Messages

46

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: The SM times are a-changin'?

« on: Jul 09, 2006, 09:27 pm »

One approach that I find very useful when giving notes of any kind is to phrase them so that they point out how an actor's changes affect the OTHER actors or the rest of the scene or the play as a whole. It's much easier to give the note: "Please take care that your cross DSR on pg.X does not end too far CS as it upstages the other actor onstage giving a speech." Whereas, if the note only refers to that individual actor's performance then they may tend to be a lot more defensive.

47

Employment / Re: stage management college degrees

« on: Jul 04, 2006, 09:34 am »

I definitely think that if you do go to grad school, you should DEFINITELY get at least a couple years of real world, on the job experience first. Having experience other than in an educational setting will make your graduate studies that much more productive, all your lessons viewed through the invaluable lens of experience. The problem then is, how much real world is too much. You will learn a ton in the real world very quickly, and it is likely that you could soon find yourself thinking grad school no longer has that much to offer. A tough problem.

Mind you, this is all for SMs we're talking about here. TDs for instance can almost always benefit from grad school. Almost no where else will they get to learn concrete stuff about structures and advanced machining techniques.

48

Employment / Re: stage management college degrees

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 07:01 pm »

I'm just nervous that someone said they've noticed more job postings requiring the MFA. I think we can all agree that a good stage manager is a good stage manager, no matter how many or few degrees they have. It's nerve wracking to think that some employers are missing the point so wildly. While I certainly can see benefits of an MFA, I also think it would be pointless for me to get one now. I've been stage managing professionally as an Equity SM since 1998, and I've had a TON of experience. I can't imagine what I would stand to gain by going back for an MFA now, other than the silly piece of paper that some employers apparently think is so valuable. Sad.

Interestingly, my B.F.A. has elicited some positively raised eyebrows in my direction over the years. It never occurred to me that BFA holds more weight than a BA, but apparently it does for some people. So I guess I'm glad I did take those extra few courses and now I have a piece of paper that people like to see on my resume. Both sides of the coin, huh?

49

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Friend or "so nice to meet you"?

« on: Jun 30, 2006, 10:36 am »

This is definitely a personal style kind of choice. Here's how I do it. I am not a very touchy-feely SM, but I do like making friends on shows and staying in touch with them. The 700 people in my computer address book are evidence of that, lol! The computer really is what makes staying in touch possible. Certainly, on any given show, only a handful of people are added to my close group of friends who I might idly email once a month, or get a drink with if they live near me. Beyond that, as I add people to my address book, I put them in my "Xmas Email" category, and that way I'm sure to add them to my list when I send out my yearly update email of what I've been up to. I think we all know that it's impossible to keep in close touch wioth everyone in this business cause we meet way too many people. But we also know we'll likely get a chance to see each other again. I just try to pay attention to who's where at any given time, and if I ever pass thru a city where I know some old theatre friends are at, I'll give them a call.

On the tour itself, I think everyone finds their little groups to hang out with, and if the tour's long enough, those groups will likely change over time. I'm a bit more laid back about the excitement of seeing people at sound check every week. I mean, the cast hasn't seen eachother for almost two days, but I've been their with the crew since earlier in the day, so it's not as big a deal to me. Nevertheless, there's always a couple people who I'm genuinely happy to see and whom I might make a point to go say hi. But that all develops as the friendships do. I certainly wouldn't buy people gifts at every venue, just like I don't buy my roommates back home a gift every week. I just treat friends on tour like I would real-world friends. And for me, it is important to be friendly and relax with my friends on the tour. I need a life and that's what keeps me sane, by having good friends. Mind you, I tend to avoid the big company-wide, group-hug, kumbaya parties, cause I'm NOT close friends with all of them. But I will generally at least make an appearrance at these events.

And yeah, it is hard to leave the tour after it's over. After my last 5-month tour ended, for the next couple weeks back in NYC, several of us stayed in touch almost daily. We just couldn't bear to be apart. But eventually you ease back into your normal routine, made all the richer for the addition of some new friends!

50

The Green Room / Re: thank you notes

« on: Jun 30, 2006, 10:20 am »

Hey nmno, thanks for brining that up. That's a side of the coin I hadn't really been thinking of- that thank you notes can of course be anyone's personal style for how you breed good vibes in your company. I guess it's clearly not my style.     But more power to ya if it works for you.

