Messages

31

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROPS: Foam Fire Extinguisher

« on: Oct 29, 2012, 03:03 pm »

Do you need the whipped cream for part of the show?  We use real, bonafide CO2 extinguishers in our show.  No harm to people, and leaves no film (unless you spray someone very close up).  You can get them refilled by tons of companies across the US for $50-$100 depending on where you are. 

32

Employment / Touring Job posting

« on: Oct 26, 2012, 07:49 pm »

I know everyone is always looking for a way to bust into the touring industry, and one of the bigger touring companies (NETworks) is looking for Stage Management candidates.  Check out the posting at their website below:

http://www.networksontour.com/jobs/

33

The Green Room / Re: Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre is to close

« on: Oct 08, 2012, 11:53 pm »

Wow - that's really surprising.  We played there last summer.  It's a pretty nice space.  Granted, I haven't seen any of the other Toronto theaters, but surprising that one so new and nice would be torn down...

34

Employment / Re: Resume Format

« on: Sep 26, 2012, 04:02 pm »

I used to be a word tables person, but have switched over to excel and it is much easier and quicker to get everything properly aligned.

35

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Ideas & Opinions please

« on: Aug 02, 2012, 07:42 am »

I keep my calling script pages in sheet protectors, just like Maribeth said, to protect it from wear and tear.  I've seen a few other touring SMs do the same.

36

Self-Promotion / Re: My 15 Seconds of Fame

« on: Jun 06, 2012, 12:02 am »

Nice!  Good to see you, if only in an online video

I was sitting there thinking "wow, they let him wear those shoes?", when of course you all came in and gave him new ones.

37

Tools of the Trade / Re: Prop: Throwable Real Eggs

« on: May 20, 2012, 12:34 am »

Maybe hard boil the eggs - they would still be a little messy, but would be 'throwable', and not much work at all.

38

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: TOURS: Tips for Packing?

« on: May 01, 2012, 11:02 pm »

Ogio and Burton are two brands that myself and a lot of touring friends seem to like - they tend to stand up better over time, and since they are made for boarders, are a bit more rugged - also, they come in cool designs that make them easy to spot at baggage claim.

I've gone off on a rant about spinner wheel luggage earlier in this thread, but bottom line, they are no better than regular wheels, and sometimes, are worse.

39

Tools of the Trade / Re: Recording Calls

« on: May 01, 2012, 10:48 am »

If you patch it in via a headset system, make sure you have a separate channel for the recording so that you don't hear everyone else talking, and so that you can talk on the non recording channel if need be.

Also, make sure you test the system after they have set up the recording before the show.  Last time I recorded my show call, we got on comm to start the show and our entire comm system wasn't working - something accidentally got unplugged.  Wasn't very fun.

40

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Teaching someone to call the show

« on: Apr 04, 2012, 11:29 pm »

(what show are you doing?) -

I'm on the Blue Man Group National Tour right now.

I've actually only ever taken over a show after ASMing or working on the show in another capacity, but I've found it to be very useful to have that familiarity.   And I've found that knowing the backstage track of my ASM (and thus the other backstage tracks) is super useful, from knowing who can help you solve a problem, to knowing when someone is too busy to talk and lots more.

41

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / TEACHING: Teaching someone to call the show

« on: Apr 02, 2012, 02:09 pm »

I recently trained my new ASM to call the show I'm working on, and it made me wonder, how would you/do you all train someone else to call your show?

For this case, we split the show up into two chunks, and worked through them one at a time.  First, we talked through the script, what all the cues do and where to call them.  We talked specifically about any cues she had questions about (she'd been running a deck track for about a month, so she was very familiar with the music and most of the show call, so it wasn't much), and for some more complicated sequences, we reviewed a show DVD (we have the luxury of having a recording of every show).  She sat with me for 1 show for each section, watching me call, as I showed her which monitors I was looking at for different cues, and pointed some things out, and then she jumped right in and did an awesome job. 

There are 2 hard cue light/calling sequences, and since we do a sound check every day, we ran those in show conditions in the sound check.  My crew had also helped me make a DVD of the show, with show audio AND the audio of me calling the show, so she was able to review that on her own if she wanted (which she did).

Edit to subject line-Rebbe

42

Tools of the Trade / Re: 5 fingers

« on: Mar 31, 2012, 02:14 am »

I really love my 'barefoot shoes' and I wear them all the time at work.  It didn't take much adapting, but then again my normal shoe is a pair of vans, which don't give much support anyway.  And if you buy them from a place like REI, you can always return them if you don't end up liking them no questions.

43

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Orchestras moving out of the pit

« on: Mar 25, 2012, 12:50 pm »

Our 4 piece band is on stage in 2 different platforms that rise above the stage, so we never use the orchestra pit, and we just seat it with audience.  But we've toured in several venues where the pit cannot move, so all tours that come through have to put their orchestra somewhere backstage, even if they normally use the orchestra pit.  Interesting to go back and forth from pit to backstage depending on venue, I'm sure.

44

Employment / Re: Is there such a thing as picking the wrong show?

« on: Mar 19, 2012, 07:08 pm »

I would add that these first shows you do in NYC will most definitely help you to learn a lot about which kind of shows might be the 'wrong' kind of shows to work for little pay.  Learning from experience...

45

Self-Promotion / Re: Blue Man Group National Tour

« on: Mar 19, 2012, 12:32 am »

Ha!  Nice!  I don't even remember where that was, but I know I did the tag

I love going into theaters and finding my friend's names!!