Messages

61

The Green Room / Re: Facebook Group for SMNet members

« on: Dec 07, 2015, 07:16 pm »

What's been going on over there, Kay?

As people still cannot use the Facebook group for its intended purpose, I will be deleting it at some point over the next 48 hours.

62

The Hardline / Re: 10 out of 12s Meal Break Question

« on: Nov 25, 2015, 11:00 am »

This is a question for your Business Rep. Erin.

So, I'm working SPT 9 right now and we're allowed two 10 out of 12s. Got the one figured out, but don't actually have enough hours in the week to add a true 2nd 10 out of 12 in the same week. Would I be able to do an 8 out of 10 at all instead of the 7 out of 8 1/2, and somehow count in being "okay" for the 2nd 10 out of 12? (And even my brain just got confused with that question...)

<snip>

Erin

63

The Hardline / Re: 10 out of 12s Meal Break Question

« on: Nov 23, 2015, 09:01 am »

This is true. Nowhere in the LORT rulebook does it say that the meal break on a 10 out of 12 day has to be 2 hours long. The only rule that applies here is the one that says there must be a 1.5 hour meal break after 5 hours of rehearsal. So, the theatre is allowed to structure that day differently from the more usual 5 hours work, 2 hour actor meal break, 5 hours work, if they desire. But we, as SMs need to vociferously advocate for the the needs of our entire team, including the crew, when the theatre wants to shorten the actor meal break, considering the elements outlined by megf, and anything else specific to the production that might apply.

The shortening of this meal break, to me, is no different from a LORT theatre where the actors have voted to shorten the meal break between a rehearsal and a performance half hour call from 2 hours to 1 1/2 hours. In fact, this scenario is even worse for the crew and SMs than shortening the break on a 10 out of 12, and this happens way more often. I have the utmost respect for theatres who maintain the 2 hour meal break between a rehearsal and half hour call, regardless of the vote. These theatres are thinking of their SMs and crew, not just the actors and themselves.

I'm working on a LORT D Contract currently and I was told that dinner on a 10 out of 12 can be 1.5 hours as long as we end the day 30 mins earlier, making the day a 10 out of 11.5.  I have NEVER heard of this.  Every other theatre that I have worked at (different contracts) have operated on the idea that a 10 out of 12 means a 2 hour dinner break.  Then if you want people in costume you call them to get dressed (or for half hour) after the 2 hour meal break.  Have I just been working at places that misinterpreted the rule and never looked into it? 

I do have an email (from the PSM last season) from Equity saying that a 1.5 hour break is acceptable during rehearsals; apparently tech is considered a rehearsal. (Personally, I  think this is crap because it means the crew gets only 30 mins for a break, but that's just me.) But I am very curious about other people's experience with this.

Has anyone else encountered this?

Thank you!!

64

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Stage Management Prompt Book Archive for Research

« on: Nov 09, 2015, 02:17 pm »

Can you be more specific about your "research relating to rehearsal process?"  Prompt books may not be what you actually need, and this community would be happy to help guide you, if you could be more specific.

Hi there! I am grateful for this form and all the rich experience that dwells within it.  As a student stage manager, it is great to hear that even the professionals experience some of the very same problems I do.

Here's one I cannot seem to find a solution to.  I am working on some research relating to rehearsal process.  I would like to review pompt books from some original shows.  Is there any organization that contains these books.  I tried looking in Lincoln Center and NYPL for the Performing Arts with not luck.  I will be sure to call them tomorrow.  Any advice or assistance would be great!

Thanks!

Michael

65

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Keeping yourself busy on slow shows

« on: Nov 02, 2015, 05:15 pm »

Keep your eyes on the stage throughout the show so as to maintain actor safety. Cues or no cues, the ASM is there to look at the stage from his/her vantage point, as the calling SM often sees the show from a different perspective.

Make a calling script and listen to the call of the show so that you can back up the Stage Manager, if necessary.

Make sure the blocking book is completely up to date, representing what actually happens onstage, not what happened back in rehearsal.

Take line notes for every performance, so that the calling SM does not have to, while they are calling the show.

If your SM agrees, take notes from him/her, and so as to get a jump on the performance report. This is especially helpful in a scenario when the SM has a lot of cues to call and little time to write notes.

By all means, find ways to remain engaged with the performance and to know more about the show you are doing! Stay busy with show related tasks, even if you are simply solving potential challenges in your head.

But above all, look at the stage!

Hello SM friends!

I couldn't find another topic about this, so I thought I'd start my own.

How do you keep yourself busy backstage as an ASM on a show with few cues? It's a fairly long run.

66

The Green Room / Re: Last Call for New Questions for the Stage Manager Survey

« on: Oct 10, 2015, 09:41 am »

Does this year's survey have a specific theme or direction?

