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Messages - ejsmith3130

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The Green Room / Stage Management Day in the UK

« on: Oct 04, 2013, 07:46 pm »

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2013/10/theatres-honour-backstage-staff-first-ever-stage-management-day/

This strikes a weird chord with me. I don't know too much about the UK SMA, but I would feel really uncomfortable being invited to a curtain call, and there is NO WAY I would invite actors to 'help set up for the show'.

My favorite response in the comments:
SMA executive director Andy Rowley explained: “We have felt for a while that there ought to be some way of recognizing [sic] the work backstage people do, and particularly what stage managers do.”
I think I know of a way to recognise [sic] them. I believe it’s called a wage.

The Hardline / Re: SPT Previews

« on: Oct 03, 2013, 10:05 pm »

According to my all knowing boss.... (please correct me if I'm wrong... we are working an SPT 8 contract) previews count towards your rehearsal hours, not shows. The rehearsal hours counted begin at half hour.

EDIT:
After reading through the sections of rehearsal and performances in the SPT contract I can't seem to find any mention of this either way. Anybody else ever run into this?

Introductions / Re: Hi all!

« on: Sep 14, 2013, 03:23 pm »

For Opera jobs, check out the facebook group- Stage Management Jobs in Opera. Opera America's website will also post things, but I've never had much luck with that.

Best of luck!

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Dealing with Panic Situations

« on: Sep 06, 2013, 12:33 am »

As you continue to work you will gain some perspective too. I totally was you when I first started. I was a little ball of stress... Now I have calmed down a whole lot and am pretty chill. What changed? I realized that freaking out about a situation didn't EVER help me.

Quote from: planetmike on Sep 05, 2013, 08:33 pm

Stop. Breathe. Repeat.

I completely agree with this. The things that are happening to you are Not life and death. The last show I worked on was only an hour long, and we had to start 20 minutes late on the last day. A few years ago I would have panicked. Instead I try to channel my panic into actions that help solve the problem. That and I chew my nails. I will never have a pretty manicure, but it is way better than losing my cool in a professional setting.

And it is perfectly okay to excuse yourself at an appropriate time (or after rehearsal or whatever) and go cry it out. Stress is legitimately toxic, and crying helps release those toxins from your system.

Just remember that you are human and as long as you learn from your mistakes you are growing in the right direction. Stage Managers tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves to be perfect, but no one is. Just remind yourself that if an actor can go up on a line in front of the audience and the show still goes on, you can flub something every now and then as well. Just breathe and take note of how you can do better in the future. Beating yourself up about it doesn't help anything.

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: 3 Directors in 3 Years.. Transitioning.

« on: Aug 17, 2013, 10:33 pm »

When I was in college we went through a transistion like this. If you already have a meeting set up with the technical teacher, why not bring a resume? Rather than you trying to convince someone with empty words of how good you are, treat it like a job interview. Bring a resume and show that you are serious about the job.

In this situation you also need to be open to communication and remember that they are the teacher and you the student. If they look at you and give the job to someone else because they think they would be better suited to the position- you need to trust that they know what they are doing. It is hard to have that kind of trust when you have a lack of stability and consistancy in the past, but you need to give these new teachers the benefit of the doubt, and be there to support their work. Nothing sabotages an organization quicker than if the students aren't open to communication and supporting their teachers. You all have the same goal. They may not work the same way as people have in the past and that is okay. Be there to offer how things had been done in the past if you see that something could be done more efficiently, or if asked.

If you portray yourself as responsible, motivated and flexible (all attributes of a good stage manager!) you can position yourself to be a good supporter of your new department structure.

Don't get yourself all worked up if the teacher doesn't really want to talk much about the upcoming season. Things are probably still being worked out with the school and between the two teachers. Just give them your resume, let them know you are excited about the school year, and would love to be involved.

College and Graduate Studies / Re: To Major or Minor? That is the question..

