Messages

241

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Effective communication as it relates to today's technology

« on: Aug 21, 2007, 11:21 am »

BalletPSM - I would have suggested the designer come to the end of every rehearsal.  Why should the travel time be added to your workday, when your time is already so crunched, and the designer doesn't have other commitments to the show?

I think that the people who get rehearsal reports should be those that need to act on the notes contained therein.  Everyone else, it's not their business.  For that reason, I've decided to split the daily call into a separate e-mail.  Marketing might very well need to know at what time a particular actor is called, but they probably don't need to know the timing of a quick change, and they certainly don't need to know that the lead actress was late or that her daughter has a fever.

I've also come around to asking "When do people need to get this information?"  Ideally, of course, it would be as soon as I know about it, but until I develop telepathy (research progresses, but slowly), the ideal isn't going to happen.  If I learn about a prop note on Friday afternoon, and I know that the prop shop isn't going to be in until Monday morning, why not wait until after Sunday's rehearsal to distribute the rehearsal report?

242

The Hardline / Re: Equity "half-hour"

« on: Jul 24, 2007, 12:52 pm »

It is a great document; I'm so glad you found it.  But at the end, in the RESPECT section, did anyone else notice a conspicuous absence?  One position, that we all know and perform to the best of our abilities, without hope or expectation of plaudits?

*sigh*

actors. heh. They probably lumped us in with "crew"....

243

The Hardline / Re: Equity "half-hour"

« on: Jul 17, 2007, 11:55 am »

Equity "half-hour" is the earliest you can call an AEA actor, barring fight calls or sometimes wig/makeup calls.  I've found there are usually one or two actors in a cast that want to come before the house opens and do a warm-up in the space, totally on their own initiative.  We work it out with the prop crew as to when there's time for that actor to be on stage; sometimes the actor is just as happy to warm up in the aisles of the theatre. 

At the other extreme are the actors that walk in precisely at 7:30 for an 8:00 show and sometimes need to be threatened with fines or with having the understudy do the show to keep their arrival from creeping later and later.

244

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: calling cues

« on: Jul 17, 2007, 11:42 am »

Sorry, Mac, what's that?  Vision? 

Is that some sort of automation program, or projection?

245

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SMing a Shakespeare

« on: Jun 29, 2007, 02:39 pm »

I never go into a Shakespeare without owning the Arden edition of the script (3rd edition, preferably) but for a high school version of Romeo and Juliet, it might just be too confusing.  R&J has more textual variations than other plays, and you'll need to stick to the text the director gives you more than anything else.  Make sure everyone involved has the same script!

--
Heath

246

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SMing a Shakespeare

« on: Jun 26, 2007, 11:09 am »

I also highly recommend the book "All the Words on Stage: A complete pronunciation dictiionary for the plays of William Shakespeare" by Louis Scheeder and Shane Ann Younts (Smith & Krause 2002, ISBN 1-57525-214-7). 

247

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Show suggestions (for HS)

« on: Jun 26, 2007, 11:01 am »

How many performers do you want to put on stage?  What's the male/female breakdown?

248

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: set changes

« on: Jun 07, 2007, 12:42 am »

In the sixty or so shows I've stage managed, I don't think it's been more than twice that I've staged the scene changes.  I used to feel a bit cheated, until I learned to expect it.

Most of the shows have been unit sets; and, almost universally, the directors I've worked with have wanted to stage all the changes.  The most challenging part is getting time to rehearse the changes, as many of them don't expect crew to need rehearsal the way actors do and they don't want to take the time needed.

Occasionally I get to suggest more efficient traffic patterns once the changes have been built.

249

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Hydraulic Scenery accident, London "Lord of the Rings"

« on: Jun 02, 2007, 03:19 pm »

It never occurred to me that there would be a confidentiality agreement that the company had made.  It makes sense.  Thanks, Sam.

