Messages

271

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: First Hard Show with Difficult Cast -- Please help

« on: Dec 07, 2006, 05:08 pm »

Sorry I missed the last post - sounds like you're going to just ride this out - the offer to talk is still open.  Good work talking to the Theatre Manager (assuming this is the "Artistic Director" person for your company).  Maybe after the show closes you can ask that person for more feedback.

272

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: First Hard Show with Difficult Cast -- Please help

« on: Dec 07, 2006, 05:06 pm »

I've worked in several small theatres in San Francisco - although it has been a while.  It could be that I know some of the people you're working with.  Send me a message if you would like to meet for coffee or something.

I've never faced the situation that you're in, I feel so sorry for the bad vibes.  It all sounds like Iraq - there's no viable exit strategy.  At this point, there's no way in which you can get the respect and harmonious working environment that you want.  Since you've decided to call a meeting (try and do it after a matinee before an evening show, if that's possible) I would suggest you practice what you're going to say, like an actor would rehearse a monologue.  You're going to have a lot of adrenalin running through you as you talk to them, and rehearsal will help you make the points you want to make. 

As far as content, my suggestion is to stay away from your personal feelings and hardships about the process.  I don't think your cast is in a sympathetic place.  Stick with the achievable goals, and come from a position of helping them.  The lateness thing during showtime is truly ridiculous and completely UNprofessional.  Point out to them that if they missed half-hour call in an Equity Company their understudy would be going on for them.  Remind them that producers remember whether an actor is dependable or not.  Tell them that they must sign in by half-hour from now on.  If an "act of god" prevents them from doing so, they must get in touch with you so that you can deal with any consequences.

I would also say get the Artistic Director's support before you meet with the cast.  It'll be a real help if you can say something like "Tony Taccone has asked me to list tardiness specifically in every performance report.  He wants to know who can't be counted on."

Best of luck, and message me if you want to talk,

273

The Hardline / BAT Staged Reading Code

« on: Nov 29, 2006, 07:30 pm »

I'm doing my first AEA Code staged reading this weekend.  It's referenced to the BAT contract, so I'm assuming that all the break rules and rest period rules carry over from that contract - am I right?  We have to take 5 or 10 minute breaks per usual, we have to give a meal break after five hours of rehearsal, there needs to be a meal break between rehearsal and performance?

I know I don't need to elect a deputy - I did ask AEA about that.

Thanks,

274

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Offering jobs, casting, sharing info

« on: Oct 06, 2006, 04:26 pm »

I was absolutely screaming NO! NO! NO! when I started reading your post - until I got to the part about this being just a reading.  Then I calmed down a bit.  But, the producer is still absolutely in the wrong.  It is NOT the Stage Manager's job to negotiate contracts.  And, when you make the first call to offer a part to an actor, that means you are opening negotiations for a contract.

Now, giving the producer the benefit of the doubt, maybe she's done past readings where the person they hired as stage manager had the experience, information, and confidence to do contract negotiations as well - we all can wear many hats in our lives - and that's led her to believe that it's something we all do, like calling actors with the schedule.  But her telling you it's all "part of your job" is like telling the head carpenter to do the show's laundry.  An individual may be able to do both jobs, but you never hire a carpenter and, when they show up, tell them they have to wash the clothes at the end of the day.

I said I calmed down when I found out this was a reading.  That's because the usual limitations of a reading force a kind of yes/no negotiation process.  You would end up saying something like "Will you come in and read Romeo for us in this new adaptation?  We rehearse 10 hours next week and the reading is two weeks from Thursday at 7pm.  The producer will pay you $50 total.  Do you want to do it?"  The actor either says yes, or says no, but very rarely says "maybe, if...".

I think this producer was totally out of line in reading you the riot act.  You have no context!  No history with the company!  No experience in negotiating!  Don't let her get you down.  She had no business expecting all that from you.

275

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: director's power

« on: Sep 19, 2006, 11:47 am »

In your case, the point is that the LD left after tech.  No director is ever going to be okay with "no changes after tech" - they're going to make changes up until opening.  The theatre (or school) ought to have made certain an assistant LD was in place for your dress rehearsals.

It sounds like your director was making minor changes to light levels and cue timing, and I would be totally comfortable with that, while e-mailing the LD to notify.  If the director wanted to add a special, change the hang, or do an "effect" with lights, I would contact the LD before making the change if at all possible.

