181
December Madness I: 2012 / Re: Commercial, Round 1: Pencil vs Crescent Wrench
« on: Dec 01, 2012, 03:30 pm »
I have to say if wrench wins here, close the forum. And everyone needs to retire.
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182
December Madness I: 2012 / Re: University, Round 1: 3-ring Binder vs. Digital Light Board
« on: Dec 01, 2012, 03:20 pm »
Who said binders were unsexy.......I'll kill him!
But compared to the other three rounds currently running, you gotta admit.....unsexy binder isn't faring as well as others are....
But compared to the other three rounds currently running, you gotta admit.....unsexy binder isn't faring as well as others are....
183
Employment / Re: Phone interview for opera company
« on: Nov 28, 2012, 10:28 am »
Be nice and loud and clear! Also, don't speak too fast. Huge part of our job is communication so it's best to make sure they can understand what you're saying. I say this as the master of the mumbles. it's actually a family trait and hard for me to remain clear when speaking. Damn Scottish blood.....
I've really only had one purely phone interview. Other times it was phone interview after a face to face, or phone call to set up an interview...I've had a skype interview before. That was interesting...
As Maribeth said, this is also an opportunity for you to interview them too. Have a list of questions prepared you might want to ask: Responsibilities of the ASM at this company, daily routine, union/non, transportation if its provided or not or is housing within walking distance, any stipends for relocating artists....anything you would ever want to ask someone before relocating to another state.
I've really only had one purely phone interview. Other times it was phone interview after a face to face, or phone call to set up an interview...I've had a skype interview before. That was interesting...
As Maribeth said, this is also an opportunity for you to interview them too. Have a list of questions prepared you might want to ask: Responsibilities of the ASM at this company, daily routine, union/non, transportation if its provided or not or is housing within walking distance, any stipends for relocating artists....anything you would ever want to ask someone before relocating to another state.
184
December Madness I: 2012 / Re: December Madness!
« on: Nov 26, 2012, 10:45 am »
*spoken like an ESPN analyst*
From Community theater, there should be stiff competition for #1 seeded Gaff tape having to go up against two intense rivals: Glow Tape in the sweet 16 and then onto Spike tape (who will have beaten the theatrical red headed step child duct tape) in the Elite 8. This division looks to be a blood bath. *Community theater division sponsored by Pro Tapes.*
In the Regional Division, traditional favorite headset/com has a hard road. Despite it's seeding, it has a great history and should be able to knock velcro right out. But it's going to have a tough match up when it meets Cell Phone in the Sweet 16. I think this division comes down to Cell Phone and Multi-Tool in a very versatile match-up. *Division sponsored by Gerber...no Leatherman...no Gerber....I mean Leatherman*
What I'm really interested in is this Commercial bracket here:
#2 seeded Pencil should have an easy path into the Elite 8 of the Commercial division where we will witness an old school/new school battle between it and #7 Laptop. This one is definitely gonna smell of wood chips and Ozone when the dust settles. *Jointly sponsored by Ticonderoga and Bic*
Finally: The College division is going to be a rough one to predict with no clear cut leader in the pack. Protractor had a great run, but are plagued by nerdiness and unnecessary ancient computations. You could assume #6 Tape Measure comes out of the division easy, but it has a beast of a battle with perennial favorite Stop Watch in the Sweet 16 and should have to face the ever present (but entirely unsexy team) of Binder in the Elite 8. *Sponsored by Radio Shack....what? you expect a theater person to purchase an Omega stop watch? How much money do you think we make??*
It's my opinion that the final match up will be the #1 seed Gaff tape, and the winner of the #2/#7 match up of Pencil/Laptop for the December Madness championship! Should be a good one!
This is my long winded way of saying this is awesome.
From Community theater, there should be stiff competition for #1 seeded Gaff tape having to go up against two intense rivals: Glow Tape in the sweet 16 and then onto Spike tape (who will have beaten the theatrical red headed step child duct tape) in the Elite 8. This division looks to be a blood bath. *Community theater division sponsored by Pro Tapes.*
In the Regional Division, traditional favorite headset/com has a hard road. Despite it's seeding, it has a great history and should be able to knock velcro right out. But it's going to have a tough match up when it meets Cell Phone in the Sweet 16. I think this division comes down to Cell Phone and Multi-Tool in a very versatile match-up. *Division sponsored by Gerber...no Leatherman...no Gerber....I mean Leatherman*
What I'm really interested in is this Commercial bracket here:
#2 seeded Pencil should have an easy path into the Elite 8 of the Commercial division where we will witness an old school/new school battle between it and #7 Laptop. This one is definitely gonna smell of wood chips and Ozone when the dust settles. *Jointly sponsored by Ticonderoga and Bic*
Finally: The College division is going to be a rough one to predict with no clear cut leader in the pack. Protractor had a great run, but are plagued by nerdiness and unnecessary ancient computations. You could assume #6 Tape Measure comes out of the division easy, but it has a beast of a battle with perennial favorite Stop Watch in the Sweet 16 and should have to face the ever present (but entirely unsexy team) of Binder in the Elite 8. *Sponsored by Radio Shack....what? you expect a theater person to purchase an Omega stop watch? How much money do you think we make??*
It's my opinion that the final match up will be the #1 seed Gaff tape, and the winner of the #2/#7 match up of Pencil/Laptop for the December Madness championship! Should be a good one!
