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Employment / Re: ARTICLE: How to Network like a Pro
« on: May 29, 2013, 01:10 pm »
Seemingly like clockwork our friends at Lifehacker published this piece today: How to Skip the Sleaze and Build a Real Professional Network
News:
14 Jan 2021: Happy 21st birthday, SMNetwork! I replaced the old broken mobile theme. -K
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332
Employment / Re: ARTICLE: How to Network like a Pro
« on: May 22, 2013, 09:02 am »I know I need to kick my networking into overdrive when I get back to NYC.
At the same time, it always feels so "sleazy" to me - I need to get over it.
It's sleazy if you're only networking when you need a job or when you need a specific favor. The relationship should be mutually beneficial. The key is to add value to the counterpart in your professional relationship.
I get that the "salesman speak" can feel canned and artificial, but I think it's that most of us are uncomfortable selling ourselves to the degree we need to be sold to get to where we want to be.
If you're always taking and not giving, then yes it's sleazy - but if it's mutually beneficial, you both win - and what is sleazy about that?
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Employment / Re: ARTICLE: How to Network like a Pro
« on: May 20, 2013, 10:30 am »
Every time I read one of these articles I realize how poor I actually am at maintaining my professional network. I'm great at connecting with new people, but I often neglect those I've fallen out of touch with or don't speak to on a regular basis. A couple of steps I'm going to take to correct that:
- Anytime I am tempted by a social network during business hours, I'll peruse LinkedIn instead of Facebook. If I'm going to have interaction, it will be professional.
- Reach out to one contact every day that I haven't talked to in 6+ months. I started with "A" today, and was able to help an old friend who is involved with a Catholic parish fundraising effort connect with a high level contact in managed giving at the Archdiocese of Miami. A successful start!
334
The Green Room / Re: PATRON SMASH!
« on: May 16, 2013, 09:30 pm »
Being a jerkstore is not a crime. He's civilly liable for the cost of her cell phone and nothing more, which is pittance compared to the free publicity he's received following the incident.
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The Green Room / Re: PATRON SMASH!
« on: May 16, 2013, 08:24 pm »He took her phone out of her hand and threw it across the room?
I'm sorry, I cannot be on his side in this. Obviously she was WAY out of line, but he took her phone out of her hand and threw it across the room. As much as I might WANT to do that, I would never ACTUALLY do that. He has some serious anger management issues.
I would imagine that at a show where patrons are seated at tables, they probably have this issue a lot- patrons who act like they're at a restaurant (still using their cell phones... ugh) and not at the theater. I don't know that there is something less disruptive he could have done besides just ignoring her, but I'd imagine that the ushers/waiters could maybe be more proactive in policing that type of thing.
In life, there are some people that just deserve it.
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Introductions / Re: SM from the other side of the world!
« on: May 16, 2013, 09:06 am »I did my own doubletake.
Welcome.
For a hot minute I thought you moved to New Zealand and created an alter ego.
337
Employment / Re: Work outside theatre
« on: May 14, 2013, 03:13 pm »
Rachel, my resume is 100% non-theatre work as I left the field of professional stage management some years ago. If you'd like to view mine as a sample to get some ideas about how to include outside work please PM me and I will send you a download link.
338
Tools of the Trade / Re: Online Callboards
« on: May 05, 2013, 10:45 pm »
I think you first need to define the scope of what you want online. Is a shared spreadsheet with a few tabs for contact info, schedule, etc.. adequate, or do you need a robust environment that these other services offer?
How long is your run? I'm a big fan of not reinventing the wheel - work smarter, not harder. If a simple shared document will work in place of something larger and more time consuming, then I'd go with that personally. The bells and whistles are great but if they're not necessary aren't your efforts better focused elsewhere?
How long is your run? I'm a big fan of not reinventing the wheel - work smarter, not harder. If a simple shared document will work in place of something larger and more time consuming, then I'd go with that personally. The bells and whistles are great but if they're not necessary aren't your efforts better focused elsewhere?
