Messages

346

SMNetwork Archives / interviews

« on: Mar 14, 2005, 09:26 am »

I've found that if a company was really interested in me, they were fine with a phone interview, or with working out something.  I've gotten two jobs from phone interviews, because there was no way that I could have gone to meet the person.  One time I was overseas, and one time I was on tour.  I've also had a company offer to see if my tour schedule matched up with their travel schedule, to see if we could meet somewhere for an interview.  I just made sure that when I said I was in a job, I was making sure that they knew when I would be done with that job and available for them.

-Centaura

347

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / questions are good!

« on: Jan 07, 2005, 11:42 am »

Asking questions is a good thing!  Just an intruductory "What do you like your stage managers to do for you?" can get you started down the conversastional track.  Talk about what you've done for other directors, something like "So-and-so liked me to do this, what would you like?"  That can include everything from notes to breaks, to room arrangement, etc.  You can either make several meetings with them, first to talk about rehearsal, then as you get nearer to tech, etc. if you're nervous about sitting down with a new person at first.  Find out how they like their rehearsals run, rehearse for a week, and then approach with "How do you do tech?".  Or sometimes that first meeting will get you all the way through to the end of the production.

For me, I always find that approaching them to find out how they like to work is a good way to make a first impression.  Think about everythink you've done for previous directors, and start there.  Do they want you to stop them when its break time?  How/when do they want notes posted?  Etc.

-Centaura

348

SMNetwork Archives / buy the mac

« on: Dec 18, 2004, 06:11 pm »

I don't know - I liked the 'buy a mac' option, but then again, I'm a diehard Mac user.  No other advice, on tour I rely on a physical date book, I wouldn't be able to spring the laptop out in enough time to be practical to use it for my calendar.

-Centaura

349

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / prompt book

« on: Dec 18, 2004, 06:07 pm »

If there's a lot of things going on, I recommend one column of text per page.  The system that I use, I have my page of text on the right, and then on the left (the back of the previous page) I divide into two columns, one for blocking and one for cue notes.  I put a circled number in the text at the point where a bit of blocking happens, and then right down the actual blocking in the column to the left.  For me, it leaves the page of text clear for when I put my cues in, so there's less clutter.  I'll put the actual cues, what I call, in the script, but then 'cliff notes' for myself in the other column on the left hand page.  This way I can write down what is happening in the light cue, what the sound cue is and how long it is, etc., etc..  Again, more detailed info that would just start to clutter up my page of text.

My style is just one of many different prompt books styles out there, as varied as the stage managers who use them.  If you have any stage management books available for you to look at, they also will give ideas for organizing a prompt book.

My advice on the script, if you can get an online copy made out, and get one to your director & tech staff early (before rehearsal starts), then that sounds like a good way to go.  If you can't beat them to the punch, beware of how different your script is from the director's - or you could spend half your rehearsal time trying to figure out where the director's page 17 is in your script.

If the director and the tech staff are using actual books, then you might be stuck sitting and copying the script page for page from that book, so that you're all on 'the same page'.

-Centaura

350

SMNetwork Archives / wired & wireless

« on: Dec 10, 2004, 12:10 pm »

Yes, you can have wired headsets and wireless headsets on the same system.  A common set-up that I see is to have booth personel on wired, and backstage folks on wireless.  As for brands and pricing, that I can't tell you.  Never been on the buying end.

-Centaura

351

SMNetwork Archives / the lightweight ones!

« on: Dec 09, 2004, 10:29 pm »

The little light weight ones!  That can plug into whatever pack you have.  When I win the lottery and can afford to buy my own, I'm going to find out who makes those light weight ones and get one for myself!  I can't tell you how many headaches I get from those large, clunky headsets that grip you head and won't let go.  I can see them for backstage, where you're mobile and need to have something that holds on better, but for sitting and calling, the less my head feels like its going to cave in, the better.

-Centaura

352

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / CALLING: Calling a warning for a cue

« on: Nov 12, 2004, 04:43 pm »

This has come up in the "LX/Light" thread, and I thought I'd open it up for opinion gathering.  Its actually a question I've had, regarding how my calling is received in the houses that I go to.  Do you call a warning, standby and go?  Or just standby and go?  Or just go?  In college, I was told to say all three.  But, since then I've found that that can actually be more confusing to some people than just a standby and a go.  I had dropped warnings altogether several years ago; though sometimes get curious if the way I'm calling is similar or different from other ways that tour SMs call things.

A few folks had commented on this in the lighting thread, but anyone else have any comments?

-Centaura

353

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Lights? Electrics? Elex? What do you say?

« on: Oct 17, 2004, 12:29 pm »

I think of LX as a british thing.  I remember working out how the locals wanted me to call cues when I was over in London.  Here in the states, I say 'Light cue 1 go"  "Sound cue 2 go".  My sound numbers and light numbers are generally far enough apart in number that I don't find them too confusing.  At least to me, I rely on the local venue to provide crew on tour, so I'm usually calling the show to folk who've never seen it before.  I have few problems with attentions wandering off 'cause they don't have any feel for the show.

