Messages

46

The Green Room / Thank you, technology!

« on: Feb 19, 2014, 01:43 am »

Related to my other post about old theater manuals: I am currently incredibly thankful for technology. Here are some excerpts we can celebrate are obsolete:

• "It is desirable to have each edition [of the script] mimeographed. Mimeographed editions come in lots of twenty-five or more copies and are fairly costly (about $1.50 per copy, as an average). So, care must be taken that each edition is approved by the playwright, producer and director before being sent to the mimeographer." The Stage Manager's Handbook (1972), page 3 http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Managers-Handbook-Bert-Gruver/dp/0896760073 (Three cheers for home printers!)
• "Stage Manager's Daily Meeting: If the producer does not have regular and formal staff meetings, the stage manager's first duty is to check with the office for advice. The producer may not have been able to attend rehearsals and will want a progress report." The Stage Manager's Handbook, page 60 (Hooray for e-mailing rehearsal reports!)
• "During the tour the stage manager will need a certain amount of equipment and supplies. ... A typewriter is practically indispensable." The Stage Manager's Handbook, page 127 (Thank you, laptops!)
• "The Rehearsal Room. If you cannot rehearse on stage you will need to find a suitable room or space. There are many things to consider - ask yourself the following questions: ... Can the room be blacked out? - you may need to show slides ... is there a telephone you can use? Will it take incoming and outgoing calls? What's the number?" Stage Management and Theatre Administration (1994), page 20 http://www.amazon.com/Management-Theatre-Administration-Phaidon-Theater/dp/0714825166/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392788634 (Wooo laptops and cell phones!)
• "If the director wants to rehearse with recorded sound you will need a tape recorder. ASk whoever is making up the sound tape for te production to make up a tape for rehearsal." Stage Management and Theatre Administration, page 28 (Yay for laptops, smart phones, music players, email, YouTube, the cloud...)
• "The text in the prompt script has to be accurate. Make all cuts clearly, using straight lines in soft pencil. Insert and change words distinctly. If a large section of the script has been rewritten retype the whole page. If the rewritten section is only a few lines long then type the new text on a slip of paper and stick it on top of the old text." Stage Management and Theatre Administration, page 35 (Four for you, computers! You go, computers!)
• (On rehearsal reports) "It is a good idea to keep one daily sheet of blank paper on the rehearsal table, dated, with each department's heading on it, so the stage manager os assistants can add all notes to one specific place. These notes should then be entered in shortened form onto the daily report and kept in a folder for the designer or crew." The Back Stage Guide to Stage Management (1991), page 85 http://www.amazon.com/Back-Stage-Guide-Management/dp/0823076814/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392789590&sr=1-1 (You're the best, internet.)

Aside from these specific anachronisms, I am learning a lot - particularly about how some SM responsibilities have evolved. For example, it makes total sense why the SM should be in charge of the rehearsal schedule - without internet, who's going to speak to all the actors, the director, and any techs who should be present and ask for their schedules? I'm also enjoying looking through the sample lists (of props, costumes, lights, and the like). Since they couldn't be quickly and easily changed as a shared computer file, they needed to be easy to edit while conveying all the necessary information for the designers coming by the office to read the reports while the SM wasn't around.

I think it's really cool how much things have changed, both within the industry and in civilian life, as technology has changed over the past fifty years. =)

47

The Green Room / To cue or not to cue... (Old-school SMing?)

« on: Feb 19, 2014, 12:27 am »

Lately, I've gotten into reading old SM (and lighting) books, both to count my blessings (make sure we have a working landline in the rehearsal space? Thank you, cell phone, for taking care of that one!) and to learn about how our job has changed over the years.

I am, however, also reading things that make me wonder if they've changed or if they still happen, just not in my "kind" of theater (non-equity, straight plays in DC, with primarily foreign directors and performers).

For example: in reading this book (http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Managers-Handbook-Bert-Gruver/dp/0896760073), from '52 (and revised in '72) and geared toward equity productions, I'm finding "direct cues" versus "indirect cues." Direct cues are defined as visual or line cues, and involve people, whether actors or crew, taking the cues on their own. Indirect cues aren't defined, but involve giving a cue - preferably via a person like an ASM, lest the cueing system fail.

