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Messages - Dart

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61
Employment / Still no word about payment
« on: Jan 04, 2014, 09:07 pm »
I worked a show this November (as an OP) with a small company with no "home," which rents theatre spaces for tech and performances - I worked with them as the tech from the theatre they were renting. I didn't know them before this, but they seemed to really like me and hinted that they'd like me to SM their next production. A couple of phone calls and emails were exchanged in which they repeatedly asked me to reserve the dates they'd need me, but that they still had to look over budget to see what they could offer me. They know I don't work for free both because I (politely) mentioned it when they started hinting at hiring me, and because they paid me to be their tech for this past show.

When I mentioned to one of my coworkers that they wanted me to work with them, she advised me not to become involved with them because they haven't been great about payments in the past.

I still have the dates open because I haven't found another gig for that timeframe, but the first day they want me is this Thursday (1/9). I emailed them on the second reminding them that they still haven't given me a number, and they again said they have to talk about it among themselves.

With 5 days to go, what do I do? Is it time for me to send an email with the number I want? Do I run away? Is there a way, if/when we agree on a number, to make sure they do pay me and do so on time? (I've never done this before, but do people ever ask for some or all of their stipend to be paid before work begins? Is there a way to classily do this?)

I'm not enamored of the project or of the company, but I don't have any gigs lined up for the next two months and would very much rather make some money than not. Then again, I definitely don't want to get cheated out of money or to have to fight anyone to get paid.

62
The Green Room / Re: Your First Theater Crush
« on: Dec 04, 2013, 02:02 pm »
I was the butt of all jokes in my college theater department for my first theater crush, but there we go. While I do remember going to plays, performing, and being a toddler dictator director, when I was younger, my clearest, most awe-inspired memory was watching Cats. The recording, not even live. I fell in love with the costumes, and the dancing, and the lights, and the set. This was definitely my first tech crush.

I didn't really speak English then - I watched it when I was abroad in England to immersion-learn English right before moving to the US. So Cats, with its simple plot that always gets made fun of, was easy to follow for me. I remember trying to watch James and the Giant Peach in England and I definitely couldn't understand it.

I got to watch Cats live twice after that, once in Madrid (in Spanish!) and once in DC.

63
The Green Room / Re: Weird Dreams
« on: Nov 27, 2013, 01:22 am »
The show I was working in August got so absolutely stressful that not only was I calling in my sleep but I apparently kept waking my boyfriend up and demanding his input on the timing of the sound and light cues. Mind you, I only vaguely remember him telling me (over and over) that I wasn't in the theatre and that he doesn't even understand the work I do.

Up until that show, my show nightmares had always been calling a LQ, a blackout happening instead, and, well. Waking up to a dark room while still trying to bring lights up. That's always fun.

64
Employment / Re: resume format
« on: Oct 24, 2013, 07:55 pm »
To add to the questions in this thread:

My credits are currently listed in three sections: "Stage Manager," "Assistant Stage Manager," and "Associated Credits."

Lately I've been working some shows in which I'm both the SM and a board OP. Is there a good way to incorporate that without redoing my whole resume? Should I list a show twice, once under SM and once under associated?

Extra credit: I'm also working as a recurring rental technician for a specific theatre. Is this a thing that should make it into my resume? How do I credit it, since it's not technically a show but an ongoing gig?

65
I've never taped glass, so I don't really have firsthand experience. I've just had careful actors and stagehands, and thankfully have had no accidents. This has been the case even in high school (I was in Fiddler on the Roof and I and 8 other guys danced with wine bottles on our heads, and even those didn't get taped). The couple of accidents I've experienced have been swept up really nicely, usually by an in-character actor.

My armchair advice for this problem would be to try glue. If you find the right kind and apply it with a brush, perhaps more than one coat, you could make them mess-resistant while avoiding the bubbles/eyesore problem.

66
Here I am with yet another question!

My second play at the same theatre in a row is about to open. Since rehearsals for #2 began on opening week for #1, and since I've also been working rentals at this same theatre, my relationship with my PM and TD hasn't changed - I have even sent texts asking for things related to #1, #2, and a rental at the same time.