The biennial Stage Manager Survey launches on November 1st and we are finalizing new questions to ask in this edition of the survey.  What question do you want to pose to hundreds of stage managers?  Most questions are multiple-choice to keep the overall survey short - besides, the SMNetwork is a far better forum to have a discussion.

If you haven't taken the survey in the past, you can join our mailing list at http://smsurvey.info or follow the link we will post on this Discussion Board on November 1st!

67

The Hardline / Re: To Off-Broadway or not...

« on: Aug 10, 2015, 01:09 pm »

I agree with both Matthew and Vernon. If the Producers want to aggrandize themselves by convincing themselves they are producing an Off-Broadway show, let them. But don't let yourself get caught up in their fairy tales.

68

The Hardline / Re: "7 out of 9" vs. "8 out of 10"

« on: Aug 05, 2015, 03:40 pm »

I agree with most of this, Matthew, except:

Monday: OFF
Tuesday:  12:00n - 2:00p, 4:00p - 10:00p  (Total Rehearsal hours 8 out of 10)
Wednesday:  12:00n - 2:00p, 8:00p - 10:00P (Total Rehearsal hours 4 out of 10)
Thursday:  12:00n - 1:00p, 9:30p - 10:00p (Total Rehearsal hours 1.5 out of 10)
Friday:  12:00n - 5:00p, 7:00p - 10:00p (Total Rehearsal hours 8 out of 10)
Saturday: 12:00n - 4:00p,  6:00p - 7:00p (Total Rehearsal hours 5 out of 7)
Sunday:  12:00n - 5:00p, 7:00p - 10:00p (Total Rehearsal hours 8 out of 10)

I put to you that once you begin rehearsal, your "rehearsal hours" time clock does not stop until you are dismissed for the day. Therefore the Wednesday and Thursday calls above, would be considered eight hour days.  That's how I've experienced rulings from Business Reps.


Also, your statement about talking to the AEA Deputy--they generally have to call the Business Rep., just like we do, to get a ruling. 
I prefer to make the call myself, with the Deputy present, if possible.

69

The Hardline / Re: "7 out of 9" vs. "8 out of 10"

« on: Aug 03, 2015, 10:21 pm »

I think you are making it more complicated than it really is, Jeremiah.

If the book only said 8 out of 10, there would be no guidelines for the 7 hour rehearsal. If each of 6 days were an 8 hour rehearsal,  this is 48 hours of rehearsal, and small cast plays get 45 and large cast plays get 47. No play gets 48 hours of rehearsal prior to "Tech Week."

Therefore, there has to be a rule for the 7 hour rehearsal.

Am I answering your question?

Ruth

I have a question about a particular rule from the LORT agreement, Rule (51)(C)(1): "At the Theatre’s option, on non-performance days, rehearsal shall not exceed “7 out of 9” or “8 out of 10” consecutive hours."

My question is this: Why not just say that rehearsal shall not exceed "8 out of 10" consecutive hours?

It seems simple to determine what exceeds an 8 out of 10. You just can't rehearse more than 8 hours that day, and you have to make sure the entire work day is less than 10 hours inclusive of the meal break.

But what exceeds a 7 out of 9 that wouldn't just automatically become an 8 out of 10?

Are we saying that if you want to rehearse an actor more than 7 hours in the rehearsal day, the actor's span of day must then count as 10 hours (since it exceeds a 7 out of 9, you must call it an 8 out of 10). And how does that affect things? Does it affect 12-hour turnaround, so that if an actor rehearses 12n-5p & 6p-9p (an 8 out of 9), you really have to call it either a 11a-9p span of day or a 12n-10p span of day, and make sure they get the proper 12 hour turnaround based on one of those spans.

Or is scheduling an 8 out of 9 rehearsal day fine, because it does not "exceed" an 8 our of 10? And if so, again, why include the "7 out of 9" option in the rule?

Is the rule just saying you can't schedule 7 hours of rehearsal spread across a 10 hour span of day (that is, without officially crediting the actor for 8 hours worked for the day, even if one hour was part of an unusually long meal break.) And does that mean as soon as an actor's span of day is longer than 9 hours, they must be credited as having worked 8 hours that day?

The more I think about the rule, the more my head spins about what the spirit of it is, and what it's trying to say we shouldn't be doing.

Does anyone have a simple explanation?

70

The Hardline / Re: AEA Council Election 2015

« on: May 26, 2015, 10:10 am »

Thank you all so much! My official Council email address is rkramer(at)actorsequity(dot)org.  Please feel free to contact me with questions and concerns, or just to chat!