51

The Green Room / Re: thank you notes

« on: Jun 29, 2006, 09:08 pm »

I think many many years ago i may have given out a few thank you cards. That practice quickly stopped. It got way out of control. These days, I would almost never dream of doing anything for opening night. Tech  is the busiest time for me, and I don't want to jeopardize the show or my personal time for cards. Frankly, whatever type of Thank-yous I do are only personal, and always  different from show to show. I certainly don't give cards as a matter of course or to ensure getting hired in the future. If someone on the team wants to hire me in the future, I want it to be because they remember the work I did, not a card I gave. My only hard and fast rule is on tours, after the final curtain at a venue, or after load-out is complete: ALWAYS shake every crew member by the hand and look them in the eye and thank them. Otherwise, I just give personal thank you's, if i feel it's warranted. I have gotten chocolates for my entire booth, (usually near opening night,) but only if i like them and appreciate their work. I generally always give my ASMs something special, maybe a gift certificate, maybe fancy chocolates, maybe a book- but again, only if I feel they deserve it. (The one thing I do do as an arbitrary rule, before they have a chance to prove their worth, is usually on the first or second day of our working together, I try to take my entire SM team out for lunch.) If a particular cast or crew member or two have become especial good friends to me, then I'll usually get them a card towards the end of the run. This is not so much to thank them for their work, but to acknowledge our friendship. (Mind you, it'd be unlikely that their work was crap and we actually became friends, so it's a safe bet that I'll be thanking them for their work as well.)

52

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Left or Right

« on: Jun 29, 2006, 08:50 pm »

The consistent thing seems to be that everyone does most of their notating at the outside edges of the pages, well away from the heinous binder-rings.

I'm right handed and put my blocking pages on the right hand side, with the script facing on the left hand side. I have to scribble more fast and furious when writing blocking, so I find this easier. I put cues only on the left script page. I put them on the sticky flags on the far left-hand, outside edge of the page, sometimes, (when necessary,) with a ruler line to the actual word in the text. Though I find that just making a tick mark on the word in the script and writing the actual word next to the cue works well. It means I have to look at the actual text less, and can keep my eyes closer on the cues themselves.

53

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

« on: Jun 27, 2006, 09:53 pm »

I don't know, MC, I think SMJon's technique sounds pretty copacetic to me. It's pretty much how I operate, and I think there's no question that I definitely work well within the "professional" world. I agree  that what you say should be what is best easily understood by the operators. Yeah, I'll provide the Deck Crew with a run sheet that numbers the deck cues, and I'll also have the deck cues numbered in my book, but mostly for reference. I'll also have written in the book what I actually call: Table ON, or Shift to Nursery GO or whatever. So that it's clear for the operators.

I generally give Standby's when there's at least a little bit of time between cues, and a Warning before that if there's been quite a bit of downtime since the last cue. Gotta wake up the board ops and all that. Though I'm starting to feel like my pre-cue verbiage is getting a bit redundant, and I think I'm gonna start reducing the amount of Standby's I give, and just give them a bit earlier to wake people up in time. I ALWAYS give a verbal Standby as I switch on the Q-lite for a Rail cue. (Hey, someone mentioned separate Rail and Fly cues. Do you differentiate? I use the terms interchangeably unless i have actual Foy Fly cues.)

Here's something I find weird. Double-verbs. I find it awkward to call Fly Out GO, or Trap Close GO, or Table On GO. I've had more than one operator take the cue on the first verb, as opposed to waiting for the all-important "GO." On cues like that I find myself taking extra care to massage the tone of my voice so the first verb is very soft and non-declamatory and dragged out to imply that there is a "GO" soon to follow. It's so frustrating when all your protective measures fail though.

Oh and Erin, I too call from a backwards script. It always screws with my assistants heads when I ask them make my copy of the script with the three-hole punch on the wrong side and reverse-collated.

54

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Software that needs to exist!

« on: Jun 27, 2006, 08:00 pm »

Tigerrr:

Calculating times in Excel is rather difficult. It took a lot of Help reference and experimentation to get it to work. Email me at kjdiehl@mindspring.com and I'll be happy to send you the couple of spreadsheets I use which utilize time calculations.

55

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Creating a call script

« on: Jun 27, 2006, 07:48 pm »

I use a method very similar to Erin's, which has all the same advantages. (ie, moving cues on the page, easy to see, etc.) But I use the Staples or Office Depot brand highlighting sticky flags. They come 5 to a pack, all in flourescent, SEE THRU colors! The flourescent really pops under a blue run light, which is great, and I write directly on the flag with a blue fine-tip Sharpie. And since they are transparent, I can use them to highlight text as well. I've used them for about 2-3 years now, and I have never had a cue fall out of the script, so I feel pretty safe with them. But if I ever do a long-running or open-ended production, I'd definitely enter the entire script in the computer and type in all the cues, probably in a different colors. I'm anxious to try Matt's word version one day.

