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Messages - RuthNY

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301
The Green Room / Re: Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark
« on: Dec 22, 2010, 06:02 pm »
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/146074-Dec-22-Evening-Performance-of-Spider-Man-Canceled-Department-of-Labor-Explains-New-Protocol

Dec. 22 Evening Performance of Spider-Man Canceled; Department of Labor Explains New Protocol

By Andrew Gans
22 Dec 2010

The Dec. 22 evening performance of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark at the Foxwoods Theatre has been canceled following the Dec. 20 injury of actor Christopher Tierney. The matinee performance had also been canceled.

A Dec. 22 statement from the show's spokesperson reads, "Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the New York State Department of Labor have agreed on the implementation of additional protocols which will be rehearsed today and this evening. As such, tonight's performance of Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark has been cancelled. Performances will resume tomorrow evening (Thursday)."

Ticket holders for the Dec. 22 evening performance who purchased their tickets through Ticketmaster will be contacted directly and given the ability to book tickets for a future performance at no cost or receive a full refund. Customers who purchased tickets for either the Dec. 22 matinee or evening performance through other sales outlets must contact their point of purchase.

A spokesperson for the New York Department of Labor explained in a Dec. 22 media conference call the new protocol that will be in place to help ensure the safety of actors in Spider-Man. All 41 maneuvers that involve a tether, rope or wire attached to a harness will now be supervised by at least two stagehands. The first stagehand will make the attachment; the second stagehand will verify that the connection has been made and will also alert the stage manager that it is safe to proceed. The actor involved in the maneuver will also perform a self check and has the right to say if he or she still feels unprepared to perform this stunt; in fact, the spokesperson said, actors are encouraged to speak up if they do not feel safe.

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The Department of Labor spokesperson said that most of the maneuvers did not have this redundancy in place prior to the Dec. 20 incident.

The spokesperson also said that all four injuries were failures of the safety procedures that were in place. This new protocol, the spokesperson said, should resolve these issues.

Actors' Equity also released a Dec. 22 statement about safety procedures, which reads, "Actors' Equity is committed to making the theatrical work environment as safe as possible. We start to identify potential risks in new productions as early as possible, examining such potential risk elements as raked stages, smoke and haze, stunts, firearms, flying, and unusual or overly-demanding choreography.

"Equity staff begins looking for these elements with the first readings of early drafts of scripts or production concepts. Our staff is in regular contact with production and stage management as soon as those parties are identified. Our staff has significant experience identifying risk elements and working with the production to develop safety protocols. However technology is rapidly evolving as theatre artists push the boundaries of creativity. As these boundaries expand, we constantly monitor these developments in order to best protect our members.

"As performers well know, the backstage area is a dense, complicated, and fast-moving area of live activity and machinery. In older theatres, we are faced with massive technology jammed into buildings that are over 100 years old. Theatre professionals are expert at making it all work, however, despite these efforts, accidents do occur.

"Every theatrical accident or injury is cause for urgent concern, thorough investigation, and active follow-up. Equity logs each and every accident no matter how seemingly minor or major the circumstance. The database this provides us, yields vital information that shapes our daily procedures as well as preparation of contract proposals."

*

Directed by Julie Taymor, the cast is headed by Reeve Carney as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Next to Normal Tony nominee Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane Watson and Broadway veteran Patrick Page as Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin.

They are joined by Natalie Mendoza, Michael Mulheren, Ken Marks, Isabel Keating, Jeb Brown, T.V. Carpio, Mat Devine, Gideon Glick, Jonathan Schwartz, Matthew James Thomas, Laura Beth Wells, Matt Caplan, Dwayne Clark, Luther Creek, Gerald Avery, Collin Baja, Marcus Bellamy, Emmanuel Brown, Erin Elliott, Dana Marie Ingraham, Ayo Janeen Jackson, Heather Lang, Ari Loeb, Natalie Lomonte, Kevin Loomis, Kristin Martin, Jodi McFadden, Kristen Oei, America Olivo, Jennifer Perry, Kyle Post, Brandon Rubendall, Sean Samuels, Dollar Tan and Christopher Tierney.

Reeve Carney is the front man for the LA-based rock band Carney. Zane Carney (guitar), Jon Epcar (drums) and Aiden Moore (bass), who are also featured in that band, are part of the Spider-Man orchestra.

Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark features a book by Taymor and Glen Berger, and new music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge.

