Messages

31

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Creating a Calling Script

« on: Dec 02, 2008, 01:28 am »

I do mine about the same as kiwitechgirl, but with the cues often in the margin of the script page

Likewise.  I underline the surrounding text, indicate the "GO" word of syllable in the way that kiwitechgirl demonstrated, then I draw a line to the margin, where I write the cue #.  However, I have my text on the right side.  Although I don't highlight the cue itself, I DO use Post-it flags to point to the cue and call my attention to it.  Yellow for lights, Green for sound, and Red for complicated sequences where there isn't enough space to flag each individual cue.

I also actually write "SB L12, S5," and "Warn Deck 1, L14" , etc.  in their approximate locations for stand-bys and warnings, but I don't designate a specific line.  This way I can still keep everything consistent, but I have the ability to adjust slightly depending on circumstances.

Personally, I also like to note if there is a follow, or something else special about a cue, so that I'm not surprised during the first few techs when I'm still getting used to the show.

Best piece of advice....write lightly for the first few tech rehearsals and have a big eraser on hand.  Also, try to stay flexible, it's not uncommon for designers to be changing cues the day before opening (I've had them grab be and want to make changes at half-hour on opening night).

32

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Let's Talk "Places, Please"

« on: Dec 02, 2008, 01:07 am »

When I call places, I of course expect my actors to give me a "thank you, places" so that I know they've heard me.  After that it is their responsibility to get into places, or let an ASM know if there is a problem.  Before GO, I get a confirmation from ASMs that everybody in the first few moments of the show is present.  This gets kind of tricky when you're working in a black-box or other flexible space like ours, so I usually have to improvise show-by-show.  This usually just means that I have an ASM run to any entrance that they cannot see, and then report back to me.  Sometimes, I have to rely on the House Manager because depending on how the show is staged, we frequently have actors enter from the doors leading to the lobby.  So, typically I will call places, but the actors will wait in the stairwell until she closes the house and informs me that she will let the actors in.  HOWEVER, the last show I required my lead actress to be seen in an upstairs window of the set, which was accessed via the upstairs balcony of our mainstage.  This was the very first moment after the house went out, so I had to be sure she was there.  I ended up having her reach into the booth from the hallway and tap me on the shoulder as she was going her place (she had to walk past anyway).  It worked well to assure me that we were ready to begin the show, and saved me from running back and forth.

SO, I guess the point of my little tangent here, is that I have a general procedure for going to Places, but it varies depending on the needs of the show, the size of the company, and how busy my ASMs are before the show.

33

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fight Call

« on: Nov 19, 2008, 08:26 pm »

I have always let the second fight call on a two-show day, be a decision made by the Fight Captain in conjunction with the actors who are part of the call. If any ONE of them wants to do it, it happens! Usually this applies only to a fight with very few actors and no swords or weapons. (And I must say, that this only applies when I have a great Fight Captain, with tons of past experience, whom the actors and I trust implicitly!) Larger fights and all weapon-play fights are done prior to every performance. Period. 

Exactly.  Well said.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Hell Week...?

« on: Oct 21, 2008, 01:42 pm »

I haven't called tech "hell" since high school.  I don't use the term now, nor does anybody in the company that I work with.  That being said...tech in high school IS hell.  Typically, you are working with inexperienced technicians and actors and very limited rehearsal time, so obviously it's going to take a lot of work to make things come together.  Many times, you're training the crew as the show goes into tech.  I know my high school musicals wouldn't rehearse with the orchestra at all until first tech (when we were also trying to build light cues and work out mics, and set changes).  If that's not theater hell for a 16-year-old, then I don't know what is.

35

SMNetwork Archives / Re: I could have kissed them!

« on: Oct 21, 2008, 12:27 am »

I got an email from one of my cast members today saying that, on behalf of the cast, they are so happy to have me as their SM instead of one of the other SM's in the company.  It really touched me that she would take the time to stop and write me a note like that.  And, in reality, I wouldn't care if she didn't because this *knock on wood* is the easiest company that I have ever worked with (actors, director, and designers included).

AND...
I lost an ASM today due to a problem with grading (evidently he had never registered for practicum...ahh the joys of collegiate theatre) and one of the cast members with a smaller role stepped right up and said that she would double as my ASM when she wasn't acting. I almost DID kiss her.

36

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Blocking Pages in Prompt Book

« on: Oct 16, 2008, 01:47 pm »

It really is something that you need to discover for yourself.  There are all kinds of different approaches to every aspect of stage management, and it's important to learn what's best for you and your company.
HOWEVER...I must say, in all fairness, that when you are first starting out as a SM it can be very difficult to break yourself from the "Am I doing this right?" mentality.  It is something that I struggled with quite a bit when I first made the transition into my collegiate theater department (I had stage managed in High School and because some of my techniques were different than those of my peer SMs, I though I was wrong.  As it turns out, some of my stuff actually works better than theirs).  So, moral of the story....be thorough and prepared, but don't think so hard that you drive yourself nuts over unnecessary minutia.  Take the time to grow and learn while doing your job to the best of your ability..

