241
Stage Management: Other / Re: Backstage at the Nutcracker
« on: Dec 17, 2010, 01:01 pm »
My current show only has 7 kids, and they run me ragged. I can't even fathom having that many children backstage!
News:
14 Jan 2021: Happy 21st birthday, SMNetwork! I replaced the old broken mobile theme. -K
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
242
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: Managers in rehearsal?
« on: Dec 15, 2010, 11:43 pm »This is rare, but it happens - and mostly happens with film/television actors who are dipping their toes in theater.
I think that is also part of the heart of the matter- she's a film actor, making her "New York stage debut." Theatre rehearsals are so different from a film set- there aren't a lot of people just hanging out in the rehearsal room watching the process like on a film shoot.
243
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROFESSIONALISM: Managers in rehearsal?
« on: Dec 15, 2010, 03:35 pm »
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/actress-thora-birch-fired-from-dracula/
Did anyone else see this article?
I have never worked at a level where any of my castmembers have managers or agents, and I am curious to hear from anyone who has- while, obviously, Mr. Birch's behavior is atypical (peering through a window on the set during tech rehearsal? really?), has anyone ever heard of an actor's manager being at every rehearsal? Or even at any rehearsals? If an actor said to you, "I want my manager to be in rehearsal with me," would you allow it? I would be concerned about the rest of the castmembers' response to that, as well as the director's, to have an outside party sitting in on all of the rehearsals. Would you make an exception to your standard "Guests Backstage" policy for an actor's manager?
The fact that he is her parent (and also her bodyguard? the article kind of skims over that bit) as well really just ups the weird factor for me. If an adult actor asked you if their parent could be in rehearsals, what would your response be?
Did anyone else see this article?
I have never worked at a level where any of my castmembers have managers or agents, and I am curious to hear from anyone who has- while, obviously, Mr. Birch's behavior is atypical (peering through a window on the set during tech rehearsal? really?), has anyone ever heard of an actor's manager being at every rehearsal? Or even at any rehearsals? If an actor said to you, "I want my manager to be in rehearsal with me," would you allow it? I would be concerned about the rest of the castmembers' response to that, as well as the director's, to have an outside party sitting in on all of the rehearsals. Would you make an exception to your standard "Guests Backstage" policy for an actor's manager?
The fact that he is her parent (and also her bodyguard? the article kind of skims over that bit) as well really just ups the weird factor for me. If an adult actor asked you if their parent could be in rehearsals, what would your response be?
244
Stage Management: Other / Re: Transferring into Opera
« on: Dec 09, 2010, 11:18 pm »(You say your PM has never worked on an opera before. I hope the company you are collaborating are has it's own PM as well ... otherwise, yikes!)
The opera company's SM is the SM for the production, but since it's sponsored by our company, in our theatre, built by our shops and using our resident designers and several of our company members in the cast, our PM is the production manager. Since none of us have worked with opera before there is just some stuff happening that we're like... Wait. Is that a quirk of the opera world, or is this company just weird?
245
The Green Room / Re: Best one-liner from a performance report
« on: Dec 09, 2010, 11:57 am »
From a performance of A Christmas Story- the actor in question here is 7 years old.
"Randy" was late for his entrance after the fight- Mother said “Randy, you back there?” and Randy wasn’t back there. Randy was entering the stage from the wings, sweatervest half on & suspenders dangling. He opened the front door, looked out at the audience, said “I’m late,” with an apologetic shrug, and climbed behind the couch. Other than that, great show!
"Randy" was late for his entrance after the fight- Mother said “Randy, you back there?” and Randy wasn’t back there. Randy was entering the stage from the wings, sweatervest half on & suspenders dangling. He opened the front door, looked out at the audience, said “I’m late,” with an apologetic shrug, and climbed behind the couch. Other than that, great show!
246
Stage Management: Other / Re: Transferring into Opera
« on: Dec 08, 2010, 08:09 pm »Make sure you have crackerjack ASMs on the deck for you- their job is also very different from what you'd expect from your ASMs in theatre. If they have opera experience, you're golden, but if they don't, it's going to be really important to get someone who does to let you both know what that job entails.