As far as I'm concerned, the show's not open until it's open.  One dress rehearsal is not enough time for an LD to confirm that's the design they wanted, no matter how good the LD is.

276

The Hardline / Re: Fight Captain Selection

« on: Sep 19, 2006, 11:31 am »

Agreeing with everything Matt said, and modifying it for smaller companies that have non-AEA cast members:

Most small theatres want to save the $10/week rider by making the Fight Captain be a non-AEA actor.  I ask the fight director first for his/her opinion as to whether a non-AEA person is qualified to be fight captain.  If, in the fight director's opinion, and my own, there is not a qualified person, I would go to the mat with the producer to get the right person for the job even if it cost them an extra $30-40 on the show.  Safety first, after all.

If possible, the fight captain should be at all of the fight rehearsals, and able to spend extra time with the fight director during rehearsals.  But of course, it all depends on how detailed and difficult the fights are.

277

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Essential Theatre Books

« on: Sep 12, 2006, 01:50 pm »

For Shakespeare:

Must-have reference books are "A Shakespeare Glossary" by C.T. Onions and "All the Words on Stage: A Complete Pronunciation Dictionary" by Louis Scheeder and Shane Ann Younts.

I always begin every Shakespeare production by reading the current Arden edition of the play (Arden is currently replacing their second series - published 30-40 years ago - with the third series, which is nonpareil for editing standards, and they're about halfway through the canon).

For acting books about Shakespeare, I recommend "Playing Shakespeare" by John Barton and "Freeing Shakespeare's Voice" by Kristin Linklater.

Somewhat unrelated but found useful by Marin Shakespeare Company is "Swashbuckling: a step-by-step guide to the art of stage combat and theatrical swordplay" by Richard Lane.  He's a great guy and the book is clear with lots of pictures.

278

The Hardline / Re: tracking time on an hourly contract

« on: Sep 05, 2006, 11:29 am »

it's just - well, weird that we have 36 actor hours to use (so nice and neat, six 6-hr days) but I am supposed to tell the company manager to pay those 6 hrs as 7?

wow.  You're right, it is weird.  With weekly pay, on the usual HAT contract, you get paid x amount and you're limited to working 42 hours in that week without overtime.  That's six 7-out-of-8-1/2-hour days (6 x 7 = 42). If you decide to replace any of those days with a straight-six, it doesn't matter, everyone still gets paid the same.  The LORT contract is 45 hours of rehearsal, which is six 7-1/2-out-of-9-hour days (6 x 7.5 = 45) - same situation.  A 36 hour workweek seems to imply six 6-hour days (6 x 6 = 36). 

BUT, as I think about this more:

If you were to have six straight-six rehearsals, and each one is charged as 7 hours of rehearsal, that means that you're getting paid for a workweek of 42 hours, not 36.  No producer who wanted a 36-hour week would agree to that, right?

What's the breakdown if you don't have the straight-six rehearsal option -  if you use 7-out-of-8-1/2 rehearsals?  Tues 6-11; Wed 6-11; Thu 6-11; Fri 2:30-11; Sat 2:30-11; Sun 2:30-11; that schedule adds up to 36 hours of rehearsal.  If you shorten two of the rehearsals, you can add a fourth 7-out-of-8-1/2 = Tu & Wed 7-11; Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun 2:30-11; but you can't get a fifth full day unless you rehearse only one hour on the sixth.  The workweek hour limitation prevents you from having the same schedule every day.

So with a 36-hour workweek, using all the hours, you have a maximum of four full days of rehearsal during the week.  Since a straight-six "shall replace a typical" 7-out-of-8-1/2 day, I read that as saying you have a maximum of four days you can use the straight-six option, and the other two days are four-hour rehearsal blocks.  And if I'm right about this, I would feel totally comfortable recording 7 hours' work on the 6-hour days - but only for actors who were there the whole day. 

Do you have any contact with the negotiating team?  What were the negotiators intending when agreeing to a 36-hour workweek? 

279

The Hardline / Re: tracking time on an hourly contract

« on: Sep 03, 2006, 12:58 pm »

I can see why things like this come up.  What a frankenstein situation.  I'm no AEA rep, but here's how I see the situation...

The purpose of the six-hour day is to allow a trade-off - actors work six hours straight (kind of a marathon) instead of the normal maximum five for the benefit of shortening the workday.  It's always seemed to me to be a quality-of-life issue, and the work time was the only thing open to negotiation.  If contract money was part of the trade-off, I for one might not want to vote to allow it.  So I side with your rep in this case.