« on: Aug 17, 2013, 10:16 pm »

Something important when looking into the major vs. the minor is the courses that are required. I was a general theatre major and took a wide variety of classes. The theatre minor at my university focused mainly on literature classes and acting classes. My husband who is a teacher took the minor in theatre because it supplemented his english education very well. You can look up course catalogues on university websites to find this information.

I have met many people who are working stage managers who majored in things other than theatre (like Math!) and people who didn't go to college who are professional stage managers. A theatre major can give you a broad education or a stronger technical education based on what type of program you enroll in.

Outside of the department involvement also varies greatly from school to school. My theatre department was really small (about 30 people total in undergrad) so we heavily relied on non majors to take on roles and work with us to get the productions done. On the flipside, I had a friend who went to a large university that didn't allow non majors to hold any sort of work role because they didn't have enough jobs for the people who were majors.

Quote from: itsDani on Aug 17, 2013, 03:05 am

My parents have told me that if I go to college I have to major in something "real."

I understand this, and I'm sure someone will argue with me on this point, but your education will only be as good as you make it. Our job market is tough- but a lot of them are. My husband is a certified teacher, but he doesn't have a job. He had the "real" major. He works in retail and substitute teaching. I am the one who had the risky major, but I'm working consistantly, pulling the majority of my income from theatre. Is this always the story? No. But one of the most important things about your education is you. If you work hard and make opportunities for yourself you will go further than someone who just takes classes and gets a piece of paper after four years saying they have a degree.

Good news for you? You are already making connections to the local professional theatre. I can track all of my connections back to my first internship. I got that through college and majoring in theatre, but you are already there. You learn more on the job than you do in a classroom.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do. Don't be afraid if you change your mind a million times. I have wanted to do many many things and I'm still pretty young. Stay flexible and open to opportunites.

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PEOPLE: Working with a new Director

« on: Aug 15, 2013, 09:07 pm »

In the past I have usually sat down with the director and just had a "what do you expect of me" kind of conversation when working in a non equity or summer stock type situation. I always asked how they liked to handle breaks and line notes. However recently, I have been working union, so the Stage Manager's (and ASM's) jobs are more specifically structured under the particular contract so that kind of conversation doesn't really happen as much.

In Philadelphia it seems that a lot of people have already previously worked together, so if possible see who on your team has worked together before- sometimes you get a good insight from your production manager or designer that has worked with a particular director and can give you some "care and handling of" tips.

The Green Room / Re: VENT: The trouble with spouses, pets and couches

« on: Jul 27, 2013, 11:28 am »

I have now been married for 364 days (our anniversary is tomorrow!) and it really has been different, but we had several ways of coping with all the craziness of marriage and starting our careers and everything. We got married a year after college and I had mainly been doing out of town work and then living with family when I wasn't out of town and he lived with family while finishing grad school, so we were able to both decide on where to go and start our lives as a couple. Philadelphia seemed the logical step as I had always had my eye on it and his teaching degree was only good in PA.

We had these conversations with our Priest in marriage counseling as well and I think it was great to really hash through everything before hand so that we went into this with the same expectations. We agreed to settle down in an area that was convenient to both of us, and I said that I would stay in town for our first year before I went more than an hour or so away. Now that flew out the window when I got an offer (that I didn't apply for- they were looking for a replacement of someone I knew) in Alaska that was really great money and opportunity. When I spoke to my husband about it and his exact words were "I knew what I was getting into when I married you. Go."

Alaska turned out to be awful (good company, I just can not handle a lack of sunlight and January in Alaska is just not my thing) and I missed my husband way more than I ever had when we had just been dating and I was traveling. I found myself not wanting to take out of town jobs anymore- and I'm really okay with that. I am lucky enough to live in a place where I was able to sign on as a year long ASM and I only have about 4 weeks downtime that I haven't filled for next season.

