Messages

226

The Green Room / Re: Things Stage Managers Say

« on: May 05, 2012, 07:26 pm »

"It's behind your ear."

"Well, where did you leave it?"

"Quick like a bunny!"

"That's your third grandmother this season."

227

The Green Room / Re: Oh earthquakes, how I loathe thee...

« on: Aug 24, 2011, 10:36 pm »

That's actually one of my hobby horses.

Ushers need to be professionals. I get it, tearing tickets and holding doors open isn't rocket science--but that isn't really their job. They're like flight attendants: the customer service stuff is fantastic, but they're really there so that if there's a fire, or someone has a heart attack, or there's an earthquake, or whatever else, the audience isn't left to their own devices.

Far too often, FoH staff are either completely untrained about emergency procedures (I've actually had conversations along the lines of "...so, when the fire curtain comes down..." "Wait, what's a fire curtain?"), or the bulk of the procedures are shunted off to stage management or venue staff. (And, I mean, yes: the deck captain can, in theory, go stand centre stage with a megaphone and relay instructions to the audience, but if there were actual danger, I daresay a lot of people would have better things to do with their time than than sit patiently in their seats while the nice man dressed all in black tells them not to panic!) This is such a stupid idea, I can't even.

[/rant]

228

Stage Management: Other / Re: Spiking a Dance Floor

« on: Aug 19, 2011, 09:14 pm »

To build off MS's remarks, the venue staff will also know far better than you what has worked in the past, and this information becomes 10x more useful if you're in a situation with all sorts of exceptions and requirements. ("You can't use spike tape, but you can use painter's tape, but not black painter's tape, except for the downstage half of the room, where only black tape can be used...")

229

The Green Room / Re: Director Gossip

« on: Aug 19, 2011, 09:11 pm »

If you believe that the complaints represent a critical mass of discontent within the company which could damage, overwhelm, undermine or otherwise injure the show and the director's ability to remain in control, then you should report the situation to your director. Don't frame it in terms of "people think you're incompetent/a bad human being/a jerk", frame it in terms of "because of [tight scheduling/difficulty in communication/frequent changes/scheduling-related confusion/whatever the complaints are], people are coming under a lot of stress, and I think it's reached a point where you need to address this with the company".

If you believe that the complaints are less serious (these issues will work themselves out, people are just letting off steam rather than making serious complaints, people are coming under garden-variety show anxiety rather than anything special, the show isn't in any real danger, the director is firmly in control, etc.), then you should keep listening to the complaints and serving as a safety valve, but don't ring any alarm bells.

If you're unclear as to the nature of the complaints, then your best bet is to encourage people to speak to the director herself, which washes your hands of the situation. It's not really your job to mediate between the director and the choreographer, and unless you're positive that your involvement will make the process smoother and easier, it's best to disengage.

230

Employment / Re: Jumped on Board Too Soon

« on: Aug 15, 2011, 02:09 am »

There's nothing illegal or immoral or unethical about backing down from a job under those circumstances. (Less than 48 hours after having accepted the offer, the production won't be endangered due to your absence [lots of time to replace you, you were never integral to the project, etc.], and "I need to make rent this month" is a sensible and fair and understandable reason, especially in this economy.)

Don't do it too often or you'll get a reputation for being a flake, but if you graciously bow out at this stage, you're doing the right thing. (Bonus points will be awarded for recommending or plugging a replacement, with the understanding that it's not your choice to make--so don't promise someone the job!)
 
If we've all misunderstood you and you don't yet have another actual offer lined up, then things are more complicated.

231

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Business Cards For Students

« on: Aug 14, 2011, 08:21 pm »

I would encourage you to get a simple card: name, cell, e-mail address. If that leaves a lot of blank space, that's okay so long as the card is neat and readable. (Designers would call this "elegance".)

Do not do anything cutesy or "funky" to your business cards: no clip art, no kooky slogans, no weird fonts, etc.

As to job title, I would encourage you to run off 100 cards without a job title and see how you use them.

