Messages

31

Tools of the Trade / Re: Wireless Headset

« on: Mar 09, 2008, 12:18 am »

I recently purchased an HME DX 200.  It is my favorite wireless that i've ever used.  But it ran about 16k.  I would look at renting.  Or if there is a college football arena in your town talk to the athletic director and see if they will let you borrow thiers.  Unlikely but worth a shot. 

32

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Cast Gifts/Thank Yous?

« on: Mar 01, 2008, 11:14 pm »

I normally do Starbucks gift cards for everyone in the cast and crew.  However that can get very expensive very quick.  Another thing I have done is Sharpies with the name and run of the show printed on them.  At other times I do nothing.  It all depends on how I feel. 

33

Tools of the Trade / Re: Business Cards

« on: Feb 21, 2008, 09:42 pm »

When I was doing my own business cards I found a graphic designer and traded out some tickets to a show for a card design.  Then I just emailed it to Kinkos and had them print out a few.  The best part was that I had the PDF and could change the text as needed.  But I would not recomend putting down your home address.  You never know where your cards will end up.  And if you only have a cell phone and you put that down as the phone number on you card make sure you answer it in a respectable manor.

34

Tools of the Trade / Re: Fire extinguishers on the catwalks

« on: Jan 30, 2008, 09:08 pm »

I do have to have fire extinguishers in the catwalks and they are on proper mounting brackets.  We even have a company who checks the pressure and condition of them about once per month.  Vegas does have fairly high standards when it comes to fire codes.  Monte Carlo excluded    I'm just torn between the policy of no lose items in the catwalk and the possibility of causing a hindrance in an emergency situation.  The fire marshal said that it was a good question and that he would get back to me.  The insurance company said the same thing.  I think that this whole thing comes down to my OCD about lose items overhead.  Being a former rigger I've seen a couple of close calls. 

Another anecdote about the CO2 extinguishers.  I was on the road at a fairly shabby theatre which I won't name.  Everything was up and running during sound check and I noticed a stagehand on stage left using a CO2 extinguisher on an electrical panel.  After inquiring why he was spraying down the panel he told me that this was how they cooled it off during shows so that it wouldn't melt or trip a breaker or something.  I would have been concerned but he was so casual about the whole thing that it seemed like just part of his daily duties.  The show went off great but there were a couple of times where you could hear a short burst of the fire extinguisher. 

Oh and some interesting news in the world of cirque.

http://thestrippodcast.blogspot.com/2008/01/breaking-mysteres-days-are-numbered.html

35

Tools of the Trade / Fire extinguishers on the catwalks

« on: Jan 29, 2008, 07:39 pm »

So I've been pondering this one for a while and figured I would see if anyone has some advice.  I have the policy in my theatres that no lose items are allowed on the catwalks above the audience.  We have shelves and bins at all of the catwalk access points to put any items into which are not secured to your body.  i.e. cell phones, tools, pocket change ect.  However I also have fire extinguishers in the catwalks.  These are hanging from various locations.  Should there be some sort of lanyard to secure the fire extinguisher to a belt loop or possibly a shoulder strap if someone has to use the fire extinguisher on the catwalk while people are below?   Or would the lanyard pose a hindrance for response time when suppressing a fire?

36

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Cheap Rigging-ish

« on: Jan 28, 2008, 01:38 pm »

I once saw a space similar to the one you describe use retractable projector screens for their drops.  Apparently they had found some old screens with tears and stains.  Then they painted over them and used them for drops.  This way you only need about a foot of fly space and the weight stays minimal.  However I don't know how easy it is to find retractable screens that people are getting rid of. 

37

Employment / Re: Unsure

« on: Jan 25, 2008, 10:34 pm »

I started out working at a non union road house unloading trucks.  The next step after that was the touring lifestyle and then onto a steady gig.  But another way i gained a lot of experiance was volenteering at a local children's theatre.  It was a good way to make some conections and gain some great tech experiance. 

