Messages

646

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Resume References

« on: Aug 16, 2006, 02:56 am »

Never list a reference without getting permission from the referee. There is nothing worse than calling a referee and having them go "Huh? Who?" or feeling put on the spot. It is a negative reflection.

The ideal SM referee would probably be the director. However the strength of a reference depends on the persons credibility. A relatively new director may not be the best option if you have a well know leading actor or a well known technical director. If you are providing 4 references, I would probably get 2 directors, 1 technical director and either an actor or a crew member. That probably covers each base quite well. Try and spread them out over a few shows too.

I like to list written references on the resume, usually I put something along the lines of

Code: [Select]

Miss A Smith
Stage Manager
Some Company
Reference Attatched


647

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Raked Entrance/Exit Ramp

« on: Aug 15, 2006, 08:58 pm »

If it is an entrance/exit ramp, I would be fairly sure that it is not considered a rake (IANAL), however you do have to check out the legality of the slope of the ramp against building regulations and ensure that there is some form of ribbing or grip if the angle is towards the upper end of the scale.

648

Employment / Re: Skills

« on: Aug 15, 2006, 01:27 am »

I don't include a "Skills" section per se. Instead I include a list of competencies (slightly more generic with indication of skill level) - so for example I would not put a list of software - instead, I have "High level computing skills (inc. CAD, desktop publishing, programming)" which covers everything from the use of office programs, to autocad, WYSIWYG, java, php, c, etc. I suppose it is because as someone who has also sat the other side of the table, I have seen what some peoples 'skill in ms word' can mean - They can type a basic letter, but god help them if the document has tab stops, tables, macros etc. (ie they have basic competency in ms office)

649

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: prompt books

« on: Aug 11, 2006, 11:14 pm »

The name "Legal Ribbon" or "Legal Tape" seems to be a UK/AU term. I did some googling and all results appear to be UK or AU stationary sites. It is just a natural fibre wide ribbon and you can make a decent bodkin by using a large leather needle and making a handle for it.

650

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: stage managing

« on: Aug 11, 2006, 11:03 pm »

Always have a pen and paper on you. About the only time you are really aloud to not have PnP on you is when you are in the toilet - actors and directors will give you notes all the time, and you NEED to be able to write them down (and don't think being in the toilet will mean you are safe from notes, it is just unhygenic to have a PnP in there)

And stick close to the director during breaks. Many actors seem to overlook the SM and go to the director with a lot of their problems. Chances are the director will nod and agree, and forget to pass the message on to you, then half way through tech, will ask "Where is the ______" or "Why is there ______" and all you can do is look confused.

651

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: prompt books

« on: Aug 10, 2006, 11:39 pm »

Mac, what's that legal ribbon or whatever you called it? How's it work?

Legal ribbon is a ribbon which is 9mm wide (also available in 6mm, but I prefer 9) - it does not stretch at all, and is extreamly strong. Basically, using a "bodkin" (see image below) poked through punched holes, the ribbon can be woven through the binder holes and tied to create a 'book'. It is just a cheap, neat way of storing a large number of pages.

652

Employment / Listing upcoming gigs on resume

« on: Aug 09, 2006, 12:07 am »

nikkiec - I would probably be far more inclined to include current work in the coverletter. If you are at the stage where you still date every show listed, then "2/6/06 -> current" or something of that sort is perfectly acceptable, however if you don't date them, then I would advise against it (as it implys you have finished working on that job).

653

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Stage managers do make coffee

« on: Aug 08, 2006, 10:35 am »

Sm's do make coffee (By carissa dollar) was probably the first thing I read about stage management. It used to be a geocities site on the web, but then dissapeared. It is a great intro into SM'ing.

654

SMNetwork Archives / Re: Thoughts on Tablet/Stylus Computers?

« on: Aug 08, 2006, 01:24 am »

I am in the rather unique position that I have a friend who owns a technology magazine and I write the odd "Technology in the field" type article for them, and I have seen and used a lot of these tablet PC's as a part of it.

Whilst the technology is great, it is still not quite at the point where you can easily walk arround with a tablet pc resting across your arm like a clipboard. You still need to be at a desk really to use them. The exception are the 'mini' tablets (8" and under in screen size).

Tablet PC's are also useless without good software. Unfortunatly, using many apps etc in a tablet environment is not that much fun. I can easily think of ways to use it for blocking, but unless you have an application which accepts input from a stylus like device, you may as well just use pen and paper.

I must stress though that my use of them 'in the field' has been for short periods of time and I did not spend hours looking for the appropriate software. I also primarily used them for sound and video editing, as well as lighting design using CAD - for those purposes they are great.

