271
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: "Senior Showcase"
« on: Oct 25, 2011, 09:15 pm »
How about a "Speed-Date Interview" type setup? Might be fun!
News:
14 Jan 2021: Happy 21st birthday, SMNetwork! I replaced the old broken mobile theme. -K
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272
Self-Promotion / Re: Candide in Boston
« on: Oct 17, 2011, 10:33 am »
Congratulations, Matthew, on both the old and the new!
273
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROPS: Prop Recipe Exchange
« on: Oct 12, 2011, 02:23 pm »
From Eric Hart's Props Blog Oct. 12, 2011
http://www.props.eric-hart.com/
“As a substitute for tea, wine, whisky or brandy he serves to the actors water colored with a piece of toasted bread to suit the shade of the desired liquid and then strained. This, by the way, is not a device of modern times.
It comes from the days of Shakespeare, according to stage tradition. Sometimes ginger ale or tea is used, but these are not favored generally because they will not suit all tastes.
To one actor the ale is too pungent, to another the cider is too sour, while the third may not be able to take tea without milk, which, of course, could not be used without impairing the color of the drink. So toast-water has been accepted as the regular thing, agreeable to every palate.”
-The Morning Call, San Francisco, December 25, 1890, pg 19.
A toast to drinking! Playwrights love to make their characters drink. More popular than eating on stage, drinking on stage can be found even in plays where it is not directed by the text; a bottle of booze or well-concealed flask is a common comedic bit or a way to add layers to a character. It’s not surprising; nearly every culture through the history of civilization has had some form of fermented drink.
Many of the fake drink recipes I’ve come across over the years deal with alcoholic drinks. Very few plays feature characters drinking fruit juices. Further, drinking real beer, wine or liquor on stage is mostly a bad idea for your actor’s health and for the integrity of the show. You can find anecdotes of great stage thespians who drank real spirits while performing in a play, but these are the rare exception rather than the rule. Other drinks need stage substitutes as well. Sweet or syrupy drinks cause phlegm, which affects an actor’s vocal performance, in what some call “frog throat.” Milk or chocolate–based drinks can do the same. Coffee or tea is sometimes used if it does not need milk added, or if a milk-substitute can be found. De-caffeinated versions are preferred because most shows commence in the evening.
A number of other factors can affect your fake drink recipe. The stage lighting of the scene it plays in can alter the look of it; what looked good in the prop shop may look wrong on stage. It is often helpful to have a bottle of the real stuff on hand for comparison. Other times, the director or designer may want to veer away from complete accuracy and request a whiskey which is darker than real whiskey, or a red wine that is redder than real red wine. The recipe you come up with needs to be economical and consistent. It is no good to come up with a complicated method which either takes too much preparation time or results in every batch looking different. You must also consult with your costume department if the drinks are spilled or splashed, or if they are strongly-colored, as is the case with red wine. Some recipes stain more readily than others. Finally, pay attention to the packaging and accoutrements surrounding your liquid; drinking has a lot of accessories and rituals which, if done properly, can help sell the idea more effectively than endless experimentation with your recipe. I should also mention that if a drink starts in an opaque container and is poured into an opaque cup, you may not even need to use anything other than water.
It should go without saying that gin, vodka or any clear liquor can be imitated with plain water. If you wish to serve a gin and tonic though, a tonic water would be better than plain. A vodka and Red Bull requires just Red Bull (or a non-caffeinated/unsweetened look-alike).
I’ve never run across or used the “burnt toast” method mentioned in the quote above, but another old standby in the prop person’s bag of tricks is using cold brewed tea for various dark liquors and even some wines. I’ve seen it mentioned in texts as early as 1907. The varieties of teas available gives you an endless selection of colors and opacities, and further looks can be achieved by varying the amount of time the tea seeps or by diluting the tea afterwards. Whiskey, scotch, bourbon, sherry and others can all be made. We’ve even found “red zinger” teas which can pass for red wine on stage. Though neutral on the vocal cords, some actors dislike the taste. In some cases, this may be preferable, as it forces the actors to sip their drink in a realistic matter, rather than chugging down enough whiskey to kill a horse in a single scene.