I am, of course, writing thank-you notes for the director, designers, and production team, and break-a-leg notes for the actors. I'm planning on writing notes for the PM and TD as well, but my question is: Is there a point, in working with the same people and same theatre, in which you're writing these too often? Do resident SMs write thank-you notes every time?

I see thank-you notes as a nice gesture for people whose work you value, and I don't want to seem obnoxious!

Edited to add topic tag. - Maribeth

67
Please stop upstaging
The rest of your ensemble.
Teens share more than you.

68
Few things as awkward
As giving actor-playwright
Line notes for their play.

69
The Green Room / MORALE: Delivery of thank-you notes
« on: Sep 09, 2013, 04:41 pm »
Cabaret Barroco is soft-opening on Thursday, press-opening on Saturday. I have all of my thank-you/break-a-leg notes (cast, crew, designers, production) written, but am not entirely clear of how/when to deliver them.

I really have two questions: 1) Should I deliver these on soft or fancy opening? Soft comes first, fancy is what we're considering "real" opening. 2) Some of the people I've notes for are gone - out of town, new theatres, etc. I don't know if they'll be at any of the performances, and I do not have their mailing address. Would it be okay, and proper, to ask the PM for their mailing address so I can post them? Should I hand her the sealed, stamped envelopes and ask her to address them so I don't have to see their info?

Edited to add topic tag - Maribeth

70
Introductions / Re: Hi all!
« on: Sep 09, 2013, 04:10 pm »
Welcome Angelissa!

Aside from Opera (which is a brilliant idea), have you looked around for Italian theater companies? I feel NYC, of all places, should have a couple. I'm working in a Spanish theatre (in DC) and while our plays are in Spanish, many of our techs are American (with varying degrees of Spanish knowledge). I definitely list my languages in my resume, because you never know when you'll find a company with a designer who speaks English as their second language!

71
Thank you two so much for your advice! I do see this as both an issue of whom I work for (not the director) and of safety - I don't want my exhausted cast injuring themselves.

I've tried to give earlier breaks and it didn't work either, so I'm now in talks with my PM. I don't particularly want to bring in the grown-ups and "tell on" my director, but I have a job to do and I can't do that if I keep being shooed away.

As a pure hypothetical (because I'm not going to allow it to get to this point): is it ever okay, as an SM, to announce a break anyway? Say, go on stage and say that it's break time and it doesn't matter if they're halfway through a scene. I know it would create unnecessary tension through the entire rest of the rehearsal period, so I don't think I would ever do it. Have you ever had to do something along those lines?

72
Hi all,

How have you dealt with directors who refuse to give breaks? Nobody in my cast is equity, so we don't have to follow strict guidelines - to my chagrin, because I feel an alarm and an equity-related apology would work wonders here. My production manager expects at least a 5-minute every two hours, which seems short if anything, but even with half-hour warnings (disguised as a polite "it's break time" rather than "we should break in half an hour") my director doesn't want to stop. This holds true even if the actors are obviously spent and stepping offstage every two minutes for a drink of water. Today he went for 2.5 hours without a break!

I'm new to professional stage management (thankfully he doesn't know how new) and look really young, and I'm dealing with a European director who doesn't even understand what an SM is or does. How can I assert my authority without threatening him?

Edited to add topic tag- Maribeth

73
Introductions / Hello from Washington, DC!
« on: Aug 02, 2013, 03:18 am »
Hi everyone! I'm Artemis, an SM living in DC but hailing from Spain. I graduated from college in '12, and although I'd been going for a BA in Theater (and another in East Asian Studies), I sadly had to downgrade it to a minor due to health problems my very last semester. With no theater major and no references, I literally had to start by doing coffee runs. But no matter! A year out of college, I am finally "really" in the game. I have wanted to SM for the GALA for years, and that's exactly where I am right now. First rehearsal is Monday -- yikes!

So, of course, I've spent the past month perfecting my forms and printing extras of everything and basically making my binder as reliable as I can. I may have access to printing at work (wow!), but that doesn't mean I can, or should, print things mid-rehearsal.

I'm excited to be here, and look forward to learn from all of you!

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