211
Introductions / Re: Howdy from a Long-Time Lurker
« on: Jun 17, 2014, 08:57 am »
Welcome Abby!
News:
14 Jan 2021: Happy 21st birthday, SMNetwork! I replaced the old broken mobile theme. -K
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212
The Green Room / Re: Mini Rant---SM T-shirts and products
« on: Jun 17, 2014, 08:56 am »
Interesting thread. I wonder if it's also helped by the recent surge in internet listicles utterly devoid of any real content that you see on sites like Buzzfeed and other internet wastelands ("21 signs you went to X state university". "15 things only X people would understand").
Meant for a cheap "me too!" and nothing more. That said, nobody would make it people didn't buy it, so someone is buying this crap.
Meant for a cheap "me too!" and nothing more. That said, nobody would make it people didn't buy it, so someone is buying this crap.
213
Self-Promotion / Re: Theatres That Have Opened - Easing the Emergency
« on: Jun 06, 2014, 04:52 pm »
Thanks for posting this. I tried starting a similar topic a few years back but it didn't garner much interest - hopefully this sticky will help the community look towards some of the positive things that are happening.
214
The Green Room / Re: Actor fired after confronting heckler
« on: Jun 04, 2014, 12:40 pm »Of course, if I rephrase it as "actor fired after assaulting audience member"...
You can be sure that if it was the other way around and the audience member had shoved the actor it would read "actor assaulted by audience member". The headline is written in a way intended to create sympathy for a social issue in line with views of HuffPo's editors. The audience behavior is obviously unacceptable, but it's equally poor journalism to write that headline.
The incident itself is unfortunate as we can all sympathize with the actor's "why", even if we disagree with the "how".
215
Tools of the Trade / Re: Prop Money
« on: May 23, 2014, 10:54 am »
You mention a casino and lots of money - cloth paper can get expensive. You may consider printing only money that is handled on the resume paper, then any other money that is set dressing, doesn't have to read, etc, is standard A4.
216
The Green Room / Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« on: May 20, 2014, 04:56 pm »I find it ironic that we are okay with haze and fog in a show, but freak out about an e-cig.
Still, I think it would be rude to bring your own personal fog machine into a performance.
Funny, I didn't even think of that, but you're right. Propylene Glycol is the base of water-based fog/haze fluids.
Martin Pro Haze MSDS
Le Maitre Haze Fluid.
Not sure I'd be OK with vaping myself as I'm not sure inhaling anything in high concentration is good for you long term - but the "second-hand" is not a concern as we're exposed to it in much higher quantities on a regular basis in any show that incorporates haze.
Reinforcing the point that it's an etiquette issue, not a public health issue, and any associated policies should be geared from the etiquette perspective.
217
The Green Room / Re: AUDIENCES: E-Cigarettes
« on: May 20, 2014, 02:23 pm »
Let's be clear on a few differences between e-cigarettes and cigarettes. E-cigarettes are not a tobacco product and do not contain carcinogens. The liquid is a food-grade glycol (propylene glycol - FDA approved for human consumption) with nicotine added (very little of which transfers to the second-hand vapor).
I've been up close to people "vaping", and while I find it pretty annoying I can't smell, detect, taste, etc. anything secondhand like I would with a cigarette. We treat them like cigarettes because they look like cigarettes, not because they are like cigarettes. I personally find it very annoying when people "vape" in my presence, but I recognize I don't have the right to not be annoyed by someone else's behavior (much to my dismay sometimes...
).
From the perspective of the SM I think it should be treated more like cell phone, camera, etc.. use in the audience - it's definitely audience members behaving badly, and in my opinion should be dealt with from that perspective.
I've been up close to people "vaping", and while I find it pretty annoying I can't smell, detect, taste, etc. anything secondhand like I would with a cigarette. We treat them like cigarettes because they look like cigarettes, not because they are like cigarettes. I personally find it very annoying when people "vape" in my presence, but I recognize I don't have the right to not be annoyed by someone else's behavior (much to my dismay sometimes...
). From the perspective of the SM I think it should be treated more like cell phone, camera, etc.. use in the audience - it's definitely audience members behaving badly, and in my opinion should be dealt with from that perspective.
218
The Green Room / Re: useful websites for life
« on: May 06, 2014, 03:26 pm »
I'm a big fan of Lifehacker. I sometimes feel like Matthew and I are in a competition to see who can post the most Lifehacker articles.
As an aside noticing the link below - be wary of Buzzfeed, it's really a pretty worthless site from a content perspective (some NSFW language on the video within the linked site).
As an aside noticing the link below - be wary of Buzzfeed, it's really a pretty worthless site from a content perspective (some NSFW language on the video within the linked site).