Another old trick for these drinks is using a small amount of burnt sugar solution in water. Caramel coloring is a form of burnt sugar; you can buy it on its own or use diluted caffeine and sugar free colas which have gone flat. Some props masters have even diluted these ingredients enough to make a white wine substitute. You can also find cola concentrates for use in home soda makers, like a Sodastream, though be aware that the plain versions will still contain sugar and caffeine. A small amount is all that is necessary for a convincing whiskey, while a few drops may be all that is needed for a white wine.
Cheap and/or watered-down apple juice has found its way as a substitute for whiskeys and white wines as well. I have also heard of cranberry juice, blackcurrant juice and cherry juices used for red wine, and diluted grape juice or weak lime juice substituted for white wine. Experiment with combinations of ingredients; many a prop master has found success by mixing one of the above fruit juices with a bit of flat cola for the perfect blend of color and translucency.
Food coloring can be an economical solution, particularly when crafting fake beverages in great quantity. A bit of red and a touch of blue can appear to be red wine. One drop of green may be all that is needed for a convincing white wine. Again, success may be found by adding a touch of food coloring to one of the above recipes.
Champagne is a bit tricker, especially when the director wants to see the bubbles, or worse, when they want a bottle to open with a convincing “pop”. The mechanics of pressurizing and corking a champagne bottle are beyond the scope of this article, but in many cases, ginger ale is the closest substitute. I’ve run across some older recipes that call for using either charged water or a bicarbonate of soda with similar coloring as the white wine recipes above, but this may be adding a layer of complexity which is unnecessary.
Beer can be even trickier. Often, the only convincing substitute is a low-or-no alcohol beer if your actors are okay with that. A convincing head can be achieved with cocktail foam, such as Frothee Creamy Head. You can find recipes to make your own using egg whites (or powdered egg whites if you are squeamish about consuming raw eggs) and an acid such as lemon juice, but again, this adds to the complexity of preparation.
Milk can be tricky as well. I mentioned above that milk fat can lead to frog throat, so skim or nonfat milk can be substituted. Some actors are lactose intolerant, so a non-dairy alternative is called for. Some prop masters have used powdered non-dairy creamer in water, others have used baking soda in water, though I imagine that must taste unpleasant. Diluted milk of magnesia has been used in the past, though if too much is consumed, it can have, er, dire side effects. Unsweetened coconut or rice milk may also serve as suitable substitutes. These days, your health food store may have all sorts of convincing, albeit pricey, lactose-free milk-substitute drinks.
http://www.props.eric-hart.com/
“As a substitute for tea, wine, whisky or brandy he serves to the actors water colored with a piece of toasted bread to suit the shade of the desired liquid and then strained. This, by the way, is not a device of modern times.
It comes from the days of Shakespeare, according to stage tradition. Sometimes ginger ale or tea is used, but these are not favored generally because they will not suit all tastes.
To one actor the ale is too pungent, to another the cider is too sour, while the third may not be able to take tea without milk, which, of course, could not be used without impairing the color of the drink. So toast-water has been accepted as the regular thing, agreeable to every palate.”
-The Morning Call, San Francisco, December 25, 1890, pg 19.
A toast to drinking! Playwrights love to make their characters drink. More popular than eating on stage, drinking on stage can be found even in plays where it is not directed by the text; a bottle of booze or well-concealed flask is a common comedic bit or a way to add layers to a character. It’s not surprising; nearly every culture through the history of civilization has had some form of fermented drink.
