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Messages - MatthewShiner

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691
Employment / Re: Phone interview for opera company
« on: Dec 01, 2012, 11:02 pm »
Like any interview, be prepared for the questions that are always asked . . .

Tell me about yourself?
Why do you do theatre?
Why stage management?
Hardest show?
What do you do well?  What do you need to improve at?
Why do you want this job?
Where do you want to be in five years?
Where do you want to be in ten years?

There are big "getting to know you" questions - and I too always ask them in hopes to getting to know the person - at the end of the day . . . a person wants to get to know the person as well as possible.   What is hard about the phone interview is you want be able to read their face to see if they are reading you the way you wish to be read - it's one of the reasons humor is hard over the phone (or email).  This is where you have to be careful not to ramble; sometimes you can see in a person's eye they get it when you are in person - but over the phone, you don't get all the non-verbal communication feedback.

Relax and enjoy!

692
Self-Promotion / Re: THE CHRISTMAS ROSE Carnegie Hall
« on: Nov 26, 2012, 08:25 pm »
Orchestra is 65
Boychoir is 34
4 Leaders (Conductors/Musical Directors)
1 Star
Master Choir is 90
Cast of performers (think actors/dancers) is 28
365 Kids make an entrance in the house
122 kids enter from the stage


WHOOSH



693
Tools of the Trade / Re: Assisted listening device
« on: Nov 24, 2012, 04:01 pm »
I have done something very similar, where an open speaker was not possible.

I remember writing in my calling script - "Put on Show Feed Headset" - but it was for particular cues, where the backstage noise (I was calling from deck) was impossible - scenery moving past me, and bass sound cues played through speakers right next to me.


694
Self-Promotion / THE CHRISTMAS ROSE Carnegie Hall
« on: Nov 24, 2012, 12:53 pm »
So, my time off between legs of King Lear, I have been filling up with short gigs here and there.  A friend of mine, who assisted me on my last show, was commenting on how large this production has grown - the evening (one night only) involves 586 artists - not including Stage Management, Wranglers, Personal Assistants, etc . . . I offered to help out, and now I will be one the 2nds on deck.  I am eagerly seeking out assistant work to beef up that portion of my resume . . . It should be an adventure.  We are in the hall Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (a day I am pulling double duty), and then at Carnegie Hall on Thursday for final rehearsal and the event . . . orchestra, 120+ choir members, 150+ dancers = all on stage - luckily I have three days to recover before I start my next project!

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/171877-The-Christmas-Rose-at-Carnegie-Hall-Will-Feature-Jane-Seymour-and-the-Tim-Janis-Ensemble

695
Employment / Re: Dear Abby: How do you say "stop"?
« on: Nov 23, 2012, 07:35 am »
I think it matters how close a friend.  I like what Jessie's says to a point; but if you are really close to him, especially with a pending life changing event coming up, next time it comes up, you want want to be more aggressive about his other options, but let him him open up the topic.


696
The Green Room / Re: SMs as depicted on stage & in the movies
« on: Nov 20, 2012, 01:02 pm »
Quote
My favorite fictional stage manager is Scooter from The Muppet Show. I'm a stage manager and I love puppets, so he is my favorite.

There is some debate if Scooter was a go-fer and more of an ASM, and if Kermit was the true Stage Manager of the Muppet Show.  (Maybe Kermit was the PSM).


697
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fight Notation
« on: Nov 20, 2012, 11:24 am »
And now AEA allows us to video tape fight work for rehearsal purposes . . .

thank goodness for smart phones!!!



Whoa wait...say what??!!

Man....Thanks AEA. Where was that rule when I needed it???!!! I hate being technologically ahead of the curve! *goes off into a corner and grumbles*


Check your contract, but this has been in place for LORT for awhile . . .

698
The Green Room / Re: SMs as depicted on stage & in the movies
« on: Nov 19, 2012, 12:50 pm »
I mean ultimately, our job is a bit dull - who wants to watch someone do hours of paperwork?  Take blocking?  Sit in a dark corner and say go?

Have you been watching SMASH? The SM is nothing like what a SM does - although we are a human clock to add tension . . . and make a damn good smoothie.

