/actor I know in the cast/etc.?  Is it a great opportunity, or am I just running in place?

185

The Green Room / Re: SMNetwork's Resident expert in...

« on: Aug 12, 2010, 01:03 pm »

I'd probably be the resident expert on the legend and mythos of the King Arthur story, and the modern re-surgence of interest in fairy tale and folklore archetypes. 
When I was about 10, I got completely obsessed with the legends of Camelot, and read every book in my library even remotely connected.  The way my mind retains interconnected details...I don't think I've forgotten any of it.
The fairy tale thing...well, it's just so interesting.  Most folks raised in the Western world spent a good aprt of their youth immersed in, essentially, the same tales.  They form a layer of the bedrock of our subconscious, and understanding those stories, those amazingly simple, complex stories helps you understand people.  There's a reason that there are mental/emotional complexes called "Beauty and the Beast" complet or, "She's got a Cinderella Complex."  It's shorthand for some very complex ideas.

Sorry, I'll stop now, I could write a book on all this!

186

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

« on: Aug 11, 2010, 10:39 am »

Yesterday, I learned the basics of shooting a revolver (and that the recoil on a .38 is no where near as bad as I expected), how to cock a shot-gun, that not all incendiary rounds are created equal, and that it's actually quite hard to set fire to a pound of cold, raw bacon covered in glitter.

Yes, it was a VERY peculiar film shoot; I can't wait to see the finished product.

187

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

« on: Aug 05, 2010, 01:23 pm »

Why is it the one day you decide, "Yes, I will go out to get lunch on lunch break today," is the only day it rains in two weeks?

188

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

« on: Aug 05, 2010, 01:20 pm »

Two days ago I learned that orca whales can sleep one half of their brain at a time and run on a sort of auto-pilot while doing so.  I WANT that skill.

189

The Green Room / Re: Any other crafters out there?

« on: Jul 30, 2010, 11:31 am »

nmno, that looks like an AMAZING camp!  Thanks for sharing that resource with us.

190

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

« on: Jul 30, 2010, 11:30 am »

Why is it that office staff don't seem to realize that the stage manager is a very important part of the production team worthy of a bit of respect, and allowed to make "I need this to do my job..." requests.

Why is it that small theatres seem to never know that Stage Manager and Props department are not one and the same?

Why is it that we can't have a daquiri blender on the tech table?   

191

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

« on: Jul 27, 2010, 12:09 pm »

Not from a rehearsal/performance report but the set designer for the show I will be working on (Lysistrata) sent me this:

‎"How does one fight with their erection? We must look into that."

I missed that this was about Lysistrata the first time I read it and thought it was some deep character concept/theme thing.  I'm not sure which way it's funnier!

192

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

« on: Jul 26, 2010, 01:24 pm »

Today, I learned that if you leave a bag of gummy bears in your car for less than an hour, in the Georgia summer sun, they will melt together into a kalidescopic blob, which is nearly impossible to cut into bite-sized pieces, again, by any means found in your average kitchen.

Teeth, teeth would probably work.  I imagine myself curled in a ball in a dark corner somewhere, slowly gnawing my way through a colorful blob of sugary goodness . . .

  Yup, teeth are what I used!  Except without the dark corner.... and then a lot of hand washing!

193

The Green Room / Re: Any other crafters out there?

« on: Jul 25, 2010, 01:00 pm »

Wow!  I love the two headed monkey!  My husband would call it creepy, but I'm pretty sure he thinks peanut butter is creepy, so no surprise there.

Most of my crafting in the last few years has been sewing projects, other crafts associated with various costumes, and home repair/improvement sort of things.  Nothing terribly exciting, right now.  I love to see what other people are doing, though.  My favorite thing about creativity is how it manifests itself differently in each person.

194

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

« on: Jul 25, 2010, 12:57 pm »

Today, I learned that if you leave a bag of gummy bears in your car for less than an hour, in the Georgia summer sun, they will melt together into a kalidescopic blob, which is nearly impossible to cut into bite-sized pieces, again, by any means found in your average kitchen.

195

Employment / Local and not so local job resource websites

« on: Jul 24, 2010, 01:33 pm »

I thought it might be a good idea to compile one thread of all the "Help Wanted" websites that we know of.  It would probably be of particular use to free-lancers, but you never know when an unexpected resource will pop up in your back yard.  I lived here for two years before someone turned me onto Atlantaperforms.biz.

Atlanta, GA: http://www.atlantaperforms.biz/Jobs.html

Also, anyone familiar with them want to post national boards (ArtSearch, Equity, etc.), as well?  Cruise ships sites?  Touring company sites?  Anything else you can think of? 
Let's pool our resources!

(loebtmc, if it gets big and useful enough, do you think this could be a sticky topic?)