Messages

286

The Green Room / Re: How do you keep in shape?

« on: Jun 01, 2009, 01:47 pm »

Between shows, I run, 30 minutes on busy days, an hour on slower days.
For during busy rehearsal and performance times, www.yogamazing.com has a wonderful podcast of 20-45 minute yoga routines that vary from leaving me refreshed and energized to leaving me panting on the floor.  Since I take my laptop to the theatre for doing notes, etc. I can access any of them at any time.  I just keep a rolled up yoga mat stashed in a closet.  I like to make a habit of being super early, so I can usually squeeze in a yoga session before the cast arrives, or on lunch.

Really, I cannot reccommend that website and podcast enough!

287

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: No Crew OR Stage Manager!!???

« on: May 15, 2009, 03:31 pm »

Believe it or not, in my day job as a box office agent at a rental space, I see this a lot, particularly in show being put on by smaller companies that are trying to cut corners and save money.

In the shows that have come in, without stage manager or crew, without fail, it is (to quote my dance teacher) "a big, steamy pile of white, pasty mess."  And I don't think I've ever seen any of them come back with another show.

They usually started late, sometimes as late as an hour and a half after announce curtain time.  There is no organization, no one knew who is in charge of what, etc.  Don't even get me started on the "cue sheets" they gave the in house tech crew.
Yeah, you can teach the actors to put on their own mics, but will they remember to check the batteries.  If they need a new battery, who has it? etc. etc. etc.  I'm sure we can all come up with common situations that would rapidly become nightmares.

I've seen successful shows without a crew done.  But they've only been successful because there was a good SM back there making sure all the actors knew exactly what they needed to be doing when, and keeping on top of any developing situations.  I'd try to steer the director into having, at least, an SM, even if he has to call the position by a different title.

288

Tools of the Trade / Re: paint

« on: May 12, 2009, 01:57 pm »

Regular acrylic craft paints will wash off mirrors cleanly, with a bit of elbow grease (as long as the paint wasn't applied over scratches in the finish).  As far as paint that will wash cleanly off of walls, I'm afriad I can't think of a thing.  Good luck!.

289

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Long Run Conundrum

« on: Apr 13, 2009, 01:40 pm »

I did a show for two and a half years.  I came in two and a half years into the run, and after I left it ended up running almost 8 years, total.  After a little while, it really became almost like a day job: show up, do the show, go home, nothing much changes.  But we always had different actors in and out, so that's sort of how it was kept fresh. 
And trust me, I HAD challenging cast members.  "Jane*, here's your notes from last night.  Could you look over that scene with your daughter at the top of Act II?  A couple of lines got mixed up in there."
"I'VE BEEN DOING THIS SHOW FOR FOUR YEARS, I DON'T NEED TO LOOK OVER ANYTHING; I KNOW MY LINES YOU LITTLE TWIT!"
Yeah.   

With the playwright still making changes, it sounds like you've got no trouble keeping it fresh, but keeping it sane.  I was in much the same boat, as well, as the director/playwright was at most of the shows, and constantly changing things.  When other people's insantiy (truly insane, not just obnoxious) started impacting both my job and my health, I put up with it for a few months, and then realized that I didn't have to, and left.  It happens in long runs, in both the technical staff, and the actors.

If you get burnt out, it really is okay to leave a long running show.  It's not beating you; you've got a specific tolerance for this work, and you've reached it.  Acknowledging your limits is better than forcing yourself to work past them until you crack and something rather bad happens.
I've got a theory that theatre folks just aren't wired for long hauls of repetition, which is why we're so mercurial about employment.  Six months here, 10 weeks there.  Think about it; that sort of constant uncertainty would drive most people into an institution, but we take it as normal.

*Names changed to protect the guilty

290

Employment / Re: Share your special skills

« on: Apr 13, 2009, 01:23 pm »

I'm a belly dancer, crack a mean whip, and have a hobby as a historical costumer.  All three have come into play.  I had to teach an actress how to walk/sit/move, etc in a big, poufy, period skirt, teach an actor how to crack a whip (without just smacking it against the floor), and help another actor who wanted to change his posture for a character in a show where he played several different roles.  We over exaggerated belly dance's base posture, and Bob's yer uncle!

291

SMNetwork Archives / Re: 1880s Prompt Books Online

« on: Mar 27, 2009, 10:25 pm »

That is so very cool; there are no words in the English language for how cool!

Thanks for sharing it.  I only got to glance through briefly, but even so, I learned some things, beisdes getting the OMG living history! high.

292

Employment / Re: Where do I begin?