-Centaura

354

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / differance between mucial theatre SM and ordinary theatre SM

« on: Oct 04, 2004, 11:14 pm »

Some good thoughts there.  I will throw in a second to the fact that non-musicals can be just as, or more complicated, than a musical.  Depends on the show.  I once did a non-musical version of Jane Eyre in which I had over 300 cues to call.

But, you've got a lot of the basics.  There is more scheduling to do with as you're often able to split things for rehearsal.  And you're more likely to be calling from a score, or have certain sections where you're calling from a score.  I will actually insert pages of the score into my script if I have to call cues with music.

Is your oral focusing on just large-scale productions?  The role of stage manager can expand when you start talking about non-union regional theatres.  With non-musicals, if there are not a lot of cues, the stage manager can sometimes be assigned other roles, like light board operator, as well as calling shows.  That happens a lot on the mainstage of the company I work for.  They have a lighting designer, but he can't run every show.  It saves them money to have the SM call from the light booth and run the board during performances.

-Centaura

355

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / different countries, different roles

« on: Oct 04, 2004, 12:01 am »

I would also be interested in seeing you brainstorm, from another perspective.  I'm an american stage manager, who spent a year in London training and working.  And I found the differences in what their stage managers do and what US ones do very interesting.  I see that you hail from 'down under' and I'd be curious to see if you were closer to British standards or US standards.

-Centaura

356

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / possibly carrot juice

« on: Sep 30, 2004, 10:27 am »

If she can do pepper juice, could she do carrot juice?  If you went to a whole foods market, you should be able to find one that's pure with no other juices in it.  Though, that might become cost-prohibitive as well.  It is an interesting conumdrum.  The main thing I usually have to deal with allergies is finding some place that everyone in my cast can eat at together on tour.  I thought the year that I had the boy allergic to wheat was a bad year, but this year I have a girl who is lactose intolerant, a non-red meat eater, has an ulcer, acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrom.  At least she understands that she can't eat anything and goes along with us to where we eat, instead of causing a problem.

-Centaura

357

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / possible drinks...

« on: Sep 29, 2004, 10:47 pm »

The ideas that come to my mind are maybe one of those colored 'fruit' drinks that don't really have any real fruit juice in them?  Like Crystal Light, which if you got in powdered form you can over-mix to get darker.  Can she drink milk?  Would you be able to die milk, like a skim milk, orange with food coloring?  It isn't going to taste brilliant, but you might be able to get something that might look similar to OJ.  Or the last thought to cross my mind  is putting powdered milk into flat orange soda.  If it was close enought that you actually needed to see 'pulp' - I could see using coconut flakes, or heck, even ground up oatmeal.

Yum, tasty!

-Centaura

358

The Hardline / is all the work on one show?

« on: Sep 17, 2004, 01:02 am »

Is all the work on one show?  I ask as I was in a situation once where Equity didn't pay overtime for a SM because she was technically on two different contracts.  We worked 80 hrs a week for two weeks straight when the two shows went into overlap - performances of one, while rehearsing and doing paperwork for the other.  I was a non-eq ASM at the time, and didn't know all the things going on, but her issues with the situation were enough that she quit.  I apologize, my penchant for telling stories has taken hold of me again.  I'm assuming that you're just wondering where others draw that fine line between assumed 'homework' and compensated time?

For me that's a hard one.  Have you asked your ASM or the other team?  Could they be not claiming overtime because your team isn't?

-Centaura

359

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / best you could do

« on: Sep 11, 2004, 05:41 pm »

Sounds like you did the best that you could under the circumstances.  I have a great pin that says: "Strange costumes, weird behavior, I must be at work again"  I think theatre folk sometimes take for granted what costumes make actors look like.  I can understand that its better to wear a sweaty costume that's not going to be washed, then having to take it off and get back into a cold, wet sweaty costume!  But then I was also on a tour where I had to tell a local that their job was to help the pink poodle with the big hat.  They honestly thought I was talking code to them.  Sounds like you handled the situation well!  Hopefully once things cool off, the actors will have a joke and you'll have a great show story.

-Centaura

360

The Hardline / Joining AEA

« on: Sep 10, 2004, 11:47 pm »

Okay - in a related question, once you've made your desicion to work for a while at non-eq, getting experience, if you're then tempted to think union - is there a way to get union experience and still pay the mortgage?  As far as I understand, the main way to get into equity is to work as an ASM at a part-equity house.  I'm not interested right now, but I'm trying to think ahead a bit, where I'll be in 5 / 10 years time.  Is there a way into the union for older SM's who can't afford to go back to $200 a week pay?