I always wanted to do a tour and see the world, but a lot of those jobs just didn't come through for me in the short amount of time I was willing to apply for them. I have friends who work on cruises and see so much and make a ton of money, but I wouldn't trade with them for all of that. I have walls at home that I can paint, and put actual things up on them rather than the postcards that used to be my only decoration when I was traveling. Now I'm getting ready to go on my first real vacation with my husband and I'm so super excited to get to do some traveling that doesn't involve work. I get to relax and really see the places we are going. I think that is way better than just working in a cool place that you never see because you are working the whole time and then when you go home you don't have anyone to share that with. That's what Alaska was to me.

The scariest thing for me though about all of this though is that this works both ways. My husband has a interview this week for a full time teaching position (his first all year) and the job is two hours away from the city where I have already signed contracts for this season. Now we had to sit down and talk about moving away from the city for his job- and not moving to the really cute suburb that I work in and had my heart set on. I knew though that him having a stable job was something super important and in this economy and job market for teachers, we can't afford to turn down a full time job with benefits because it is going to mean bigger commutes for both of us.

In the end it may sound cliché but it really is all about communication. What works for one couple might not work for another, but you need to be really open and honest about what makes you happy. If your relationship is strong, you can make long distance work for a little while, but you need to be fair to the both of you.

The Green Room / Re: Dealing with Thank You Notes

« on: Jul 17, 2013, 11:52 am »

If you want to go with gifts, I usually do something small and related to the show in some way- if you want to go above and beyond for someone who really made a difference to you- great.

Some examples: We did princess and the pea and I made some little pea shaped pillows with the show dates embroidered. My senior production had some heavy duty chains as part of the set, so I got necklaces made from a nice silver chain for my team. If you make it related to the show, then it is easy to give and relate if you don't have a personal relationship with the person.

I also know an SM who gives out potted plants at closing so people can "watch them grow with love like our show did". Cheesy and fun and I love it.

Whatever you do- don't stress too much about it. I can't tell you how many cards (and actual gifts) I have found left at the theatre after closing while cleaning up. It is a way bigger deal in your brain than theirs: promise.

Introductions / Re: Hello there.

« on: Jul 15, 2013, 09:39 pm »

I was originally from Central New York too! A little north of Syracuse though- welcome!

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Double casting

« on: Jul 12, 2013, 12:22 pm »

As a side job, I work as a technical director for a local Catholic high school and they practice double casting in the musical, but it is handled as 'understudies'. The understudies are for the leading roles and tend to be filled by freshman and sophomores. They attend all of the rehearsals for their understudied roles and there were a few understudy rehearsals strictly for them.

The really unique thing about this was that the Saturday matinee was specifically the understudy performance. I think it was a great opportunity, because they did actually perform in 1 out of the 4 shows, giving them a solid goal so they really learned their parts, and it grooms the underclassmen very well to be able to step up into larger roles after senior classes graduate.

This worked really well for this school, even though it isn't traditional 'double casting'.

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Invaluable Advice

« on: Jul 10, 2013, 03:53 pm »

The best piece of advice I ever got was to keep my mouth shut and my eyes open. This was as I was training in University, but it works well on the job as well.

It goes hand in hand with learning from professionals who are also out there. It is too tempting to just blurt out that 'you do it this way, or that way' when you could be receiving really great advice, or safety information. You will pick a lot of things up through observation of other people, especially if you are the ASM. I err on the side of being too quite as an assistant and get my work done. I think it is easy to judge the personality of who you are working with and not really make any big missteps if you focus on doing your best work at first rather than socializing.

This doesn't mean that you don't speak up if there is an issue of safety, or you need to be involved, but in most cases this will teach you so much.

The one thing that I learned the hard way, and wished that someone had prepared me for, was that after college, you are starting out at the bottom again. It's great that you were the PSM on your schools main stage musicals for the past two years and you know how to call a show- but you are brand new to the professional world and those jobs (even if you are 100% capable of performing their duties) are not the ones you are going to get right away. You will be a PA and ASM and you have to know it isn't because you aren't good enough- and really a Great ASM can make a big difference on a show- your job and skills are just as important now.