Messages

601

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Running Tech, etc.

« on: Oct 11, 2006, 08:49 am »

It is largely SM preference, however the way I run it is we start about 3 to 4 lines before a cue sequence, and we work until a line or so after, then I call stop. Over cans I do a check with all involved parties that the cue worked fine, then I call out the next start position.

There are 3 main things that contribute to a well run "wet" tech, I believe - they are that:

a) you keep things moving. If fixing a problem (ie with desk programming) will take over 3 minutes, that is too long, and should be noted and fixed at a later time (without actors). Exceptions being dangerous problems.

b) you do not keep repeating one sequence over and over again. Run it the first time, if there is a problem, see if it was just a case of lack of attention or something - if so, you can either move on or re-run it, if it is a more complex problem (hard sequence etc) slow it down, run through it at the slow pace, then re-run at speed. If there are still problems, note it and fix at a later time (without actors)

c) you must communicate commands sucsinctly - don't blabber on, during tech, be all business. Do not tollerate actors talking, do not accept people not paying attention, and most of all, do not allow the director to hijack.

My cues are drawn up something like this:

+------+
| LX15 |  script->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
+------+------------^
| SD03 |
+------+

SB LX15-20 script->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
----------------------^

basically, GO's are written in a box, either above or below the line into the script, SB's are prefixed with SB and have no box.

Standard calling tends to be something along the lines of this:

SM: Stand by LX 15
LX: Standing by

SM: LX 15 .... Go!

I like to leave at least 3 decent length beats between a standby and a go - however it all depends on how much time is needed - deck crew may need a minute, Fly's 15 seconds, LX, 1 second. Your ops will tell you if SB's are too short, or too long.

602

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: How much time are you there?

« on: Oct 10, 2006, 04:04 pm »

It all depends on the show. If these people spending two weeks in the theatre building the set are the set construction/design team, then technically, you should not have to be there all the time. It would be more a matter of checking in with the head set designer every few days to make sure all is going well, if you could not make it to the theatre.

If it is a case of everyone chipping in to do things like set production, see if you can be there for the start and end dates and call the Set Designer in the middle of the period to make sure everything is going well - and make sure they know they can call you if they have problems - It removes a lot of the wind-up factor if they believe you are willing to be on call.

Never put your life entirely on hold for a show. If you do, you will loose your mind. You may have to make sacrifices, but you still need a break. Otherwise you will have a nervous breakdown.

603

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Email Nightly SM Reports

« on: Oct 09, 2006, 05:55 am »

My naming scheme is rather basic - showname.rehearsal.2006.10.09.pdf is rehearsal report, 9th of October, 2006 for showname. My reason behind it is quite logical (at least to me) even though the filename looks ugly. Because of all the data included in the report's file name, I can use regular expressions etc to find almost anything, really quickly (ie the regex hamlet.*.2003.* will return every document from hamlet in 2003, or *.rehearsal.*.2001.7.* will give me every rehearsal report I wrote in July 2001). They also group really well when sorted by title. It is a quirk of mine - and probably not something most others would bother with.

604

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Handing over a show

« on: Oct 07, 2006, 05:09 pm »

Rebbe makes a good point about the transition - it really is important that you induct a takeover SM into the cast. Having entered a number of productions only days before opening, or even part way through, in various roles, I know how strange it can be. After 3 months of working closely with each other, the cast are usually quite close. Entering at a late stage in the production schedule often leaves you on the outside, and that is a difficult place to be.

A quick intro by the leaving SM to the cast can be a god send (even better if the leaving SM includes a little personal note about everyone, like "Everyone, this is Mac, your new SM, Mac, this is Paul, takes his coffee black with 5 sugars, Sophie who hates Shakespere and Hemmingway, Steve who cannot wash a dish to save his own life" etc - it provides something (hopefully) for the takeover SM to grab hold of, or for everyone to have a laugh at)

However, it does mean that both SMs have to be receptive to the handover process. Unfortunatly, some arn't.

605

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Actor Calls

« on: Oct 07, 2006, 04:58 pm »

My understanding is thus:

In the US - beginners (aka places) is 2 minutes - as such, times are called either from the show start time, or (like Matt) the 1/2 hour is a 1/2 hour from show time, whilst the others are until beginners.

In the UK/AU - beginners is _5_ minutes. All times are called in relation to beginners - excepting of course the audience pages.

Most SM's will qualify the time anyway - even though there are very few AU SM's who call times based on show start times (most of them work amdram and have no idea of the theatre world), our calls still state that it is until beginners ("Ladies and Gentlemen of the XXX company, this is your X minute call. X minutes til act Y beginners") - provided you qualify, you could probably call whatever times you want in relation to any other time ("Ladies and Gentlemen of the XXX company, this is your 2 hour and 5 minute call, 2 hours and 5 minutes until the show closes" is probably not a very useful call though).

606

Employment / Re: Day Jobs? Yes or No

« on: Oct 06, 2006, 04:32 am »

Unfortunatly, SMing (unless you get the "big" shows) is not the best paying job arround, however you can (usually) make a decent living out of it. I tend to work on the fringe because I like working with odd shows with strange requirements. The down side is that the pay is crap. Last week, I was payed AU$250 - to put it into perspective - my rent is $160 p/w (and is damn cheap), my fuel bill is $30 p/w (on LPG gas, so half what a petrol bill would be), my electricity bill for the last quarter was $330 (1 light on for about 4 hours per day, a computer on 24/7 and a fridge is basically all I use in my house) - that $250 could not support me no matter how hard I try. So I do work a second job - delvering LPG Gas equiptment is the current one. That cuts down on my time SMing though and basically cuts down the shows I can do to those which are semi professional (rehearsals outside of work hours etc).

