Messages

691

The Green Room / Re: How to recover from mistakes

« on: Apr 11, 2011, 12:19 pm »

Sometimes there is no recovery for certain people - they can screw up but you can't - I made one (granted huge and vital) mistake early in my career while, due to an emergency situation w the SM, running a show I had never seen for the first time, with no practice session, and also running sound on a system I had never used before - and even now, some 30 years later, the actor has never, ever forgiven me for this. Now, they dropped lines, messed up blocking, forgot things - that's all ok. But mine wasn't. I think sometimes people forget that we are human too.

AND - different styles of SMing work for different people - I just did a 2-hander, one of the actors needed a lot of coddling and hands-on and explanations, the other wanted all one-word answers. Needless to say, one of them thinks I am the best SM since sliced bread and the other doesn't want to work w me. How do you make it right for both of them? You can't. As Matthew said, developing a thick skin is essential. But there are some things you may have no control over and there is no "win" so you have to just take a deep breath and move on.

692

Employment / Re: To Break or Not to Break

« on: Apr 09, 2011, 04:44 pm »

I think most of the time those in business understand more than those who are getting something for (relatively) nothing - mostly when I accept a show I do it, but having been on shows with others who've left in addition to the two I've handed off, the folks who were least understanding were the 99-seat or small contract folks who begrudged my leaving to go get better union pay and AEA health weeks. The real professionals get it - higher pay, better working conditions, longer contracts don't burn bridges - but the closer-to volunteers didn't get it. At least that's my experience.

693

The Hardline / Re: Reports

« on: Apr 08, 2011, 05:53 pm »

I totally totally agree w Matthew - the deputy and SM paperwork that goes to AEA should not be shared outside the union, the deputy/SM need to be able to be completely honest and not worry abt their careers by reporting things (hey, it's hard enough getting someone to volunteer as deputy, eh?). But the accidents reported by the deputy to AEA should also have been in the SMs nightly show report, to be followed up with the Company Manager, not discovered because of a report to AEA. That is an in-house breakdown in communication that needs to be fixed.

As to video riders, those go to producers/company managers as well as AEA, so they shd have copies in their files (after all, we sign 4 copies, two to producers, one to AEA and one to personal records). I can't think of any circumstance when paperwork sent by the deputy or the SM directly to AEA should be accessed by the theater company. 

694

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Mentorship Program

« on: Apr 08, 2011, 03:24 am »

Would you also be willing to share your journey? As someone who transitioned (rather quickly) from university to small theater to large top-tier houses, I'd love to hear how you tackled the transitions and talked folks into taking you along!

695

The Green Room / Re: The Onion - White House to Hold Second Auditions This Week For "Guys and Dolls"

« on: Apr 07, 2011, 12:38 pm »

are you kidding? we must audition!

696

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Re: TECH: Paper Tech

« on: Apr 06, 2011, 08:49 pm »

side note on paper techs - I like to prep my script based on where I know the director wants light cues, or (if I know the designer) where I think he/she will add them, but a paper tech can be a good thing, walking through the script w Lights and Sound to get a sense of what the designer is thinking and what the feel of the cue is meant to be so I can adjust timing accordingly. Either way, as Matthew stated, the director's job IS to discuss the look and the feel and the nature of each individual cue. It's not micro-managing, it's their job.

BUT - and this is key - even when I do a rough pre-tech assignment, I don't tell them where the cues are, nor are pre-number or otherwise set them. I am there as the scribe, to record what they say. With some designers I might ask if they see a separate cue in a specific point if it doesn't otherwise come up, but mostly, in a paper tech I am there as a sponge. Once we start tech, sometimes they hand me a sheet of paper with a list of cues and cue number/name assignments, along w their rough placement, which I load into my book, and sometimes the LD or SD gives me the cues as we go - but either way, it comes from them.