As a dramatic tool, we can quickly add tension . . .

Funny story, I did a production of Crazy for You, and the actor playing the stage manager just imitated me on stage - a very funny inside joke - that I hated . . . but the director loved it.




699
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Fight Notation
« on: Nov 19, 2012, 10:08 am »
And now AEA allows us to video tape fight work for rehearsal purposes . . .

thank goodness for smart phones!!!

700
Professionally, SM vs ASM is a contract issue - these are the only two AEA Positions available in stage management.

PSM, SM, First Assistant, Second, Assistant, etc . . . are all billing titles, negotiated.  AEA goes back and forth and how to deal with these billing issues.

In America, I feel production stage manager has the following nuances . . . .

1) A PSM oversees other Stage Managers, often oversees someone with the title of stage manager, or multiple ASMs.
2) A PSM tends to be the senior Stage Manager among a group of stage managers.
3) A PSM can be a staff member at a resident theater.
4) A PSM is responsible for hiring / assembling the staff.
5) A PSM is artistically responsible for maintaining the show - technically, acting, putting in understudies . . . which means the PSM may not call every show so that they are able to step out and watch the show and take notes.
6) A PSM is responsible for the training of replacement stage managers.
7) A PSM is the stage manager who reports directly to General Manager / Production Management / Producers.
8) Often a PSM, especially on larger productions may not be in the rehearsal room at all times.

So, yes, you might have done what will be considered a PSM position in the professional world, but I think to be fair, for a resume, it comes down to billing - how were you billed in the program?  What were you referred to as during the production?

I have times been doing an ASM"s job, but was only a PA.  There are times when I was billed as SM, but I was more of an PSM.

My advice is to list as SM . . . I can private you and tell you the woes of fast tracking yourself too quickly to PSM level . . .


701
The Green Room / Re: What about my dog?
« on: Nov 12, 2012, 12:18 pm »
I am dealing with this right now - I have two dogs, and one can stay at home with my husband - the other is a little more of a handfull, and my husband can't care for - so he needs to travel with me.

Here is my suggestion - talk to you employer about dog friendly housing.  You need to deal with this at the top.  I am going to Dallas in Dec/Jan/Feb, and we started discussing this from the get-go . . . housing and transportation for the dog.

The flip side, I took a gig in Providence earlier this year, and we thought my husband could care for both dogs . . . which was not true do to a recent injury - we ended up boarding the dogs for six weeks - very expensive, but we knew the dogs were getting the care they needed.

I do know of at least one first class national tour stage managers who travel with their dog - but it does get costly . . . since hotels require extra deposits, and some hotels don't allow pets - so they end up having to get a different hotel.

It's one of the things as parents/dog owners we have to take into consideration - it makes the concept of working on the road a huge challenge. 

702
I had an unusually amount of time off between the Providence Leg of King Lear and the Dallas Leg, so I am doing not one, but two new musical workshops.

This is Workshop number at Joe's Pub this Monday . . .

THE CIVILIANS ANNOUNCES CASTING FOR A CONCERT PERFORMANCE OF PRETTY FILTHY
A HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED NEW MUSICAL ABOUT THE PORN INDUSTRY

The Civilians (Steven Cosson, Artistic Director), the award-winning New York-based theater company known for projects investigating real life topics, presents a one-night-only concert performance at Joe’s Pub of Pretty Filthy, a new musical about the adult entertainment industry.

In 2009, Civilians artists ventured out to Vegas and California's San Fernando Valley to conduct research and talk to directors, performers, agents, and producers about the ins and outs of the dirty movie biz: how they do it, and what it takes to make it. These industry insiders shared the nitty-gritty of how they started, how to become a star, and how technological advancements have affected the genre. This performance marks the first public showing of The Civilians highly-anticipated new fictional musical inspired by this research. Featuring music and lyrics by Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson on Broadway) and book by Bess Wohl (Touch(ed) at the Williamstown Theater Festival), the show follows the exploits of an ambitious young woman breaking into the industry and tells the story of her relationships, sexuality, and fight for fame in an under-regulated, over-saturated market.

