Messages

211

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Cleaning a Scrim

« on: Dec 05, 2006, 06:33 pm »

Part of the answer would be in what it was that got on the scrim.  Dirty water, fog juice, paint . . . Can you name the substance that colored your scrim?  We had water drip on our black scrim, and leave white residue.  We were able to give it a good brushing with a stiff bristled brush and get most of the hard water deposits off of it.

So see if you can identify the substance, and then I'll second the person who reccomended calling Rosebrand.

-Centaura

212

The Hardline / Re: Some wonderings...

« on: Nov 24, 2006, 10:21 pm »

It depends on where you want to work and with what you want to work.  I loved touring with small-scale, hands-on tours where I could do a whole bunch of things.  So I never went union.  I've also never wanted to live in NYC, LA or Chicago - the three places were there are a lot of smaller shows that are union.  I have nothing against the union, and have seen occurances where it does good things, but then I have also seen the union rules twisted around to suit a producer's needs disregarding what the intent of the rule was.  So my opinion is that the union does its job, but its not for everyone.  I think a person really needs to consider what they want to do with their lives and their careers and then weigh whether that means Equity or not.

-Centaura

213

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Free Stuff

« on: Nov 24, 2006, 05:36 pm »

Thanks for the info on the Ricola.  My theatre has an old Halls dispenser in the lobby, but Halls stopped sending cough drops.  I'm going to forward this info to my FOH person.  Thanks again,

-Centaura

214

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Nutcracker

« on: Nov 21, 2006, 06:58 pm »

We just had our meeting with the folks who do the annual local Nutcracker and my boss is right.  Its going to be one of the easiest local production of the season to do - from our point of view.  They have their schedule down, know what they want and when, its going to be great.  Unlike the tour that's rehearsing here now - their schedule changes by the hour and then still is wrong!

-Centaura

215

Stage Management: Other / Re: Stage Management-TV?

« on: Nov 21, 2006, 06:55 pm »

That's the great thing about this site - we have folks with so many different connections.

-Centaura

216

Stage Management: Other / Re: Stage Management-TV?

« on: Nov 17, 2006, 11:59 pm »

All I remember from what I was once told was that it was really different.  I think it was more paperwork and organizing verses calling cues - but this was a long time ago that I had heard/read/seen the differences somewhere.  Anyone else know anything more?

-Centaura

217

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Splitting the jobs between co stage managers

« on: Nov 16, 2006, 12:25 pm »

I've been in both situations - the SM who was with the rehearsal process, and as a replacement SM who came into a running show.  Its different doing it both ways.  If you had asked before I had done my first show where I wasn't part of rehearsal I would not have been able to imagine doing a show without that intricate knowledge of what every right/wrong/might have been move/prop/item was.  But then I did my first replacement gig - and even though I didn't know the show - it actually helped me pay more attention to it.  I couldn't recite the lines along with the actors - so I actually heard the lines they were saying and caught a lot more diction and other notes.  It was a little harder to keep the show the way the director had imagined it - because I wasn't up on exactly what that was - but if you've been part of the process as the above examples have been - then I could see where it would work.  Not really sure which one I would prefer though . . .

-Centaura

218

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Who makes the best SM's?

« on: Nov 08, 2006, 08:24 pm »

I'd be more interested in a list of characteristics that folks think make good stage management qualities.  I don't think that there is a way to qualify a gender as being better at one thing or another - to me its personality traits that I think define a good stage manager.  Detail oriented, patient - what are other qualities that folks can come up with?

-Centaura

219

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Chicago SMNetwork Meetup?

« on: Nov 08, 2006, 07:41 pm »

For me it was the entrance into the fall season - and the new eats-every-minute-of-spare-time fix me up house.  Both at the same time, of course.  Jan. is a bit slower for me personally, or next summer.

-Centaura

220

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Nutcracker

« on: Nov 07, 2006, 04:21 pm »

My first Nutcracker is coming up here at my roadhouse.  The local ballet company rents out the theatre for a week for the show.  Should be interesting - thankfully I only need to worry about venue issues, and not child-wrangling issues!

-Centaura

221

Employment / Re: just resigned :(

« on: Nov 04, 2006, 10:01 am »

I'll follow up with another keep-your-chin up.  I had to resign from a similar situation - I was an unpaid apprentice in a program and they had flat out lied to me about what the program was, and what I'd get out of it for the effort I put into the shows.  It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made, but it was the best one for me.  I got out of a bad situation, and was open for a great oppurtunity that came later.

-Centaura

222

Employment / Re: SMs in other roles

« on: Nov 02, 2006, 01:01 pm »

Absolutely.  Most of the entry-level touring jobs that I found were combined roles between SM and something else.  My very first tour I was SM/CM/Lighting.  Now I'm a stage manager at a road house, but I sometimes get called on to help the facility manager with big projects - I have definitely used all my electrical and carpentry knowledge.  Its also helped me at home - I've recently bought a fix-me-up house, and I've been able to do most of the work myself.

-Centaura

223

Stage Management: Other / Re: Looking for Suggestions on Stage Managing Dance

« on: Nov 01, 2006, 12:32 pm »

I think your issues are in applying firm expectations on a casual environment.  If it was a job, and the company's policy was that they must check in, call, etc., then its the dancers who would be deliquent in following company policy.  I agree with the person who said ask the choreographers what their traditional attendance policy has been.

In some universities they have departmental policies that they expect to be inforced, which is another route that I would reccommend you go through.  Find the Head of the Dance deparment as ask them what their expectations for their students are.  Say what you have been trying to do with attendance, citing that its standard policy in the theatre department, and you were curious what their standards were for their dance students.  They might be interested in creating department policies, or they might say not to worry about it.

And don't let the 'you're on a power trip' get to you.  You are just trying to do the best job that you can.  I had an actor once scream at me because I had asked another actor to understudy her lines on a tour when she got really sick.  She was accusing me of power tripping, and saying that I had no right to make any decisions regarding her character.  It was my job to keep the tour going, and if that meant changing actor rolls around when the lead couldn't sing, not only was it my right, it was my responsibility.

-Centaura

224

Stage Management: Other / Re: Looking for Suggestions on Stage Managing Dance

« on: Oct 31, 2006, 12:24 pm »

There have been some great discussions of the differences between dance and theatre stage management in this forum, scroll down a few posts and there's a lot of information.  The other thing that you can do is sit down in a brainstorming session with the stage manager you worked with as ASM and try to pinpoint the things you were doing that didn't work.  Sometimes just looking at something, and then asking the question 'Why didn't it ______ work?' can lead you to interesting information.  Make a list and try to ask folks within that area the 'why' question.  Even asking yourself as a dancer. 

I've only SMed one dance production, years ago, so my recollections on specifics probably wouldn't be too helpful, but hopefully some of our dance SMs will pop in here with some helpful tips.

-Centaura

225

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Dialect Rehearsals

« on: Oct 24, 2006, 12:56 pm »

My question to the director would be whether you were going to be expected to do dialect notes along with your line notes.  If you don't - then take the night off.  There are going to be times when you're not needed for a production and its a good thing to learn early is to survive the guilt and get some personal stuff done.

-Centaura