71

The Green Room / Re: Employment after a Career as a Stage Manager

« on: Apr 20, 2015, 08:57 am »

32 years as a Equity member Stage Manager, and 5 additional Non-Equity years prior to that. And like Matthew, I have no current plans to make a change,

72

The Hardline / AEA Council Election 2015

« on: Apr 15, 2015, 02:53 pm »

Fellow AEA Members,

Please turn out to vote in the current AEA Council Election! The paper ballots should drop today or tomorrow, and online voting is already available.  If you did not pre-register to vote online, you can still do so by using the "Internet Number" on your paper ballot.

If you've never voted before, or you think you don't know enough about the issues, read the candidates' statements on AEA's website, in the current issue of Equity News, or in the mailing with the paper ballot, and find a voice or voices that may echo your own ideas. I encourage you to vote for the maximum number of candidates possible in each category, or for as many candidates whose ideas and statements speak to you.  It takes all kinds of experience and many different opinions to populate a successful legislative body!

If I'm preaching to the choir, and you are a regular voter, then please, encourage all your AEA friends and colleagues to vote, actors and stage managers alike.  Only about 7000 of us, out of about 50,000 members in good standing voted in the last election.  We can do better this year!

And yes, I am on the ballot this year, running for an Eastern Region Stage Manager seat, and I am asking for your support!

You can read my statement on the ballot or in Equity News, but here is a copy of my speech, presented at the April 10th Membership Meeting, which is similar, but a touch longer:

"Good afternoon, and thank you, fellow members, for attending today, and listening so carefully to the statements of the candidates.

Our Eastern Stage Manager Councillors are a team of experts, all specialists, with a vast, current working knowledge of Production, Touring, Off-Broadway, and Business Theatre Contracts.

But I am also a specialist. My 32-year work history is primarily in all levels of LORT, Stock, URTA, TYA, and developing theatre contracts. I live in New York City, but most of my jobs take me out of town, where I interact with a diverse group of regional actors. I Chair the National Stock Committee, and both lead and serve on negotiating teams. My forté lies in being a voice for Actors and Stage Managers who have not worked in Production or Off-Broadway, either by circumstance, geography, or choice, members who struggle to retain their creativity, and make a living solely on medium and smaller sized contracts.

The challenges facing us today are common to all regions. We must expand the scope of Equity’s live theatre jurisdiction, capture and improve touring contracts, as well as increase our use of technology, not only to nationalize electronic audition sign up, but also to reach out to members who may feel disenfranchised, encouraging all to speak to Equity in their own voices. We must think creatively and optimistically at the negotiating table, crafting solutions that keep our contracts strong and our workplaces safe, not compromising our resolve at the table, but keeping theatres open!

Representing you on Council is a privilege not to be taken lightly. I ask for your vote, so that I may contrast with, yet complete, the Eastern SM Councillor contingent, and advocate on the behalf of all my colleagues, in your Council Room, just as I do in your Rehearsal Hall."


Please PM or email me with any questions you might have.  Thanks so much!

Ruth E. Kramer

73

Employment / Re: \"What Not To Post\": Job Listing edition

« on: Mar 24, 2015, 02:17 pm »

I've sent an inquiry to Equity, asking whether this company can require the Stage Managers they hire to have their own vehicles.  I'll update, here, if I get a reply.

And here's the answer from the Business Rep. in charge of Guest Artist contracts in the Eastern Region:  "I spoke with the theater this morning to let them know that owning a vehicle cannot be a requirement for employment."
Post Merge: Mar 24, 2015, 08:15 pmHere's a link to the The Mirror website. it seems they are in the process of breaking ground on their new $15 million dollar facility. http://www.mirrorarts.org/#the-mirror

Here's a link to their leadership page. One of these people may have composed the ad: http://www.mirrorarts.org/leadership

(I wonder what their reaction would have been when I answered their question about "what you include in your stage manager’s kit" by saying "I show up with my stopwatch, favorite pencil, and erasers. You, the producer, supply everything else....")

74

Introductions / Re: Coming clean.

« on: Mar 12, 2015, 05:35 pm »

Hi Julie (and Kerry)

This talented and pretty person misses you!

RuthNY

Hi talented and pretty people!

I've been reading this forum for YEARS but never posted or engaged. So I figured it's high time to come clean and reveal myself! My name is Julie and I'm one of the Resident PSM's at Signature Theatre in DC. Currently working on my 28th show there (WHAT?!?!?!)

I enjoy good gin and like to surround myself with funny people.

Looking forward to getting into trouble with all of you.
Cheers!!!

75

Employment / Overqualified?

« on: Feb 11, 2015, 06:50 pm »

After receiving many resumes for a recent job opportunity I posted, and seeing the very broad range of experience that the applicants have, even though a specific experience range was requested, these questions were brought to mind:  In YOUR opinion can someone be "overqualified" for a position? If  you applied for a position for which you are "overqualified," would you expect to be completely happy in the job?

(This is not about any specific resume or application I received, so please, don't anyone assume I'm talking about you. I'm not.  I am asking a general question.  Thanks!)