181
Employment / Re: Earning a living.
« on: Sep 04, 2014, 06:22 pm »
have you tried searching on this site? There have been at least one or two lengthy discussions on this topic.
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182
The Hardline / Re: Changing rehearsal hours?
« on: Aug 28, 2014, 02:33 am »
Your total rehearsal hours are the scheduled times, less your lunch break. So a 2-10 is 8 hours less either 1 hr or 1.5 hrs for lunch.
The person who is cut loose early? Happy vacation for them, but since you called them until 10, their day runs until 10. Just as you would be paid for your full day even if, at the last moment, you are cut loose early.
The performance is timed from 1/2 hr to curtain down (no matter how long it takes to get out of costume/make-up).
Good luck!
The person who is cut loose early? Happy vacation for them, but since you called them until 10, their day runs until 10. Just as you would be paid for your full day even if, at the last moment, you are cut loose early.
The performance is timed from 1/2 hr to curtain down (no matter how long it takes to get out of costume/make-up).
Good luck!
183
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: MEDICAL PRIVACY: When an Actor Gives You Private Medical Information, But...
« on: Aug 27, 2014, 07:25 pm »
great questions!
For the first question, this happened once. I called from the booth, so I (discretely) told my ASM to keep eyes open for things like seizures and then had the actor talk w the ASM abt what to look for and what the expectation of best possible action was. We had no issues, but the actor felt safer knowing it was 1) discrete and 2) covered nearby.
I also have had a legally blind actor who chose not to self-identify for casting purposes, and similarly, we kept things on the DL between myself and my ASM. Of course, this was a professional ASM I trusted, but it was vital that someone on deck knew in case of emergency.
In terms of the second - wow, not sure! That's a real challenge, to keep confidentiality while keeping both the actor safe and the theater out of liability. I have some thoughts, for example making sure they spoke w the designers/technicians loading in, since they would know what kind of electro-magnetic fields are involved, but wow. Fascinating conundrum.
For the first question, this happened once. I called from the booth, so I (discretely) told my ASM to keep eyes open for things like seizures and then had the actor talk w the ASM abt what to look for and what the expectation of best possible action was. We had no issues, but the actor felt safer knowing it was 1) discrete and 2) covered nearby.
I also have had a legally blind actor who chose not to self-identify for casting purposes, and similarly, we kept things on the DL between myself and my ASM. Of course, this was a professional ASM I trusted, but it was vital that someone on deck knew in case of emergency.
In terms of the second - wow, not sure! That's a real challenge, to keep confidentiality while keeping both the actor safe and the theater out of liability. I have some thoughts, for example making sure they spoke w the designers/technicians loading in, since they would know what kind of electro-magnetic fields are involved, but wow. Fascinating conundrum.
184
The Hardline / Re: Meetings as rehearsal hours?
« on: Aug 10, 2014, 02:06 am »
Yes, that's my thought, it must be one of those very early contracts, the kind that allows AEA actors but doesn't require a union SM. But usually the 3rd actor kicks a union SM. So I am curious what the contract is.
185
The Hardline / Re: Meetings as rehearsal hours?
« on: Aug 09, 2014, 05:54 pm »
And - hmm - what is the contract? Because it is a rare contract that allows an EMC or other non-AEA member can SM for a cast of AEA members. It sounds to me like this is a director who 1) has no respect for the union and 2) likes to get away with things - which is going to lead to bad outcomes further down the line.
186
The Hardline / Re: Meetings as rehearsal hours?
« on: Aug 09, 2014, 03:33 pm »
As I said, when you call your actors before first rehearsal, that's a great time to have a casual conversation abt many things, including any preexisting conflicts, food allergies, special issues - and finding out how they were approached abt this pre-rehearsal.
Requiring actors to come in off book is just not ok. Yes, some actors work better mostly emorized, but others find it more useful to tie lines to blocking, intentions etc - to the discoveries in the room. And memorizing out of context leads to what one teacher used to call "broomstick acting" - that is, when it won't matter what the other actor is doing, nor if that character is saying their line to a broomstick or a human being, the line read will always be the same, because they committed to how they thought it should be done/the other actor would do it.
