Messages

391

The Green Room / Re: Trivia Tournament II: Electric Boogaloo

« on: Jan 01, 2009, 09:36 pm »

Oh, Vernon.  You are soooooo the opposite of a loser!

Happy New Year to all on the West Coast!

And thank you for not listing us losers who never make the list but love the game and keep on playing!!!

392

The Hardline / NSMT launches "Save Our Theatre Appeal."

« on: Dec 29, 2008, 05:39 pm »

Yet another theatre in jeopardy...


http://www.nsmt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=1

393

The Green Room / Re: Trivia Tournament II: Electric Boogaloo

« on: Dec 10, 2008, 06:07 pm »

Interesting.  Up until now I thought we were all answering the same questions each day.

And yes, everyone gets different questions.

394

The Green Room / Re: Trivia Tournament II: Electric Boogaloo

« on: Dec 10, 2008, 08:42 am »

Today, Dana?

Do we all get different questions each day?

I didn't get one Stephen King question today.  Most of mine were about shakepeare and Romeo and Juliet...

395

The Hardline / Re: MILWAUKEE SHAKESPEARE CLOSING ITS DOORS

« on: Dec 09, 2008, 06:35 pm »

Arrgh!  Huge condolences to you and all your AMT colleagues. 

And my big anchoring gig this spring disappears.  Just when I became solidly the SM of choice in San Jose, AMT shuts up and I don't get to do one of my favorite musicals, 42nd Street.  I hate this economy. 

396

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fill in the BLANK...

« on: Dec 01, 2008, 11:56 pm »

I recall my jaw falling open and running for my life outta there...

Wow!  Required??  Did you say, "please show me in the LORT handbook..."
<snip>

397

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fill in the BLANK...

« on: Dec 01, 2008, 08:24 pm »

OK, I started this thread but never offered my own "Fill in the BLANK..."

I was interviewed many years ago for a job with a LORT theatre. During the interview, the Production Manager let me know that at his theatre, the AEA PSM was responsible for giving wake up calls in the morning to any actor who requested them.  My face must have belied my feelings, because I did not get the job.

Hadn't they heard of alarm clocks?

398

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fill in the BLANK...

« on: Nov 22, 2008, 06:30 pm »

This is the kind of thing I was hoping to elicit when I started the thread!  Keep them coming!

I was surprised that the community theater I work for expects the stage manager to provide the first draft for the program.

399

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Let's Talk "Places, Please"

« on: Nov 22, 2008, 09:49 am »

Yes, we have had this discussion before extensively. But my original thread was really about how or even IF you count your actors or otherwise take roll call in the wings prior to curtain. The thread has diverged into something else.

<snip>

(haven't we had this discussion before?)

400

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Let's Talk "Places, Please"

« on: Nov 21, 2008, 08:28 pm »

At the house I work in most, this is also the procedure! 

Miss you, Vernon!

I guess I'm lucky as my House Manager gives me a "2 minutes" warning based on how the house looks.
I then call "places" to the actors and it's usually a race as to who gives the "clear" first!

401

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / JOB DESCRIPTION: Fill in the BLANK...

« on: Nov 20, 2008, 04:15 pm »

Fill in the BLANK from your own experiences:

"Either in pre-production or during the rehearsal process at a theatre I was working at for the first time, I was surprised to discover that BLANK was something they considered part of my job."

The fill-in could be something that stage managers do on a regular basis that you just didn't know about at the time, something you really didn't think was covered by your job description but you cheerfully did it anyway, something you ultimately passed on to another department, or (most fun) something that was so completely wacky, out there, and ridiculous that you did it just to have a story to tell!

402

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / CALLING: Let's Talk "Places, Please"

« on: Nov 19, 2008, 11:34 pm »

Let's talk about what each of us do after "Places, please" has been called and you are about to begin the Act.

Do you do a head count, through your ASM (or otherwise) to insure everybody who is supposed to be there IS there?  

Do you only check to see that only leading or supporting players are ready to go?  

Do you only check that actors who are onstage when the "curtain" goes up or who enter immediately are present?  

Do you let your company know that 2 minutes (or 3 minutes, or whatever is standard for the space you work in) after you call "Places, please" the show will begin and it is THEIR responsibility to be in place and ready to go, that you will not hold for them or even check on them, and that THEY must communicate with YOU if they are going to late to their place for any reason?

Or, do you do something else entirely?

Does it vary depending on the cast or production?

