Messages

481

Stage Management: Other / Re: SMing on a Cruise Ship

« on: Aug 09, 2011, 09:15 am »

Are there any specific areas or subjects for which you're looking for tips?  There are several folks on here who have or still do work on ships and will be more than happy to help. 

I would say one of the biggest tips is to not be surprised by all of the "extra" stuff you will be required to do.  I am not sure about Carnival specifically but in general you will be part of emergency drills, lifeboat teams, you'll have a lot of the corporate training to go through (ethics, sexual harassment, don't hook up with passengers, etc...), and there will be a lot of other events scheduled in your performance spaces (bingo, shopping lectures, karaoke [vomit], etc...).  Just remember that you are one part of a large floating hotel and the ship's operation does not revolve around performances.  That is the biggest difference from traditional land based theaters. 

Safe travels and happy sailing. 

482

Tools of the Trade / Re: Headset/ClearCom trouble

« on: Aug 03, 2011, 10:38 am »

Are you using shielded cables?  Do you have a ground fault somewhere?  Maybe a poor/broken termination on a cable or wall panel somewhere in the building.

Is it possible to get your audio team involved in this?  While many of them lament that comms fall into their department, most of the time they are the most well-equipped to isolate and remove these types of faults. 

483

Employment / Re: To tattoo or not to tattoo

« on: Jul 19, 2011, 10:09 am »

Also consider you may not be doing theatre forever.  If you elect to transition into another field how will your ink effect your employability?  I work for an entertainment technology systems integration company, we work primarily in the cruise, mega-yacht and theme park industries.  We've recently had to tell one of our install techs in no uncertain terms that if he gets much more visible ink we're not going to be able to send him into the field.

So many folks in their 20s, many of my friends included, are very inked up.  I can't help but wonder how they're going to look in 25 years when gravity and age take their toll, and wonder if they will wish they'd tattooed a bit less. 

The person who invents a "do it yourself" tattoo removal cream is going to make millions. 

484

The Green Room / Re: LINKS: Simple desktops

« on: Jun 14, 2011, 04:15 pm »

Excellent stuff!  Totally snagged the Good Morning background.  I feel like this one fits well for those of us with serious caffeine addictions. 

485

Tools of the Trade / Re: Useful iPhone apps?

« on: Jun 13, 2011, 04:39 pm »

Another program I've just discovered is Drop Box. Basically, it's an online filing cabinet. You download it, and it creates a folder for your desktop, and you can move any and all documents you want into this folder. And it is constantly synced with their online server, so it's always up to date. Basically, you can access this folder from any computer any time with internet. I love it. And it has an iphone app so you can see all of it there as well.

Just recently made the switch to iphone myself and drop box is one of the first things I set up.  This app would be incredibly useful for stage management (especially if you're a free-lancer and frequently on the go).  You can essentially store all of your important docs in drop box's "cloud" and have it automatically sync between multiple computers and your phone.  Eliminate annoying USB sticks, external hard drives, etc...

Best of all the basic plan and mobile apps are free which allow you up to 2gb of storage.  More than enough to keep couple of current/upcoming shows worth of paperwork. 

I've found a lot of mobile apps (regardless of platform) are gimpy, clutter and really not all that useful aside from the ONE thing for which they're designed; this is one of the rare "home runs".

Furthermore - this service is incredibly useful even for those without smartphones, sync between home/office/theater computers easily. 

486

Tools of the Trade / Re: Multiplay Sound Cue Software

« on: Jun 08, 2011, 03:13 pm »

Thanks for the feedback and detailed review Plutosams!

487

Tools of the Trade / Re: Laptop help

« on: May 10, 2011, 09:04 pm »

Hi Dominguezmrd, welcome to SMNetwork.

I think you'll find that this topic is largely going to go the way of respondents' personal preference.  I think you're on the right track with battery life, and one other thing you may want to consider is portability.  Something on the smaller end will be a lot easier to tote around between classes, rehearsals, etc...

As far as keeping you organized, a computer is a tool that will help however this really falls on you as an individual and not on any specific tool. 

In terms of storage nearly any new computer is going to come with more than enough storage for the average user.  If you're a media heavy user (music, movies, etc...) you can easily and inexpensively add more storage with an external hard drive.

Let's head off the MAC/PC debate before that even starts, and I'd ask that any respondents steer clear of that topic please (we all have our opinions, they're unlikely to change ). 

My advice would be to head out to a couple of different stores and get your hands on some of the different styles and sizes.  Use them, type on them, browse the web on them.  If you're on the fence between a MAC and PC head to the Apple store and try some of their machines, and head to an electronics store and try some of the Windows machines. 

Good luck and welcome aboard

488

Tools of the Trade / Re: iPads

« on: May 03, 2011, 10:15 pm »

Delbert, thank you for the update here and I am definitely looking forward to hearing how this works for your students.  I am interested to hear both the pros and cons your students encounter.  Additionally I think our professional SMs would be interested how you foresee a "real world" application differing from the classroom/laboratory environment (I say this not as a negative, but one of the benefits of academia is that you can experiment like this). 

