Messages

301

Introductions / Re: Good day!

« on: Jan 25, 2014, 12:43 pm »

Awesome tale, Brandon, and great attention to detail! You're doing a fabulous job and your hair looks great today.

The company I used to work for spent quite a lot of effort making a realistic, fake turkey for use in a show from which it was eventually cut. Out of a sense of vengeance, the props master snuck it into four shows over the next two years. I love when items develop back story between shows (as long as they're not disruptive, of course).

Are you working on any productions at the moment or are you just doing coursework? Small Midwestern has an awesome SM program and they've sent us a ton of great contributors. Hopefully we'll continue to see you around so you can be one too!

Thanks for joining us!

302

The Green Room / Re: Broadway Opening with Major scenic issue

« on: Jan 25, 2014, 06:46 am »

I think a lot of small houses don't realize that turntables count as automation. They look at a "lazy susan" turntable in a kitchen cabinet and don't think about how the physics scale upwards once you stick tons of stuff on it. Not to mention every kid who did "Noises Off" in drama club can say they've got experience working with revolves, but there's a huge difference between a crew of 10 kids pushing and a system with finicky servos.

It's tough to kill someone with a revolve. It's tough to injure more than your pride if a revolve breaks. It doesn't get the attention of other flashier elements of a set.

So you get build shops that don't take them seriously staffed by folks working way over their heads assembling a device on which the entire set relies while focusing primarily on other things.

303

The Green Room / Re: video interview posted

« on: Jan 24, 2014, 10:45 am »

Those who are interested in seeing prompt book examples, cue light systems and the general booth setup of a pro house would do well to check out this video. Also good to see how you remain enthusiastic about the show and keep the energy going despite a long (7 month) run.

Nice work, Heath, and thanks for sharing with us!

304

The Green Room / PSA: $2800 dance dress stolen from Chicago boutique, may be headed to Florida

« on: Jan 24, 2014, 08:34 am »

Passing this on for a friend of a friend to the biggest network of costume-aware folk I know.

This person is the owner of a local dance studio & boutique. She reports that a $2800 performance dress has been stolen by a man who was claiming he was going to use it for a female impersonation competition in Florida. There is admittedly a slim chance that he was telling the truth about his destination. Even so, a dress like this would stand out to anyone with an eye for costuming. It may wind up in the hands of one of your wardrobe folks. Could you please pass the word along to them and keep an eye out? Photos and more info in the link below.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140123/wicker-park/female-impersonator-uses-fake-credit-card-steal-2800-dress

305

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: How do you write a "Production Concept"?

« on: Jan 24, 2014, 12:54 am »

A Production concept as I understand it is the overarching artistic theme that will tie all the elements together. Usually it's the director's vision but there are times when a design team can conceptualize together. An alternate challenge would be with something like a musical revue with no plot or connective tissue - how could a design team make the different acts seem like a unified performance?

As an example, I did a community theatre piece several years ago that took its script from oral histories of local neighborhood residents in a gritty area of a city. It had a theme of illness/wellness, but there was also a recurring storyline weaving through it that involved the local kids building a scarecrow out of junk in a city park. The design team's concept focused on the idea of a sick scarecrow. Patches, straw, grass, a stage layout like limbs, etc.

Alternate example, albeit somewhat silly - check out some of Lady Gaga's videos, the ones with storylines in them. There are many, but two that strike me as exemplary and very different are "Alejandro" and "Judas." Say what you will about the music and the person, but the technical concepts and unity thereof in both are fun to examine. They both deal with concepts based around debased religious imagery but in very different ways. How do the color, lighting, staging and casting work to emphasize the music? How about the cuts and camera angles? (Hint: watch for the times when they choose to use the "god" shot, filming from directly overhead, in both videos.)

Unrelated, welcome to SMNetwork. I'm guessing from your post that you're using this to apply for NTS and not for an assignment from an NTS class. It's totally understandable that someone with an exclusively stage managerial background would not have been introduced to the idea of a production concept - I didn't encounter it until college. Regardless, please do take a moment to review our policies for students and ensure that you stay within the boundaries.

306

Introductions / Re: A second chance Hello

« on: Jan 20, 2014, 11:41 pm »

Hey Mandi -

It takes a lot of chutzpah to come back after a ban. Doubly so to jump in with an intro post on a board moderated by the person who banned you. So cheers for that, you've got courage, lady.

Enjoy the conversation, feel free to ask questions as they arise - it's more of a discussion section than a seminar around here. Perhaps after your year in SM intensive you've picked up some tips to share with us?

307

Introductions / Re: Here to Learn!

« on: Jan 20, 2014, 11:35 pm »

Heyo Christian, welcome to the community!

The best performers that I can recall from my SM career had all done time backstage. Even if they hated it, it still gave them a better sense of the whole picture. In fact, I started out wanting to be a director and over the course of learning what was involved in conceptual development I wound up learning that SM was better suited to me! Who knows, maybe the same will happen for you.