Many of the fake drink recipes I’ve come across over the years deal with alcoholic drinks. Very few plays feature characters drinking fruit juices. Further, drinking real beer, wine or liquor on stage is mostly a bad idea for your actor’s health and for the integrity of the show. You can find anecdotes of great stage thespians who drank real spirits while performing in a play, but these are the rare exception rather than the rule. Other drinks need stage substitutes as well. Sweet or syrupy drinks cause phlegm, which affects an actor’s vocal performance, in what some call “frog throat.” Milk or chocolate–based drinks can do the same. Coffee or tea is sometimes used if it does not need milk added, or if a milk-substitute can be found. De-caffeinated versions are preferred because most shows commence in the evening.
A number of other factors can affect your fake drink recipe. The stage lighting of the scene it plays in can alter the look of it; what looked good in the prop shop may look wrong on stage. It is often helpful to have a bottle of the real stuff on hand for comparison. Other times, the director or designer may want to veer away from complete accuracy and request a whiskey which is darker than real whiskey, or a red wine that is redder than real red wine. The recipe you come up with needs to be economical and consistent. It is no good to come up with a complicated method which either takes too much preparation time or results in every batch looking different. You must also consult with your costume department if the drinks are spilled or splashed, or if they are strongly-colored, as is the case with red wine. Some recipes stain more readily than others. Finally, pay attention to the packaging and accoutrements surrounding your liquid; drinking has a lot of accessories and rituals which, if done properly, can help sell the idea more effectively than endless experimentation with your recipe. I should also mention that if a drink starts in an opaque container and is poured into an opaque cup, you may not even need to use anything other than water.
It should go without saying that gin, vodka or any clear liquor can be imitated with plain water. If you wish to serve a gin and tonic though, a tonic water would be better than plain. A vodka and Red Bull requires just Red Bull (or a non-caffeinated/unsweetened look-alike).
I’ve never run across or used the “burnt toast” method mentioned in the quote above, but another old standby in the prop person’s bag of tricks is using cold brewed tea for various dark liquors and even some wines. I’ve seen it mentioned in texts as early as 1907. The varieties of teas available gives you an endless selection of colors and opacities, and further looks can be achieved by varying the amount of time the tea seeps or by diluting the tea afterwards. Whiskey, scotch, bourbon, sherry and others can all be made. We’ve even found “red zinger” teas which can pass for red wine on stage. Though neutral on the vocal cords, some actors dislike the taste. In some cases, this may be preferable, as it forces the actors to sip their drink in a realistic matter, rather than chugging down enough whiskey to kill a horse in a single scene.
Another old trick for these drinks is using a small amount of burnt sugar solution in water. Caramel coloring is a form of burnt sugar; you can buy it on its own or use diluted caffeine and sugar free colas which have gone flat. Some props masters have even diluted these ingredients enough to make a white wine substitute. You can also find cola concentrates for use in home soda makers, like a Sodastream, though be aware that the plain versions will still contain sugar and caffeine. A small amount is all that is necessary for a convincing whiskey, while a few drops may be all that is needed for a white wine.
Cheap and/or watered-down apple juice has found its way as a substitute for whiskeys and white wines as well. I have also heard of cranberry juice, blackcurrant juice and cherry juices used for red wine, and diluted grape juice or weak lime juice substituted for white wine. Experiment with combinations of ingredients; many a prop master has found success by mixing one of the above fruit juices with a bit of flat cola for the perfect blend of color and translucency.
Food coloring can be an economical solution, particularly when crafting fake beverages in great quantity. A bit of red and a touch of blue can appear to be red wine. One drop of green may be all that is needed for a convincing white wine. Again, success may be found by adding a touch of food coloring to one of the above recipes.
Champagne is a bit tricker, especially when the director wants to see the bubbles, or worse, when they want a bottle to open with a convincing “pop”. The mechanics of pressurizing and corking a champagne bottle are beyond the scope of this article, but in many cases, ginger ale is the closest substitute. I’ve run across some older recipes that call for using either charged water or a bicarbonate of soda with similar coloring as the white wine recipes above, but this may be adding a layer of complexity which is unnecessary.