However - when I am doing a mainstream show, the pay is closer to $700p/w - still not the best money out there, but a damn sight better than a lot of wages being paid in the "non-university qualified" ranks (which I am currently (although hopefully not for much longer) a member of). In cases like that, there is no way I would need a second job.

Mainstream SMing is a 40 plus hour a week job. If you have a "day job" (implied 38 hours) it would have to be night shift somewhere, and you will be a mess within weeks.

607

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: hey, need a bit of help

« on: Oct 04, 2006, 09:07 am »

hey, how the hell are ye?

Please, the hell is not required ;-)

Im Dan and im in 2nd level education right now, im 15 and my school is producing a play (Grease).

As part of the production crew i have been assigned stage manager, and im wondering what it is exactly that i have to do?
Right now, the director has told me to tell the different grouped jobs (Costume, Lighting, Sound etc.) what they're first assignments are, he also asked me to compile a list stating the names of the people in each grouping and theyre phone numbers so as i can get in contact with them.

That is certainly a starting point...

1- What exactly is it that im suppose to be doing?
2- What is my "Job Discreption" as such?

1. I suppose the best way to describe a stage manager is the center of communication. You are the first point of contact for all cast and crew, you distribute any information that is needed etc. You are also responsible for making sure the environment is a safe and habitable one. You are also responsible for pulling everything together and for making sure that things like working props, script updates etc are given to the right people, and in the correct places at the correct time. HOWEVER. You are doing a school musical. Generally, that means your responsibilities will be much reduced.

2. Description not Discreption ;-) See 1.

3- Do i get to boss people around?
and

Whilst I find myself quite often giving orders etc, I do not think a stage manager should enjoy "bossing people arround" - organising, yes, bossing, no. If you want this possition purely for the fact you will have "power over your peers" - forget it. You spend as much time being treated like junk - and I doubt other students will respect any authority you have over them.

4- Is my job at all important?

I have seen theatres survive without stage managers - I have even worked with them - however the tasks that an SM does are critical - so theatres without SM's need others to pick up the slack. Without the SM's tasks being done - there would be no show. HOWEVER - that can be said of most people within the theatre. No lighting, they act in the dark, no sound, they cannot be heard, no deck crew there are no scene changes, no actors, there is nothing to present. All jobs within the theatre are crucial (exception being the Technical Director IMO)

Read Carissa Dollars "Stage managers do make coffee" for a crash course in SMing. If you want something more in depth - Stage Managament by Lawrence Stern is a great book.

608

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Email Nightly SM Reports

« on: Oct 03, 2006, 06:34 am »

I usually email with PDF, put them in a repository online, and make a couple of hard copies. I establish at the start that any and all emailed paperwork will be available in hard copy from a pre-defined location, and that if they want a hard copy, it is their responsibility to pick them up. The exception being things like calendars and forms that are extreamly important.

609

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Call Board Karma: Keep or drop?

« on: Oct 03, 2006, 03:33 am »

(And Hooray for beer, along with a beer stein)... Although, I do whole heartedly agree - Hooray for beer. And curry.

And so this post is not really off topic - I don't think it is really a professionalism issue - more that there is a tendancy to abuse the feature...

610

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Handing over a show

« on: Oct 02, 2006, 04:48 pm »

Yep - the bus test is "If I was to get hit by a bus on the way to the theatre, could someone pick up my prompt book and call the show"

611

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Handing over a show

« on: Oct 02, 2006, 03:51 am »

Provided your documentation passes the "Bus" test, handover should be fine. I like to put post-it's all over the place with notes, and flag any sections that need explanation. Having come from both sides of the fence, taking over a show is never easy, and I am usually happy to get as much information as possible, however I understand others are different.

612

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Call Board Karma: Keep or drop?

« on: Oct 02, 2006, 03:38 am »

Personally, I don't care either way, however I do agree that there is the prospect for jouvinile behaviour with regard to it. I just take it with a grain of salt.

613

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Splitting the jobs between co stage managers

« on: Sep 29, 2006, 04:20 am »

I think this is a case of "Too many cooks".

There are a few ways I can think of dividing it - one would be SM1 runs preproduction, whilst SM2 takes production. Tech week acts as a handover period, SM1 doing the prop and actor organising, SM2 taking the lead in technical stuff. Another is as the poster aboves method. The final method would be you split jobs pre-production, and have a calling roster during the production (ie SM1 calls one show, with SM2 on deck, the next show the roles reverse).

614

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Calling Mics

« on: Sep 26, 2006, 02:34 am »

As a general rule I would say "No" to calling personal mics (either lavs or handheld) - I am a prompt corner SM (as opposed to a booth dweller) so the sound op can usually see far better than I can. I do occasionally call "Sound, check ACTORS NAME" if I suspect they have not turned the mic right down, or add it as a cue if there is a mic-up/down that is not an exit or entrance.

615

Tools of the Trade / Re: latest toyes...

« on: Sep 22, 2006, 11:49 pm »

A WD40 pen you say? I suppose it would be good for situations where you can access the parts that are sticking, although I don't see how it could work on things like hinges etc where the two parts are pretty well sealed together. Certainly a tool to look into though (*Adds to shopping list*)