If you're mostly using them to network/distribute at conferences/introduce yourself to potential employers/etc., then add "Stage Manager" or "Stage Management" to your card. You might also want to add a link to your website, and maybe a small headshot.

If you're mostly using them to distribute to cast members, directors, house techs and others who need your contact information, then leave the title off, since that gives you a little more flexbility with the cards. (So when you're working as a PSM or an ASM or a costume witch or Assistant to the Director or whatever else, you aren't passing out cards which identify you as doing someone else's job.)

In all cases, avoid anything which sounds like "student". (So "apprentice", "aspiring", "junior", etc. are also off the table.)

Two last bits of advice:
- Check with your university (if you're in a university program). Many of them will offer discounted printing rates for students. If the university doesn't, your student union might.
- Do not print them yourself. The difference in cost between a "make-them-at-home" kit and a professional print run is smaller than you'd think, and the difference in quality is considerable.

232

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: communicating who is called for a rehearsal

« on: Aug 12, 2011, 01:10 am »

[...] he is thinking it is more an issue of actors being lazy and not reading the schedule at all and therefore just asking us when they are called.

With a cast of 40, you almost certainly have several company members who fit into that category, so this isn't really a problem you can readily solve without getting touchy-feely with actors, appealing to their innate professionalism, or cracking the whip. (Three approaches which are, sadly, likely to lead to mixed success in a community theatre setting.) I'm afraid that being a traffic cop just sort of comes with the territory when you work on shows at that scale. :-/

233

Employment / Re: To tattoo or not to tattoo

« on: Aug 07, 2011, 06:19 pm »

Theatre careers are full of these awesome trade-offs.

You can have Integrity and only work on interesting, original, thought-provoking shows and shiver at the sheer artistic quality of every project you associate yourself with. You might succeed and become a Great Actor/Designer/Director/Technician. You'll probably spend a few years doing indie theatre and then have to leave the industry. And if you decide that that's a risk you want to take, and that's a lifestyle you want to live (To misquote a retiring life-long RSC company member: "Dame Theatre has never provided me with wealth or celebrity, but she has always kept a place for me, and for that I am eternally grateful."), okay. Go nuts.

You can also sell out. You can take the industry shows and work on cruise ships and accept contracts for work which you know is going to be trite and uninspiring and derivative and sappy and which you might even be a little ashamed of--but which will always pay the bills and provide a little more. And instead of taking pride in the quality of your CV, you can take pride in your employability, and in your (relatively) solid career, and in the non-theatrical (or, indeed, theatrical!) pursuits which that little extra income provides for you.

There's nothing "right" or "wrong" about either of these approaches. You aren't a better or a worse person for pursuing them, and the industry probably needs a certain number of people who fit in both camps. Most of us don't even fit neatly into one box or the other.

And tattoos are on the same basic matrix.

Getting visible tattoos will limit your career options. You should still be able to find work, but if you plan to get to a level where you're regularly working with people who wear suits and have private offices, you may struggle if you have visible tats and unusual piercings.

If you want to get to that level, then this is something to consider.

But if that's not a life you want to live, and that's not somewhere you can ever see yourself being happy, and you prefer the lifestyle associated with "lower-level" work, then go nuts.

234

The Green Room / Re: You know you're in tech when....

« on: Aug 05, 2011, 08:48 pm »

When you make it all the way home, drop off your keys, put down your bag, greet your housemate, have dinner, go to the bathroom to brush your teeth for bed, look at yourself in the mirror and realize you're still wearing your headset around your neck.

235

The Green Room / Re: What Kind of SM are you?

« on: Aug 05, 2011, 08:45 pm »

I come at stage management from the production/theatre-management side of things, and I often find myself defaulting to that position, which I suppose makes me a producer's stage manager.

I do have 2-3 directors who request me, but they're unusually idiosyncratic as directors go, and in all cases they're people who I've been able to pull out of the fire at least once thanks to having strong relationships with producers.