697

The Hardline / Re: Periodic Performance Contract

« on: Apr 06, 2011, 12:17 am »

call AEA - unless the rules have changed since the last time I did something like this (which, admittedly, was a while back), I think the SM gets the same day rate as the actors because of the whole sister union thing. And there are two pay scales, one for the theater rates (rehearsal) and one for the broadcast rates (AFTRA). Even SPT pays for the SM:

TV or Radio Spot Commercials.
.... When a Stage Manager and/or Dance Captain is required to do any work in connection with a TV or radio commercial, the Producer shall pay no less than the applicable SAG or AFTRA minimum of a Principal (on camera) to
the Stage Manager(s) and/or Dance Captain..

either way, good luck....(don't mean to jinx it but clearly the right thing to wish - )

698

The Hardline / Re: Periodic Performance Contract

« on: Apr 05, 2011, 09:46 pm »

<g>

I have done email or phone polls when necessary - and periodic performance has a lot of those grey areas since it's one of the vaguer contracts.

And hopefully you will be getting paid the AFTRA rate for those 3 broadcasts, to compensate for the PP rate!

699

The Green Room / abandoned theaters from around the world...sigh

« on: Apr 05, 2011, 08:42 pm »

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/75-abandoned-theaters-from-around-the-usa

700

The Hardline / Re: Prompt Script Etiquette

« on: Apr 05, 2011, 12:38 pm »

Interestingly, this is a discussion we've had (at AEA and on this board) - and I know several SMs who keep their book the way they keep it ie NOT clean and easy to transfer as protection, because of the rule giving them payment for cleaning it up for someone else to read, not counting the rights of refusal issue if it's a new work. Great points, Heath!

701

The Hardline / Re: Periodic Performance Contract

« on: Apr 05, 2011, 12:35 pm »

[off topic] YAY Hooray! for Stephen - great news! [back on topic]

702

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Unpaid Interns, Complicit Colleges

« on: Apr 05, 2011, 02:51 am »

just as a counter to unpaid internships...

http://www.lastagetimes.com/2011/04/paid-summer-internships-for-college-students/

703

Tools of the Trade / Re: [FAQ] What goes inside a SM Kit?

« on: Apr 01, 2011, 12:52 pm »

Interesting - aspects of this were danced around came up in recent discussions on the Prodn contract.

For a lot of smaller contracts and for companies without home theaters or without offices adjacent to them, having a kit can be a for-granted by producers and general managers; there are some companies where I know if I don't bring certain things, it's not there nor will they reimburse me for use (thank you 99cents only store!) without discussion. Some places even wonder why they shd replace my flashlight batteries when I lend them to (newer/training) crew who haven't yet learned to bring their own.

For larger companies and/or where there are offices/resources close by, I bring less, but they assume I will have certain basics - hole punch, tape, etc. And yes, most of the time I use my computer rather than theirs unless there actually IS an SM office with certain basics that actually function and isn't too far away.

When I was a younger SM I provided more than I do now. Now, I mostly bring full kits as a judgment call, for ex when we are rehearsing off site (for one company, often an empty office space with no amenities of any kind). Otherwise, starting to feel like I shdn't have to donate a percentage of my salary to things that are really not my responsibility.

704

The Hardline / Re: More on the attacks on unions

« on: Apr 01, 2011, 03:03 am »

thank you for posting - and open to all suggestions of how the heck do we respond?

705

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: CALLING: Stop The Show!

« on: Mar 31, 2011, 02:01 am »

The good thing is we were able to reinforce some key issues with the ushers and house management, including reminding abt late-seating spots (we have two, one ironically just after when this woman determined to go to "her" seats, abt 1.5-2 minutes in, and the other a more gracious abt 10 minutes in) and also the issue of no front-row late seating - they can move at intermission. The house's honcho is of the "never ever stop the show" school, and since he is the de factor person in charge of everything it became a total waste of time to argue, so I capitulated after two attempts to hold and we kept running. But I was peeved. And I can - and have in the past - asserted no-questions-asked authority - I think he was running on automatic and that makes it harder to stop, since you have to be paying attention to stop the initial cue sequence (something like 15 cues in that first 2 minutes). Just feeling frustrated is all.

just sighing in public is all....