This is my long winded way of saying this is awesome.
185
Employment / Re: Dear Abby: How do you say "stop"?
« on: Nov 23, 2012, 08:27 pm »
Whatever you do, don't force it. Just like others have suggested: this person needs to make this decision "on their own." Just like director's make decisions "on their own" once you lead them down the right path. People hate being told what to do, and you might just force this SM into doubling down.
Non theater related example: I've been friends with my wife for well over a decade now. But we haven't been together most of that time, she was in a long long relationship with someone else while I was still kinda still tripping over my tongue for her. She would call and ask me for advice. Let me tell you how often I said directly "break up with him and go out with me": Never. You can only give good sound advice, again, while perhaps leading them to the answer that you as an outside observer knows.
Best of luck.
Non theater related example: I've been friends with my wife for well over a decade now. But we haven't been together most of that time, she was in a long long relationship with someone else while I was still kinda still tripping over my tongue for her. She would call and ask me for advice. Let me tell you how often I said directly "break up with him and go out with me": Never. You can only give good sound advice, again, while perhaps leading them to the answer that you as an outside observer knows.
Best of luck.
186
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fight Notation
« on: Nov 20, 2012, 02:16 pm »
I'm sure it was there the whole time I just skipped over it when I was elected fight captain for a production. I just got on my feet and learned it since I had to know it anyway. But I bet it was there and I done just skipped over it in the contract.
187
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fight Notation
« on: Nov 19, 2012, 01:12 pm »And now AEA allows us to video tape fight work for rehearsal purposes . . .
thank goodness for smart phones!!!
Whoa wait...say what??!!
Man....Thanks AEA. Where was that rule when I needed it???!!! I hate being technologically ahead of the curve! *goes off into a corner and grumbles*
188
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fight Notation
« on: Nov 19, 2012, 09:13 am »
The lazy answer: You don't! That's what a fight captain is for! 
(That's not really true....don't take that piece of "advice" to heart!)
Here's the the easiest way to notate fights (for me at least). Use a number in the script, then break it out to a separate page. So the line is "to the death!" I indicate a #1 in a circle, and on the opposite page, I start writing out the choreography. I write it out long hand along with a "dance map" of the positioning at each move. Sword fights are different because you are using potentially really fast movements and positions. So the positioning would be written out (using keywords the choreographer focuses on. Like "really bash it" or " push through the impact" etc...it's helpful to recall those things to the cast members) but as for the attack positions, I use the 5 sword positions to indicate where the strike is to occur, and then the type of strike being used (thrust, slash, High to low, low to high etc). These positions are the same as basic fencing. http://www.thecuttingedge.s5.com/images/Positions_and_Visual_aids_FULL.gif
Some choreographers add parry positions beyond 5. It's pretty fluid. Otherwise, fights would look boring and paint by numbers-esque.
See if you can find a stage combat class. Learn some of the basics to help inform you as a stage manager. I took classes through high school and college (during the dark days when I was an actor), but it pays for itself when you're working on a Shakespeare history! It's also way more fun than reading on the subject.
(That's not really true....don't take that piece of "advice" to heart!)Here's the the easiest way to notate fights (for me at least). Use a number in the script, then break it out to a separate page. So the line is "to the death!" I indicate a #1 in a circle, and on the opposite page, I start writing out the choreography. I write it out long hand along with a "dance map" of the positioning at each move. Sword fights are different because you are using potentially really fast movements and positions. So the positioning would be written out (using keywords the choreographer focuses on. Like "really bash it" or " push through the impact" etc...it's helpful to recall those things to the cast members) but as for the attack positions, I use the 5 sword positions to indicate where the strike is to occur, and then the type of strike being used (thrust, slash, High to low, low to high etc). These positions are the same as basic fencing. http://www.thecuttingedge.s5.com/images/Positions_and_Visual_aids_FULL.gif
Some choreographers add parry positions beyond 5. It's pretty fluid. Otherwise, fights would look boring and paint by numbers-esque.
