Messages

61

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: Personal reasons NOT to do a show?

« on: May 08, 2013, 10:02 am »

Years ago I worked at a theater where in addition to my show there were also doing Restoration Comedy and an intern said they couldn't be a part of the show because of their religious beliefs.  We discussed this a lot in the SM office and our consensus was if there is material that you are uncomfortable with then it's your responsibility to read scripts before accepting a job.  To accept a job, either onstage or offstage, and then say 'I'm sorry I can't do this' is disrespectful to a great number of people, including those who hired you and now have to replace you on short notice.  New plays of course are different, but you should have a sense of where the script is going.   You are also limited to freelancing, or choosing to work at a theater where their tastes align closely with yours. 

That said, most of us have hot buttons - moments onstage that make us uncomfortable, but that's what theater is made of.  Taking loaded situations and stretching what the audience thinks or experiences.  I could say that I won't do plays with rapes and knife fights because I don't like sitting through rehearsals focused on those things, but I would do fewer interesting plays and miss on on some great work, like Lynn Nottage's Ruined, one of the best plays I've ever worked on.  It was emotionally draining and exhausting, but well worth it, and my job pales in comparison to the work of the actors.  Instead I focus on the work that is happening instead of on my personal feelings on the situation, and making a safe play for those things to be explored, and things generally work out.

62

The Green Room / Desk/Sleeping area...for those long days

« on: May 03, 2013, 01:20 pm »

http://www.psfk.com/2013/05/desk-bed-work-space.html

This is bizarre but I know stage managers who have slept worse places when the cot is in use.

63

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Shadowing Etiquette

« on: May 01, 2013, 11:11 am »

I love having people shadow me, especially on longer running shows where I've developed a comfortable routine.  I normally ask that the person see the show first so that they understand how what I'm doing connects to what the audience sees, and also so that they come in with questions.  I try to narrate what I'm doing as much as possible, having talked briefly before so I can judge what their interests are/experiance is.  I'm not a huge fan of someone spending three-four hours with me and never saying a word - have thoughts, have questions, have opinions, please. 

On my last show I had a playwright shadow me before she gave a post-show lecture (not the author of the show I was calling) and it was so much fun to answer her questions about how I time out specific cues each night, feeling out the mood of the actors and audience, as well as talking with her about the notes I was taking for the actors.  It was nice to talk with someone about maintaining the show, rather than the technical part of things other stage managers are interested in.

The assistant to the director on that show was an actor who had just finished undergrad and asked if she could shadow as well.  Again, I had a great time, her questions were very different, she'd never seen someone call a show before so it was really about going back to square one.  Because she had been with us our whole rehearsal and tech process we got to talk about what I look for in rehearsals in anticipation of calling the show.

Last year I had a very precocious five year old watch me call an act while his father was onstage (and his au pair standing next to me).  Also fun, better than students who may get more out of it but I leave unsure of what they learned or were interested in.

64

Tools of the Trade / Assisted listening device

« on: Nov 24, 2012, 03:12 pm »

I'm working in a space for the first time and the sound quality backstage is less than ideal. The piece we're doing is an early opera so my cues are very precisely tied to what I hear. I asked the house crew if they had suggestions and they gave me an assisted listening headset. It means I wear two headsets through the show but the clarity and independent volume control is great. Has anyone else every done this?  The crew said they frequently give these devices to surtitles operators.

65

Tools of the Trade / Re: New Break-Time App: Take 10!

« on: Sep 23, 2012, 11:51 pm »

Disclaimer - Mark was a PA of mine and then a student of mine and after I emailed him to congratulate him on the release of the app he sent me a promo code to try it for free and to show to my current students.

I'll avoid a review of the app here for the reasons in the disclaimer, but I like the way this conversation thread has been going.  I am fairly set in the routines that work best for me in rehearsal, one of my oldest being that I always have a post it labeled "Next Break" with the times for the 5/10 minute breaks posted on my clock so that anyone coming up to ask about the break schedule sees that information without interrupting and the rest of my team can see it as well in case I have to leave the table for any reason.  This works well for me.  I like having my phone free for other things.

I am slow to test out new technology, I got a smart phone last fall and don't have a tablet.  This app is a way of testing the ground.  Yes, I can track breaks on my phone or stopwatch, but I like the push to see what's out there.  I have a very small, simple show coming up and am willing to branch out to try new systems.  I like that this purchase price will encourage Mark to continue developing software for stage management specific needs, I know that he has a lot of ideas but not enough time to devote to making them work while also earning a living.  So I second what a few people have already said - I simply want the app to succeed to encourage more like it.  When I emailed Mark to congratulate him on the app I teased him about the few things I would like to see added before I would pay the current price, but I'm thrilled that he simply got the app up and running and released as it is.

