Messages

46

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

« on: Jan 17, 2011, 11:52 pm »

Bex, my family does the word mix up all the time. My grandma still can't get past asking "But when someone offers you a part your going to be an actress, right?" My parents then usually quip "She is just waiting to become the next Spielberg." Both of those remarks just cause me to get the stage-manager-is-a-real-job-not-a-stepping-stone scowl that reminds them I actually like my job as is (hence going to graduate school for it!).

47

The Green Room / Re: Video / photos during performance

« on: Dec 22, 2010, 06:55 pm »

While I am 100% against still photography during performances (too easy for the flash to go off even if you think you turned it off), I personally can't be angry with people who video Broadway performances. Unfortunately a vast majority of people are not able to see Broadway in New York and since most of the original casts do not go on tour then I can understand wanting to see those original productions at home.

As a student I am/have been grateful that some Broadway/Off-Broadway shows are sold on DVD (Into the Woods, Skin of Our Teeth, etc) since I am able to study those productions that were before my time or that I was unable to see in person. Should only the rich and native New Yorkers get to see real Broadway frequently? Even when I splurge I can only see a couple of Broadway shows on a trip to NYC. And as the Tonys last year proved, tour cast performances are not always up to Broadway standards.

I, too, am against bootlegging as a copyright issue. I enforce no photography/video recording with my casts (as SM) and audience (as HM). I think the bootleg issue would be greatly reduced if Broadway producers recorded the original performances during previews and then provided high quality copies to their audiences and eventually sold copies to the general public. It is both a money making opportunity that can be regulated and I believe would convince more people to enjoy Broadway shows in person. I think it has been well established that audiences like to see what they are familiar with (Disney shows, movies-to-Broadway remakes, etc) so why not introduce a show by DVD with a code for a ticket discount to the Broadway production?

48

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Student SM Challenge #12: Twelve Drummers Drumming...

« on: Dec 15, 2010, 02:17 pm »

All right, I'll take a stab at this nightmare...

First off, at least one wing is going to have to become a massive bird cage. I will assume that one of the larger dressing rooms or a rehearsal hall of some kind will be transformed in the bird cage (feather boas and "We are Family" too!).

Our world renown international costume designer will need a comprehensive list which includes description of the Dutch maids, Sugar Plus Faire dancers, Russians lords, German pipers and Marching Band Drummers (on loan from the local high school).

Our props mistress will have quite a time collecting giant gold-plated rings (no diamonds necessary) and figuring out exactly how to get four colly birds (funny fact, they are actually black birds, so I hope they decide to bake them in pies for the added joke!). Additionally, she will need to provide the pipes for our pipers, milking pails for the maids (bonus points for real cows too or even a variety of cows used in the local area for the numerous production of Into the Woods), and eggs for our geese to lay (since it is extremely difficult to make them lay on cue).

There will be quite a challenge for our scenic designer and TD when they have to face the challenge of a giant pear tree as the background, water on stage for our swimming swans, safety measures for our leaping lords and how precisely to keep these birds from flying out the doors or into the catwalks where we are sure to loose a few specimens to the spotlights. I imagine the stage will need massive reinforcement to hold all this weight and perhaps stage extensions and stairs that lead to the aisles because this show will likely break fourth wall.

I can't think of a single theatre I've recently worked in that could comfortably hold 46 cast members for a full christmas run, but the Heritage Forum could come kind of close. The birds would have to be held in the loading garage, the high schooler band kids would get the rehearsal hall, the maids would be in dressing room 7, ladies in 8, lords in 6, pipers in 10 (slightly bigger room for the 11 of them) and I would keep the smallest and least equipped dressing 5 for my office so I had a place to run and scream when it became necessary.

Come to think of it, I think doing this muppets style would be much easier...assuming all those birds are also stuffed and can fly in from the fly system. Or even better, make four blue men do the whole show will a trunk of props and nothing else!

49

Tools of the Trade / Re: Gifts!

« on: Dec 10, 2010, 03:26 pm »

I was pleased to discover that after mentioning my intention to get myself an ipad over the summer that my family has decided to jump the gun for me. Although I am still contributing massively to the endeavor, my military grandfather used his base to get a tax free 64 wifi-3G ipad. Just in time to start my next gig. :-)

....And curtain down on that idea. So originally I was planning to wait until next August to purchase the ipad, but my family was excited to help me. They went out and bought the thing and two weeks later the rumor mill goes rampant telling consumers to wait because the new ipad is now in production for an April release. Grrr...so the ipad is going back and I will have the honor of waiting for the new release. So much for my holidays (but at least I found it out before I opened the ipad just in time for the value to tank).

50

Tools of the Trade / Re: Gifts!