"Drawing from more than 40 years of Marvel comic books for inspiration," Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, according to press notes, "spins a new take on the mythic tale of Peter Parker, a teenager whose unremarkable life in Queens is turned upside-down — literally — when he's bitten by a genetically-altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to the ceiling. Bullied by his classmates and tortured by an unrelenting crush on next-door-neighbor Mary Jane Watson, this science geek discovers he has suddenly been endowed with astonishing powers. He soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility. Maligned by the media, buffeted by financial woes, and stretched thin by the expectations of the world-at-large, Peter now must struggle to navigate the perilous and peculiar demands of being a web-slinging superhero."

The creative team comprises Daniel Ezralow (choreography), George Tsypin (scenic design), Academy Award winner Eiko Ishioka (costume design), Tony Award winner Donald Holder (lighting design), Jonathan Deans (sound design), Kyle Cooper (projection design), Julie Taymor (mask design), Campbell Young Associates (hair design), Judy Chin (makeup design), Scott Rogers (aerial design), Jaque Paquin (aerial rigging design), David Campbell (orchestrations & arrangements), Teese Gohl (musical supervision) and Kimberly Grigsby (music director).

Producers are Michael Cohl & Jeremiah J. Harris, Land Line Productions, Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle/Tony Adams, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Norton Herrick and Herrick Entertainment, Billy Rovzar & Fernando Rovzar Jeffrey B. Hecktman, Omneity Entertainment/Richard G. Weinberg, James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, S2BN Entertainment, Jam Theatricals, The Mayerson/Gould/Hauser/Tysoe Group, Patricia Lambrecht, and Paul McGuinness by arrangement with Marvel Entertainment.


302
The Green Room / Re: Trivia Tournament II: Electric Boogaloo
« on: Dec 18, 2010, 08:42 am »
You don't have to hit the little dots.  Just click on the right answer.  It took forever for me to figure that out!


Oh poop!

It decided I hadn't answered one of the qqs - and I can't tell you how I hate trying to hit those little dots in the centers of those circles. Sigh.

Ah well. Just had to vent for a moment!

303
Tools of the Trade / Re: Gifts!
« on: Dec 10, 2010, 07:53 am »
I'd like Santa to bring me a Nook or a Kindle, so that I can cut down on the number of books I drag along to all my gigs!

304
The company below is looking for Non-AEA Stage Managers.  Please do not contact me, as I have no connection with the business, outside of being asked if I knew how to drum up some Non-AEA SMs.



Manhattan Children's Theatre is a company located in TriBeCa, NY dedicated to providing affordable theatre for children. All of our actors are adults and we perform Saturday and Sundays at Noon and 2pm on both days. We are currently looking to fill 3 SM slots in our season.

1. Little Red Riding Hood

Rehearsals begins next week in the evenings and tech week is Jan 3rd- Jan 7th with the show opening on Saturday Jan 8th. The show will run for 7 weekends closing on Feb 27th. The stipend is $500 payable at the end of the run.

2. Goldilocks

Rehearsals begin the week of Jan 24th in the evenings. Tech Week is Feb 27th- March 4th Show opens March 5th @ Noon. Same deal once the show opens it will be only Saturday and Sundays at Noon and 2pm til Apr 17th. The Stipend is $500.


3. The Brothers Grimm Abridged
Rehearsals begin the week of March 14th in the evenings. Tech Week is Apr 17- 22. Show opens Apr 23rd @ Noon. Shows Saturday and Sundays at Noon and 2pm with an occasional weekday show to accommodate for school groups. The stipend is $575. Runs thru Memorial Monday.

If interested please respond with the show title in the subject.

Thank you and Happy Holidays.


Christie Santiago
Production Manager

manhattanchildrenstheatre@gmail.com

305
The Hardline / Re: SPT SM Overtime Tech Week
« on: Nov 30, 2010, 10:59 pm »
Congratulations on the resolution of this matter, and thank you for sticking it out! It's not always easy to do the right thing!

So it's finally been worked out.  After several discussions with the AEA business rep and the producer, the producer agreed to pay for all of hours worked.  This includes before the actor call, shortened meal breaks, notes after tech; basically all hours I am at the theatre working.  I'm very glad I put up with all the stress of fighting for this.  While the producer may never work with me again, at least I have paved the way for future SM's to be paid for their extra hours during tech, which were significant.   

306
The Green Room / Re: Trivia Tournament II: Electric Boogaloo
« on: Nov 27, 2010, 09:31 pm »
To do it quickly:

Use a scroll mouse.  If you see me with a longer-than-usual-time, it means I am using a computer without a scroll mouse.

NEVER read the entire question.  Skim for key words only, and answer accordingly.

Use your first instinct. Never go back and correct your answers.

Don't care, AT ALL about time, accuracy, score or standing. The less important these things are to you, the faster you'll move!