Beer can be even trickier. Often, the only convincing substitute is a low-or-no alcohol beer if your actors are okay with that. A convincing head can be achieved with cocktail foam, such as Frothee Creamy Head. You can find recipes to make your own using egg whites (or powdered egg whites if you are squeamish about consuming raw eggs) and an acid such as lemon juice, but again, this adds to the complexity of preparation.
Milk can be tricky as well. I mentioned above that milk fat can lead to frog throat, so skim or nonfat milk can be substituted. Some actors are lactose intolerant, so a non-dairy alternative is called for. Some prop masters have used powdered non-dairy creamer in water, others have used baking soda in water, though I imagine that must taste unpleasant. Diluted milk of magnesia has been used in the past, though if too much is consumed, it can have, er, dire side effects. Unsweetened coconut or rice milk may also serve as suitable substitutes. These days, your health food store may have all sorts of convincing, albeit pricey, lactose-free milk-substitute drinks.
274
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Designer Cue Lists
« on: Oct 07, 2011, 11:59 pm »
I'm with Matthew. I can't remember the last time I did a paper tech. with a director as part of the discussion, or even had more than one designer at a time with availability to paper tech.
I've had lighting designers give me cue lists, give me marked scripts, and even sit next to me at a run through, telling me where the cues go as the cast performs.I worked with one designer that gave me the cues at a run through, and then sent his assistant to give me follow spot cues a day later. I work with one director who likes to be part of the building, look, and placement of every cue during Tech., and we use PAs or others to walk the stage, instead of making the cast come in to stand on stage throughout the day. I consider it a luxury to have even a couple of hours to sit down with the LD, outside of rehearsal, to talk through the cues.
Look, there will be processes where you have to have as many cues as possible written into your book prior to Tech., as you have very few hours to Tech. a complete musical, and there will be processes where you do it all AT the Tech. If one has no LD preparation as to where the light cues go (although you should be able to pretty much predict many, if not most, of the placements) then one has to be that much more on top of the game with everything else--shifts, rail, sound, etc. Yes, there are shows where you will go into Tech., with a fully written book (or the closest thing to it) and there are shows where you'll start the Tech. with close to a blank book. It flips back and forth for me, from theatre to theatre, designer to designer, show to show. I'm fine with any version of the above!
I've had lighting designers give me cue lists, give me marked scripts, and even sit next to me at a run through, telling me where the cues go as the cast performs.I worked with one designer that gave me the cues at a run through, and then sent his assistant to give me follow spot cues a day later. I work with one director who likes to be part of the building, look, and placement of every cue during Tech., and we use PAs or others to walk the stage, instead of making the cast come in to stand on stage throughout the day. I consider it a luxury to have even a couple of hours to sit down with the LD, outside of rehearsal, to talk through the cues.
Look, there will be processes where you have to have as many cues as possible written into your book prior to Tech., as you have very few hours to Tech. a complete musical, and there will be processes where you do it all AT the Tech. If one has no LD preparation as to where the light cues go (although you should be able to pretty much predict many, if not most, of the placements) then one has to be that much more on top of the game with everything else--shifts, rail, sound, etc. Yes, there are shows where you will go into Tech., with a fully written book (or the closest thing to it) and there are shows where you'll start the Tech. with close to a blank book. It flips back and forth for me, from theatre to theatre, designer to designer, show to show. I'm fine with any version of the above!
I paper tech on my own, add cues as we go along . . . I NEVER get designers and director in the same room before tech.
275
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Designer Cue Lists
« on: Oct 07, 2011, 02:40 pm »
You always have the option to do this without the actors.
Depends on the type of tech process we're going into. If the purpose of the tech if for the entire company to stand around while the designer builds cues, then sure, I will have plenty of time to put cues in my book neatly. However, if the point of tech is to incorporate all of the technical elements into the show, then I generally have a lot of other things to take care of in the few hours before tech. I should also point out that I do a lot of work in community theatres, and I find it very disrespectful to bring in all the unpaid volunteer actors to stand around while the paid designer does work he or she should have already done.Really? What if it's the Director's process to be part of the building, look, and placement of every cue? So, you can't have light cues in your book before Tech.? There are a lot of Directors out here who work like that!