Is cueing via headset - and particularly cueing for everything - a new development? Of course there are things that should happen without SM direction: live-mixing sound shouldn't depend on the SM giving a GO every time a person starts or stops speaking. But is trusting a Light OP to GO when a line is said or when a person enters done anywhere? Was this ever actually common in the 50s, or am I being deceived by this book?

48

Tools of the Trade / Half-size binders

« on: Feb 19, 2014, 12:12 am »

My producer seems to have recently fallen in love with half-size binders (about the size of an iPad), and they are all over the place in my theatre. I confess that, seeing them every day, I'm starting to like them - I like that they wouldn't take up all of my table during rehearsals, for example, so I could have more space for line note forms, checklists, and designer notes. And they would absolutely reduce the size of my work bag, which is currently big enough to fit a 4" full binder. I generally like the idea of my binder not taking up all the space in our (small) light booth.

The question is: Are they too small? I don't know how I would lay out my pages; whether they'd contain half the text as the regular script, or if I'd print them in a smaller font - and then, would my notes fit? What do I do with regular-size sheets of paper people give me? Am I just liking these binders because they're adorable and seem to have cuter designs than full binders?

Do any of you use half-size binders for work? How do you organize them? Should I give up on my dreams of a smaller work bag?

49

Employment / Re: Locations and Area Codes

« on: Feb 18, 2014, 11:54 pm »

I've had a Google number for a couple years now, and I love it. It's also easy to remember (area code - 3 digits - my name). I got a DC area code not because of DC, but because it was one of the few I could get with my name.

This isn't necessarily "number" advice, but definitely Google Voice advice: Be aware of people's numbers through voice and through your regular number.

What does that mean? Well. The way voice works with your phone, is that if your boss texts you, and their number is 123-456-7890, that's not the number you'll get. You'll get a random number with no current owner. Let's say 333-333-3333. Nope, they won't even share the area code. That's google's way of letting you call that number back from your phone and it showing up as from your google number. This random number is different for everyone, but only works from your phone. So if I, with a different google number, call that 333-333-3333, it will call a different one of my contacts.

Why this is good: You can call anyone back when you're out of a WiFi zone without eating into your data plan.
Why this is bad: You'll get calls from numbers you don't recognize, and if you forget to call their random number, they won't recognize your number either.

So I have at least two numbers for every professional contact on my phone - 1) their regular number, which I can call through the app, and I have labeled "mobile." 2) their "random" number, which I can call from my phone, which I have labeled "work fax."

It took me a couple of months to really get a grasp of it and not confuse the numbers - and I still have to tell people to text my "regular" number sometimes because I can't send or receive images or other media files through Google. But when you get used to it, I definitely think a Google number is an advantage - you can get calls and texts on your computer and across devices, so you can stay on top of actor ETAs and designer concerns in rehearsal without being on your phone. If your phone dies or is stolen (I actually got mugged halfway through a run once, and this was a godsend), you can still get a hold of your people from any computer. And if you ever want to stop someone from contacting you, you can just tell Google to block that number. I feel a lot more comfortable plastering my Google number all over emails and resumes and documents now, knowing that I don't have to worry about who has access to those documents.

50

The Green Room / Re: Personal Budgeting

« on: Feb 18, 2014, 11:39 pm »

I'm also a Mint user. I really like it, but I recommend tracking how it labels your transactions, particularly at first. For example, the bar my theatre usually has post-tech drinks at keeps showing up as a barbershop. You can absolutely change that, though, and if you go through the website you can change the label forever.

Aside from that, it even has labels I didn't think I'd be using - like pet-specific expenses. Up until now, I'd been budgeting kitty food under "groceries."

51

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PLAYS: On the Verge

« on: Feb 18, 2014, 11:28 pm »

I worked backstage for The Tempest in a 2-inch deep pool (which was always filled) and a rain sequence. That was fun. And I'm sure it involved a lot more water than yours will.

