Messages

331

The Green Room / Re: HAPPY BIRTHDAY PSMKAY

« on: Dec 27, 2013, 02:16 pm »

Well shucks, loebtmc. Thanks kindly!

However, I have to say that it is the community themselves who have made the site into what it is today. As I browse around the web I am always amazed at the contrast between the average online communities and the polite, sincere and professional commentary offered by our members. So in return, thanks to all of you for sharing what you've learned with the rest of the industry, and for taking what you've learned here back to your casts and crews so that we can all move forward together.

I see a lot of the members posting in this thread are very very long-term contributors. Some of you have been around since the earliest incarnations of SMNetwork - I know at least loebtmc, VSM and Matthew (who I remember when he was still in grad school) were posting back when SMNet was just a single chat board - and most of the others have been around since the early days of the current format. It's also very rare in the modern internet to see a core community hold together so consistently over time, so special thanks back to all of you who have given so freely of your time and knowledge for so long.

Here's a little present as a thank you: a snapshot of the earliest incarnation of the SMNetwork forums from nearly 14 years ago, in all their MS Frontpage/Geocities glory, courtesy of the Wayback Machine.

332

December Madness I: 2012 / Re: December Madness!

« on: Dec 27, 2013, 11:49 am »

I thought about doing another run this year but couldn't quite figure how to change it up.

333

Introductions / Welcome to SMNetwork! / How to post an intro

« on: Dec 26, 2013, 07:36 pm »

Hello and welcome to SMNetwork! I'm your host and, for the time being, the moderator of the Introductions board.

About the site & me
SMNetwork is a global community for stage managers. We welcome those of all skill levels from around the globe who are interested in advancing the craft and discussing the practice of stage management. We've been around since early 2000 in assorted forms. Our members range from high school & university students to community theatre volunteers to professionals working in Broadway, West End, touring, industrial, regional, opera, cruise, ballet, fashion, liturgical, educational and circus, and many more that I'm sure I've omitted. We are mentioned in multiple stage management textbooks.

I was a stage manager until 2003. I specialized in new musicals. I've been designing websites since 1998. I currently live on the north side of Chicago with my cat. I have moved on to other careers but have continued to keep this community running, both out of necessity and a sense of history. True to form as the communicators of the backstage industry, we were one of the first interactive bulletin boards for technical theatre. Despite the evolution of new communication technologies, our members and dedicated moderator team have continued to keep SMNetwork both vital and relevant as the years have progressed.

SMNetwork is supported entirely by donations and staffed by volunteers. We do not accept advertising and do not permit commercial interests to market their products without giving something back to the community first.

Quick navigation guide

This site is large and has a ton of information! If you're newly registered you have received a Personal Message (a "PM") explaining some of them. For those who haven't registered yet and for those visual learners among you, I've done a quick guide.


We have 5 main features here:

• Forums - The core of the site. Take some time to familiarize yourself with our 11 top level boards and their many child boards. Teachers and educators should be aware that we also have a hidden board, "Teachers and Trainers," which you can gain access to by request. Each board has its own moderator(s) who have nearly complete control over the content, so the atmosphere of each board will vary. Find a few that suit you and make yourself at home.
• BTDT - Been There, Done That. Our member index of who has worked on which productions and in which venues. Looking for help on a particular show? Or advice on working in a particular location? This is for you.
• Internship Reviews - Internships have become a requirement for getting started in the industry, but they can run the gamut of quality from extremely useful to slave labor. We want to know which ones are the best and which let you down. If you've done an internship or are in the process of seeking one, make sure to check out the SMNetwork Internship Review project.
• Forms - I know this is why a lot of you come here. Our repository of forms and paperwork templates for stage management has been a mainstay of the site since day one.
• Resume Database - Available to members only, the resume database provides sample templates you can use for crafting your own resume and/or CV. It is not for self-promotion. A jump link to this part of the site is available at the bottom of the forums.

Say hello!

Given that our membership consists almost entirely of stage managers, this is one of the more orderly and well-behaved communities on the internet. You'll find our members to be friendly and calm, although we're not beyond some silliness. Many folks lurk on the site but to really get the full experience we invite you to join in the conversation. This introductions board is a great way to get started.

It can be tricky to come up with something to say as an intro, and without much guidance introduction posts can get a bit monotonous. I'm not going to make you play improv games but if you're new here I would like to see you post a new topic, including either:

• A tip - Any shortcut, technique or skill that you've found makes your backstage life easier.
• A tale - Be it funny, poignant or just plain bizarre, tell us a quick story about something that happened to you on the job. (Please do not use real names or companies for your own safety.)
• A bit of trivia - Teach us something cool about the world! It can be history, science, a link between you and some famous person - doesn't matter. Many of us love trivia.

Added Jan 9 2014:

Rules are important to us on SMNetwork. This site offers one of the most trouble-free and well-organized communities on the web, but it's largely due to a pretty extensive site of rules. We're also really big on self-sufficient folks here, so we prefer that people use the search feature in order to avoid asking repetitive questions. I know I can't force any of you to read the rules. However, I'd like to be able to tell right off the bat which members are the type to read instructions and which ones aren't.