38

The Hardline / Re: Who Locks Your Doors?

« on: Jan 25, 2008, 10:28 pm »

In my current gig it is security.  In other theatres I have worked in I have seen; the house manager, technical director, theatre director and in two occasions the janitor responsible for making sure the building is secure. 

Although one thing that I have noticed is that it is important to make sure that whoever is in charge of making sure things are secure knows that that is their responsibility.  As for the last one out policy I have seen that one fail a couple of times. 

39

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: "Lighting" Cigarettes?

« on: Jan 21, 2008, 07:17 pm »

If someone already has a Zippo you can always take the wick out of it and the cotton batting out of the inside.  This will insure that a used Zippo does not ignite. 

40

Employment / Re: Entertainment Industry Expo

« on: Jan 07, 2008, 01:27 pm »

A little more expensive but well worth it if you are looking into the concert industry. 

http://www.pollstarpro.com/cic2008/about.htm

Only like a grand. 

Yes but lunch is included.  There are usually some student volunteer spots available where you watch a door or act as an usher in exchange for you admittance fee.  The volunteers normally get to see about half of the conference.  I’m fairly sure that they are already full for this year but you could always try for next year.   

41

Employment / Re: Entertainment Industry Expo

« on: Jan 05, 2008, 10:39 pm »

A little more expensive but well worth it if you are looking into the concert industry. 

http://www.pollstarpro.com/cic2008/about.htm

42

Stage Management: Other / Re: Circus

« on: Jan 03, 2008, 05:27 pm »

I did three shows with the Shriners Circus when I was working at a road house.  We used to do them every year as a benefit.  It was basically a normal show but with elephants and tigers involved.  There was no touring stage manager.  The LD called spot and houselight cues while running the light and sound board.  The MC seemed to run the show and all of the acts staged themselves.  Production manager kept everyone in line but was not part of running the show.  He almost acted like a company manager while the MC acted as the director/stage manager.

Traditional departments, i.e. props, wardrobe, carpentry, ect. did not exist as everyone was fairly self sufficient.  Trapeze artists handled the rigging, animal trainers handled the center ring and the individual acts seemed to run themselves.  There was a five person stagehand call, four spots and one houselights person.  All load in and load out was handled by the circus personnel. 

I was only acting in the capacity of the venue so I didn't get into the inner workings of the circus that much so I don't know if any of this info is relevant or useful but if you need anything more specific I’m sure someone has some experience. 

Oh yeah.  If you are working with a circus, buy air freshener.  Elephants stink really bad.  And your clean up staff will hate you when they see what presents the elephants have left them.  Oh and don't schedule a show two days later and put a rap star in the room where you had the elephants.  They will not be happy. 

43

Stage Management: Other / Re: Circus

« on: Jan 03, 2008, 02:01 pm »

Circus or Cirque? 

44

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Props Question....

« on: Dec 31, 2007, 03:52 pm »

I would argue that the bags go to props.  There are props being put inside of the bags and they are being used as props on stage.  If they are simply accessories and are only there for aesthetic reasons I would give them to wardrobe. 

And yes I do work in a union house.  The official word on the drum is that it is a prop.  However the mic and cabling connected to it is audio.  And the carpenter has to supervise and page the curtain so moving a snare drum is a 3 person job.  I was thinking about putting a light on it so I would need an electrician and maybe putting a shoe on one of the legs so wardrobe would have to be involved also.  Then it would take five people to move a snare drum.  The fact that I can pick it up with one hand is somehow irrelevant.

45

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Props Question....

« on: Dec 31, 2007, 01:11 am »

Grey area it is.  I would give it to the department who has the most time to do it.  I recently got into an argument over a snare drum.  I had my head of props claiming that a drum, being played during a musical number to keep the beat, was a prop.  My sound guy argued that it was his jurisdiction and my carpenter said that only carpenters should move instruments.  It was a fun twenty minutes.