Quote from: loebtmc link=topic=3989.msg35673#msg35673 ate=1290892361
I also wonder at people who go thru the qqs and answer so freakin' fast! (do you have faster connections than I do? probably...but maybe also faster brains?) -

307
The Hardline / Re: New LORT Media Rules
« on: Nov 13, 2010, 09:45 am »
Please call the LORT Business Rep. in your region with this question, and let us know the answer!

Soooo, there are a lot of new media rules in the most recent LORT rulebook (Rule 35, pg. 29), a lot of which are radical departures from past rules. There is an incomplete sentence in one of the clauses, 35(D)(1), both in the hard copy and online. Has anyone from the forum asked or needed to ask AEA about the missing information? Just curious because...

I'm trying to figure out if I can video more than once a week to capture footage for production work.  E(1)(a) states that there is no time limit on the capture of rehearsal or performance, but an earlier rule regarding footage intended for broadcast states you can only film up to four hours and only one day per week. We are not currently in rep so there is only one show in rehearsal.

Thanks, forum!

308
The Hardline / Re: MRE under Off-Broadway Contract
« on: Nov 11, 2010, 09:44 am »
Write to the Off-Broadway Business Representative, and make this suggestion for the Off-Broadway Committee to consider, prior to the next round of negotiations. That is the proper hierarchy of communications for this issue.

Better still, fill out a committee application and join the Off-Broadway Committee (first as an observer, later, possibly, as a member) and make your case in person.  That way, you'll find out the institutional history of the rule first-hand, and hear arguments both for and against your idea.

One thing I've learned from my years of AEA committee work, is that an issue that might seem clearly black and white to me, is a host of other colors to each individual in the room, and the debate that ensues is highly educational, informational, and illuminating. It might even change your mind!

<snip>
 This is one I'm tempted to write into the Council about for the next round of negotiations.

309
From the New York Times, yesterday:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/inspectors-to-review-flying-safety-for-spider-man-musical/

ArtsBeat - New York Times Blog
November 2, 2010, 5:08 pm
Inspectors To Review Flying Safety for ‘Spider-Man’ Musical
By PATRICK HEALY



Inspectors from the New York State Department of Labor will visit Broadway’s Foxwoods Theater on Wednesday to examine the flying and safety devices and watch some of the aerial stunts for the upcoming musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” which is expected to feature acrobatic flying that is unprecedented for Broadway.

The inspection has been in the offing for months, but it also comes two weeks after a flying technique in the show went awry, resulting in two broken wrists for actor Kevin Aubin. During the stunt, Mr. Aubin was launched from the back of the stage like a slingshot, landing again with serious force at the lip of the stage.

Under state law, shows like “Spider-Man” are not legally allowed to hold public performances until state inspectors review and approve special effects such as flying, said Leo Rosales, a department spokesman, on Tuesday. The inspectors usually issue findings a few days after their visit; they can seek or demand changes to promote safety, which producers usually accept rather than risk a delay in performances, Mr. Rosales said.

“The flying in this musical is unprecedented for Broadway, and we’re going to urge the producers to make sure everything is as safe as possible,” he said.

Asked if Mr. Aubin’s accident would influence the inspectors’ work, Mr. Rosales said the department was conducting a separate investigation of the sling-shot technique, which also caused foot injuries for a second actor this fall. That investigation is still underway.

Actors’ Equity is also looking into Mr. Aubin’s accident, which is standard after performance-related injuries, according to a spokeswoman for the union. “When a show is preparing to debut a lot of technology, especially flying over stage and audiences, we keep a close eye,” said the spokeswoman, Maria Somma.

Safety is not a new issue for the $60-million production, far and away the most expensive in Broadway history. Ms. Somma said that Actors’ Equity officials were in the theater this fall and watched as two different flying sequences were being rehearsed in the air at the same time, close to one another. The officials notified the production team that rehearsing the two sequences in such proximity was “unsafe,” Ms. Somma said, and the creative team immediately made changes.

“We have a system in place to watch over safety, whether it’s reviews during rehearsals or our union members working as stage managers on the show, or drive-by spot checks after a show opens,” Ms. Somma said.

A “Spider-Man” spokesman said on Tuesday that the producers had no comment on the upcoming inspections and the fact-finding about the sling-shot flying effect.

So much technical rehearsal is still to be done on “Spider-Man” that some veteran Broadway producers have begun to privately predict that preview performances, set to start on Nov. 14, will be delayed. Directed by Julie Taymor, a Tony Award winner for “The Lion King,” and with music by U2’s Bono and the Edge, “Spider-Man” seems likely to become the most technically complex show ever mounted on Broadway, given the amount of flying, special effects, moving scenery, and sound and lighting design inside the Foxwoods Theater, one of Broadway’s largest houses.

