Messages

211

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Interesting request for performance reports...

« on: Jan 05, 2007, 12:27 pm »

This isn't a formula you can imbed in Excel, but you can use this simple but handy website to calculate time for you:
http://www.onlineconversion.com/advanced_time_calculator.htm

It doesnt' exactly rock my world, but it's useful.

212

Stage Management: Other / Re: Comparing rep, touring and opera

« on: Jan 05, 2007, 12:22 pm »

ASM duties vary a lot in opera depending on the size of the company (just like in theater), but here's a quick idea of what an ASM might encounter on a typical opera production:
- ASMs participate in pre-show planning, where they create their book, generate paperwork, and ready the rehearsal hall. Like in theatre, we photocopy the score and create act/scene/aria tabs if you use those; we get working documents going for the prop and wardrobe run sheets, WWW, etc; we tape the floor and set up prop tables in the hall. But we also make sure the piano is in tune, set out water and lozenges, and provide music stands. When preparing the score, we also take timings (you can find discussions of opera timings in other discussions within this "other" forum), carefully including all cuts. Other rehearsal room differences in opera include: the maestro podium and music stand set-up, chorus chair set-up & nametags (if you do that), and a separate table area for the principal artists (stars), who indeed are usually handled with special care.
- Opera SMs and ASMs work on the deck, almost never from a booth. If there are two ASMs, one will be assigned to each side of the stage and will handle all aspects of that side - props, entrances/exits, attendance, etc.
- Depending again on the theatre, ASMs may or may not take blocking during a rehearsal. If there is an AD, the ASM probably won't take blocking, but will record entrances and exits, prop movement, and crew actions. Depending on the PSM, sometimes ASMs are assigned to be the liason to a specific production department. For example, one ASM will handle all props coordination and the other will handle costumes (this is a somewhat common scenario). When it comes to performance, both ASMs will deal with their sides of the stage, but during rehearsals, it's helpful to have one person who acts as the "official" liason between stage management and other departments.
- PSMs in opera call over intercom for places (usually at 5-minute warnings), and ASMs are usually checking off attendance lists for their sides of the stage. When you're coming up on a big chorus entrance, this can be quite a chore. It can also be a little tense as you search for the big star to come backstage for their dressing room - and ASMs give the assurance over headset that the diva is present. SMs in opera often actually give entrance cues individually to principals and to the chorus, so that entrances are always perfectly timed to the music.
- Because the PSM is usually stuck at the console constantly calling complex cues, ASMs are generally pretty active backstage.  Whereas on tours, as centaura says, ASMs are sort of lackeys, in opera they are very valuable and work hard. Yes, you post on the call board and make coffee, but you also carry a lot of responsibility during a performance.
- ASMs must read music to work in opera. As you work in bigger opera houses, you'll find that everyone reads music, even the lighting designer and the TD. You don't need to speak a foreign language (though it can help), but you must be able to follow the score perfectly, even under the pressure of a complex scene change. ASMs in AGMA houses will be on AGMA contracts. It is also helpful to be familiar with other union rules, as your stagehands will be IATSE, your musicians AFM, and chorus/principals/directors will be AGMA.

Again, all this varies a lot depending on the company and the people involved. In my experience, I've found these to be generally standard practice.

213

Stage Management: Other / Re: Opera Rehearsal Reports

« on: Jan 04, 2007, 04:29 pm »

My opera performance and rehearsal reports are very similar to my theatre/musical reports in that I have sections for all production departments (set/light/costumes/props/fx & other), attendance, etc. It sounds like the job you're doing for this educational tour is very different from doing an actual opera. If you do need to make reports for a full opera, I would recommend two specific things:
- add a music and orchestra notes section to your report. This is important as cuts are created and adjusted, or as musical issues arise (added fermata, bandas, maestro issues, etc), as the music is the most important part of the opera world.
- you will need to keep very careful track of the time, as your orchestra will probably be union even if the rest of the house is not. So you should add timings for: first tune, downbeat, end of Act I/begin intermission, end of intermission/begin Act II, tune 2, second downbeat, end of opera, final curtain. There are many complicated rules and regulations for the orchestra, and usually their clock begins when they tune and ends on the final cutoff. So you must track this very carefully in case the is an overtime debate.

When on tour, it's usually good to add a "venue issues" section to a report.

Just curious - what sort of program are you touring?

214

Employment / Re: SM Employment Advice

« on: Dec 21, 2006, 05:44 pm »

There are a few threads already going in this forum about finding summer jobs. Check out "Summer Jobs" posted by Kelly a few subjects down on the main index. Are you looking to stay in Miami, or are you interested in travel? Do you want to take a residency at a particular theatre, or would you consider touring? Do you need paid work, or are you also considering summer internships? You'll find advice about all these different options and more in the Employment Forum - just start clicking through discussions!