We made a deal with a neighboring Hilton hotel (we shared a wall!) so they gave us clean towels every night, which we returned for cleaning, in return for credit in the program. We had 12 performers and 2 backstage people, and we literally went through 40 towels a night (so we got 40 each night, and asked for an extra 10 to keep around if we ever needed more). If you can manage this, great! Just make sure you introduce yourself and your staff to all the managers/bosses, even the ones who'll seem irrelevant, and tell them all how long the run is. When I or the other backstage person went to get towels the first two nights, everyone was great, but as the month went on they started giving us problems, saying they'd never met us, and asking if we were even telling the truth about the show.

We absolutely had space heaters in the green room, towels over all the couches, and halfway through the show we hung some of those outdoor heater things backstage, so the actors would also be warm while waiting for their entrances. We hung some heat-refecting panels right above the heaters, so all the heat would go toward the actors rather than toward the fire detectors. And each actor had a bath robe they put on the second they got offstage.

Like cdavisnyc, we took one of the backstage rooms and turned it into a drying/wardrobe room, with plastic bins everywhere so we could hang costumes and shoes above them and they'd catch the water.

If the costume designer can treat the costumes, see if they can be made water-repellent. We used Scotchguard on the outside of the clothes (not on the inside so washing them wouldn't be an impossible feat) and water basically bounced off the costumes (like an umbrella). Yay!

Also, our post-show involved literally vacuum-cleaning the set, the floors backstage, under the stage, and the (carpeted) house floors. We used those orange shop-vacs, and had to empty them three or four times every night. We laid some nonslip rugs (the black things every theatre seems to have backstage) backstage, so both the rugs and the floor below got vacuumed. We hung the rugs up on flats to speed drying up, and then left industrial fans, pointed to cover as much of the floor (and rugs) backstage as possible, on all night. I know it sounds like overkill, but we still found water everywhere when we came in in the morning. This at least seemed to keep the mildew down.

Regarding rain - our set-up was "simply" two PVC pipes in the air, with holes all over, connected to our utility sink backstage. We tested it every day and left the water on all show long, with a key right offstage that we'd turn to turn it on. If the decision had been up to me, I'd have done it differently - turning the water on with a warning, 2 or 3 minutes before rain, and turning the key on a GO. Our rain was always cold because the hot water ran out by the time we got to the scene! I insist on testing it every day, though. A couple of days we came in and although nobody had touched the hoses and pipes, we found some connections would leak. I seem to recall that one day our PM even had to go on an emergency run to get a new hose, because ours wouldn't stop leaking.

I wasn't dealing with any electronics and I never saw the show from the house side, so I don't know the actual specifics - but I know toward the show we got a couple of ghosting lights and our projections became finicky. One of our speakers also bit it toward the end of the show. The official diagnosis was that all the humidity in the air throughout an entire month got to the electronics. I haven't worked in that theatre again, so I'm not sure if the electronics got fixed or if they had to replace any of them.

52

The Hardline / Re: Going Equity 'Young'

« on: Feb 07, 2014, 05:08 pm »

I'm looking over the U of Iowa SM survey results (http://www.smsurvey.info/uploads/6/4/6/6/6466686/2013_smsurvey.pdf), and all the way in page 26 it seems 61% of AEA respondents went equity between 21 and 25, and 23% between 26 and 30. From this discussion, and related ones, I'd assumed early 20s was unusual. The other three surveys online ('11, '09, '06) don't have this question, so I can't compare.

Why do you think this is? Is it a new development (a "saturating of the industry," like Matthew said above me), or do we just not hear from that many early Equity joiners?

I wish I had access to the raw data to see if there are any other trends among the early joiners - area of residence (whether there are more theatres than SMs or the other way around), formal SM education, number of weeks joined...