« on: Mar 21, 2009, 02:28 pm »

I second everything the above posters have said.  Also, this is going to sound odd, but make friends with your theatre department's secretary!  S/He is usually the first to see the new editions of ArtSearch and other job search publications, knows exactly who you need to talk to about what it is you need help with, and depending on their personality, will sometimes help you with stage managment clerical tasks, like photocopying, or getting contact information for your contact sheet.  In college this pearson is a GREAT resource, just be sure to be sufficiently appreciative.
The Theatre and Dance department at ASU had "Elaine Day" where all the students gave her a gift certificate to go out for a nice lunch, and all popped into the office when they weren't in calss to do her job for her.  And, we kept moving the date, so it was always a pleasant surprise.
Aside from that, apply for lots of summer gigs, and make friends with everyone there, as well.  EVERYONE you meet in theatre, even in college, is a possible resource for later jobs, latest news, or help.  Keep up that enthusiasm, and try to present a competent and willing image, and break a leg!

293

Tools of the Trade / Re: Conquering Spam Filters

« on: Feb 28, 2009, 01:55 pm »

I don't have any strategies for keeping important e-mails out of my spam boxes, or avoiding spam, myself.  But I do have something I do to make important show e-mails I send easier for the recipients to see.
The subject of every e-mail I send starts with the show name in capital letters.  Hence the subject would be sometyhing like:
SANTALAND DIARIES: 12-23 show notes

or

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF: Fitting schedule

Nice and easy to spot if, by chance, it ends up in someone's spam folder.

294

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Blending a libretto with a score

« on: Feb 18, 2009, 05:03 pm »

On several occasions, I have had to literally cut and paste pages from the libretto and score together. 

Ditto.  For my last musical, I also originally intended to call off the libretto, but later found that a number of the cues were better called from specific points in the music.  (Actually, I spent half of tech week chanting, "Thank Goddess I know how to read music!")  Instead of adding chunks of pages, additional, "TURN NOW" notes to myself, etc, I just spent a couple of (long, arduous, brainwracking) hours in the company of some scissors, tape, my script, a copy of the piano/conductor and vocal scores, and a photocopier with a good reduce/enlarge function and double sided copying.  Process was thus (read all directions first for it to make sense!):

• Take page 1 of the script with libretto only.
  Pull together all the pages of music that go to that section of libretto.  Decide whether there is more useful information on the piano/conductor score or on the vocal score (note, you'll usually get more than enough from the vocal if the cue takes place while there's singing; otherwise go with the piano/conductor).
  Decide if all that music is going to fit on one page (it probably won't).
  If it won't all fit, play with the photocopier's reduce function until it looks like it will.
  Cut the chosen bits of the score into one-line strips. 
  Tape all the strips to a blank sheet of paper, cutting the strips into further chunks and piecing them together if you need to, to make them all fit.
  Take the strip covered sheet and page 2 of the script with libretto only.  Double sided copy them together.
  Lather, rinse, repeat until you go out of your mind, but have a useful script.

What you end up with is something like this in your binder:
Script  | Score
Script  | Score
Script  | Score
With the next page of the script on the back of that page of the score.  You get to keep all your blocking info you took in the libretto and all the musical info you need to cue from.  You can cue from either action or musical notation if you need to without flipping pages.  Sometimes the music gets a little small, but you're not singing from it, you're cueing from it.  You don't have to know if the Tenor is suppose to be singing an E or an F in the tenor, as long as you can see there's a gong crash (or whatever) there!
Good luck if you choose this method.  It's easier to do than explain or read about, and it will make your head hurt a bit, but the effort was SO worth it for me!

295

Tools of the Trade / THE Sharpie topic

« on: Feb 12, 2009, 10:48 pm »

I searched and searched, and can you believe that there is NO thread devoted only to Sharpies?  How on earth can we have missed this?

Love 'em, hate 'em (?!), can't do a show with out them!  Sharpies rule the world.

However, did you know that if you mark white gaff with black sharpie and leave it on a wall for a while (like labeling a costume hook for a show), when you peel it off, the black paint that was under the sharpie will come with, leaving an outline of the words you wrote?  Use masking tape; it won't mess up your paint.
Or that if you mark on pale skin with (I think it was) green sharpie, and wash most of it off, the residue will glow under black light?  (I discovered that one doing marker tests on myself for a stage tattoo that had to be washed off between scenes, in a show that also had an, unrelated, black light.)  I'll bet someone will find that tidbit of trivia useful someday!
And of course, you can temporarily touch up any chips in black paint on the stage or walls.

This post brought to you by the fact that I just cleaned out the pen cup on my desk (procrastinating cleaning the hamster cage).  There were 8 Sharpies in 4 different colors and 3 different types.  No wonder I could never find a Sharpie around the house when I needed one, OR fit all my pens in the cup.  Gods, I am such an SM.

296

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: The Chatty SM

« on: Feb 12, 2009, 10:31 pm »

<snip>  I had been paying extra attention to blocking precisely because the SM wasn't, and was asking me when & how actor A got to the chair, or when actor B entered....