So, if you're the type of awesome stage manager who has read our rules & knows how to use a search function, please signal as much to me by making sure that the subject header of your introduction does not include the words "Hi" or "Hello"!

Thanks for joining us! Hope to see you around the forums.

334

The Green Room / Re: HAPPY BIRTHDAY PSMKAY

« on: Dec 22, 2013, 03:11 pm »

Aw, you guys are kind and silly. Thank you! One of the best parts of it for me has been watching all of you grow over the past 14 years - from grad school and student musicals to raising babies and Broadway!

335

Announcements / Staff changes 2014

« on: Dec 21, 2013, 08:18 pm »

As we head into 2014, some changes will be occurring in the SMNetwork staff. We will be bidding farewell to dramachic5191 and missliz, who have both served as volunteer moderators for several years. We're all very grateful for their service!

Starting next week dallas10086 will be flying solo in the Green Room and I'll be taking over Introductions for a while. We may decide to open a call for new staff in the new year, but for now we're all set on the mod squad.

336

The Green Room / Re: Apollo Theater in London Roof Collapse

« on: Dec 20, 2013, 02:29 pm »

I hope the overly-zealous building inspectors don't force too many theaters to close when the backlash of excessive inspections and fines follow.

337

The Green Room / Re: "The Sound of Music" Live on NBC

« on: Dec 15, 2013, 03:59 pm »

Little anecdote for you. I was in a cafe today by myself, sitting next to an elderly couple. I was reading the news but also eavesdropping a bit.

Him: Did you hear they redid The Sound of Music?
Her: No, how was it?
Him: Terrible! The original was three hours long. They cut out a whole hour and crammed in a bunch of stuff that was never there in the first place.
Her: Oh, that sounds awful.
Him: And they had that Audra McDonald lady in it as their 'star.' I don't consider her a star, she's never been in any movies or anything. No TV or movie stars at all.

She nodded sadly.

Him: And there was no love story between the Captain and Maria like there was in the original. No love at all. They had the Captain in love with some other woman for the whole movie, can you believe that!

338

The Green Room / Re: Live Performances vs. Televised/Filmed Performances

« on: Dec 15, 2013, 03:55 pm »

So I've been considering this for a while, even before this thread came up. Believe it or not, my thinking was actually triggered by Lady Gaga's video for "Applause." It struck me as odd that a video about applauding does not show a single shot of an audience. This led to some thought about the difference between passive & active consumption, particularly in American entertainment.

Television is the most passive of media forms. There is no interaction expected from the audience, and the viewers have grown accustomed to accepting the standard television format of content/commercial alternation. However, theatre mandates a live audience. The audience at a live performance has a very critical role, both in terms of their response and their silence as a group. The responses of an audience inform the rest of those present on proper/improper reactions to the events portrayed.

This also led me to consider the importance of the audience in more restrictive states. Back in the communist era of the USSR, theatre productions would run as "dress rehearsals" for months on end and never actually open. Opening would subject them to review by the government censors, but as long as the shows were running as "rehearsals" they were able to get their message out to as many people as possible. It seems very "first world" to me that American culture has grown so disconnected from the crucial presence of the audience, when other cultures have had to go to such lengths - and recently at that - to make sure it survives.

Attending a big rock concert or a sporting event will not have the same effect as attending a live theatre performance with a smaller group. Live theatre teaches the audience that even their silence has an effect - a lesson that I think is absolutely mandatory and sadly missing in the modern American consumer/viewer.

339

Introductions / Re: New Member Scavenger Hunt - September 2013

« on: Dec 10, 2013, 10:40 pm »

Nope. There is a specific place on SMNetwork where you can look up this information.

Since we now know what the answer is, how about someone tells us where to find it?

HINT: It isn't in the forums.

340

Self-Promotion / MOVED: Blog Post: Job Hunting as a Stage Manager

« on: Dec 03, 2013, 02:39 pm »

This topic has been moved to Employment.

http://smnetwork.org/forum/index.php?topic=7948.0

341

Employment / Re: Corporate SM Gigs

« on: Dec 02, 2013, 01:35 am »

Removed company name in prior post. Don't want anyone losing a job.

342

Stage Management: Other / Re: Tosca Recording

« on: Nov 30, 2013, 04:19 pm »

How it went. This thread is over a year old.

343

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: USITT SM mentoring program

« on: Nov 29, 2013, 06:28 pm »

Already discussed at http://smnetwork.org/forum/students-and-novice-stage-managers/usitt-stage-management-mentor-project-(2010)

Please contribute your questions to that thread instead of starting new ones.

The search term I used to find that thread was USITT.

344

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: MORAL:Thank You Notes and Gifts

« on: Nov 25, 2013, 05:28 pm »

All of the threads mentioned above have now been merged into a single thread in the Green Room.

345

Tools of the Trade / Re: Ergonomics and the Tech Table

« on: Nov 23, 2013, 06:24 pm »

Yes, it was about your Facebook conversation. Thanks for sharing the evolution of your desk!