236

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Tech week signage

« on: Jul 28, 2011, 03:27 pm »

If the house staff haven't taken care of it, research how the house phones work, and post a short list of emergency directions by any exposed phone. In particular, find out which number the theatre uses for external numbers (usually 9, but it can vary), and whether or not this applies to 911/your local emergency number.

You should post:
- The emergency number ("For emergencies, dial 9-911")
- If available, the number for building security
- If available, the number for the house manager's office
- The facilities/maintenance number (For those "We have a show in two hours and the women's dressing room is flooded!" situations)
- The technical director's number, if their contract/understanding with the company includes ongoing maintenance and emergency response ("The set fell over during our lunch break! What do we DOOOO?!")
- At the very bottom, your own number

In all cases, keep it simple. I would encourage you not to provide general-use directions (You don't want to encourage company members to use these phones except in emergency situations, so leave off instructions like "For local calls, dial 9 before the number." and focus on specific directions: "To contact building security, dial 45000. To contact the house manager, dial 30000." etc. etc. etc.)

237

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: RUNNING: Giving notes to difficult actors

« on: Jul 17, 2011, 02:53 am »

So, three points:
- It sounds as though you've already tried being friendly and reasonable with him, and he just isn't having it.
- It sounds as though you've lost control of the situation. This is no reflection on you personally (these are very tricky circumstances which I'm not sure the rest of us could have navigated any better), just a naked fact: this is an area where stage managers need to be firmly in control, and it appears that you aren't.
- It sounds as though this actor may be violating his contract.

That is to say, if his contract includes language to the effect of "will make a reasonable effort to maintain the vision for the show as laid out by the director", if he refuses to take notes and corrections from the agent the producer has appointed to supervise the maintenance of that vision (i.e: you), he may be in violation.

Under these circumstances, I would sort of wash my hands of it.

"Here are my notes. You can take them or leave them, but it's my job to give them to you, and I'm going to continue doing so. If you object to this, you need to meet with the producer to discuss your contract. And if your performance continues to vary from the language and blocking used in rehearsal, I will be forced to schedule you a meeting with the producer. Are we clear?"

Yeah, it's aggressive and threatening. You've been nice, he hasn't budged. Assert your authority, and if he doesn't want to hear it, he can take it up with the people who sign his paycheques.

238

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: TOURS: Tips for Packing?

« on: Jul 15, 2011, 09:19 pm »

As a heavy reader, I would like to heartily endorse all manner of ebook readers. Just... just get one. Your bag gets much lighter, you can keep more books around, nobody ever nags you to hurry up because they want to read it next, and most ebook readers have either wifi or 3G connectivity these days, so they can double as basic email-and-Wikipedia machines when you aren't close to a computer. (Wouldn't want to use it as a regular internet connection, but if you're just shooting out e-mails and looking up directions, they'll do.)

239

The Green Room / Re: Convolution Creep

« on: Jul 05, 2011, 01:41 pm »

The essence of a memo sent to cast and crew: "We don't know exactly why, but using cellphones in the vicinity of the clearcom station in the backstage hallway causes the entire system to feed back and screech in everyone's ears. Please do not use cellphones in the backstage hallway."

240

The Green Room / Re: "I can't do that on stage."

« on: Jul 05, 2011, 01:36 pm »

Both from the same show.

Act 1: Actor sits on a bar stool.

Actor cannot do this. The blocking requires that the actor approach it by taking a few steps backwards, and inevitably they trip over it or knock it over or slide off of it or, on one memorable occasion, miss it completely, "sit" on thin air, and crash to the ground.

Actor is moved to the sofa instead.


Act 2: Actor perches on arm of sofa while holding a glass of brandy.

Actor cannot sit on arm of sofa. Actor inevitably slides off to one side or the other. (Since the sofa is occupied in this moment, this involves sliding into the lap of a castmate.) Costumes begins to complain about frequency of brandy-spills.

After futive design meeting about possibility of adding velcro to the bottom of actor's pants, change blocking to have actor lean on the bar instead.


I never thought I'd see the day when someone needed help sitting, but there you have it.