215

Employment / Re: Acceptable content for resume

« on: Dec 17, 2006, 09:17 am »

Absolutely - put all this experience on your resume. I would even separate it by category "Theatrical" "Tours" "Concerts & Events" and "Other experience" to show that you have diverse skills. As you get more professional experience, you can replace the old school shows with your professional experience.

216

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Interesting request for performance reports...

« on: Dec 12, 2006, 06:31 pm »

I have pretty much the same report as most folks here (specifically VSM and LisaE, depending on which type of show I'm working on).

I also might track a particular "signature" moment in the show, such as which actress caught the bouquet tonight, or how many seconds of applause after the big monologue - just to keep the rehearsal reports interesting over longer runs. I've never been requested to add these - in fact, I'm not certain anyone has ever read them. I just think it's fun.

217

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: First Hard Show with Difficult Cast -- Please help

« on: Dec 07, 2006, 01:44 pm »

My first question is: how did you get this job and what were you told before you signed on?
My second question is: why haven't you quit yet?

If you had been told early on that the director worked this way, or that promptness wasn't really important to this theater company, that would have enlightened your expectations from the start, and you could have decided if that was an environment you could work with. If you had been able to meet the director and ask him about his rehearsal process, it could have spared lots of nasty surprises. Or even if you could have asked around about other people's experiences with this theatre, you might have learned a lot. I know this doesn't help you now, but maybe background checking can spare you this misery in the future.

I have found, in my experience, that there's not a whole lot you can do in a situation like this unless upper management (like the Artistic Director) is aware of the situation and 100% supportive of your position. So when I encounter an environment like this, I work to inform the management about tardiness, wasted rehearsal time, excessive changes and adjustments, etc., as early as possible. I pop in their office to establish a relationship with them - so they know my face and learn that I'm not a hysterical mess of an SM. That way they believe me when I report problems in rehearsal. Ok, so this doesn't help you now either, because it's a little late for all this strategic positioning... (but you can still talk with the Artistic Director, and I would encourage you to do this anyway - and soon)

So why haven't you left the show? I know it's a really hard decision, and that we dedicated and perfectionist SMs feel like we are abandoning people who need our help - or worse, we feel like we failed at our job. But this has nothing to do with you. You cannot change this situation or force others to behave a certain way when they clearly refuse you. You have done the best you could do; others are determined to have their way and you have paid for it with with stress, sweat, tears, a lot of unhealthy anger, and now you've lost your day job. Is this really worth it? Trust me, you won't be ruining your career. There will be other companies and other gigs. I hear from some of your rants that you aren't being permitted to successfully perform your job duties. I would certainly agree. So if you aren't allowed to do your job, you should leave. If you're spending sleepless nights and miserable days, you should leave. But you can't expect payment if you quit, and of course this will end your relationship with this director - that's probably best. It might end your relationship with this theatre, so I would recommend you speak with the Artistic Director about this right away. Things will end better if you can provide a replacement (but can you really recommend this situation to even your worst enemy?). I mean, you don't have to stomp away from any meanie company who won't do things your way. But there is a limit to how much anyone should have to tolerate, and you probably crossed it even before tech week.

If you think you can ride this out for the rest of performances, do. But distance and protect yourself. Do your job and go home. A riot act read to the cast won't help. More hand-holding (reports, calls, and emails) won't help. Just live through it if you can. This is a really hard position you are in, and you have my complete sympathy. Others would give you different advice. But me, I would get myself out of there as fast as possible.

218

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Warm-up/ Games

« on: Nov 30, 2006, 01:25 pm »

I do not like them on the page;
I do not like them on the stage.
I will not do them with the cast;
I will not do them slow nor fast.
Not in tech nor rehearsal hall,
I do not like warm ups at all.

219

Stage Management: Other / Re: Opera suggestions

« on: Nov 30, 2006, 01:11 pm »

Often the same job is not posted on backstagejobs.com. I've had production managers tell me that they only post through the SMA because they know they'll get better candidates that way. Sometimes, especially with smaller companies, they may only post in one place because they don't have the time or manpower to post with several organizations, and then manage and withdraw those posts when the position is filled. They post in one place, and if that doesn't yield any good candidates, they might go ahead and post in another place. But I have found this to be true more for small to mid- size companies.

I guess you could compare this to posting a personal ad in the classifieds (who knows what kinds of people will respond) versus using a dating service (where you might meet someone who actually fits with you).

220

Employment / Re: Hiring and references

« on: Nov 28, 2006, 01:43 pm »

I do agree with Matthew that I would contact someone listed on a candidate's resume if I knew them. As other posters have said, getting a straightforward evaluation of someone without the sugar-coated reference is extremely valuable. But I do think that cold-calling a director listed on a resume is testy. Unless the call is personal in nature, employers can rarely do more in a reference call than confirm that an employee worked for them and during a certain period of time. You can indicate whether you had to issue any formal warnings or special awards, etc., but rarely can you comment on their character or work habits. It's certainly done that people cold call directors, other SMs, etc. for references. But I don't appreciate it when I am cold-called for a reference I did not agree to provide, and when I hire I don't call anyone unless I know them personally or they're offered as a reference. But I certainly do make extensive google searches about the theatres listed on the resume and pull show reviews - this is very valuable to get a sense of the level and quality of productions the candidate has worked on, and you don't get as good a sense of this through interviews or references.