« on: Dec 07, 2010, 11:22 pm »

I was pleased to discover that after mentioning my intention to get myself an ipad over the summer that my family has decided to jump the gun for me. Although I am still contributing massively to the endeavor, my military grandfather used his base to get a tax free 64 wifi-3G ipad. Just in time to start my next gig. :-)

51

The Green Room / Re: Performers & Safety - would you walk off a show?

« on: Oct 29, 2010, 07:45 pm »

I was reading about those accidents today. Perfect timing since in one of my graduate classes we were discussing this very topic. All of the stage managers in the conversation agreed that we feel one of our top priorities is to make the theatre as safe as possible, even with the knowledge that our field is prone to taking a high level risk.

One of my colleagues has been dealing with a safety concern. She had multiple people on her production (non-equity) share their concern to her and she has vocally been against an unsafe practice that the director (who is also the artistic director) insists having in the show. As they were heading into tech the director told her she needed to get on board and stop bringing up the concern because it wasn't going to change. Sure, she could technically quit, but if she did she could be putting the performers more at risk because someone new might not be as tuned into the potential for injury. All she can do at this point is prepare for the worst and hope it never happens.

Adding to this topic: Where does safety rank on our priorities? Should it be #1 over any visual effects? Or is our job to simply see the danger and prepare for the possibility of injury (and prevent it when we can)?

52

The Green Room / Re: SM Hobbies

« on: Oct 13, 2010, 04:51 pm »

I spend my days off cooking and baking. And grocery shopping, which is oddly therapeutic. When I have the opportunity I love to go to art and history museums, especially when special exhibits are in town.

53

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Portfolio?

« on: Sep 10, 2010, 01:54 pm »

I was required to make a full portfolio for my undergraduate degree. I choose sample paperwork from a variety of shows that displayed my organization, creativity and fore-thinking (meeting needs early). I used a very nice display binder with page protectors and made copies (without hole punches) of all the pages. For each production featured I also included a short description of the challenges I faced during the production (because I was sending it off to one graduate school before my interview).

From an URTA point-of-view (and graduate schools in general I imagine) the portfolio is a good talking piece and a great visual aid for interviews. That being said I don't remember a single interviewer bothering to really look at it or ask questions based on it. My undergrad emphasized its importance and put me through quite a few mock interviews with the portfolio and in the end it didn't help me at all. As it was put to me once "Any monkey can do paperwork, I want to know about you."

I do keep an old prompt script together in a binder in case the need arises for a visual aid. Since all of my professional interviews thus far have been by phone I have yet to use it in a professional situation.

I guess my point is to really consider your needs and decide how important a portfolio will be for you. I spent a decent amount of money on my portfolio only to not have any real use for it. You can spent tons on professional portfolio binders (which don't display stage management paperwork very well and are awkward to hold in an interview) and specialty papers. If you want to make one be realistic and keep it minimal. Choose your top productions and feature specialty paperwork that are tailored to the specific needs of a production. Or if you have one really great production that had a lot of interesting aspects then you might prefer to clean up that production book and use that as your portfolio instead (which makes a lot more sense to me than a traditional portfolio).

54

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: Your Show Sucked.

« on: Sep 04, 2010, 03:19 am »

Those are some painful situations. Always remember that the trash you just saw is someone else's treasure. (I thought the situation needed a cliche...) I, too, stick with focusing on strong points and lean toward the word "interesting" to show that it was not my cup o' tea, but nice try anyways. Guess that is why we SMs have to get a good poker face...

Earlier this year I went to a show and long story short I didn't know how to assess the production. Thank goodness no one directly on the show asked my opinion and the only other person I had to discuss it with was on the same page as me. I was terrified someone involved would catch me before I escaped to safety.

55

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: DEAR ABBY: Save me from my micromanaging PM!

« on: Sep 01, 2010, 04:08 pm »

It sounds like she just wants to feel important by critiquing everything you send. My suggestion is keep cc-ing her on absolutely everything. Then set up a smart folder in your email to catch all emails from her. That way your inbox isn't being punished and you can read her excess responses when you are ready. That would be the most non-confrontational way to deal with the issue.

After reading Matthew's post (below) I decided my first sentence is only there to make the writer feel like the victim. It would be a good idea to take these critiques and see if there is validation. In my undergrad years I often had my reports and email communications monitored by a professor who always gave me a critique. Sometimes I felt they were nitpicky comments, but the purpose was the best of intentions. Although the example you provided does not sound inappropriate, perhaps other comments sound differently to others than the tone you intend. I still recommend the above method because as your superior she has the right to be cc'd to company related emails, no matter how mundane, but you have the right to read her critiques and implement them as you see fit.