But, if you really want my opinion, I think you would be better off with more than one stage diagram from each bit of blocking/dance.  Milliehas WAY too many people on stage dancing at once for a single diagram.  When I SMed the show in HS I didn't even use a ground plan, I just wrote copious blocking notation in my script and never had a problem with it.  Like I said, do what works for you, but I think you're on the right track.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Do you have an actor code of conduct contract?

« on: Sep 13, 2008, 02:06 am »

This is the list of Company Responsibilities that I use (right now its heading is set for that of my current production, but that of course, is adjusted for each show).  It may vary slightly depending of the show, but for the most part remains that same.  Generally I don't have too many problems with my cast when using these guidelines.

38

Tools of the Trade / Re: What software do you use?

« on: Sep 12, 2008, 01:15 pm »

I use Vista:

Word (for callboard notices, rehearsal reports, etc.)
Excel (For EVERYTHING ELSE, lol.....scene breakdowns, props lists, contact sheets, cue sheets, etc.)
Google Calendar
CADD (although the faculty designers that I work with @ school use vectorworks...that's fine for the ground plan that I work from, as long as i don't have to use the programs myself.  CADD makes more sense to me...vectorworks is too object based for my brain).
MS OneNote (a savior)
Windows Journal (for scribbling notes during meetings and rehearsals (I use a tablet PC))

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: HELP! The director is taking over my job... :S

« on: Sep 11, 2008, 09:34 pm »

Ah...
Yeah, I've worked with a director who is similar to this.  In my opinion, you just have to stand up to a person like that.  Now, I don't mean get in her face and scream, I mean politely confront her in a professional manner.  If that doesn't fix the situation, then I would seek advice from a higher-up in the production, maybe a company manager if there is one, or the head of whatever organization is in charge of the production.  I had a heated argument once with my director because he simply wouldn't get the cast out of rehearsal on time.  I had to stand my ground until he agreed to get the home at a reasonable time.  Not gonna lie...it was scary.  Especially when you consider that he was the dean of the college of fine arts and I'm a theater major (and therefore a student in the college of fine arts).  But, you know...the cast and crew sure appreciated it and everyone was happier, healthier, and safer.  I also had problems when it came time for the show to open and he had to turn the show over to me.  He got mad at me one time because I didn't tell him of a minor wardrobe crisis that held the curtain for 10 minutes.  I just had to politely explain to him that the costume crew and I had it under control and that everything was fine and that the matter of when the show started was between myself and the house manager.

Also, ageism DOES happen, especially in community and educational theater, so you might be right about that.  I caught a lot of crap because I stage managed as a 19 year-old first semester freshmen (they didn't care that I had done it for all four years of high school and that it was my career goal).  It just makes it that much more satisfying when the show goes up smoothly..I think, anyway.

And as far as not having a script...that is just unacceptable.  You should be one of the first people to get a script...and you should have it WELL before the rehearsal process begins.  You should explain to her that there are certain managerial tasks that need to be completed, all of which require a script.

Well, I hope that helped...I know it's easier said than done.  I wish you luck.

40

SMNetwork Archives / Re: I could have kissed them!

« on: Sep 05, 2008, 12:59 am »

...the huge Shakespeare cast that thanked and applauded me on closing night saying that they appreciated the fact that I stood up for them in respect to leaving rehearsal on time, taking breaks, etc. even though the director was extremely difficult.

...the cast member who asked me if I had remembered to eat that day (very few people actually understand that stage managers require thing like food and sleep, too...at least once in a while, lol.)

...the lighting designer who asked me for permission to begin a cue even though the director had asked her first (it was after tech, so technically, the show was mine to run, not his)

41

Uploaded Forms / Re: rehearsal reports

« on: Sep 01, 2008, 02:32 am »

Here's an example of my rehearsal report.  This one was completed for a production of Henry IV, Part I that I SMed last spring.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Alley Staging

« on: Sep 01, 2008, 02:21 am »

Thanks, guys.  It looks like now my big hurdle is getting the scenic designer to refrain from putting the roof of one of the houses in front of the booth.  I'm not about to call cues while leaning out the booth window and peeking around a set.  Also, that'll be a little distracting to the audience, to say the least.

43

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / VENUES: Alley Staging

« on: Aug 31, 2008, 01:14 am »

In September, I'll be SMing William Inge's Picnic, and our scenic designer has decided to stage the show in alley (as in, two modules of seating forming a corridor on either side of the playing space).  Has anyone worked with this configuration before?  Difficulties?  Problems?  Ease of recording blocking?

44

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Picnic

« on: May 10, 2008, 02:12 am »

Thanks Guys.  I don't really have any specific questions just yet because I'm not sure exactly how we'll be approaching the show, as designers haven't even been chosen yet.  Although, I did hear distant rumblings of staging the show in ally, which could be interesting.  Depending on how they orient the sets, sight lines might be tricky from the booth.  Also, in the good news department, the cast is the smallest I've worked with in a while (11).  That's a pretty nice number coming from a Shakespeare cast of 25 and, before that, a devised theater show with a cast of 17.  I'm excited to see how things will unfold.

45

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / SHOWS: Picnic

« on: Apr 25, 2008, 01:37 pm »

So, I just found out that I'm stage managing William Inge's 'Picnic' next fall.  Is anyone familiar with/has anyone worked on the show?  Advice?