</snip>

I know it doesn't help your problem any, but good for you!  Good job noticing that someone wasn't doing their job and deciding to pick up the slack instead of letting it just all fall apart!  It sucks, but sometimes we're just stuck working with people who aren't doing a good job (or don't appear to be) and we can't get rid of.  I applaud you for taking the route that does the show good, instead of being petty and doing only as much as it seems everyone else is doing.
Now, I wish you good luck in getting your situation straightened out.  I can't give you any better advice than everyone else already has.

297

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Sound cues: turning off actor's mic when they exit

« on: Feb 11, 2009, 04:14 pm »

<snip>my sound technitian decided to tell me that a mic tracking sheet and muting mics was not necessary. Well...I gave that person a little lesson as to what can happen backstage if a mic is not muted lol</snip>

Ours had a similar, unplanned lesson.  She was new to running sound, and we were having a first rehearsal with mics.  10 minute break was called, and suddenly, everyone on stage looked up at a strange sound.  "What's that?"  "It's 'Bob'!  He's in the bathroom!  He's peeing!!!  Bwahahahaha!"
   As I ran up the stairs to smack the mute button, (sound girl being on break, like everyone else) the rest of the cast was shouting after me, "Nah, leave it on, we want to hear if he washes his hands!"

Moral of the story: If your sound person is inexperienced, I don't think I'd call all mic on/offs, but I'd definitely remind or ask them now and then, especially during the rehearsal process.  If you sound person is experienced, they'll probably want to and be able to handle it on their own. 
When in doubt, check with your op!  If you've got a calm enough show you can spare breath for the extra cues, and they're new enough to need their hand held, I see no reason not to.  Whatever is best for the show.

No one ever told me if the cast told 'Bob' about that little misadventure.

298

Employment / Re: Unemployment Benefits Claims??

« on: Feb 07, 2009, 01:19 pm »

This topic is a better fit under "Employment," so I'm moving it over there.

299

Employment / Re: Blacklist of companies for SMs?

« on: Feb 06, 2009, 02:43 pm »

I like the idea of adding a (searchable) slot in the profile to list theatre's you've worked at.  And it would be good for more than just finding out if it was a "bad" theatre.  You could find out about unusual practices before you get started, or play, "Hey, do you know/remember?" with other people who have worked there.

I've worked a few places I wouldn't say were BAD, per se, but challenging, and I'd love to arm an SM going into that situation with a couple of tips and tricks to make their life a little smoother.
And I know I definitely wish someone had warned me that a particular director was narcoleptic!  That one was a shock.

300

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PEOPLE: The unwilling crew

« on: Jan 16, 2009, 10:58 am »

This show is now over, so I'm sort of looking for more of, "how would you have handled it," rather than, "what should I do?"

My Christmas show was six-seven shows a week, Tuesday through Sundays, including Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve and New Years Day.  It was a three actor/bazillion character show, with lots of props and costumes, and a lengthy, involved re-set every night.  We were also in rep with a kids show!  
The theatre I was working for (and work for frequently) doesn't hire backstage crew, or even employ volunteers.  They have an acting and playwriting apprenticeship program, and to pay for their apprenticeship, the apprentices are assigned to work a number of shows and strikes as crew.  The apprentices are assigned, they don't get to choose their shows.  And I don't get to choose my crew, either.  They're assigned to me, and I'm stuck with them for the duration, no swapsies.
One of my apprentices just did not want to be there.  She was a lady in her fifties, who was just doing the apprenticeship for fun, and working backstage was not fun.  She wined.  She complained about every little additional thing she was asked to do.  She was insubordinate, permanently modifying a costume piece after I had specifically told her not to (this is not the issue, I dealt with that.)  She kept reminding me that she wasn't really my crew, she was an apprentice, and so she didn't have to do this that and the other, because it wasn't an apprentice's job.  
I tried logic.  I tried duty.  I tried, "for the good of the show."  I tried, "you're taking care of the actors."  Finally, I just began ignoring her whinging, but it never did stop.
I think that part of the problem was that, in the beginning, I was helping with a lot of the preset and tear down.  On top of eveything else, she didn't have a very steep learning curve, so if I wanted things done, it frequently meant doing them myself, at least the first few times.  And the fact that later on, to her eyes, at least, I wasn't doing anything while she was "slaving away" with a broom, I believe, added to her persecution complex.
So, my questions are two-fold:
1) How would you deal with a reluctant crew member that you don't have the power to replace, and you need?
2) With a non-professional crew, how much do you help with preset and tear down?  I like to help when and where I can.  But I'm starting to think that, later, when I'm dealing with an emergency and not helping, my crew resents me for "being lazy," because it looks like I'm just gabbing with the house manager or goofing off on my computer, when I'm actually doing important work.  Is it better to just not help at all?