The iPad to me is a very interesting technology as it represents one of the first steps in a paradigm shift in how we interface with technology.  To me there's still a bit of an "Apple Fanboy" buzz around the product, but I think as this technology matures and becomes less of a novelty we'll find more uses than many originally thought; I think this will be especially true for a career like stage management where so many are on the go constantly. 

Very much looking forward to your updates!

489

Tools of the Trade / Re: Your Cue Light System

« on: Apr 23, 2011, 12:49 am »

RuthNY, you are using one of the most expensive cue light systems ever!  Total overkill.  AMX is a company that manufactures (among other things) commercial device control hardware.  It's used widely in a/v systems, entertainment systems, building management, etc...  The hardware is capable of SO much more than a simple on/off value to an electrical circuit.  The touch screen that you're using to control the lights with runs about $1k alone.  The hardware it connects to costs more, and AMX programming labor is not cheap (I sell our programming labor between $1,200 and $2,200/day depending on the job and programmer).

I'm a total tech nerd, but some things are better left simplified. 

490

The Green Room / Re: Stage managing and relationships

« on: Apr 20, 2011, 11:17 pm »

... I'm also considering going back to school to get a degree in something else that will make a family and a future more obtainable. If it means its the end of my theater career, so be it. But my soon to be wife and I have gone through a lot to become a couple. And she is more important to me than grinding my life away for $300 a month, no matter how artistically rewarding the work is...

While my comment is off topic I feel it should be said; moderator please feel free to move if necessary.  Might I humbly suggest that a second degree is not always necessary to make a career change.  I have a BFA in Stage Management but haven't called a cue since mid 2006 (can't believe it's been that long).  I earned an opportunity to move to a corporate position outside of stage managing that paid significantly more than I could have expected to earn in the first 10-15 years of my career as a stage manager; I decided I could not pass it up.  It was a difficult decision to be sure, but I'm confident I made the correct move.

It's not an easy decision to make but the reality is you do need to earn enough money to support yourself and your children should you choose that route.  I know many stage managers who have made the shift to other lines of work.  Your skills as a stage manager are incredibly versatile and are applicable to many job roles and lines of work.

491

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: TECHNOLOGY: Facility/Rehearsal Room Assignments

« on: Apr 18, 2011, 08:27 am »

Does your theater have an email solution (ie MS Outlook or Lotus Notes)?  You can create venues that are visible to everyone in your domain, then schedule them as necessary.  The schedule is then visible to everyone.  If you're already using an email solution this could be a simple and cost effective way to accomplish what you're looking for.

492

Tools of the Trade / Re: Prop Wine Recipe Needed

« on: Apr 15, 2011, 05:15 pm »

Hello Mike,

Please refer to this recent recipe exchange thread.  I know there is at least one red wine recipe in there.  Also, there are a few more on this article from the old site.

I'm going to go ahead and lock this thread to avoid a duplicate thread.  Please continue any dicussion on the recipe exchange thread.  Thanks for posting and good luck!

-kmc307

493

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: RUNNING: No stage manager?

« on: Apr 12, 2011, 09:00 am »

...at the end of the day, my job can can be parsed out and done by a variety of people.

Bingo - the potential pitfalls of running without an SM could likely largely be avoided (especially in a community theater setting) provided all of the SM's responsibilities are tasked to others.  And that's not to trivialize community theater in any way, just tends to be smaller in scale.

The reality of it is no one person is bigger than any production.  Aside from the person signing your paycheck, nearly everyone else is replaceable or expendable.  This is true in all lines of work.

Now, all that being said, the responsibilities that do fall under the SM are likely going to be performed much better, more efficiently, etc... by someone with the skillset of an SM, which is why SMs are hired in the first place.  Will the machine of a production be more well oiled and more efficient with an SM?  Absolutely.  Is it 100% necessary for the curtain to rise opening night?  Probably not in most productions. 

494

The Green Room / Re: Facebook Settings

« on: Apr 11, 2011, 09:38 am »

Jessie_K - you can always un-tag yourself in pictures, but nothing's to say you won't be tagged again.

Funny enough, before reading this I had just finished untagging some potentially unflattering photos of myself.  All in good fun and those who know me understand the context, but strangers might not understand it.

And Dallas - actually, if you untag yourself in a photo you're not able to be tagged again in that same photo, which is nice.

To expand on Matthew's idea of privacy in the workplace, I have my facebook set so that only friends can see basically any details other than my name and main photograph.  I will give facebook credit for responding to some of the privacy concerns that have surfaced in the past couple of years.  The privacy settings are very customizable. 

I am facebook friends with some folks I work with, and I have my profile set so that they may not see status updates, photos posted by others, etc...

One change I'd like to see regarding facebook privacy settings is that it requires you to "opt in" to increase your privacy, rather than "opt out" to decrease it.  That is, your information is public by default.  I'd much prefer it to be private by default with the option to increase who has the ability to see your information.

495

Employment / Re: Taxes for independent contractors...

« on: Apr 01, 2011, 02:51 pm »

I saw this article titled 30 Last-Minute Tax Tips today on the Wall Street Journal.  Some of this is certainly valuable material to independent contractors and it does link to a few IRS publications that are worth being aware of as well.