I would suggest that you try and find a place that does short term laptop hires (there are a few places that do them) and rent one for a week or two, and have a good play.

655

Employment / Re: how do you get to Broadway?

« on: Aug 04, 2006, 11:43 pm »

Like a lot of possitions, it seems to suffer from chicken and the egg syndrome. I don't know specifically about Broadway (US), however I guess it is a lot like touring. 99% of touring PD's seem to have "Minimum 2 years previous touring experiance". So if 99% of jobs asks for "minimum 2 years touring experiance" you need to find that 1%. Chances are they will be unpleasent - you may have spent years making coffee moving up the regional theatre ladder to SM, guess what, you may spend the next year or so making coffee again. This time you will be on broadway (or on tour or what ever aspect you want).

Don't stop applying for positions that ask for "Prior experiance on Broadway" though - because I think you will find "Prior experiance on Broadway" is able to be offset by truckloads of experiance off broadway and a good impression.

656

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: TECH - HELP!!!!!

« on: Aug 04, 2006, 08:46 pm »

How much do you trust your actors?

In a show where there is no ASM or Props Master and there is a trustworthy cast, I find that often the best way to manage it is to say "You are in charge of your own props" then hand out a sheet to each actor with a list of their props with space to check off each one before and after each show as well as a list of props they need to pre place before each entrance - that way you can keep the props elsewhere (ie a dressing room). I have attatched a mockup (as I tend to create this one fresh on a show by show basis)

657

The Green Room / Re: Tech dinners

« on: Aug 04, 2006, 03:01 am »

I have thrown "Bring a plate" banquets for casts and crew before, although I have never seen it done the way you suggested. They are always great fun (except when you have a cast and crew who are all totally useless at cooking). I find that the best time to throw one is right before tech (I like to organise a break between plot and tech if possible) - It is a great way to get the crew feeling part of the compnay, instead of being outsiders.

It is a great part of working with close knitt casts, you get to play with lots of different "Social Networking" types of events.

I lived in a small community a few years ago. We were doing Joseph with a cast/crew of 50 and ran a modified progressive dinner. We had 15 volunteers to cook (5 cook entres, 5 did mains and 5 did deserts), and we put 10 spots at each house, and people wrote their names down one of each list. It was great fun, because each course had different people round the table.

And that is why I love community theatre.

658

Employment / Re: resume questions

« on: Aug 03, 2006, 02:56 am »

It means you include any big names ie:

Jesus Christ Superstar (John Farnham, Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens, John Waters & Angry Anderson), Directed by Richard Wherrett, Produced by Harry M. Miller

(I wish I had that on my resume)

Unlike Matt, I don't usually include the position in the actual show's line, instead grouping by position - so I have a section that lists shows I was Lighting Designer, shows I was Sound Designer, shows I was Stage Manager - mainly because I like to fit the entire show on one line, and "Production Stage Manager" or "Lighting and Sound Designer and Operator" takes up a lote of room. It also means I can prune the resume to taylor it to a job rather quickly by trimming down departments.

659

Tools of the Trade / Re: Favorite Deck Flashlight?

« on: Aug 01, 2006, 08:49 pm »

No, you can no longer adjust the maglights beam after coverting to LED - you are limited to simple on/off, because the LED converter removes the reflextor cone and is no longer a point source.

660

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Calling sound cues

« on: Jul 31, 2006, 12:56 am »

I can see where your method has merit, however I just pulled out one of the shows I did recently (as sound op and designer), and here is an example of one section - namely, it was a car is started off stage, an effects rack was used over the actors mics to distort their voices along with a few other things.

Cue 55: Track 5, deck C is played, vol at -10, group 1 master pan full right, group 1 master vol at -10.
Cue 56: Track 12, deck B is played, vol at -20, Insert1 full, Mics 1-4 Insert1 full.
Cue 57: G1M Vol faded up to +10 over 3, FXRack 1 Param1 to 9 slow fade up to 10 over a 4 count, G1M Vol faded to -40 over 5, panning to full left.
Cue 58: Track 15, deck A is played, vol at -20, Insert2 full, FXRack 2 Param 3 to 6, Param 4 to 10
Cue 59: FXRack2 Param4 to 0 over 6
Cue 60: Kill all

Admittedly, this show was not your average show, as I was opping and designing I used a lot of live effects and it was extreamly complex, but I was wondering how you would call it. Whilst the operation of LX is different to that of Sound, I believe the operator interface is just the same. For example, in the age of single preset boards, you did not call "LX1 Go, LX fade down GO, LX to black GO." etc. You told them a cue number, the operator looked at their tracking sheet and they performed the action. I like to treat sound the same way - especially as it is getting more complex.