And, if you do a headcount, what do you use as you criteria as to who should be present at "Places" call before you begin the Act?

What else haven't I thought of when it comes to the subject of "Places, please?"

These are not trick questions. There are no wrong answers.

Discuss!!

403

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fight Call

« on: Nov 19, 2008, 09:40 am »

I have always let the second fight call on a two-show day, be a decision made by the Fight Captain in conjunction with the actors who are part of the call. If any ONE of them wants to do it, it happens! Usually this applies only to a fight with very few actors and no swords or weapons. (And I must say, that this only applies when I have a great Fight Captain, with tons of past experience, whom the actors and I trust implicitly!) Larger fights and all weapon-play fights are done prior to every performance. Period. 

404

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SM Duties During Vocal portions of Rehearsals for a Musical?

« on: Nov 19, 2008, 09:31 am »

This is one of the best reasons to attend all music rehearsals.  Generally, by the time you are done learning the music you should have a really good idea (even without a designer present) of where many of the light cues will be placed.  (Music changes, buttons, etc.)  You'll be able to anticipate even more of them once you see the attached staging and choreography.  And if you have worked with the designer before and know his/her style, you'll be way ahead of the curve at Tech.

It's also a great opportunity to learn the music of the show for yourself, particularly if you don't have a musical background and/or don't know how to read music - since once you get into choreography/blocking/staging rehearsals, you'll be focused on getting all of that down.  It's only going to give you more tools and more confidence when it comes time to run tech and call the show.

405

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Just neet to vent...

« on: Nov 18, 2008, 10:58 am »

Marcie,

This is the tough conundrum of living in NYC.  You can't afford to live here on a theatrical salary, unless you're doing Production or Commercial Off-Broadway contracts constantly, so you have to have a day job, which in turn keeps you from doing theatrical work. Though you may find the occasional sympathetic employer, it is the exception rather than the rule. The hard truth is that it is their right to hire an employee who can do the job full time.  I've found that when exceptions are made, they are generally made for an actor that the Director or Producer just HAS to have in the show.  SM's rarely get the same consideration, it's true. 

You are juggling something actors and SM's have juggled here in NYC forever.  The question becomes "What am I here to do?"  And sometimes you have to make very difficult or risky decisions to support your choice.  It's easier in other cities.  The cost of living/rent is high here.  In other places one MIGHT be able to take a low paying theatre job full time.  I have SM friends in other cities working full time in theatre and making ends meet on one SPT after another, and they are perfectly happy, working all the time for this lower rate.

This is a hard reality check, and I'm sure it's not making you feel a lot better.  And I'm, sorry about that.  But you do say "I've worked very had this past year to make some headway and finally I am beginning to, and then this."  You ARE making headway, and there WILL be another offer down the line.  Take this time to think of your priorities and make some kind of plan for how you are going to handle the next job offer that you really can't afford to quit your day job for! 

Please feel free to PM me, if you wish!

Ruth

I'm sure I'm not the only one to have to deal with this, but it's the first time it's happened to me and I am sad, angry, disappointed, etc:

I was asked by a friend to ASM an off-Bway show with her as the SM. I was excited, she was excited. There was excitement.

I spoke with my superiors at my day job about this, and they were willing to keep me on salary (!!!) if I could commit to 1 weekday in the office and 2 evenings after rehearsal. Amazing. It turns out that the director wants a Sunday's off schedule for rehearsal, which would mean that the Monday I would plan on coming into the office is now a missed day of rehearsal. (Not to mention conflicts with actors going to auditions, etc.) The SM pleaded her case, and mine. She finally got the director to agree that one day a week was ok since he wasn't going to change the day off, as long as my friend, the SM was ok with this. Which she was.

Cut to today: My friend emails me saying that at the pre-pro meeting today, the PRODUCERS decided that despite the director and the sm's support, it was entirely necessary for the ASM to be at every rehearsal. This was not a money issue. I actually offered to take a 1/6 pay cut or find a replacement for those 3 days.

ARGH. I'm just so ANGRY. I've worked very had this past year to make some headway and finally I am beginning to, and then this. The most annoying thing is that the contract doesn't pay enough to just take a leave of absence from my day job, and having just spent a lot of money moving (I had no furniture coming to NY) I can't afford to not have the income.

I think what bothers me the most is that my day job, which has absolutely nothing do to with theatre was willing to give me 4 days a week off to pursue this opportunity, and the theatre company wasn't willing to give me 1.

Grr.

End rant.