The “Spider-Man” spokesman, Rick Miramontez, said that preview performances were still scheduled to begin Nov. 14.

310
The Green Room / Re: BTDT help and discussion
« on: Oct 22, 2010, 02:31 pm »
Corrected. It is now listed as Spring Awakening (Original Play) with just the one author.

Ruth


I just looked at my BTDT profile and noticed that one of my shows has been edited-

Spring Awakening by Wedekind was changed to Spring Awakening by Wedekind, Sheik, Sater 

I stage managed the original straight play, not the musical.  I know that there are other shows where this problem could arise (a play that is then made into a musical using the original script) and I'm not sure how best to differentiate between the different versions other than author's name, but I think there does need to be some way to tell the difference- I know in this case at least, the play is very different from the musical!

311
The Green Room / New Feature
« on: Oct 22, 2010, 12:21 am »
Along with the Chat and BTDT features that have so recently and publicly been added to this site, there is another new feature that has been added very quietly and privately. I found it earlier today and want to share it with all of  you.

If you go to the "About" menu and click it, you will see in the drop-down column, the word "Donation."  If you choose it, it takes you to a page telling you how to donate towards the hosting and upkeep of SMNetwork.org.

Now Kay has never asked any of us for money.  This is not a pay-for-membership site, and mostly anyone who wants to register and participate for free, is welcome to do so.  I have, and many of you have, participated, shared information, and met colleagues here for years. So, today I clicked the "Donate" button and made a small donation, as thanks for Kay's many years of devotion, both to Stage Managers and to the care and feeding of this site.

So, just be aware that page exists on this site, and if you ever feel grateful for the information you've gleaned, or the friends and colleagues you've stayed in touch with through the site, or have some small change needing a good home, I urge you to click this button as well. If not now, several months from now, if not then, maybe next year or the year after--whenever you feel you've used the site enough to want to give a little back.

Just so you know you can!

Ruth

EDIT:  It's more of an Easter egg than a feature.  Thank you for finding and mentioning this, Ruth.  Also, shucks and golly! :) --PSMK

312
Well said, Matthew!!


DEAR GOD!  It's just a job.  A job for god sake's.

Let's rewind here . . . if you haven't made it so you are replaceable, then you are not doing you job.  Just as you have to figure out how to do the show with understudies or swings, how do the job when you are short a crew (or four) - you need to put a plan in place that will allow someone else to do the show in case you can't.  That's just part of the job.

If it means training a crew member, an asm , the production manager - whomever - you need to be replaceable.  I know it's a terribly odd feeling, since we all agree that stage managers are so important, but we are replaceable - and for the good of our shows - need to be. 

This means your calling script needs to be pristine, a copy should be made available for a sub, and they should - at the very least, get a couple of minutes where you talk through the show.  I would much rather be remember as the SM who had a plan in place so they could be sick rather then the the SM who called the show vomiting in a trash can.

313
The Green Room / Re: I can't believe I just had to do that...
« on: Oct 15, 2010, 04:49 pm »
We do this every night of the season, in our thrust house. Even with the usher/house staff "guards," audience members find their way onto the stage almost nightly.

Less funny and more, "What are people thinking!?" 
I just had to ask our house manager to post a guard by the set any time the audience is wandering (pre-show, intermission, post-show, post-talkback), because they are stealing and eating our prop mints.  A different style show, I'd just set the mints at places, but that's not an option for this house!

314
The Green Room / Re: BTDT help and discussion
« on: Oct 14, 2010, 09:29 am »
Corrected.  Your Doll now has an "apostrophe ess House"

Because my brain goes faster than my fingers, I also managed to somehow call "A Doll's House" just "A Doll".  Sorry!

Post Merge: Oct 14, 2010, 06:26 pm
I've just done a quick edit session, removing all first and middle names/initials. We are pared down to last names only! Also, some duplicate titles have been merged.

I added a couple of shows with author's first & last names because I maybe kind of didn't read the instructions until I'd already started entering them- I couldn't help it! I was just so excited about the new feature!

For ease of editing, they are:
Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin
Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts
Black Pearl Sings! by Frank Higgins

Also, can I just tell you how cool I think this thing is?  I think it'll be really useful once people start really using it!

315
The Green Room / Re: BTDT help and discussion
« on: Oct 13, 2010, 11:06 pm »
Corrected! Your "s" is in place!

I managed to add "The Shape of Thing" rather than "The Shape of Things" - and I'm happy to help with proofreading :)

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