Messages

421

The Green Room / Re: What about my dog?

« on: Nov 13, 2012, 03:29 am »

(Matthew, I think I met that SM on Friday -)

Pet issues: I too have had issues with actors bringing pets (cats and dogs) to the theater without asking ahead. It wasn't just cast members who were allergic, but also the people whose homes they stayed in, or hotels where we were being housed, or other long-term repercussions that kinda poisoned the water for we generally more responsible SMs, plus if we SMs bring pets, that (sadly) can be seen as an example of favoritism if the actor is not allowed the same privilege.

And yet, I have a friend on the Wicked tour traveling with his dog, and as above, met an SM who travels w husband and dog - but arranges her own housing to accommodate them.

422

Tools of the Trade / Re: Help with a sweaty actor

« on: Nov 03, 2012, 11:09 am »

oooh - that's something our sound guy didn't think of - great idea! thanks!

423

Tools of the Trade / Re: Help with a sweaty actor

« on: Nov 03, 2012, 04:10 am »

sadly, he sweats all over, and dances mightily. We are trying some sweat-absorbent t-shirts and seeing what happens. He's just, well, one of those folks who just sweats. A lot.

Thanks for the great suggestions, I will pass the ankle suggestion along to our sound person. Now we need to find tape that will stick to his sweaty face to hold the mic (he is bald, so no hair tags, darn it!)

424

Tools of the Trade / Re: Help with a sweaty actor

« on: Nov 02, 2012, 03:10 pm »

It's a review musical - he is on stage except for two times, once in each act. Ice packs are interesting but not sure they wouldn't cause more wetness in the long run. Hmm - will ask our costumer abt under-armor - surely there is something that wicks away sweat for athletes, right? I mean, we see the sweat through the back of his suit jacket.....

425

Tools of the Trade / Help with a sweaty actor

« on: Nov 02, 2012, 01:08 pm »

OK - put on a replacement in my musical, and yikes he sweats through his costume by midway through Act 1. His mic pack is double-condom'd and upside down, and he still almost shorted it out last nite.

Does anyone have any miracle ideas to help? So far we are using multiple t-shirts underneath, baby powder every time he comes off (which is only once an act), throw his shirt and jacket into the dryer at intermission, tape rolls on the stage to re-attach his mic, handkerchiefs and absorbent towels everywhere we can hide them. Surely there is something we didn't think of? (And, we can't run out to purchase those wick-away shirts at Target, this is a period piece). ARGH!

426

The Green Room / Re: SANDY!

« on: Oct 30, 2012, 09:39 pm »

glad to hear good news - and anyone back there who needs to escape and find a dry and warm place to stay, we now have this amazing network of folks across the country with couches and spare beds and .....

427

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROPS: Foam Fire Extinguisher

« on: Oct 29, 2012, 04:12 pm »

Actually, this shd be an easy build - get a whipped cream can or one of those fancy whipped topping makers or something like that, and build the fire extinguisher case around it. If you hinge the outer case, you can easily take out the whipped cream container to clean/refill.

428

The Green Room / Re: Trivia Tournament IV: Trivia's Revenge!!

« on: Oct 25, 2012, 02:47 am »

ARGHHH I hate when I answer everything, hit submit, then watch the spinning wheel for a minute or so while I wait for it to kick in...ARGH!

429

Tools of the Trade / Re: Herbal Cigarettes and other tobacco substitutes

« on: Oct 17, 2012, 12:07 pm »

We used electronic cigarettes for "Tea at 5" and it worked very well. They are not cheap, but the battery lasts forever, and they look really good without any scent or (I am told) breathing issues for the actor.

430

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: NOTING A PERFORMANCE: How do you maintain a show?

« on: Oct 15, 2012, 12:47 pm »

I'm with Matthew (again). When I pass along a show, I make sure as much info as possible is avail, offering time to answer qqs and help bring them up to speed on show-specific peccadilloes. Same when I take over a show - I recently took over two transfers from out of town, and I had great phone or email chats with the SMs handing off the shows I was brought up to speed on certain personalities, things like who was constantly late and who I cd rely on for discrete inside info, and when I got the scripts we spent a short time on their shorthand and what cues tied to those things that have to be felt or eyeballed.

I consider it part of my job - whether I am the giver or receiver.

431

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: ARTICLE: Stage Managers using a paperless process

« on: Oct 15, 2012, 12:40 pm »

I have used a hotline for two companies - both in technically challenged areas. One in particular was in a small mountain town with minimal strength signals for cellphone service. The other used a lot of young folks, many in school or working at jobs where internet access during the day was limited or proscribed.

One other place paperwork may never disappear are the backstage song lists for musicals - incredibly valuable for complex shows and those with replacements/understudies.

432

The Green Room / Re: Article: Finding PHAMALy

« on: Oct 15, 2012, 12:32 pm »

I am so glad to read about other companies doing this work. Here in LA, we have a young troupe about 2 years in and struggling to exist called "Blue Zone" (as in, the color painted on curbs and spaces for disabled folks), and a nationally recognized company focusing on work for and by deaf and hard-of-hearing artists. Those of us like Erin Ramsey (mentioned in the article) who know how easy it is to work with and adjust to disabled performers have such an important opportunity to share our experience and help convince fearful directors and producers to give wonderful actors who happen to have a disability a fair shot at sharing their talents.

433

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: ARTICLE: Stage Managers using a paperless process

« on: Oct 14, 2012, 09:43 pm »

Matthew said more clearly what I was trying to express - that in a HS or college environment, where you have a fighting shot of most folks having the latest toys, this is a good experiment, but it's still vital to know how to do paperwork because not everyone in college, let alone in life, has all the latest technology. It's great to find new ways to do things, and I am happy to minimize the paper, but it is still vital to know how to do it.

434

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: NOTING A PERFORMANCE: How do you maintain a show?

« on: Oct 14, 2012, 09:37 pm »

I think this is a specific area where an SM from the acting side sometimes has an advantage, just as those from the tech side have advantages in other aspects. More than anything else, when taking over a running show we have to earn the trust of the cast. It takes a moment to learn to read them and identify how they work and what their intentions are and a feel for their beats.

Much of my early career was taking over shows. As Heath mentions, I started by mentioning and complementing choices as well as taking time to get to know them a bit outside the theater. Usually, there's the opportunity of an early observation that shows I'd been paying attention to the actors' work and know when they were doing it and when they aren't, and I've had the chance to say something that made sense on those occasions. That was the point where trust happened, and meant from that point forward I was a full and equal member of that show.

435

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: ARTICLE: Stage Managers using a paperless process

« on: Oct 14, 2012, 03:57 pm »

...and what do you do with designers and actors who are not young computer-literate kids? I have a set designer who hires someone to make his CAD or other computer generated designs, another who still draws them long-hand to turn in, and several senior actors who expect hard copies if I am not gonna phone for calendars, contact sheets etc.

I think going totally paperless may never happen. But I am grateful to communicate paperlessly with as many folks as possible.