276
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Designer Cue Lists
« on: Oct 07, 2011, 01:51 pm »
Really? What if it's the Director's process to be part of the building, look, and placement of every cue? So, you can't have light cues in your book before Tech.? There are a lot of Directors out here who work like that!
I agree with Matthew. Having it in a script makes it more accurate. I remember plenty of times in college trying to decipher a designers notes on a list, simply because they were taught they had to provide a list. I do request this info in advance though (preferably 24 hours minimum). I hate going into 1st tech and either having the designer want to give me cues 25 minutes before we start, or even worse, as we tech the show.
277
The Green Room / The Agonies of a Stage Manager, 1914
« on: Sep 05, 2011, 07:45 pm »http://www.props.eric-hart.com/reprints/the-agonies-of-a-stage-manager-1914/
The Agonies of a Stage Manager, 1914
By Eric Hart | Published: March 18, 2011
The following was written by Arthur Fitzgerald and originally printed in the New York Times, November 22, 1914. It included the following bio of the author:
Mr. Fitzgerald is the stage manager of “The Law of the Land,” the grisly melodrama by George Broadhurst, which has been running all Fall at the Forty-eighth Street Theatre, with Julia Dean in the role of the woman who kills her husband, to the great delight of many audiences.
Enjoy!
Fine productions are seen in New York. Certainly nothing finer exists than the American housing of plays. Contrary to an all to general opinion, the staging of plays in America is not reckless. Lavish, yes, in the outlay of money, but painstaking always. The producers are not “satisfied with anything.” I have known one man to replace a single chair seven times because it did not blend with the room.
In our play, “The Law of the Land,” this exactness has been instilled into every one “back stage,” so that our stage machinery works like a perfect clock. The curtain rises punctually, the necessary properties are checked and rechecked and are always in their places. When a telephone bell on stage is to ring “in the middle of a word,” as we say, the man off stage who pushes the button does it just as carefully and just as seriously as if he were playing his part in full view of the audience. There is an extra gown at the door in case something unforeseen should happen to the one which the butler ordinarily carries in for that funny situation in the last act. The property man has instructions to taste the near-whisky used in the first act. Imagine an experience of mine in the north of England. The hero was about to drink a toast to the heroine. He took a mouthful of the drink—it was varnish! In our second act grapefruit is actually eaten. Grapefruit is puckery. Miss Dean has a most demanding role, and the grapefruit does not help much. I spend my leisure hours at the grocer’s finding the finest fruit.
The moon shines through a window onto the body of the dead man, and our producer and Mr. Broadhurst were not satisfied with the light during the first week of rehearsals. I went to an artist friend’s studio for three nights, during which where was no moon, but on the fourth night the moon shone and I got the effect. Next night at rehearsal we tried it at the theatre and Mr. Broadhurst asked, “Is that moon coming in through the top of the theatre?”
The finger print charts are not faked, but are genuine, and the method used in taking them and in their use has been approved by Inspector Faurot of Detective Headquarters.
Lawyers’ papers and documents, pencils for the stenographer, vichy, a waste basket, a bit of crumpled paper, an amber trimmed jet tassel, a dog collar, a dog whip, a revolver—these so-called “necessary props” are tripled and must each be in its place. The slightest change is a most dangerous proceeding.
In Dublin, once, a statue of the Virgin Mary was necessary to the play. In the hurry it was left to the property man. When the statue was undraped a moment before the curtain went up it was found to be the statue of Venus de Milo. The actor who referred to it in his part had a splendid presence of mind and read his line, “She is as chaste as the Virgin Mary and has a figure like the Venus de Milo.”
Originally printed in the New York Times, November 22, 1914.