As an SM intern at a theatre that is currently working on a joint production with an Opera company, I would be curious to know what those differences are, specifically. I have never worked on an opera before and neither has our production manager (I've never even seen an opera live...) I am REALLY curious after reading this and the Opera Tips thread, especially since we're currently running into some quirks with this company.
247
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: New Experience: Advice/Opinions Appreciated
« on: Nov 17, 2010, 12:21 pm »
Speaking to them about it was definitely the best way to go. I would look at it in the same way you would look at anything that is affecting the show, and not treat it differently because you know their personal business already.
I was in this situation with a show in college where the 2 actors who were dating fought constantly, she was super jealous if any other girls in the cast talked to him, he was constantly distracted trying to make her happy (an impossible task) and this eventually culminated in them getting in a fight after opening night where she broke his nose, and he and another actor ended up in the ER until 4AM.
So speaking from experience, I would say you need to address it before it turns into something worse. Just make sure that you treat it professionally and that they know that you expect the same from them.
I was in this situation with a show in college where the 2 actors who were dating fought constantly, she was super jealous if any other girls in the cast talked to him, he was constantly distracted trying to make her happy (an impossible task) and this eventually culminated in them getting in a fight after opening night where she broke his nose, and he and another actor ended up in the ER until 4AM.
So speaking from experience, I would say you need to address it before it turns into something worse. Just make sure that you treat it professionally and that they know that you expect the same from them.
248
The Green Room / Re: Did he REALLY ask me that?
« on: Nov 17, 2010, 01:36 am »
More along the lines of Did I really just say that?
Tonight, speaking to my child actors via god-mic (mind you, they're generally fairly bright 11-13 year olds) "If you're waiting backstage for your entrance, please stand where I can't see you. That means behind the proscenium. The big black wall. Not on the Santa-land set, behind the big black wall. Why are you all still standing on the Santaland set? Please stand behind the proscenium. Behind the big black wall. Stage right. All the way stage right, behind the wall." At this point, I guess something clicked because they all moved in a little clump from the Santa-land set to behind the proscenium. We were 3 hours and 30 pages into a "run" of a 130-page script, so frankly I don't blame them.
Tonight, speaking to my child actors via god-mic (mind you, they're generally fairly bright 11-13 year olds) "If you're waiting backstage for your entrance, please stand where I can't see you. That means behind the proscenium. The big black wall. Not on the Santa-land set, behind the big black wall. Why are you all still standing on the Santaland set? Please stand behind the proscenium. Behind the big black wall. Stage right. All the way stage right, behind the wall." At this point, I guess something clicked because they all moved in a little clump from the Santa-land set to behind the proscenium. We were 3 hours and 30 pages into a "run" of a 130-page script, so frankly I don't blame them.
249
Tools of the Trade / Re: Useful Literature
« on: Nov 12, 2010, 11:11 pm »
It is a theatre book, but not one specifically aimed at stage management- Backwards and Forwards: A Technical Manual for Reading Plays by David Ball was without a doubt the most useful, informative, eye-opening book I read in my 4 years of school. I cannot stress enough how much every theatre artist needs to read this book. It was assigned reading for the Fundamentals of Directing class I took as a senior, and after reading it, all of the students in the class told the professor that she needed to assign it as the first thing that all of the Intro to Theatre for Majors students have to read as freshman. We honestly couldn't believe that this book existed and nobody had told us to read it before our senior year...
It's written mainly for actors, directors, and designers- how to read & break down a script in all of the ways that you're taught in beginning acting classes, but the way it is explained is so much clearer, so much better explained than any other way I've ever read. I'm gushing now, so I'll stop, but I HIGHLY recommend it.
It's written mainly for actors, directors, and designers- how to read & break down a script in all of the ways that you're taught in beginning acting classes, but the way it is explained is so much clearer, so much better explained than any other way I've ever read. I'm gushing now, so I'll stop, but I HIGHLY recommend it.
250
Tools of the Trade / Re: Holiday SM Gifts
« on: Nov 11, 2010, 11:29 pm »
SMLois had the cutest stage manager rubber duck on her blog (www.loisbackstage.com) with a link to the website where you can order them. I'm planning on getting them for the rest of the SM team at my theatre- they're so precious! The duck is wearing a headset & carrying a clipboard! You can't go wrong with that.