See if you can find a stage combat class. Learn some of the basics to help inform you as a stage manager. I took classes through high school and college (during the dark days when I was an actor), but it pays for itself when you're working on a Shakespeare history! It's also way more fun than reading on the subject.
189
The Green Room / Re: When the phone DOES ring...
« on: Nov 14, 2012, 04:48 pm »
My assistant's email address is "sexyvixen83@something.com". *headdesk*. Worst of it is she does fantastic work, not a great email address should she need to look for a job in the future, though.
I never thought it would make a difference until I started getting to the point where I had decision making powers on assistants. I found that emails with numbers like 69, or 420 ended up being tossed quickly. My ex from college had an email SweetNSexyVirgo or something to that effect. She was wondering why school districts weren't calling her back for teaching gigs. We got her an email that was her name soon after.
190
The Green Room / Re: When the phone DOES ring...
« on: Nov 13, 2012, 04:06 pm »
This sounds very familiar. I always found that as a Stage Manager, there are no days off. You could try to take the day off, but then you just deal with the larger mound of issues tomorrow instead of smaller mounds today.
The only thing I could suggest and I found made my days off happier...ignore the calls when they come in. Call them back when you feel like you've had enough restful time to yourself. That's how I dealt. It also gives you an opportunity to weed through real issues vs. make believe issues people are trying to contact you about.
Call it...selective problem solving.
The only thing I could suggest and I found made my days off happier...ignore the calls when they come in. Call them back when you feel like you've had enough restful time to yourself. That's how I dealt. It also gives you an opportunity to weed through real issues vs. make believe issues people are trying to contact you about.
Call it...selective problem solving.
191
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROPS- Cooked Goose
« on: Nov 12, 2012, 07:57 pm »
Carve it out of foam!
It's time consuming and smells terrible. But you can make it any size, foam can take a stab, but you may need to do some general maintenance in terms of paint.
It's time consuming and smells terrible. But you can make it any size, foam can take a stab, but you may need to do some general maintenance in terms of paint.
192
The Green Room / Re: What about my dog?
« on: Nov 12, 2012, 07:54 pm »
Whatever arrangement you get from your employer:GET IT IN WRITING!!
I had a situation where an actress created a huge slew of issues because she brought her dog after being told the company would not make accommodations. For some reason, this actress thought the company was joking. She refused to budge, so the producers eventually gave in mainly because they were tired of fighting with her. All avoided if dog issues were written into the contract.
I had a situation where an actress created a huge slew of issues because she brought her dog after being told the company would not make accommodations. For some reason, this actress thought the company was joking. She refused to budge, so the producers eventually gave in mainly because they were tired of fighting with her. All avoided if dog issues were written into the contract.
193
The Green Room / Re: Smallest Audience Size
« on: Nov 07, 2012, 09:30 pm »
3 in a 99 seat house.
Middle of summer. No storms, no nothing. Just a poorly attended (but critically acclaimed) productions. I've never had a show where no one showed up, but I have a hard time imagining that's worse than a house of 3...
Middle of summer. No storms, no nothing. Just a poorly attended (but critically acclaimed) productions. I've never had a show where no one showed up, but I have a hard time imagining that's worse than a house of 3...
194
The Green Room / Re: Catchphrases
« on: Nov 06, 2012, 02:53 pm »
I gained one entirely on accident. I, like so many in the theater world, worked in restaurants a lot. Of course I worked in the kitchen while the actors were servers.
Kitchen crews use lots of industry terms and they accidentally snuck their way in while I was working at a big regional theater. A director asked me to do something for him while I had my back turned doing something else, and I instinctively said "heard!"
In a kitchen, that is awesome.
In a rehearsal hall, that is pretty much rude as all get out. And of course because I made an accidentally rude comment, it followed me until that contract was done.
Kitchen crews use lots of industry terms and they accidentally snuck their way in while I was working at a big regional theater. A director asked me to do something for him while I had my back turned doing something else, and I instinctively said "heard!"
In a kitchen, that is awesome.
In a rehearsal hall, that is pretty much rude as all get out. And of course because I made an accidentally rude comment, it followed me until that contract was done.
195
The Green Room / Re: SANDY!
« on: Nov 02, 2012, 10:54 am »
Hey all,
Hope you are back up on your feet with power and heat but if you're not and you need a place to warm up, get a cup of coffee and charge your electronics please please please swing by the Barbizon Lighting show room (456 W55th St between 9th and 10th). We have lots of space for those in need of outlets and the heat is cranked and we are more than happy to help you out.
Hope you are back up on your feet with power and heat but if you're not and you need a place to warm up, get a cup of coffee and charge your electronics please please please swing by the Barbizon Lighting show room (456 W55th St between 9th and 10th). We have lots of space for those in need of outlets and the heat is cranked and we are more than happy to help you out.