Requiring actors to come in off book is just not ok. Yes, some actors work better mostly emorized, but others find it more useful to tie lines to blocking, intentions etc - to the discoveries in the room. And memorizing out of context leads to what one teacher used to call "broomstick acting" - that is, when it won't matter what the other actor is doing, nor if that character is saying their line to a broomstick or a human being, the line read will always be the same, because they committed to how they thought it should be done/the other actor would do it.
187
The Hardline / Re: Meetings as rehearsal hours?
« on: Aug 08, 2014, 04:58 pm »
key is, did cast offer or were they told. And see if you can have some private conversations w cast members (perfect excuse is when you call to intro yourself and check on things like food allergies and preexisting conflicts). Without priming get a sense of their feelings abt this. If there is any resentment/bad feeling, it will come back to bite the prodn, esp if (down the line) there are other requests to stretch the day (notes, "one more time" etc).
188
The Hardline / Re: Meetings as rehearsal hours?
« on: Aug 08, 2014, 02:28 pm »
You cd even make the case that this is paid in overtime, since it's prior to first rehearsal. And no, the director and MD can't require rehearsal prior to first rehearsal unless actors are being paid. And no, they can't work 8 days in a row without a day off. The act of coming in to meet w the director for an hour, or w the MD for a few hours, does indeed count as rehearsal. So if the Dir/MD want to do that, they would not only incur OT for hours, but penalties for work on a Monday and for too many days in a row without a day off. And the Sunday would mean a paycheck in the week prior to first rehearsal.
189
The Green Room / Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« on: Aug 08, 2014, 01:33 pm »
agreed - but interesting what is and isn't spelled out -
190
The Green Room / Re: How to be a good stage manager?
« on: Aug 07, 2014, 11:53 pm »
Hmmmm - I know we've tried to keep our jobs from being carefully spelled out, and there are things I disagree with, but hmmm - I wonder who put together this list.
191
Self-Promotion / Re: Theatres That Have Opened - Easing the Emergency
« on: Aug 06, 2014, 12:40 pm »
This looks like a community theater, but still, great news!
192
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Sharing Paperwork with ASMs
« on: Aug 03, 2014, 05:36 pm »
I actually had a director who had apple's iworks and didn't understand why NO ONE could read his notes. Since I have a Mac, I ended up translating the format for him.
But - basic Word at least used to be standard on Macs too - has this changed?
Much as I prefer Mac to PC systems, it has become the standard and therefore among the basics of what we all need have.
But - basic Word at least used to be standard on Macs too - has this changed?
Much as I prefer Mac to PC systems, it has become the standard and therefore among the basics of what we all need have.
193
The Hardline / Re: assigning Dance Captain
« on: Aug 01, 2014, 12:17 pm »
On SPT, which includes a ratio of AEA/nonAEA cast, producer doesn't always pay a nonAEA dance or fight captain, so one bone of contention is, are they choosing the nonAEA because they don't have to pay them. But I truly believe the choreo or fight choreo should be the one determining who belongs in that position, esp in shows where the AEA leads may not be dancers at all, or if they are dancers, their rehearsals were at the same time as the ensemble did choreo/blocking, so they never learned it. In mixed casts the best dancers are often the choreo's asst who is cast in the ensemble, or the nonAEA chorus folks who were specifically cast for dance ability. So to me, it is the logical best choice to be dance captain.
194
The Hardline / Re: assigning Dance Captain
« on: Aug 01, 2014, 02:40 am »
This is an ongoing bone of contention w the SPT contract - because so often the best person to be the dance (or fight) captain is NOT the AEA member, who is a lead, but the non-Eq player in the ensemble.
Talk w your rep. I've made it so on several shows when it was the more appropriate person for the job. But you need to be able to justify it.
Talk w your rep. I've made it so on several shows when it was the more appropriate person for the job. But you need to be able to justify it.
195
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Giving Notes Advice?
« on: Jul 28, 2014, 04:40 pm »
(I like to get notes out that nite, so actors have time to read/process before the next call) but as to delivery, I often fold them and tape them to the appropriate station's mirror. That way they can't miss 'em.