I will be talking about the app with my students as we discuss all of the times you need to track in rehearsal and I'm sure that some of them will purchase it just as a gadget and some to support a former classmate.  And as others have said, it's tax deductible and less than three drinks from Starbucks.  That and the opportunity to support a colleague are probably good enough reasons for several people.

66

The Green Room / Re: "You get paid to do that?" - What's your oddest story?

« on: Feb 13, 2012, 08:24 am »

One rehearsal immediately comes to mind when I try to explain to people how it is our job in rehearsals to approximate performance conditions.  We were doing a lightening fast remount of the opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, and the Assistant Director insisted that the other ASM and I stand in for missing set elements while staging.  I got off easy - when singers were putting away luggage in a train car I had to 'be' an overhead shelf.  Easy, right?  Take bags from singers, hold them up anything there was business of riffling through luggage on shelf and when they had to be removed - otherwise it was run my side of the rehearsal room as usual.  The other ASM had to stand in for a wall plug for a singer would understand her limited motion when she was singing holding an iron.  Just taping the cord to the stand-in shelf was unacceptable, the ASM had to sit on the floor holding the cord for every scene that occurred in that location.

67

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Equal-Opportunity Program?

« on: Jan 29, 2012, 05:02 pm »

I agree with Missliz, just explain it to them.  There are many reasons why a college applicant may be short of shows on their resume - sometimes people come to an interest in stage management late in high school and only do one show, sometimes their schools only do one production a year.  The interview and how you conduct yourself are more important than a list of shows.

68

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Dear Abby: What classes would you look for in a BFA stage management program?

« on: Jan 24, 2012, 09:22 am »

I think a foreign language course is great as an option, but I wouldn't require it.  If your school already offers "Italian for Singers" (or any other language) that may be most useful than a general Italian class - if the goal is to prep them for opera work.  They can pick up basic musical terms pretty easily, but an understanding of correct diction and pronunciation is the most helpful when working on an opera.

A one semester music appreciate class could easily give a broad overview of the history of opera and introduce students to major composers and frequently performed works.

69

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Dear Abby: What classes would you look for in a BFA stage management program?

« on: Jan 22, 2012, 06:41 pm »

Add to list:  some kind of combat class that addresses movement safety, terminology, fight notation, weapons maintenance, running a fight call, working with a fight choreographer, etc.

There should also a class that deals strictly with design, apart from the disciples like lighting, scenic or costumes.  You need to gain the vocabulary to understand director notes and conversations with designers, as well as building confidence in discussing designs.

A thought on the drafting class.  Beyond learning how to read a groundplan/section and understanding how they work together taking a class that requires you to draft addresses many stage management skills.  When you draft something you are looking at a three dimensional object (or at the idea of something) and deciding what information is most important and how you convey that to a variety of people in a clear manner.  It is the same process we go through with all of our paperwork and when putting together production books - combining function and form tailored to a specific audience.

I also second everyone who has said that you need to allow time for a well rounded general education.  If you stay in theater everything is useful - literature class, history classes, languages, art history, anthropology, and of the social sciences or liberal arts only help you.  If you leave theater then you're more aware of where your interests lie.

Directing and acting are must haves.  Absolutely non-negotiable.

70

The Hardline / Public reading during rehearsal process

« on: Jan 20, 2012, 05:28 pm »

I start prep for my next play on February 6th.  All is very straightforward and my personal prep has been easy until I learned that we're doing a staged reading one evening in the rehearsal process.  The theater is promoting this event which is free and open to the public and will also involve the mayor's office.  I am meeting with the theater next week when I get back from vacation to talk about what this means for me, for actors, what the expectations are, and what the limits are, and will be calling our AEA deputy as well to check in with them (LORT contract).  In the meantime, has anyone else encountered this type of situation before?

71

The Green Room / Re: Things Stage Managers Say

« on: Jan 05, 2012, 11:59 am »

Yes, I will remind so-and-so to wear underwear to their fitting tomorrow morning.

72

The Hardline / Re: Theatres That Have Closed--Can You Say \"Emergency?\"

« on: Jan 04, 2012, 04:03 pm »

Opera Boston is closing.  They announced it just before Christmas - canceling their two spring shows.  This is Boston's second largest opera company and is non-union, the ripples are being felt throughout the city - they rent their rehearsal space from one company, rent a different theater, sets and costumes are built in town and since they are non-union they employ quite a few local freelancers.