250

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / SCENERY: Hydraulic Scenery accident, London "Lord of the Rings"

« on: May 31, 2007, 08:02 pm »

I read in the NY Times today that an actor was severely injured in the leg during a matinee of "Lord of the Rings".  I hope that the actor, Adam Salter, will be able to return to the stage.  The producers closed the show for two days and may change the machinery.

Does anyone have more information about the accident, or how it's being addressed?

Has anyone been part of a show where a severe accident like this occurred?

I ask these questions because the news story struck my sympathy; and out of fear that it could happen on one of my shows.  I don't mean to belittle the accident or poke fun at it in any way.

251

Employment / Re: Updating a Production mid-run

« on: May 27, 2007, 07:49 pm »

As long as the program has the name of the original lighting designer, say no!  You said this is an open run - did that person get royalties in his or her contract?  Even if not, it's such an insult to that person for your director to just want to dump the design on this show.  Think of it this way; the designer left the show in your hands, that you would faithfully execute the design they created.  Now are you going to let the director stab that person in the back?

If there's no problem with the original lighting designer, figure out how much money you want for your first lighting design, and ask the producer for that much to re-vamp the show.  Say no if they don't give you the money.  If no amount of money would be worth the time and trouble, just say no to the whole job, as it's completely separate from the job you were hired to do, and they'll have to hire a separate person to re-design the lights.

252

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: How do I audition for SM at a college?

« on: Apr 26, 2007, 08:51 pm »

I think I sat through that tech...

253

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: I need some serious help!

« on: Apr 10, 2007, 10:22 am »

boolabella, I hear what you're saying about it being a class project.  You and the actors were told there would be limits on how hard you would have to work on this thing, and the producer (the school) ought to have lived by their agreements.  I wouldn't say it's unprofessional, since that wasn't spelled out iin a contract, but the school could have been more understanding. It's not that the actors are going to walk away necessarily, but they may not have agreed to do the show in the first place if they knew it was this hard, right? 

It sounds like you're trying to protect your actors more than you're complaining about the situation.  Keep your positive energy, never join into a bitch session with the actors. 

I would say that change is always about how much time you have left to make the change.  Are you running out of rehearsal time so that the actors have no chance to review new blocking?  If not, then the director absolutely can change stuff (and should, since you got a new director in the middle of the process). 

As far as new pages, maybe the new stuff could be filtered down to sides so that actors only got the changes to their own cues and lines?  Reducing the stack of paper they got handed could make a difference in how they percieve their workload, even if the actual workload is the same.  I would never do this on my own shows, but in your particular case it might make sense.

I would also say that if director/playwright/lyricist whomever are arguing about script changes in rehearsal, just give the actors a ten minute break while they work it out.  Actors really shouldn't be in on those discussions.

254

The Hardline / Re: The Equity Hour at first Rehearsal

« on: Apr 10, 2007, 09:51 am »

I just started my first show on a BAT contract, and realizing it's different from the LORT contract I'm used to, I did a search for "vote" or "ballot" on the .pdf of the BAT contract.  The search found the exact language for the meal break votes, etc.

When it DIDN'T turn up the archival videotaping that I thought it would, I went back and read thoroughly the rule pertaining to televising and recording and found out we don't vote on that anymore.  The theatre has the permission from AEA to make one archival videotape that will be stored at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum.  I personally am happy about that - one less thing to vote on!

255

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: YAle Short Hand

« on: Mar 26, 2007, 11:52 am »

Let's not get into a Yale-bashing thread, huh?  After all, there's no reason to think that Show Control's director actually was referring to a Yale-standard blocking system.  With the lack of any other information, I would assume that the director saw a Broadway-experience-based application of blocking that happened to be used at Yale. 

I personally would love it if one of my grad-school directors took one of my prompt books or blocking keys and handed it to someone as the "UCSD blocking method", but my classmates would be laughing pretty hard about that...

UCSD feds vs. Yale mafia - woohoo!