Music and Lyrics by Michael Friedman
Book by Bess Wohl
Directed by Steve Cosson

Performers:
Heidi Blickenstaff (Broadway: [title of show], The Full Monty),
Heath Calvert (Broadway: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Hair),
Derek Klena (Off Broadway: Dogfight, Carrie),
Li Jun Li (Broadway: South Pacific),
Luba Mason (Broadway: Jekyll & Hyde, Chicago),
Jim Newman (Broadway: Hands on a Hardbody (Upcoming), Curtains),
Darius Nichols (Broadway: Hair, South Pacific),
Kate Rockwell (Broadway: Bring It On: The Musical, Hair),
Steve Rosen (Broadway: Guys and Dolls, The Farnsworth Invention)
This performance contains material that is not suitable for children under the age of 18.
Pretty Filthy at Joe’s Pub, November 12 at 6:30PM
Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater at 425 Lafayette St.

TICKETS
Available online at joespub.com;
By phone at 212-967-7555;
In person at the Public Theater Box Office (1 PM to 6 PM), or at the Joe’s Pub Box Office from (6 PM to 10 PM) both located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC

For table reservations, please call 212-539-8778. Purchase of tickets does NOT guarantee a table reservation; you must call to reserve seats. Seating, as well as standing-room, is available only on a first-come, first-served basis for all shows without a dinner reservation. Two drink or $12 food minimum per person is standard.

Founded in 2001 by Steven Cosson, The Civilians has created twelve original works that have been produced Off Broadway and in over 40 cities nationally and internationally, at theaters such as The Public Theater, Center Theatre Group, La Jolla Playhouse, A.R.T., HBO’s US Comedy Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival, London’s Soho Theatre, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Fringe First Award, 2006). The company’s recent work, In the Footprint, was included in year-end “Best of 2010” lists in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Time Out New York. This Beautiful City enjoyed a critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway run at the Vineyard Theater in 2009 receiving Lucille Lortel, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations. Gone Missing ran for seven months at Off-Broadway’s Barrow Street Theater and was cited by The New York Times as one of the “10 Best Plays of 2007.” The Civilians received an Obie in 2004 in recognition of its accomplishments in its first two seasons of work.

In addition to Pretty Filthy, The Civilians recently presented the world premiere of Paris Commune at ArtsEmerson in Boston and in BAM’s 30th Next Wave Festival. The company is also deeply involved in the development of a new play with music about the annual beauty pageant in the national women’s prison in Bogotá, Colombia, and The Great Immensity, about the environmental crisis, which received funding from the National Science Foundation.

For more information, please visit www.thecivilians.org .

703
Employment / Total Bent: Reading/29-Hour Workshop
« on: Nov 09, 2012, 09:18 pm »
Looking for PA's for a workshop of Total Bent by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, directed by Joanna Settle.  I am PSMing.  All staff will be submitted to Production Management at the Public through me.  This is a further development a new musical that was workshop in February at the Public.

Please e-mail me at TotalBent.PSM@gmail.com if you are interested and available for all dates, without conflicts.


There will be a reading with everyone  - a fairly cold read – on Nov 28. Time TBD.

Then Dec 1 -5 from 12-5 daily, there will be rehearsals.  Emphasis is on script work.  Minimal props, some audio playback, some wired mics, guitar and bass.  Very minimal. No set. No costumes.

Please contact me by Sunday night.  Decisions will be made on Tuesday.  Given our time frame, not everyone who submits will be contacted for an interview.

704
Tools of the Trade / Re: Do you prefer Word or Excel?
« on: Nov 08, 2012, 12:01 pm »
There are SM's out there that have great FileMaker templates, and use that - but they are EXTREMELY protective of them - and I think they are for a particular kind of project.

But again, the time to set up and maintain, teach, instruct and follow up - seems a bit excessive for 95% of what we do.


705
Tools of the Trade / Re: Do you prefer Word or Excel?
« on: Nov 07, 2012, 09:50 pm »
The issue with Access, and other more specialized programs, is that, not every SM knows how to use them - I don't want to be the only SM on the team that can update paperwork.

Most everything I do I do in Word . . . but most of the time I let the team member doing the paperwork chose the program they want to use.

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