339
The Green Room / Re: Tony Awards
« on: May 05, 2013, 10:54 am »
Further, a good stage manager mitigates risk (to the extent possible) so that problems don't happen in the first place. There's also the act of managing a company, balancing personalities, runnng the day to day business, and loads of other intangibles that are impossible to quantify. Much of the SM's most important work occurs before the curtain is up or after it's down. Issuing an award for the 90 minutes the curtain is up would be an incomplete award.
340
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Flying actors
« on: Apr 30, 2013, 02:11 pm »
I've called a couple of shows with flying and from my experience it hasn't been a whole lot different with the added dimension in terms of actually calling the show. You will probably have some added notes in your prompt script "Confirm Tarzan harness secured before taking cue 32", but in reality that's not a whole lot different from other "clears" you'd get on the ground.
Like you would with fight choreography or anything notably tricky, there should be a fly captain (or similar title) to handle the aerial choreography. You'll also want to ensure you've got a good relationship and clear lines of communication with the riggers. Aside from the performers themselves they are the gatekeepers of flight. If they deem the rig or situation unsafe to fly for whatever reason, you don't fly, period.
Sounds like an exciting show - good luck!
Like you would with fight choreography or anything notably tricky, there should be a fly captain (or similar title) to handle the aerial choreography. You'll also want to ensure you've got a good relationship and clear lines of communication with the riggers. Aside from the performers themselves they are the gatekeepers of flight. If they deem the rig or situation unsafe to fly for whatever reason, you don't fly, period.
Sounds like an exciting show - good luck!
341
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Good Reads
« on: Apr 24, 2013, 11:00 am »
The Backstage Handbook is a must-have for anyone interested in the technical aspects of theatre.
342
The Green Room / Re: Being Human vs. Professional
« on: Apr 18, 2013, 09:11 am »
I'd argue that the two are not mutually exclusive, you can be both. So much of what the SM does can be seen as prescribed, task-driven, automatic, etc... In my opinion the best stage managers are the ones that can accomplish all of this and still be seen as a person and not as a robot. That is where part of the art of stage management comes in to play: managing the myriad personalities and situations an SM sees daily requires you to be human. I no longer SM, however I regularly use personal bits about my life to build relationships with both clients and colleagues. I'm quite selective, and share based on where I know their interests, problems, and likes/dislikes fall. Adding a personal touch to daily situations an SM encounters is an invaluable way to build relationships that ultimately make your job easier.
Now, I don't think that it's inappropriate to talk about your workload, however if you do bring it up be deliberate in the way you broach the subject. If you're framing your discussion from the point that you feel the production would benefit if x, y, z duties were handled by someone who may have a bit of spare capacity that is wildly different than saying "Holy crap I am so busy it's driving me insane!!!".
If you need to vent, and we all do, I'd keep that in your personal circles and out of the production; however, if you're legitimately stretched too thin it's both your personal and professional responsibility to bring that up. As long as you can frame the discussion as a net gain for the rest of the production I think you're in good shape.
Now, I don't think that it's inappropriate to talk about your workload, however if you do bring it up be deliberate in the way you broach the subject. If you're framing your discussion from the point that you feel the production would benefit if x, y, z duties were handled by someone who may have a bit of spare capacity that is wildly different than saying "Holy crap I am so busy it's driving me insane!!!".
If you need to vent, and we all do, I'd keep that in your personal circles and out of the production; however, if you're legitimately stretched too thin it's both your personal and professional responsibility to bring that up. As long as you can frame the discussion as a net gain for the rest of the production I think you're in good shape.
343
Stage Management: Other / Re: Dance First Aid
« on: Apr 17, 2013, 02:16 pm »
The mighty banana is great for these purposes. Cheap, clean, portable, eat it with your hands - not to mention how loaded it is with energy.
344
Tools of the Trade / Re: Useful iPad apps
« on: Apr 12, 2013, 08:51 am »I really enjoy having AutoCad WS on there as well. It keeps the director in the loop with the ground plans as they happen.
AutoCAD WS is fantastic, really nice to be able to load .dwg files on the go, especially in meetings etc...
If there are any golf fans out there - The Masters has a fantastic free iPad app. You can watch all the live coverage, and it's totally free.
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Introductions / Re: New to the SMNetwork!
« on: Apr 09, 2013, 10:44 am »
Welcome, and thanks for joining us!