221

Employment / Re: more about resumes

« on: Nov 28, 2006, 01:30 pm »

THIS THREAD HAS BEEN SPLIT INTO A NEW TOPIC in the Employment Forum: "Hiring and references"

The conversation had taken a clear turn away from resume format (and indicating years/dates) and became a great discussion about references and contacts. You can keep the conversation about resume format and the pros and cons of including dates on your resume here. To join the discussion about references and how hirers contact people, go to the "Hiring and references" thread. Cheers!

Your moderator,
ljh007

222

College and Graduate Studies / Re: Little help please... (Seeking College Recommendations)

« on: Nov 26, 2006, 08:42 pm »

I might be putting my head on the chopping block... but I would recommend that you go to a liberal arts school and get a degree in anything, then move on to a stage management career after college. Take theatre classes and certainly learn everything you can while you have the chance to approach SMing academically. But having a well-rounded background is something I have come to value. I would give the same advice to someone planning to be an engineer who might want to enter a special tech program, or a senator's son who was determined to take only poli-sci classes at an ivy league school. Take advantage of your undergraduate years to learn everything about anything. When you graduate, you'll be able to balance the theatre's budget, write the dramaturgy essays, measure groundplans in alternate bases (just for fun - or if you're taping on a linoleum tile floor^*), because you took accounting, English, and math, plus theatre. I just think that undergraduate studies are the time to get an excellent, well-rounded education base. Specialize your studies in grad school, and/or get hands-on experience in the real world. This is my opinion, and I'm a huge fan of a liberal arts education. I'm sure all the die-hard theatre schoolies out there will shout me down, and that's ok.

*If you're taping on a linoleum floor, like in a church basement or cafeteria or something, measure how big the tiles are. Sometimes they're 12", in which case you're good to go - you're already in base 12; more frequently they're 9", 8", or 6". As long as they're an even number, you can quickly convert all your groundplan measurements to the base of the tile measurement and then just cound tiles instead of fussing with the tape measure. In the end, you save a little time between doing the extra math up front and taping a little faster. Nerds like me think this is great. See - you should have stayed awake in algebra.

223

Stage Management: Other / Re: Opera suggestions

« on: Nov 26, 2006, 08:15 pm »

I love the SMA, and think that many of their job postings are outside of NYC. I would consider their postings proportionate in posting theatre gigs nationwide. There are just more people in NYC hiring at any given time. You do see a whole lot of opera through SMA postings, as well as a good dose of tours.

But here's why you should join, even if you never see an SMA job posting that works for you: Listing that you are an SMA (or other kind of professional organization) member on you resume shows hirers that you take your SM career seriously. Even if you just pay your dues and sit back and relax, it does create an impression that you might network with other professionals, that you look for ways to expand your knowledge and skill base, that you are committed to being a professional stage manager for the long haul. This may or may not be the case - but it looks good, and that can go a long way. Everybody on this fabulous site can already add to their resume that they've been a "Member of the online Stage Managers' Network" and even add "...since 1999" or whenever you joined. Especially if you don't join a union, this is an excellent way to show that you take SMing seriously as a career.

224

Employment / Hiring and references

« on: Nov 26, 2006, 08:06 pm »

After an incident when my director yelled at me for having his name on my CV

I think that the hirer her was definitely wrong to contact your director. Listing a director on your resume is NOT the same as listing a reference. It never occurred to me that someone might pick up the phone and call a director that was not explicitly identified as a reference. It would certainly seem to me that in our industry, listing a director is just providing information about your job experience. It conveys a lot of context about what kinds of environments you have worked in and what sorts of skills you might have. But that doesn't mean that if you list a dozen shows with directors, you have offeres a dozen references for your interviewer to call. As a hirer, I would never do this. If I needed to call some references, I would ask the candidate to provide a list.

225

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Calling Spot Light Cues

« on: Nov 15, 2006, 09:06 am »

Just a final two-cents:
In addition to calling spot cues with all the details, as some folks have written out above (Spot Cue#, in frame X, [color], picking up Actor [location]), I usually have to do a lot of hand-holding at least at first with spots. I warn them over headset each time wether an actor, for example, makes a false exit - where the spot is supposed to stay up on the proscenium and the actor will walk back into it; whether the spot comes up, for example, DSC and the actor walks into it; any blocking that might make the operator second-guess whether they're doing what they're supposed to be doing. Mistakes with spots are hard to hide, so I take a lot of time to communicate with the ops for precision.

I also indicate over headset if more unusual spot maneuvers happen, and cue these. Ex: iris in/out, "dowse" as opposed to snap out. If the spot fades, I usually give the op a count at first but let them take it without a reminder - I just say "Spot 1, fade, go".