Messages

301

The Hardline / Re: Fight Captain Selection

« on: Jul 19, 2011, 03:48 am »

I hate to revive a very old, dead, topic - but this came up for me today. I have a cast of 5, all but 1 of them fight. This contract is only 1 week long and we perform this Saturday and we're done. The Fight Director can't be present on our tech/performance day, so a Fight Captain has to be selected. Since the 1 non-fighting actor was released before fight work began today, the FD thought I should be the Fight Captain.

I'm working on a Periodic Performance referenced to Lort, and while I don't see anything that says I can't be the FC, I don't see anything that says I can either. And granted, based on the previous comments re: selection, the group then decided that the actor without any fighting should be the FC, so he can watch all of the fights. I don't know what his experience is with fights, and the fact that he missed two of them today makes me wonder if I should just do it myself.

Is there a major reason why the SM can't do it? I'm by no means as well trained as some of the actors performing the fights, but I did take extensive notes, and was calling out the moves as they rehearsed today, when they forgot.

302

The Green Room / Re: WWMD? - Merchandising...

« on: Jul 16, 2011, 12:46 pm »

Yes! Keep calm and carry on - put that on a shirt & button please. I found that saying with the royal crown on a poster at World Market and immediately thought of your previous avatar.

303

The Green Room / WWMD? - Merchandising...

« on: Jul 15, 2011, 10:58 pm »

Come one, come all to the WWMD? (What Would M. William Shiner Do?) Store!
I know what I want, do you?

http://www.zazzle.com/mwilliamshiner/gifts?cg=196061768866825817

304

The Green Room / Re: Article: 10 Questions for a Broadway Stage Manager

« on: Jul 15, 2011, 02:17 am »

{off topic}

I claim the merchandising rights!

{on topic}
Post Merge: Jul 15, 2011, 01:46 pm{off again}

Matthew, you're killing me!

{on again}

305

The Green Room / Re: Article: 10 Questions for a Broadway Stage Manager

« on: Jul 14, 2011, 10:22 pm »

Can I guess that your favorite was #10?

306

Stage Management: Other / Re: Prepping for a show with No Ground Plan

« on: Jul 14, 2011, 06:51 pm »

Here's a mini-update:

I met the director for the first time today, and she fancies herself a Jill of all Trades - to avoid hiring a CD, she's pulling costumes from stock (it's R&J scenes) and doing the fittings herself. There's no SD, so she's pulling small props from storage (mostly rapiers). It's basically her, me and a Fight Director.

The performance venues are about 15 minutes apart, but it will be 150 miles round trip for me to visit them. She did take several photos and sent the actors, Fight Director and I the flickr link to see them all. My director is not available this weekend because she's opening another show, so if I go, I'm going solo. (Granted, now I sound like those whiny kids who have an excuse for everything...)

She did mention helping me out during the Winery performance (which is my major concern) so it will kind of be like having a PA for the show. She is aware that I don't have ground plans, and thankfully for our first day of rehearsal we're doing more text work and fights (though the fights need proper spacing...) so hopefully I'll get something in hand by Tuesday. She didn't have a real solution for us, but she's up for general ideas of taping out - like "it's maybe this big by this big, so let's just assume this is right and here's some marks."

As you said, Matthew, it will be best to just roll with it - and the director is completely open to letting the Winery blocking be fluid until tech, while the performance on the stage for the Concert can be more solid.

And...and who would know that Google Maps would help me see my ground plan...now if I can just get a scale on it, I'm set!

Oh, and I think I totally need to make binder clips that say "WWMD?"

307

Stage Management: Other / Re: Prepping for a show with No Ground Plan

« on: Jul 14, 2011, 12:58 am »

Loebtmc - the one thing we do know is that at the Winery, we have the actual Winery as our dressing room/green room which is closed to the patrons. So all dressing/changing/locking up/bathrooms/etc takes place there. Thankfully for two of our scenes, the patrons will be seated eating dinner, which is why I am eagerly awaiting the catering plan.

I am very worried about the actors hearing their cues - especially with distance between areas, and for our first scene, which actually is supposed to take place in the middle/among the patrons waiting to be seated for dinner. The director doesn't want to use mics, and there will be only one of me - no assistant.

Thanks for the tips, I'll start making my list!

308

Stage Management: Other / Prepping for a show with No Ground Plan

« on: Jul 14, 2011, 12:03 am »

In preparation for this Concert/Winery site-specific event, I had high hopes of taping out the ground plan of each venue so that the actors and director would have some semblance of how far away things are. I've contacted the TD from the Concert half of the show, and he's trying to get me a ground plan. As far as the Winery show is concerned, we're all over the place - in the "woods," in a gazebo, along a cement wall, inside a catering tent - and all I have are photos the director took when she walked on the grounds last week. Oh, and she drew a pretty picture which is obviously not to scale. I have been promised a catering plan on Monday, the first day of rehearsal, but that only tells me the inside of the tent area. Oh, and we won't see any of the spaces until our 2 hour tech just before the performances in each space.