219
The Green Room / Re: "Indeed" says 50k...
« on: Apr 30, 2014, 04:23 pm »
The old adage applies - if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
220
The Green Room / Re: Was I out of Line?
« on: Apr 22, 2014, 08:29 am »
Loebmtc makes some great points. From my side, given the tone of your post "Fine, that happens..." I am wondering what you were expecting - it's improv... in an educational setting... in rehearsals. That's where these kinds of things get sussed out. The nature of improv combined with folks who are still learning is going to make for some situations like this, and it's important to keep the rehearsal environment one where people can explore and make mistakes without fear of being lashed out at.
So yes, I think you were out of line with the comment, but as you said it's not the end of the world. You won't find anyone here who hasn't been out of line once or twice in their career. The important thing is to realize when you are and recover appropriately, apologize, etc...
If you just need to vent - by all means have at it. I'm sure you will find some sympathetic ears here, and maybe you can even write a haiku.
Good luck.
So yes, I think you were out of line with the comment, but as you said it's not the end of the world. You won't find anyone here who hasn't been out of line once or twice in their career. The important thing is to realize when you are and recover appropriately, apologize, etc...
If you just need to vent - by all means have at it. I'm sure you will find some sympathetic ears here, and maybe you can even write a haiku.
Good luck.
221
The Hardline / Re: How to join AEA
« on: Apr 17, 2014, 12:23 pm »I'm simply a young-ish SM thinking about the future. I am part of the EMC program, although that has proved to have it's own challenges.
Also remember - there is a lot of good non-union work out there (Vegas, Cirque-style shows, Corporate work, etc.). This isn't even remotely intended as a slight to AEA or what the union and its sisters have accomplished, but be sure to consider many paths when thinking about the future.
At the risk of sounding curmudgeonly - "When I was your age..." my plan was so wildly different than what's actually played out in my career. Not even remotely close. I wouldn't change any of it, but keep an open mind. Now get off my lawn.
222
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: REHEARSAL: Tension in Rehearsals
« on: Apr 09, 2014, 11:04 pm »
If the rehearsal becomes unproductive moving forward on the same trajectory isn't beneficial to anyone. I don't know if outright addressing it would make it more or less tense/awkward.
This is one of those situations that sets good SMs apart from great SMs. There is a big difference between managing people and group dynamics and just moving procedurally from A to B to C to get the show up.
I think you're on the right track with calling a break, maybe approaching some folks who were the most affected on break and try to casually press the reset button.
This is one of those situations that sets good SMs apart from great SMs. There is a big difference between managing people and group dynamics and just moving procedurally from A to B to C to get the show up.
I think you're on the right track with calling a break, maybe approaching some folks who were the most affected on break and try to casually press the reset button.
223
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Noises Off
« on: Apr 09, 2014, 10:57 pm »
In my view this isn't really so much a stage management issue as it is a production value issue. If you do a google image search of the set for Noises Off, you'll notice they all look pretty much the same - there's a reason for this. This show just requires certain things.
Giving it to the set designer and saying "fix this" is the equivalent of handing them a grenade with the pin pulled.
I'm not trying to blow you off and say it's a terrible idea, and I can certainly sympathize in trying to move a seemingly immovable object (or person). It may be worth having a conversation with the director and asking him how he is going to stage the show with the constraints of your space, and don't let him off the hook with "we'll figure it out" or another non-answer. At the end of the day he's the one that has to figure out how to stage the thing and make it work. Passing it off to the set designer or TD is not a responsible answer from the person who has ultimate responsibility for putting the show up.
Giving it to the set designer and saying "fix this" is the equivalent of handing them a grenade with the pin pulled.
I'm not trying to blow you off and say it's a terrible idea, and I can certainly sympathize in trying to move a seemingly immovable object (or person). It may be worth having a conversation with the director and asking him how he is going to stage the show with the constraints of your space, and don't let him off the hook with "we'll figure it out" or another non-answer. At the end of the day he's the one that has to figure out how to stage the thing and make it work. Passing it off to the set designer or TD is not a responsible answer from the person who has ultimate responsibility for putting the show up.
224
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Noises Off
« on: Apr 09, 2014, 03:22 pm »All of the designs I have seen show a two level stage that rotates...
I've never seen it done another way (and if I did I probably wouldn't buy a ticket...). Irma Vep? Another idea... Tough to pull off well, but a static set that can be done in a small venue.
Welcome to SMNetwork by the way - and thanks for posting!
225
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Noises Off
« on: Apr 09, 2014, 02:10 pm »
I don't see how this could possibly be done. Noises off is a very physical comedy and relies heavily on the levels of the set. There is also a lot of action on the stairs specifically.