Messages

61

Stage Management: Other / Re: Tips for Outdoor theatre

« on: Apr 12, 2019, 09:52 pm »

There are a couple of good threads on this- here's one. You can do a search for "outdoor theatre" (in the upper right-hand corner of the page), or look at the bottom of this page, where it will suggest some related topics.

My number one tip is to stay hydrated!

62

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Laban/ Viewpoints Movement Sequence Notation

« on: Jan 28, 2019, 09:42 pm »

Can you videotape movement sections? To notate it, can you create "landmarks" for yourself within the section?

63

Introductions / Re: Hello from Essex

« on: Jan 23, 2019, 02:05 pm »

Hello and welcome, Coral! Sounds like you have your hands full- I would imagine Legally Blonde would keep you pretty busy.

64

Introductions / Re: Introduction!

« on: Jan 23, 2019, 02:04 pm »

Welcome aboard, Alyssa! I hope you post about your experiences with Seven.

65

Introductions / Re: Hello!

« on: Jan 23, 2019, 02:03 pm »

Hi and welcome, Kaylyn! There are a lot of great posts over on the Students and Novices board that might be helpful to you. Take a look around- there are a ton of useful threads on the board.

66

Job Postings / DC Area: Theater Alliance in search of a non-AEA ASM

« on: Jan 10, 2019, 12:04 pm »

Theater Alliance is in need of a non-AEA ASM for BLOOD AT THE ROOT, directed by Raymond Caldwell.

Rehearsals begin 1/22.
Tech begins 2/17.
Previews begin 2/23.
Performances run 3/1 to 3/24. Please note that there are some student matinee performances.

This is a paid position. If you are interested/available, please email a resume to maribeth AT theateralliance DOT com.

67

Introductions / Re: Hello from South Korea

« on: Jan 01, 2019, 10:58 am »

Welcome! And happy new year to you too.

68

Introductions / Re: Greetings from Minneapolis

« on: Dec 28, 2018, 03:16 pm »

Welcome aboard! And congrats on making the leap.

69

Uploaded Forms / Re: Spike Matrix

« on: Dec 15, 2018, 08:54 pm »

I'm not Marcie but might be able to answer your question. You can use it to recreate your spikes in any space you're in. So you can make your spike matrix (or spike chart or spike list) in the rehearsal room- in this case it's measured from down center, so you measure how far upstage your spike is, and then how far SL or SR. Then when you move to stage, you can re-spike exactly the same as you had in the rehearsal hall. Or, if it's a touring show, you can recreate your spikes quickly and efficiently in every venue.

The other way I've seen it done is by triangulation. You put a screw into the floor on the plaster line 10' SR of center and 10' SL of center. Hook a tape measure onto each screw and measure out your spikes where the tape measures meet. You'll end up with two measurements per spike, a SL and a SR measurement. Do the same wherever you're taping out. It's fast and exact, and doesn't need anyone to hold onto the other end of each tape measure.

70

Employment / Re: Sources for job listings

« on: Nov 29, 2018, 09:54 pm »

Here's a thread with a number of job websites.

71

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / MOVED: Anonymous Quotes

« on: Nov 28, 2018, 06:24 pm »

This topic has been moved to The Hardline.

http://smnetwork.org/forum/index.php?topic=9321.0

72

Stage Management: Other / Re: Help with organizing talent info for film festival

« on: Nov 12, 2018, 10:44 am »

Have you thought about a Google Form? It would probably take a little trial and error, but you would essentially create a survey that people fill out, and you can have the responses auto-populate on a spreadsheet. It's not exactly what you described (having the info arrive in an email and go right to a collection point) but is fairly customizable and the document created would be easy to access for all involved.

73

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: First time SMing tech

« on: Nov 08, 2018, 08:33 pm »

And make sure your sound/light operators have their own copy of the script with just their cues noted down. Ask if they have a pencil/eraser/highlighter/eraser tape. If they don't, be ready to hand those out.

Just to throw an alternate viewpoint out there, it's not standard at all theaters to give the board ops scripts with cues. In many professional theatres, it's not usually done as it's the SM's responsibility to call the cues, and the board ops wait for their "go" over headset.

It can be helpful in some situations to have a script marked up for a board op, like for an audio engineer live-mixing a musical, so that they can keep an eye on when the next entrance is coming up. But I think in some theatres, it would send a mixed message- that they should take their own cues, since they are marked in a script for them.

However, along similar lines, I think that having copies of running paperwork for the backstage crew is very necessary, and making sure you have a system for updating paperwork as things change during tech is helpful. (Does an ASM collect everyone's paperwork every night and do an update? Do you wait until you've teched through the whole show? When is fresh paperwork issued?)

Mizi, as Tempest mentioned, those are broad questions, but one piece of advice that I have is to take some time before tech planning things out. Figure out if you need some extra time to practice costume or scene changes, figure out approximately how quickly you need to move so that you get everything finished before the end of tech. That will help you be the one to "steer the ship"- you can nudge things along if you're moving too slowly, or allow some extra cueing if you're doing okay on time. You'll have a sense of what scene you'll hit before the next break, and be able to tell the stage crew what to get ready for backstage. I usually make a little cheat sheet for myself- I divide the pages in the script by the number of hours in tech, and from there I have an approximation of how many pages we need to hit per hour. (I usually add a little padding to account for breaks and to get through the first sequence of cues, which always takes longer than expected.)

74

Introductions / Re: Hello there

« on: Nov 08, 2018, 06:47 pm »

Hi and welcome! Sounds like you have a lot on your hands with your current production. Hope you have fun!

75

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Rehearsals: Giving line notes - a real novice question

« on: Oct 25, 2018, 04:25 pm »

It's a judgement call. Similar to what you describe, I like to start with the bigger notes first, then move on to more specific notes as the actors get more solid with the lines. This might mean that an actor who memorizes all of their lines by the 3rd day of rehearsal gets more "nit-picky" notes earlier, and if someone else is just getting off book by design run they are still getting more general notes by then.

One thing that can be really helpful is to make sure the actors are not learning lines incorrectly, which can be hard to fix later on. If there's an actor who's consistently giving an incorrect line, I will jump up (with script page in hand) and quietly give them the note verbally. This is especially useful if it's a line that affects another actor's next line.