Messages

481

Introductions / Re: Triple Threat: Stage Manager, Actor, and Director

« on: Apr 30, 2014, 02:34 pm »

Hi and welcome, Michelle! I think the backstage "choreography" of performers, scenery, and the architecture of the theatre can often be as complicated as the choreography onstage (or more so!) Glad to hear you've found some useful info on the forum, and hope you contribute some of your own experiences as well.

482

Introductions / Re: Hello, I 'm a newbie

« on: Apr 30, 2014, 02:24 pm »

Hi and welcome to the boards! It's always nervewracking to deal with last-minute changes, but it sounds like you handled yours with a sense of humor. Welcome!

483

Employment / Freelancing scheduling tactics

« on: Apr 29, 2014, 02:55 pm »

For all of you freelancers out there, how do you go about scheduling your season? Specifically, I'm curious about filling open gaps in your schedule. Do you wait to see if you get offered something? Or actively pursue something in that time period by reaching out and letting potential employers know when you're available?

As someone who usually schedules a season at a time, it seems to happen that I get offered several shows for the same time slot, but then sometimes have a gap that I can't fill later in the year. (Often because the schedules of different theatres don't always line up neatly.) This year it worked out that a number of workshops and festivals came up last minute (less than 2 months in advance) that filled the gap perfectly, but I'm looking at an empty slot next season and I'm curious how other SMs handle filling that last show.

484

The Green Room / Re: ARTICLE: 5 Reasons To Keep A Work Diary

« on: Apr 29, 2014, 12:47 am »

Along the same lines....the 30 second habit. Particularly interesting is the potential for better listening, and asking better questions.

485

Tools of the Trade / Re: [FAQ] Electronic Prompt Copies

« on: Apr 19, 2014, 10:52 pm »

Hey Maribeth-
What version of word are you using? I just made a script using call outs and copy/pasting them, but I wish I had read this before! I can't figure out how to do galleries or quick parts in Word 2010.

On my personal computer, I use Open Office (a free, open source word processor) and that has the 'gallery', under the Tools menu. It's free to download and works almost exactly the same as Word.

I think the 'quick parts' option was something I used on a laptop that belonged to a theatre, which was a Mac. Not sure which version of Word I was using for that, sorry!

486

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: POLICIES: Actors TOO Early for Call?

« on: Apr 13, 2014, 03:52 pm »

Generally, I don't think it's a problem when actors arrive early. I would rather have them there early because they left extra time for traffic, public transportation, carpooling or whatever reason than have them be late. If you ask them not to arrive early, you risk them arriving late.

If it's a matter of them not being able to get in because the stage door is locked, they could find a coffee shop or somewhere else nearby to hang out until SM gets there. If there are people there to let them in (as you mentioned), can they hang out in the green room or somewhere until the dressing rooms are open? To buy a few extra minutes, can you open the door at 6p when you arrive, instead of 6:15p?

In all of the contracts I've worked, I'm not aware of any Equity stipulations about when actors "can" arrive for call- it's something that's worked out by the theatre itself. (For instance, some theatres give out key fobs or something similar, so that actors can let themselves in.) If the theatre doesn't want actors arriving before stage management, I would remind the actors that the stage door will open at X time, and if they show up early, they are risking having to wait until stage management arrives, because that's when they will be able to get in.

487

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: MUSICALS: Covering missing actors

« on: Mar 30, 2014, 01:47 pm »

I think the first step would be to ask for help. Have you talked with your music director or production manager? There's only so much one person can do. Is there an assistant director, intern, extra chorus member, understudy, or someone else who can take on this task when actors are absent? Your PM might be help you figure out who's available.

If you talk to your MD or director, see if you can pick out times when it's most important to have you "reading in" during songs. For instance, during choreography or blocking sessions, someone else could read in the missing part, but when running a number all the way through, you would read it?

For blocking/choreo when no one is missing, can you play a recording? Also, most of the music directors I've worked with can feed in the lines well enough when choreography is being taught- even if it's not every word, they can get enough in for the actors to follow along. Have you asked them if they are able to do that for choreography sections?

488

Introductions / Re: About to graduate in the Midwest!

« on: Mar 30, 2014, 01:24 pm »

Welcome to the boards, Audra! Glad you found some useful forms.

I recommend using the personal connections that you have to reach out to theatres you are interested in. Do any of your professors have ties to theatres in Chicago or Milwaukee? A personal connection will go a long way to getting your resume noticed. I think 95% of the jobs that I get are through personal connections, and definitely when I was first starting out it was always my "foot in the door".

You can also see if either of those areas has any job fairs/open interview days set up that you could attend, or a theatre job website that you can scour for available positions. I also think an internship/apprenticeship is a great way for a theatre to get to know you, while you're getting to know a new area. It also helps jump-start your personal network in that area.

Best of luck with the job hunt, and looking forward to seeing you on the boards!

489

Introductions / Re: Intro to SMNetwork

« on: Mar 30, 2014, 01:14 pm »

Hi and welcome!

490

Introductions / Re: Long-time lurker, first time poster

« on: Mar 30, 2014, 01:13 pm »

Hi and welcome to the boards! Congrats on graduating. Thanks for sharing your Fringe story- it's always nice to have a great support system. Look forward to seeing you on the boards!

491

Introductions / Re: About to take a leap of faith

« on: Mar 30, 2014, 01:12 pm »

Hi and welcome, Annie! Check out the Students and Novices board for threads from and for students. Best of luck with your college selection!

492

Introductions / Re: Greetings from South Carolina!

« on: Mar 30, 2014, 01:05 pm »

Hi and welcome to the boards! Be sure to check out the SM: Other board- there are some informative threads about working on cruise ships and with circuses.

493

The Green Room / Re: Citizenship!

« on: Mar 23, 2014, 09:01 am »

Congrats, Dart!

494

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PEOPLE: Keeping it Straight with BIG CASTS

« on: Mar 13, 2014, 06:41 pm »

Working in opera, I'm also a big fan of having the number of people that you'll be sending onstage. I'll keep a list of last names (tends to be easier to differentiate between 5 different Marys, or the Billy Smith/Betty Sacks issue) so that if I'm missing a person I can go through the list of names, but if I know I'm supposed to have 27 people entering from the SR3 ramp, I find it easier to count heads before going through the list of people.

Ditto- and having a headcount for each entrance helps for operas where the chorus is XX people in heavy makeup/wigs/costumes, where they are virtually indistinguishable except by height.

495

Introductions / Re: Introduction!

« on: Mar 07, 2014, 01:58 pm »

Hi and welcome! Thanks for sharing your experience- definitely would like to see a thread with more info about your time abroad. And very cool that you learned to play the pipes!