56

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Co-SMing

« on: Aug 31, 2010, 02:52 pm »

I've heard that argument before with students of the same "level" not wanting to ASM for one another. Problem is co-SMing will likely cause more problems for the show than not. One of the misconceptions that this discomfort stems from seems to be the assumption that as an ASM you are "assisting the SM". That is simply not true. You are assisting the show.

My mentor once described it to me this way (with my own flare): An SM is in effect running the show from the outside looking in. They are there to focus on the big picture to make sure the image is recognizable once the puzzle is put together. The ASM is considered an "assistant" because their job is focused on assisting the little pieces coming together. This is why shows are more likely to have multiple ASMs and only one SM. Only one person is necessary to watch the big picture, but lots of little pieces need lots of assistance to make to their place on time.

My advice is earn the extra ASM credit and offer to run the deck. If the "ASM" thing is still bothersome try saying you two are the Calling SM and the Deck SM. Since both of you can't call the show at the same time there must be some agreement worked out that puts one of you in the booth (or at a calling station) and the other running the backstage anyways.

57

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Student Stage Managers Challenge #11: Equity in Detail

« on: Aug 21, 2010, 03:17 am »

I for one did not know that there are regulations to the act of blacklisting an equity member.

8. BLACKLISTING.
The Producer and Equity pledge themselves to prevent blacklisting in the theatre. Opposition to blacklisting is not a controversial issue between the Producer and Equity.
(A)Blacklisting for the purposes of this Rule shall mean the submission by the Producer, directly or indirectly, to individual or group pressure, and/or the use of private lists,
10
published or unpublished, of persons not to be employed in theatrical productions for reasons having no direct relation to their theatrical ability.
(B)To that end, Equity and the Producer shall jointly investigate and deal with all complaints of blacklisting in the theatre, and take any and all lawful means to correct, remedy, and actively resist each and every instance of blacklisting, as and when it arises.

Found in section 8 of the ANTC Agreement (Association of Non-Profit Theatre Companies).

I found this interesting primarily because of the history of blacklisting in theatre and the entertainment industry during the Red Scare and also due to how many times in academic theatre students are warned that you could get yourself blacklisted if you behave unprofessionally. Granted, they most likely don't mean "blacklisted" in the technical meaning of the term, but I would bet many newer equity members don't realize there is a protection against the practice.

When I was involved in unpaid community theatre a situation occurred where a performer was blacklisted and not informed. It was a misunderstanding that took almost two years to correct because at first no director/board member told them about the ban on casting them. I find this equity clause to be a great protection against situations like this (although it would be harder to identify blacklisting in the large equity market, I would imagine).

58

Employment / Re: Picking jobs

« on: Aug 19, 2010, 02:27 pm »

Agreed. If you have any SM friends who might like the opportunity then recommend them as replacement, but I believe it is pretty understandable throughout the industry that higher paying job offers are a sort of "out" from smaller showcase style gigs. You will likely not be blacklisted unless A) you choose to go out in a non-professional manner (avoid phrases like "see ya suckers") or B) the showcase people have bad attitudes with no concept of the challenges of finding work in live theatre (highly unlikely and would you really want to work for those people anyways?).

In the end, you have to do what is best for your career and financial stability and in NYC that will likely never be any kind of showcase. You are being given a great opportunity and I wouldn't risk regretting not taking it.

59

Employment / Re: When is it OK to work for free?

« on: Aug 18, 2010, 01:31 pm »

I noticed a new job posting on our forum today that I thought illustrated this topic so well.

http://smnetwork.org/forum/index.php/topic,5628.0/topicseen.html

A PSM gig in NYC for a full month and the stipend is only $200? That doesn't seem enough for a PA let alone a PSM. It seems only reasonable that a month long gig should at least attempt to offer an amount that starts closer to cost of rent for the region it is in.

60

Employment / Re: When is it OK to work for free?

« on: Aug 13, 2010, 12:51 pm »

Is it ever ok to work for free? No. Only the rich can afford to work for free and by accepting unpaid work it puts the less fortunate at a severe disadvantage. I know I have never been able to work for free.

On the other hand, when you are still in school and have some amount of financial support it is a great time to work for lower wages than you could normally accept. I'm a fan of internships, but I advocate at least getting a stipend to cover travel and housing (and trying to get at least some meals too). Even as an intern you are providing labor for a company.

Once you are out of school though I say only work for free if that is what you value your skills at. Similar to others above, I feel if you undervalue your product you will never get what you are really worth. My minimum scale right now is to get at least minimum wage for 40 hours (I know I work far more hours, but that is my baseline) plus some type of benefits (housing, meals, travel, etc). Once I get through more graduate school that number will rise.

If I can afford my rent, be working, and not starve then a few weeks at a company works out financially.