53

The Green Room / Re: ARTICLE: Why not to put your address on your resume

« on: Feb 07, 2014, 04:10 pm »

I don't see this mentioned, but another reason I don't write my address in is that it shows how much you make. This may not be as much of an issue in tech work, where the theatre may have a set hourly or show rate, but is absolutely an issue with jobs that ask for salary histories or where you're expected to negotiate pay. The closest I will go if asked during an interview is to say my metro station (I don't drive), mention alternate transportation options, and say how long it takes to get to the theatre via my quickest option/route.

54

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: REPORTS: Including break times in report?

« on: Feb 07, 2014, 04:04 pm »

I've never taken an actual SM class, but rather learned via SMing in college. (Which did give me tech credits, so it could be considered a one-on-one class with the faculty directors.) My directors asked me to include breaks even though breaks weren't an actual concern - I guess to get me in the habit of thinking about, and keeping track of everything.

My first director at my current theatre was Problematic about breaks, so I stuck to documenting breaks through that and haven't broken since. I don't know if anybody would complain if I stopped keeping track, but like EFMcMullen I record them by default - although I also have a small box in the header of my reports (among the other small ones, like "date" and "next call") where I write our unrounded break times. The work schedule does get rounded to the nearest 5.

To me, it's one of the many things I almost accidentally keep track of, and while it may neither help nor hinder, it would take me longer to remember not to record the breaks than it takes me to write them down.

55

The Green Room / Re: video interview posted

« on: Jan 23, 2014, 04:41 pm »

This is really good! I might send it to my mother - 5 years into this she still doesn't know what a Stage Manager does.

Props for pointing out your cameras and cue lights. I wouldn't have thought of doing it!

56

The Green Room / Re: tech week bingo game

« on: Jan 23, 2014, 04:35 pm »

I sent it to my PM since our next tech is next weekend. We added some specific to our theatre and our designers, and I think we will be passing them out to select people.

Of course they're really tasteful and the only references to people by name are things people consistently do and are openly (and in good humor) teased about, like our Artistic Director who always watches tech from the balcony and without speaking to anyone.

57

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: CALL BOOK: Repeating music score - how do I mark cues?

« on: Jan 20, 2014, 10:42 pm »

Expanding the score makes lots of sense! Thank you, everyone. =)

58

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / CALL BOOK: Repeating music score - how do I mark cues?

« on: Jan 19, 2014, 01:00 am »

I'm working a show that includes songs with repeating verses (example image linked below), where the music itself will repeat and my score numbers the lyrics. I'm not really sure of what the best approach is to mark where each cue goes. My scores are really crowded and I don't know if I could even fit a note on the lyrics, but I also don't want to put my notes on the piano part in case I call it in the wrong rep. I'm sure this is an issue you've all had to deal with before, and you might have some brilliant ways to deal with scores like this one.

Mind you, I'm not the best at reading music (I can follow it if it's playing, but I can't look at a score and tell you what it will sound like). Thankfully, my light designer for this show doesn't either and is lighting it like a dance show and taking cues off of choreography. So this isn't a pressing issue, but one I'd like some tips for so I know how to work it next time.

http://www.klemm-music.de/motu/software/dp7/i/highlights/notation_lead_sheet_xl.gif

59

Employment / Re: Still no word about payment

« on: Jan 07, 2014, 12:21 pm »

I got a call this morning! They offered me half of my walk-away limit (hooray for having one in place!), so I said absolutely not. They said they'd look for someone else, ended the call, and a bit later called me back to say that my price is atrocious but they'd compromise and only have me in half of the time they wanted me (so I wouldn't be required for some rehearsals). This means I'm still getting paid a lot less than I wanted, but it falls right on my limit so I took it.

They also said not to bother updating my contract version since they'll provide one when I see them, but I'm still going to take it with just in case their version doesn't include everything I want it to.

60

Employment / Re: Still no word about payment

« on: Jan 07, 2014, 01:20 am »

No response yet! I drafted a contract with the stipend I'd like (I would be okay with them asking to lower it a bit), and sent it their way. The contract includes a payment schedule, and the email says I'll need it signed before I begin work. Hopefully I'll hear back tomorrow.

I updated my coworker since this might become her problem if they don't have an SM, and apparently they've assured her I'm doing it. So maybe they'll pay me what I want after all?