Have you ever dealt with this? What would you do? There's a part of me that aches to think I won't tape out a plan so that we have a rough idea how far apart we are...

Or is this when I learn to relax, lighten up and just "let it happen"...?

There's a part of me that wonders - WWMD? (What would Matthew Shiner Do?)

309

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

« on: Jul 13, 2011, 01:36 pm »

Not necessarily for packing, but I wish someone had told me to laminate signs that would be used most often. And, for confusing theaters, to make a TON of laminated signs that read "Stage Right" "Stage Left" with separate laminated arrows that I could tape onto the signs (so that the direction was easily changeable). I think velcro would be ideal to attach the arrows, but we didn't have that in stock.

I learned that during a tour, and thankfully I brought my laminator with me, so I was able to at least laminate my most-used signs before they died, but had to draw my arrows on with dry erase markers. (Not as nice as my new arrows.)

310

Tools of the Trade / Re: iPads

« on: Jul 12, 2011, 02:24 pm »

I used to work with a (non-union) dance company that had dozens of   productions in their repertory- when they had an upcoming gig of "Show   X", they would bring a TV into the rehearsal room and watch a DVD of the   old production,

Actually, Maribeth, even union (AGMA) dance companies do this. We record every performance and store it in our Archives. Then when we do the show again, I pull the most recent video, plus past ones, the ballet master picks the best, then I make duplicate DVDs for everyone staging the ballet. When the performance is over, I take back my DVDs and destroy them, leaving the originals in the Archives.

...and it's written into the AGMA contract that dancers are allowed to view the Archives whenever they want. Also, upon leaving the company, they are entitled to a "highlight reel" of their work from the Archives.

311

Stage Management: Other / Re: Calling a Concert with Multiple SMs

« on: Jul 11, 2011, 07:19 pm »

Good point, Matthew.

I've been getting a lot of my info from my director. As far as I can tell, we will be teching our scenes apart from the rest of the Concert, since we then have to leave that venue and tech at another venue, to then return to the 1st venue and do our performance, then travel to the second venue for that performance. Yes, I know, totally breaking the rules to have 2 techs on a 2 performance day, but the theater is paying a lot of penalties for it and we're all aware that it's the only way it can happen. I'll make a point to check in with the House SM to see how he wants to do the handoffs.

Such a good point, I didn't even think of that.

312

Stage Management: Other / Calling a Concert with Multiple SMs

« on: Jul 11, 2011, 06:35 pm »

I've done a search and haven't been able to find a topic related to this, so here goes.

I've landed a Periodic Performance contract (at least it's better than my last one) and one of the performances is a concert. I'm working with 5 actors on 2 scenes from R&J and we're inserted among a symphony, ballet dancers and opera singers. We only perform 17 minutes of this concert, and this venue is not really used to AEA actors.

I had emailed the TD of the project, who's an outside contractor, about how the calling of the show will work. I'm only rehearsing my scenes in our home city next week, and I won't see the dancers, singers or symphony until the performance day. He says there's a possibility that the symphony will bring their own SM, the house has a SM and I am welcome to call from either the booth or backstage.

My question is - has anyone else ever done something like this? I've never had the opportunity of working with multiple callers before, and I definitely don't want to step on the toes of the house SM who has probably done this before. Does anyone have an experience to share? I'd love to hear how it worked.

313

Stage Management: Other / Re: Band Management

« on: Jul 10, 2011, 02:03 pm »

Hi!

megf had a post similar to yours a while back - check page 2 of the SM: Other board for the post "Band Manager" - she's still an active user, you could PM her to find out more about her experience.

best of luck!

314

Self-Promotion / Re: Next stop: dream job!

« on: Jul 02, 2011, 04:44 pm »

Heath - just saw your photo in American Theatre magazine! Nice!

315

Employment / Re: Resident SM?

« on: Jul 02, 2011, 04:17 pm »

If you're the Resident SM of a non-AEA company, it can mean a few things. As Matthew said, generally you will have work for the entire season. For my job at the ballet as a resident PSM, I start work 4 weeks before the dancers come in and finish 1 week after the school ballet, which generally only leaves me June & July off each year. I do accrue vacation, which I tend to take when the dancers are on layoff over Christmas.

Since the ballet has a smaller staff than your usual AEA theater, I keep myself busy with Company Manager tasks, maintaining & building rehearsal props, managing the Audition Tour, working on contract negotiations, etc. when I'm not in rehearsal, watching videos or doing the schedule. It does provide an amazing sense of security, which I love, but also there are problems. Some years we thought we might go on tour over the summer, but it took so long to decide, that my summer job couldn't wait to hear from me, then the tour fell through and I was on unemployment.

Also, our company seems to have a hard time deciding when it will return in the fall lately, so I have to turn down potential work because I don't know my start date. Granted, if you're with a more reliable company and can get your start and end dates in writing in advance, you may be OK. But there have been amazing opportunities that I've had pass me by because of my residency.