251
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: ESCRIPTS Archive June 09-Dec. 10
« on: Nov 11, 2010, 01:48 am »(side comment) I think we may need to have a "39 Steps" support group at this rate. Kind of like AA, but with less religion and more flowcharts.
YES PLEASE!
252
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: ESCRIPTS Archive June 09-Dec. 10
« on: Nov 10, 2010, 11:09 pm »
I would also love a copy of 39 Steps!
253
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: What to do when you're sick?
« on: Nov 10, 2010, 11:26 am »
I am a firm believer in staying out when you're sick. Granted, I have worked through head colds, sore throats, etc. The only time I've ever not been in rehearsal was during my senior project- I had strep throat and the flu at the same time and was told by the doctor that I had to stay in bed for 5 days at the minimum. It was torture, but I had 2 ASMs who did an excellent job, kept me updated on everything, called to ask me questions during rehearsal, etc. (Of course the first day I was out one of our leads shut her hand in her car door in the parking lot of the theatre, broke her finger, and had to go to the ER!)
My biggest fear when I get the slightest bit sick is that I'm going to get one of my actors sick, and then once one of them is sick, the rest are sure to follow. If I've just got the sniffles, I'll just keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my pocket and warn everyone to stay away, but if I think I'm contagious? I'm not doing anybody any good in rehearsal if I'm not resting/recuperating AND I'm running the risk of getting the rest of the company sick.
My biggest fear when I get the slightest bit sick is that I'm going to get one of my actors sick, and then once one of them is sick, the rest are sure to follow. If I've just got the sniffles, I'll just keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my pocket and warn everyone to stay away, but if I think I'm contagious? I'm not doing anybody any good in rehearsal if I'm not resting/recuperating AND I'm running the risk of getting the rest of the company sick.
254
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Reports - Getting actors to read them (from Tools of the Trade)
« on: Nov 09, 2010, 11:53 pm »After reading the replies to this thread (and judging by the title), it seems like many people send rehearsal reports to the actors as well as the production team - is this true?
I basically send 2 emails every night:
- the rehearsal report, which goes to the design team & production staff & includes any technical notes or questions from the rehearsal, as breaks, the next day's schedule, run times of scenes, etc.
-the daily call, which goes to the cast and includes the call times for the next day, reminders about change of rehearsal location, costume fittings, PR photos, blah blah blah.
I see no need to combine the two- is that standard practice for some SMs? Did I miss something somewhere along the way?
255
The Green Room / Re: Just a random what if....
« on: Nov 08, 2010, 10:33 pm »
I had a huge crush on an actor in one of my shows in college, and I waited until the show closed to say anything about it. I then had to stage manage another show that he was in after we broke up, which was only awkward until we both decided to grow up and act professional. I also stage managed a different show with a guy I was dating in it, but we had been dating for about 4 months before rehearsals started so it was a different feeling than starting a relationship in the midst of a show.
I've found that I'm pretty good at compartmentalizing- when I'm at work, I'm at work and that's that. Which brings to mind a summerstock romance with an actor who couldn't separate "Stage Manager Becky" from "Friend Becky" and caused all kinds of problems.
Dating someone in theatre is a blessing and a curse... they understand better than anyone else the "I can't, I have rehearsal" syndrome, but being together all the time (if you're dating someone in the same company/production) or never seeing each other (if you work for different companies) are both relationship-ruiners, in my experience.
All that being said, I think I agree with kmc307- you're in high school! go for it!
Wow... typing all of this has made me realize that 1- I need to stop dating actors, and 2- I need to go out and make some friends who aren't in theatre!
I've found that I'm pretty good at compartmentalizing- when I'm at work, I'm at work and that's that. Which brings to mind a summerstock romance with an actor who couldn't separate "Stage Manager Becky" from "Friend Becky" and caused all kinds of problems.
Dating someone in theatre is a blessing and a curse... they understand better than anyone else the "I can't, I have rehearsal" syndrome, but being together all the time (if you're dating someone in the same company/production) or never seeing each other (if you work for different companies) are both relationship-ruiners, in my experience.
All that being said, I think I agree with kmc307- you're in high school! go for it!
Wow... typing all of this has made me realize that 1- I need to stop dating actors, and 2- I need to go out and make some friends who aren't in theatre!