278
Tools of the Trade / Re: 1/4" Glow dots
« on: Aug 29, 2011, 07:40 am »
Do you cover your glow dots/strips with either clear packing tape or clear Marley tape after laying them down? If so, try this: Don't bother peeling off the backing at all. Cut your strips and punch your dots. Then cut clear tape strips larger than the glow tape, and apply them to the front of the glow tape, the way you'd stick them to the floor. Stick the end of each piece to a plastic hanger, about 20-30 per hanger. Two or three hangers later, you'll have enough prepped glow tape dots and strips to begin safety taping, and you won't have peeled the backing off a single one!
279
The Green Room / Re: You know you're in tech when....
« on: Aug 04, 2011, 12:17 am »
...your ultra lightweight headset hurts your ear.
280
The Green Room / Re: Trivia Tournament III - 2.0.11
« on: Jul 13, 2011, 09:36 pm »
That's the fastest time, winning or otherwise, I've ever seen! Congrats, Matthew!
I am not exactly sure how I did that in 22 seconds . . . I mean, I was on faster internet . . .
281
The Green Room / Re: Trivia Tournament III - 2.0.11
« on: Jul 06, 2011, 05:42 pm »
Thanks, Pat! But it's actually mostly dumb luck. See how I've tanked in the first few days of July?
Quote1. ruthny (331 points, 13 wins)
Holy crap! that's a little overwhelming - and congrats Ruth! (guess all that geocaching and trivia work comes in handy in all kinds of places...)
282
The Green Room / Re: Who are we, anyway...?
« on: May 24, 2011, 08:01 am »
It had to do with the fact that management wanted "supervisors" out of the union bargaining unit, and one definition of "supervisor" was any "charge" nurse who scheduled other nurses. It was called the Kentucky River Decision, and you can read about it in this link, or do your own search for other references.
http://spewingforth.blogspot.com/2006/10/bush-labor-board-takes-organizing.html
http://spewingforth.blogspot.com/2006/10/bush-labor-board-takes-organizing.html
After that Kentucky nurses travesty, there were a slew of meetings about how to make sure stage managers were NOT considered management.
I don't know about this story. Can you fill me in, if it isn't too far off topic?
I agree with your definition. I think it's interesting to observe that being called an "administrator" gets my back up, even though I have great respect for administrators. I just think there's more to stage managing than that.
283
The Hardline / Re: Stage Managers Networking Event
« on: May 16, 2011, 09:21 pm »
Once again, I'll be out of town when this event takes place...
284
Self-Promotion / Re: Voyage de la Vie
« on: May 10, 2011, 09:44 am »
Wow Jessie,
It's been two years already? For those of us following your travels, it's gone fast. And for you?
It seems you've become an ex-pat, and have adopted the Far East as your new home. The fact that you were able to find another job there is fantastic!
I wish you the best of luck, and hope to hear more from you about your new adventures!
It's been two years already? For those of us following your travels, it's gone fast. And for you?
It seems you've become an ex-pat, and have adopted the Far East as your new home. The fact that you were able to find another job there is fantastic!
I wish you the best of luck, and hope to hear more from you about your new adventures!
Hey all. I guess I kind of fell off the planet for a while.
I finished my contract with Dragone (The House of Dancing Water in Macau) in November and then took some time to travel around Asia while slowly searching for a new job.
I recently started my new job as the Stage Manager for Voyage de la Vie at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.
It is my first show using the British structure for the Stage Management team. I find it interesting to be the head of department, but not the designated primary show caller.
So far, I am loving Singapore and enjoying the show.
285
The Hardline / Stage Managers Networking Event
« on: May 03, 2011, 05:46 pm »
The 5th Annual Off-Broadway Stage Managers Networking Event is scheduled for Friday, June 10th from 12pm until 5pm in the AEA Council Room, 165 West 46th Street, 14th Floor. Equity Stage Managers will have the opportunity to meet-and-greet Off-Broadway League producers and general managers from commercial ventures and institutional not-for-profit theater companies.
http://www.actorsequity.org/NewsMedia/news2011/april28.StageManagerOffBroadway.asp
http://www.actorsequity.org/NewsMedia/news2011/april28.StageManagerOffBroadway.asp