Statement from their website: http://www.operaboston.org/news_closure.php
January 3, 2012

We are touched by the outpouring of feeling regarding our decision to close the company, announced on December 23, 2011. All the expressions we’ve seen – sympathy, anger, concern and sadness – speak to the company’s place in the heart of Boston’s arts and the world’s opera communities. We are grateful for the extensive media coverage of the closing, as well as the years of coverage of the company’s artistic innovation. As we have said before, ours was not an easy decision to make, but we feel strongly that it was the right one, and want to correct a number of mischaracterizations in media coverage of the closing, and clarify our position.

The board voted unanimously to cease operations on December 20, 2011, to avoid compounding a deficit situation that had grown dire. Nine of the 11 members were present for the vote.

Like many small arts organizations, Opera Boston has always operated on a tight budget. During the many years of innovative and critically acclaimed programming, the company tried to balance its budget annually. Some years there were small deficits, and some years there were small surpluses. In the fiscal year 2011, ending July 31, the company had its largest deficit ever, in excess of $225,000. This was the result of several factors converging at once: a tough economy; weak individual ticket sales; diminishing individual, foundation and corporate support; growing overhead and rising production costs.

This set the stage for the very serious financial situation that faced the board in December. At this point, we found ourselves with over $500,000 in payables, including payroll and contractual commitments related to the next two productions scheduled in the 2011-12 season plus $250,000 in bank debt. This combination of deficit and liabilities represents almost 1/3 of our annual budget, and, given other administrative issues the organization faced, is insurmountable, despite what the unnamed experts in a Boston Globe editorial claim. Compounding these challenges, our October 2011 opera fell well short of sales goals, and we found ourselves unable to pay some bills, including the musicians’ invoices referenced in the Boston Globe article. Board members have since contributed funds to pay these musicians, crew and staff.

The Board considered many options, including major budget cuts and the cancellation of this season. Had we moved forward as planned, we estimated our deficit would have grown to at least $1,000,000, given the emerging pattern of diminishing support. Although we formed a committee to explore financial options when the growing deficit became a concern, its main focus was refinancing the debt over the long term, and it was unable to identify a viable solution to the current and growing deficit.

Opera Boston would have needed at least $750,000 to move forward with the next scheduled production, and over $1,000,000 to finish the season as programmed. We saw no hope of attaining those numbers given the economic downturn and current donor patterns.

As the people entrusted with the fiduciary responsibility of Opera Boston, we voted to cease operations. We did so with heavy hearts, but know we made the responsible decision. We will spend the next few weeks working with the company’s creditors.

We will miss producing the novel and innovative programming the company had become known for, and we appreciate the support we enjoyed from our subscribers, donors, fans and the media.

We are open to a rebirth of Opera Boston in years to come, if the funding climate changes.
Post Merge: Jan 05, 2012, 12:41 pmSan Antonio Opera has stopped selling tickets for the rest of their season and musicians have not yet received music for their next scheduled production of Don Giovanni.  No official season cancellation has been made yet, but halting ticket sales looks rather dire.

73

Tools of the Trade / Re: Arc Customizable Notebooks

« on: Jan 04, 2012, 09:54 am »

The Staples system has driven down the price of the Circa system, and has pushed them to introduce more bells and whistles (covers, dividers, folders, all kinds of stuff I don't need). 

I've never used the system for a script, but as long as I keep a cover on my books I've never had issues with the edges fraying, even the ones at 100 pages that get flipped through constantly.  There are drawbacks - you can only punch a few pages at once, and the pages don't feed through older copy machines very well.

74

College and Graduate Studies / Re: SM Certificate Programs?

« on: Jan 04, 2012, 09:33 am »

Josh,

I teach the SM courses at Boston University and we're currently in the process of designing a SM Certificate program for people like you, who have been doing the work and want some more classroom experience in other departments, but don't want a MFA.  We're still in the early phases, other departments in our school have certificate programs that are successful, but we're still weighing what a good two year curriculum is.  I'm sure there are other programs out there and if you PM me I can give you more details on what we're looking at, it may help you clarify what you are or are not looking for.  Best of luck!
-Leslie

75

The Green Room / Unwinding and Readjusting

« on: Jan 04, 2012, 09:19 am »

I've been away from home (and away from SMNetwork) since August when I did a partial move to NYC for a show at the Roundabout.  Since then I've been commuting back to Boston on Sunday nights, returning to the city on Tuesdays.  Our show closed on Sunday, New Years Day, and I went back to Boston for good on Monday.  Yesterday it felt bizarre not to wake up early to get the bus back to NYC, and when it hit 6pm, my show call for the past few months, I felt a profound feeling of displacement.

This was the longest I've ever run a show for, 26 previews and 82 regular performances - I'm home for a week, then go on a quick vacation with my husband, and my next show starts prep the second week of February - I wonder how long it will take me to readjust to regular life.  It took me forever to make coffee yesterday afternoon, couldn't quite remember how our kitchen was organized...

Anyone else have trouble adjusting after a show?