Have you had a chance to sample SM tasks both in rehearsal and performance yet?

308

Introductions / Re: Hello, again

« on: Jan 20, 2014, 11:31 pm »

Welcome back, Deborah. Always good to see folks return. We get a ton of questions from folks who are looking to try performance options beyond the standard straight plays and musicals - usually questions about cruise, corporate and touring pop up at least once a quarter. Keep an eye in here on the intros, and scattered about in the SM: Other, Green room and Employment boards.

Sorry if I'm hopelessly out of touch, but what is the Trey McIntyre Project?

BTW: Please take a moment to refresh on our site rules in case things have changed since you last visited. Thanks!

309

Introductions / Re: Salutations!

« on: Jan 20, 2014, 11:27 pm »

Hey Allie! Thanks for joining!

I'm guessing from your phrasing that you're somewhere outside the US? What makes you say your job doesn't love you?

310

The Green Room / Re: Broadway Opening with Major scenic issue

« on: Jan 18, 2014, 04:36 pm »

I wonder if there has been a motorized turntable that has not broken at a crucial moment in a production somewhere.

311

Tools of the Trade / Re: POLL: Paperwork Ownership

« on: Jan 16, 2014, 08:08 pm »

So perhaps we should view it as not so much comparable to a lighting design or a costume, and more as a tool kept in the company scene shop?

i.e., if someone wants to borrow it to further our cooperative production that's fine, and if someone wants to carry their knowledge from using that tool with them into other venues that's fine, but if that specific tool is seen in use outside of the company shop you're going to get some funny looks...

312

Tools of the Trade / POLL: Paperwork Ownership

« on: Jan 15, 2014, 08:14 pm »

The concept of paperwork as a stage manager's intellectual property has been floating around this site for some time now, mostly promoted by the pro members. However, I've noticed an uptick in individual licensing issues in the business world lately and wanted to get a more thorough "temperature check" on the sentiments of the community.

This is all tied in with the question of whether or not stage managers are "creatives" within the scope of a production team. After all, there would be no question if a production "reused" a lighting design, costume design or choreographed sequence from a prior production without credit and/or payment to the original designers. That would, of course, be immediately seen as an intellectual property infringement and nobody would consider the original artist to be overstepping if they went after the offending company.

However, the argument could be made that the stage manager's paperwork, being primarily internal and limited by the constraints of commercial office software (e.g., Word, Excel), is limited in its creativity. Additionally, it could be said that since the paperwork goes with the book and onwards to any subsequent remounts and/or published scripts, that the stage manager's paperwork by default belongs to posterity and is intended from its point of creation to be reused.  It could also be said that the creative portion of an SM's paperwork comes from the individual SM's usage thereof, meaning the paper is just a pointless tool without the know-how to use it properly.

Stage managers who have created that paperwork would of course beg to differ on the "limited creativity" point, given the amount of work required to create a truly useful and reusable form. With the slow growth of digital prompt books, we've also seen the top form creators implementing tools such as macros and databases that require considerably more effort to create over something simple like a sign-in sheet.

So within the confines of an anonymous poll, I'd like to know what your feelings are when it comes to your paperwork. If you were given the opportunity to license it, which license would you choose? Think about this not just within the constraints of subsequent productions' use, but also how you would react if:

• A student wanted to use it as part of their research
• A student wanted to use it as part of an extracurricular school production
• A publisher wanted to include it in an anthology or textbook
• Someone were to repost it here, on another tech website, or in their online portfolio claiming it as their own
• A subordinate stage manager/PA/intern wanted to use it within the confines of your current production

Discussion also welcome, naturally.

313

The Green Room / Re: Facebook Group for SMNet members

« on: Jan 15, 2014, 06:54 pm »

(Y'know, I wish I didn't have to post this, I thought it would be obvious, but recent events have made it plain that it is necessary.)

SMNetwork's Community Standards, Student policies and all other existing rules extend to our Facebook group.

314

Introductions / Re: Hello to all

« on: Jan 13, 2014, 08:39 pm »

Hello and welcome to SMNetwork! Always good to have more dance SMs on board.

Please take a moment to read through the three posts that are "stickied" at the top of this Introductions board - they're pretty important to help you find your way and make a good first impression around here.

25 years is quite a long career! Do you feel stage managers for dance have an easier time sticking with the business than those who work in other types of performance?

315

Introductions / Re: Hello!

« on: Jan 09, 2014, 08:42 pm »

Hi, Anne, and welcome to SMNet! I'd love it if you could show us a little about yourself by posting your favorite tip, tale, or bit of trivia.

Digital prompt books have been a consistently hot topic on this site for years now. Some folks love them, others are leery, very few have gone fully digital. You can find discussions about them by searching for "digital script" or "escript". Make sure you pay attention to posting dates as the conventional wisdom about escripts has evolved greatly over the past decade, and we've still got posts going all the way back.