Messages

376

Employment / Re: Self-Promoting with being a jerk

« on: Jan 21, 2011, 11:30 am »

Good article. I have to admit I've limited my networking to watching others' productions and social media - but, so far I've gotten surprising opportunities just from those two outlets. Just this morning I booked a short gig because a producer asked me if I knew of anyone available during the 2 weeks she needed, and it turned out I was. Another one had a SM cancel on him on very short notice and sent me a message via Facebook asking me to 'please save him.' He knew I was looking for freelance work because I post my progress in my status updates.

So it does work, people do read it, but the less you sound like you're advertising on your own status updates, the better. Be natural about it.

377

The Green Room / Re: Funding Shortage

« on: Jan 20, 2011, 03:30 pm »

My junior and senior high school years this was quickly becoming a problem as well. They initially staved off cutting out the programs by charging $20-$30 per arts course, not exactly what my parents' appreciated since I was taking three of them by senior year.

Off the top of my head there are a few options open to you should your programs get cut:
-organize or join an arts related club, whether it's affiliated with your school or an off-campus program. This way at least you can have an advisor of some sort to help you organize what you're doing, and (the best part) you'll be able to decide as a group what you'd like your focus to be.
-consult with your local theatres and see what they have available to you. Many theatres offer youth programs where you can learn about their productions and volunteer to work with their staff.
-visit the library. Skip the internet and dust off that library card. Reading about what interests you most is a good foundation for the hands-on experience you can gain later. Better yet, find the reading lists of college courses that interest you and read those books. You'll be ahead of the game.

On a positive note, the lack of an arts program at your school means you can take your arts education into your own hands, by learning more about what interests you.

378

The Hardline / Re: Equity? In this economy?

« on: Jan 16, 2011, 07:30 am »

I love how you put things Matthew 

Thanks everyone for the union perspective on things - I can always trust that I'll get an honest and open response.

379

The Hardline / Re: Equity? In this economy?

« on: Jan 15, 2011, 07:32 pm »

But does it make sense at all, with the marketplace 'flooded' with AEA SMs and fewer union positions available, to consider going for it?

380

The Green Room / Tax Season!

« on: Jan 15, 2011, 09:39 am »

Just out of curiosity....

How do you handle your taxes, whether you're full- or part-time freelancer or a resident?
How do you keep track of your deductible expenses?
Are you savvy enough to do them yourself, or do you hire someone?
What are some little known or surprising things you were *legally* able to deduct because of your job? (I'm sure counting the dog as a dependent is still a no-no.)

381

The Hardline / Equity? In this economy?

« on: Jan 15, 2011, 08:52 am »

In trudging through various job postings for a year I'm noticing a trend: in general, non-Equity positions in stage management offer a higher wage per week than many Equity positions, including many available in NYC. To be fair, many of the listings I've seen requiring an Equity card are showcases, and it seems many companies are filing their productions as a showcase in order to keep costs down. In this economy I almost can't blame them....but a $200 stipend for three months' work seems ridiculous, no matter how you put it. However I'm still seeing many Equity listings that aren't showcases offering wages I couldn't see surviving on even as a single person, some less than $250/week in NYC.

I know several others on the forum have chosen not to join Equity for various reasons - mine was the fact that, before I began taking out-of-town jobs, the one Equity house near me closed, and fiscally it didn't make sense for me to pursue my card when I could still make money working with local non-Equity houses. Now that I'm beginning to get more out-of-town freelance gigs I'm once again weighing the pros and cons of getting my card.

So here's a few questions: if you're Equity, have your job options stayed the same, opened up or narrowed down? Are you also considering getting your card and weighing the options? Is there currently a trend of higher paying non-Equity jobs available vs. Equity jobs? Have you ever gotten your card only to have your job options shrink because of it? Are you non-Equity and still can't find jobs?

382

The Green Room / Re: First Jobs

« on: Jan 14, 2011, 08:09 pm »

I decided to take a year off before going to college, to make absolutely sure that theatre in the real world was what I really wanted to be doing. I took an internship at North Shore Music Theatre near Boston Mass. I remember it being a big deal, especially because I had never been away from home for a significant amount of time, and I was going there from Phoenix AZ. I think it paid $200/week and they found me a room for rent at $75/wk. I had a car but had to fill up with my mom's gas card. Poor, but loved it!

383

The Green Room / Re: This one goes to Eleven!

« on: Jan 14, 2011, 08:03 pm »

Beginning the second half of my internship at Virginia Opera in Norfolk. I think we had just started rehearsals for Turandot, which is still my favorite opera, directed by the brilliant Darko Tresnjak.

384

The Green Room / Re: Dracula in NYC

« on: Jan 13, 2011, 04:15 pm »

Am I the only one that would have watched fascinated with the actors in street clothes, the fight choreography absent and no set pieces that were light enough to cart away? Talk about creative problem solving.

385

The Green Room / Re: Snowed in in the South

« on: Jan 12, 2011, 09:58 am »

Charlotte NC is crippled too with a thick layer of ice over the roads and the remaining snow. Thankfully my son's daycare is open for a few hours today - we all had a serious case of cabin fever and were on each other's nerves. I've gotten no work done in the past few days <sigh>

386

The Green Room / USITT SM Meetup

« on: Jan 11, 2011, 01:43 pm »

Looking to organize a USITT SM Meetup here in Charlotte, NC in March during USITT. If there are enough people interested I could set up one or two outings...There will be a chance to see shows, go bar hopping, tour the venues, whatever anyone else is up for.

387

Tools of the Trade / Re: How long should one keep old prompt books?

« on: Jan 11, 2011, 09:27 am »

Many times the theatre which produced the production will ask for all related materials, including prompt books, for archival purposes. If this wasn't your case, you could easily dwindle down the collection to a few shows that were landmarks for you: large scale musicals, large casts, etc. that you could refer back to down the road. Keep the ones that mean something to you, either personally or professionally.

Thankfully we live in an age where the move from making space on the shelves to space on a hard drive is relatively easy, making it a desirable option to downsizing your hard copies.

388

The Green Room / Re: Suffering from what I call "theatredox"

« on: Jan 05, 2011, 05:35 pm »

I'm also getting on the cleaning bandwagon, here.  In theory, I have a husband.  In theory, he knows how to do housework.  In theory, he does it when I'm working show+day job.  We all know what happens to theories once they get put into practice!

Good God isn't that true! I tend to get blinders when I'm in production, and he knows this, but still I find that bills haven't been paid on-time, the garbage can is overflowing and the lil' one's toys are everywhere.

389

The Green Room / Re: set design extending into the house -

« on: Jan 02, 2011, 08:23 am »

Good points made on both sides. I've heard it described as experiential theatre, where you want the audience to enter a certain frame of mind before even taking their seats. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's difficult to predict for which productions it will work best for. There is a theatre here locally that touts itself as experiential, and half the fun is wondering 'how are they going to decorate the lobby this time?' For Marat/Sade I remember my ticket was a dismembered body with my seat number carved into the torso. For Someone To Watch Over Me, they turned the bar into a prison cell, so you had to order drinks from a poor bartender behind bars. For Metamorpheses the whole place resembled a Roman temple. Sometimes it works, but I'll admit it gets old real fast.

390

The Green Room / Re: Just a reminder . . .

« on: Dec 28, 2010, 08:45 pm »

No no, not saying you did. Just agreeing.