Messages

46

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Drop Count

« on: Sep 23, 2005, 07:20 pm »

So branching out from this, what interesting things has anyone recorded on performance reports before? I mean on a regular basis; something you kept track of every show that wasn't a run time or whatever.

Anything fun?

Ah yes, and I have no idea what  drop count might be, but prior suggestions sound plausible.

47

SMNetwork Archives / Interview question

« on: Aug 09, 2005, 01:13 am »

So, once one is dressed properly, of equal importance (i would imagine) is the interview itself. For those of you out there who conduct them, what are some of the questions you ask? What do you look for most in responses and in the person you're interviewing? What less tangible qualities do you try to ascertain when interviewing? How does this vary (if at all) for an ASM or PA or intern? Do you usually ask to see an intern's paperwork (I know there is a slough of posts on this topic) or just have an interview? What can make or break the interview?
For those of you who interview a lot, what questions do you find most consistently asked and/or challenging to answer? How do you prep for interviews?
Any other advice from either group of people?
(I realize nobody can tell you how to give the perfect interview, but I figured it might be an interesting natural progression to the dress chain)

48

Tools of the Trade / latest toyes...

« on: Jul 27, 2005, 02:06 am »

Haha... amusingly enough, the exact same thing happened to me the other day... except it was Staples!
I attached it to my clipboard by bending a paper clip and now I use it for preshow checklists in a sheet protector.
Anyhow, it was exciting for me too. :-)

49

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Problem solved!

« on: Jul 23, 2005, 02:49 am »

So, it didn't actually have to be yolk, and we were coloring the shaving cream anyhow... the director just wanted something gross looking the actor could blow out the bottom of the egg... it also has to be self contained, as it pulls up  through a trap and the house is a really intimate space... and also, I received news today that they found a solution- water and flour. Good ideas anyhow. Thanks for all them!

Out of curiousity, has anyone out there done La Bete before? What did you think of it?

50

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROPS: Blowing yolk out of an egg?

« on: Jul 21, 2005, 02:41 pm »

Hi everybody...
got a rather weird issue and am wondering if I can get any helpful suggestions.
We are working on a production of La Bete by David Hirschon. (hilarious play, by the way)
There's a part where we would like one of the characters to blow out "yolk" out of a large egg (about 18in high). Right now there is plastic tubing going through an egg and they tried shaving cream, but it's too thick to blow out well.
Any ideas? I'm not sure I explained this well, let me know if you need me to clarify.
Thanks! Hoping for some egg-selent suggestions, harharhar.

51

Students and Novice Stage Managers / As a matter of fact...

« on: Jul 16, 2005, 02:21 am »

I actually took a class last semester at school called group processes, and my final paper was an analyzation of two different models of leadership/management/etc in organizations, and how they relate specifically to my experiences in stage management and managing in a group setting.
An interesting book I looked at was titled (ironically enough) The Drama of Leadership, by Patricia Pitcher.  As opposed to a more traditional leader vs. manager framework, she discusses three different kinds of personalities involved in a company's higherups, which she titles Artists, Craftspeople, and Technocrats. She also talks about how they work with each other and where each category's weakenesses and strengths are, and also provides a measuring scale to sort of evaluate where you fall on the spectrum. Though it's stuff a stage manager might ascertain over a few years of work, I think reading her book really articulates and gives you a great perception of these concepts that we see in our work every day, and good things to keep in mind as you analyze and best try to manage the projects and people you're working with.
Just my two cents.
And thanks for this post Matt! At some point I was actually writing this paper while watching a bunch of BFA students take apart a set and thinking how much more valuable their experiences were than my own of writing a paper... but it appears that here my BA is proving just as worthy as a BFA!

52

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / NEW WORKS: new play!

« on: May 02, 2005, 09:32 am »

Hello out there in stagemanagement land,

I felt like this topic was somewhat broached in another thread at one point, but I searched and I couldnt find it. So, to get some fresh answers before I start my summer work...

I will be stagemanging a new play for a first time playwright who is also directing the show. (Dont know if it's the first show he's directed, though probably not). Advice? Rewrites and how to keep track of them? What should I be aware of since he's also directing it?

Anything anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

53

SMNetwork Archives / sore throat tech

« on: Apr 29, 2005, 08:35 am »

Sleep! Sleep! Sleep! My last show I spent a good hour of the two hour break in the 10/12 taking a nap in the green room and it was an excellent choice. Make yourself get as much sleep as you can, both in anticipation of tech and during the actual process (well not at the table... but you know what I mean).  Also, try to relax yourself during tech... this might sound stupid, but dont waste any energy that you don't have to. So your lighting designer is taking FOREVER to program a cue. Can other people work on stuff? Can you do something productive? Do not have "stressed out" be your status quo, even during tech. If you can't be doing anything at the moment, then just take a sec to breathe. Cough drops are also important... try Fisherman's Friend. Use the God mic- don't yell. Oh, and always try to not blow your nose directly in to the headset, or better yet, turn it off. Most people dont wanna hear that.  