If an actor is called for the whole six hours I would say that was an entire rehearsal day and they were entitled to a full day's pay (i.e., seven hours).  That would follow the spirit of the contract, in my view.  If they were called for five hours or less, I'd think that would be a situation where actual hours could be paid for that day.

(The HAT contract doesn't have the LORT language about one of the breaks in the six-hour-day being twenty minutes long.  Do you find you're giving one?)

In my personal opinion, hourly pay in a non-overtime situation sucks for us.  What if you're playing a butler and are only called for one hour a day for the whole week - How is four hours' pay okay for that actor?  And then wouldn't the producer make you, the stage manager, feel guilty if you used a staggered call but the director took twice as long on the first scene as she thought and the actors for the second scene were sitting around doing nothing?

280

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Stagemanaging for High Schooler

« on: Sep 01, 2006, 02:14 pm »

I totally second megf.  Stage managing as a career will take up your entire life.  Use the time that you are in school to do as many different things as you can.  All that experience will be absolutely invaluable later on, because an SM has to empathize with the people she's working with, and evaluate how well the project is progressing. 

I've also seen SMs who dive in feet-first burning out after a few hard shows.  I suggest that you take the time to do lots of things now - especially outside of theatre - so that you don't regret missing out on them later.

281

The Hardline / Re: tracking time on an hourly contract

« on: Sep 01, 2006, 02:03 pm »

loebtmc, I'm confused.  The HAT contract has weekly minimums - how are you getting paid hourly?

282

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / SCENERY: Raked Entrance/Exit Ramp

« on: Aug 15, 2006, 07:45 pm »

Not sure where to put this topic, but I'm working on a Shakespeare on a LOA contract.

I know the AEA LORT book (that our letter references) has rules about the amount of rake the theatre can put the stage deck on, and that is 3/4 inch rise for a 1 foot run.  More than that, and the Theatre has to provide a professional movement coach.

What about Entrance/Exit ramps?  No one acts on this portion of the stage, they just run up or down it maybe ten or twelve times during the show.  However, the rise is 30 inches over a 7 foot run.  This is too much, isn't it?  Or does it even matter?

I remember the vom entrances at the thrust stage at La Jolla playhouse were a steep rake, but I don't remember how much.

Thanks for the help.

283

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: stage managing

« on: Aug 11, 2006, 12:51 pm »

My first piece of advice is to keep your ears open and your mouth shut.  New stage managers often have a directorial urge, and try to suggest interpretation or artistic choices several times in rehearsal.  It's been my experience that behavior like that can't help and often hinders the process. 

Occasionally, a stage manager with lots of experience and a strong level of trust with the director can chime in during a sticky problem in rehearsal, but it's usually best not to.

I spent the first few years of my career insisting I was a manager, not an artist.  Mostly I was convincing myself to leave my acting background behind, and to stick to the SM job description.

284

Stage Management: Other / Re: What's the most unusual job you've had?

« on: Aug 04, 2006, 10:42 am »

I can't imagine anyone doing a 24-hour theatre outside of college.  Consider - you have to know your space incredibly well, and how and when to bend the rules, and exactly where everything is in the prop lock-up, and how to get into the prop lock-up without having to go through staff, and exactly what the capabilities of the lighting system are (and the ability to change the hang or focus in something like fifteen minutes).

Not to mention being young enough and free enough in your social relations to absent yourself for that long.  (the conversation with my partner would not go well... "Sweetie, I'm going to be in tech for the next 24+hours.  I won't be able to take any calls, and when I get home, I'm going to be a wreck...  Take care of the kid, okay?")

Sounds like a lot of fun, though.

285

The Hardline / Health cards discontinued

« on: Aug 01, 2006, 11:39 am »

I see that we no longer have to fill out 3x5 cards for our health benefits!!  Yay! 

The AEA website says that the cards have been "replaced" by the First Rehearsal Questionnaire, and then goes on to say that the only people who have to fill out an FRQ are those who are on their first AEA contract, and those whose personal information (address, phone #, agent, etc.) have changed since their last contract.

I have two questions, and I'd be happy to post them to AEA, but people here usually know the answer better than our business rep...

1) How do you make sure your dependents are enrolled?
2) Is it true that AEA doesn't need anything other than your signed contract in order to calculate health weeks?

THRILLED about this change, but a little confused...

Thanks,