And btw, Hi Erin!   

56

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Working with nudity

« on: Jun 27, 2006, 07:20 pm »

Also, besides being sensative to the actor's needs, make sure you are putting your own twist on things.  I worked with a director who was making a much bigger deal about the nudity then the actor ever would have on their own - the director's paranoia about nudity started to make the actor feel unfcomfortable.  Some people do not have a problem with being nude; so make sure no one makes it a bigger deal then it needs to be.

Matt makes a great point there which hasn't yet been mentioned. While the director, costume designer, and actor are all part of these decisions, I believe that so too are you, the stage manager. Things that I draw a hard line on regarding nudity:
-All nude rehearsals are absolutely closed, no exceptions. This is usually a director's and actors' decision in normal plays, but with nudity I think you have the authority to step in and say no from the get go.
-A robe is always standing by, with an ASM or dresser on headset who can be immediately instructed to bring it out whenever necessary. If you have to hold in Tech while the actor is nude, that robe should be there instantly. Do NOT make him stand around nude while designers dither and discuss. Even if a Lighting Designer needs to work on the look for the scene and asks for a hold, robe the actor immediately, discuss with the LD his needs, work with him to have him do all he can while the actor is robed, then tell the actor that you will need him to be nude for another few minutes while the lighting designer makes his final adjustments. But every second an actor is nude onstage must be vital that he is nude.
-A robe chosen by the costume designer should be the default expectation for the curtain call and I think the stage manager should quietly encourage it and work to make it happen, until and if it becomes clear that another strong artistic choice is desired.


... and btw, what the heck is up with Terrence McNally and nudity!?? Sheesh!

57

SMNetwork Archives / Re: The new SMnetwork

« on: Jun 27, 2006, 06:33 pm »

LOVE the new forum! Congrats and thank you, Kay!!!

One thing: I'm wary of the applaud/smite thingy. I've seen it go horribly bad on other forums as it becomes wretchedly mis-used. While I like the idea, it requires that all members use it with care and respect. If used properly, it can be terrifically useful. Unfortunately, it can be just as terribly destructive. I've seen more than one forum excise the feature completely when it's gotten out of hand. However, I feel like this forum will be much less rife with abuse, since we're a fairly like-minded community with professional goals in mind. It more often tends to be misused on the far more social- and youth-oriented sites.

Anyway, can't wait to enjoy the new site! Thanks again!

Peace,
-Kris

58

SMNetwork Archives / Funniest SM humor I've seen in a while....

« on: Jan 28, 2006, 09:16 pm »

Ooo! I like that one. I've had it saved on my computer for some time.

Here's a great one I just found!

http://www.theatrecrafts.com/sm_showreport.html


REAL, (and absolutely hilarious,) show reports.

59

Tools of the Trade / Kit Container

« on: Jan 19, 2006, 11:06 pm »

Actually, I've used the same 2-tray fishing tackle box for my entire 10-yr career. It's served me well. I change what I put in it sometimes, but it mostly stays the same. But I've really been getting into reducing lately, and i recently bought a like $3 little nylon zipper bag that mounts in the front of a 3-ring binder. I put a few of my favorite pencils, eraser, a couple pens, hole-reinforcers, post-its and little sticky cue-flags in it. Maybe a couple binder clips. And that's all I have with me personally on tour right now. yeah, I have bigger and more show supplies in my roadbox and hamper, but that's the extent of what I take personally. It works.

60

Employment / Under what circumstance is it right to...?

« on: Jan 19, 2006, 10:55 pm »

Yeah, handling it gracefully is definitely key. I am also a big proponent of the More Remunerative Employment clause, and I've taken advantage of it, and helped fellow members do so as well.

Important things to keep in mind:

1. Give Proper Notice! This might be the biggest thing. Most Equity contracts require you to give 2 wks notice. Or a wk's notice for a temporary leave of absence, (for an actor to go to an audition, for example.) But this is the bare minimum. As soon as you have a strong idea that you're interested in another job, tell your employer! And best  of all, try to help them find your replacement. Thankfully, I've always been able to have a replacement ready to take my job before I even told my producer I was leaving. That makes it a lot easier on them.

2. Make sure it's worth it.  Making $50 more a week is not worth it. Making several hundred dollars more a week might not even be worth it, if the new job is only for a couple wks. But a production contract? Yeah, that's worth it. No matter what. And it's important that producers understand that.

Thankfully, I've always worked for theatres who understand that all us freelancers  are always looking for the next or better job. And as long as you treat your current employers with the respect of decent notice and a good enough reason for leaving, then you shouldn't have any trouble.