54

SMNetwork Archives / Interviews?

« on: Mar 04, 2005, 07:35 am »

Phone interview?

I am currently studying in Rome for the semester, but I am also applying to SM internships for the summer. I already had one phone interview where they actually called me from the states. (Even if I didnt get the job, I guess it was nice to know they cared enough to make a really long distance call.)

So maybe just say that while you're working and are thus unable to come all the way out for a face to face interview, you would be happy to have a phone interview... or maybe an interview with a Webcam? Or maybe there is a theater conference somewhere near you where the theater may be going to interview people? Maybe you could meet at some mid point so you dont have to drive as far?
The other thing is that I think if they want to interview you, they'll work with you to have it happen one way or another. And theater work seems to be a contractual sort of work... I'm sure they wont think it's ODD that you're employed at one place and interviewing for your next job. And your intern experience makes you more valuable to them, in terms of experience, they want you bc it's on your resume... dont feel silly about saying what you do now and where you plan on getting to.

Eh, just my two cents... which is not worth as much in Euros. But good luck-- let us know how it goes!

55

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: paper techs are...

« on: Feb 27, 2005, 10:55 am »

...a waste of time.  College and Uni's spend far too much time focusing on something that most professional theatres do not do.  Focus on learning how to run an actual dry tech (which is sometimes confused with "paper" tech).

Alright, so I'm a college SM right now. We just changed our tech schedule this past season with the goal of making it more similar to a professional schedule (while still maintaining the educational setting goodness). Currently the process tends to follow this series of events:

Pre tech (that is, pre moving from rehearsal in to the space)- designers may come and watch a run; a run may be videotaped for a designer as well, crew may come and watch a run through

Shift rehearsal and paper techs- we have a shift rehearsal with the crew for four hours and the director can also use that time to have a last rehearsal with the cast (in our building it's pretty easy for the SM/ASM to bounce between the theater and rehearsal room as necessary, and the director knows they dont have full SM support that night and it's fine). Granted, if the actors are shifting, then they practice the shifts that night as well. At some point in the last week of rehearsals, pre-space, the SM sits down with the SD and LD (not necessarily together, whenever one has time) and finds out the general gist of cue numbers/letters and their placements

Tech- I guess it's technically wet tech, if wet implies actors- this is the night after the shift rehearsal where we start at the top of the show with presets and continue on through the show, cue by cue, to post show settings. We have actors there as we need them, and for the most part they are good, patient, gentle beings. After a few evenings, we have a 10/12 and add costumes and hopefully we're running the show at that point. A few nights more and then we preview and then open.

Can someone advise me as to what I ought to be learning to do that I am not? How accurate is this procedure? Am I getting the experiences I need in order to make the leap from university to the real world?

(FYI, this is the schedule of the theater dept, which is mainly MFA actors, some ugrad actors, MFA designers, a resident sound designer, faculty directors and undergraduate stage managers)

56

SMNetwork Archives / Don't leave home without...

« on: Feb 18, 2005, 04:40 pm »

condoms!

after all, it's fairly dark in a booth and when you have lots of time between cues and a cute board op who's also bored...


no really, for body mics and fake vomit (put honey and bread inside and have the actor break it in their mouth) they work quite well

57

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Drugs, anyone?

« on: Sep 28, 2004, 01:45 am »

That would be immensely helpful-- thank you!

I also didn't think that snorting anything was terribly feasible... I just wondered  to what extent it was... and I know now that it's not. :-)

Does anyone have any ideas about crack?

58

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROPS: Drugs, anyone?

« on: Sep 27, 2004, 01:14 am »

So, how do you do drugs... onstage?

I'm working on a show where we need to have two actors snort meth onstage. It's a 3/4 thrust and they're all the way downstage. Is there any powder that would actually be okay to snort? Any other ways to make it work?

And another character smokes crack... does anyone know anything about that/how to make it look real?

Just looking to see if I can get some good suggestions; any help is appreciated.

59

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Copying scripts

« on: Aug 09, 2004, 02:31 pm »

Type it up?

60

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Blocking notation help, anyone?

« on: Aug 08, 2004, 10:14 pm »

Oooh, post-its-- a stage manager's best friend. Good call.
KC, in response to your question- I also use the numbering system to take blocking.

To expand on the last thing- I've also seen blocking pages where the SM had not only a mini ground plan at the top, but on the right hand side was their blocking legend, so they never had to worry about forgetting abbreviations. Then they put lines on the rest of the page so that they could neatly write in the blocking. Worked really well and looked really neat.