Messages

736

The Green Room / 12 for 12 in 2012 (Thank you, 12!)

« on: Jan 14, 2012, 12:13 am »

1. Thanks to the people who hired me for 3 shows simultaneously in late 1999. I forgot my costume measurement form on a day when I needed it. From this emerged a little website where I could keep my forms and access them in various locations across the city. Eventually that little site turned into SMNetwork, 12 years old today (Jan 14).

2. Thanks to the very excellent moderators and moderator in training!  These guys contribute immensely to keeping this site going. They not only keep the boards organized but also have the tough job of keeping the conversation lively and flowing. In true Autobot fashion, they double as beta testers and manage somehow not to wince openly when I show up saying "so guys, I've been working on this new feature..."

Class of 2012:            dallas10086	Class of 2008: kmc307
Class of 2011: BayAreaSM Bwoodbury Maribeth	Class of 2007: dramachic5191
Class of 2010: Rebbe Missliz	Class of 2006: Mac Calder MatthewShiner
Class of 2009: loebtmc	Class of 2003: VSM

3. Thanks to all of the former moderators who have at various times worked "backstage" at SMNet:
BalletPSM, blantonRK, Candy0081, centaura, ChaCha, dchec2100, drummerdude, GalFriday, Jessie_K, KC_SM_0807, ljh007, megf, Michael (twice!), nmno, planetmike (almost...), sievep, tempest_gypsy, TrudyS (the very first moderator!) and zayit shachor.

4. Thanks to all of the support staff who help out around the place - RuthNY, cschott and damjamkato over in BTDT, ScooterSM in the Trivia Tournament, and lauria who formerly maintained the Links feature.

5. Thanks to all of the teachers and professors who have included SMNetwork in their curricula, spreading the word about us to the next generation of stage managers.

6. Thanks to all the students who have allowed the older members to remember what it's like to be new to the industry.

7. Thanks to all the pros who have dedicated their time and knowledge to keep this site vital and thriving.

8. Thanks to the industry authors who have mentioned us in their books, especially Lawrence Stern and Tom Kelly who have both visited with us in person and joined us in discussing the craft.

9. Thanks to all the members outside the US who understand that we're a little biased sometimes and take it with good humor and gentle reminders of how large the world can be.

10. Thanks to all of the very longterm members who registered in the first year after the forums opened in 2003, and are still active today:
Nick_tochelli (in his prior incarnation), Aerial, smejs, hbelden, themikejones, juliz1106, jaslada, goldbird, Deecap, David_McGraw, Scott, MatthewShiner, sievep, VSM, loebtmc, nmno, Maribeth, megf and dramachic5191.

8 years is a long time to belong to a website, and I know some of you were around even before that in the pre-forum era. I am so so grateful for each of you.

11. Thanks to all of the donors who helped us out of a very sticky situation in 2011 and ensured that SMNetwork would continue to exist on its own dedicated server for several more years.

12. Thanks to all the visitors who have shared the link, recommended the site, linked back to us, posted information, shared forms, suggested new ideas, and visited us for these past 12 years. All 13000 of you who visit (or 2000 of you who visit over and over and over again...) per month. Yes, YOU.  THANK YOU.

I'll be celebrating today by launching the internship review program beta test and having brunch with member CBT, who is in town on tour. I hope you all have an excellent day!

737

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Fullerton College - Recomend?

« on: Jan 12, 2012, 11:30 pm »

A member asked about Fullerton College back in '08 but also got no reply. However, we've had some new members register from schools in that area.

I suggest you poke at the following members:

PurrKitten (Fullerton College)
HBrown89 (Fullerton College)
theaterchick29 (CSU Fullerton)

A search on Fullerton popped up their names and they've all posted in the past 8 months or so. They may not be reading actively but they might respond to a PM.

I also see csulbsm, who has CSU Long Beach in their BTDT profile.

738

The Green Room / Re: Picture Wars!

« on: Jan 10, 2012, 12:15 pm »

Normally on a stage management board I would use gaff, but given the precedent...

739

The Green Room / Re: New Feature Beta Test starting Jan 14

« on: Jan 09, 2012, 03:04 am »

As much as you feel comfortable with, really.  I think most of the mods who have been alpha-testing with me have done about half an hour to 45 min a day, or less, not counting time spent talking in the feedback area. The beta will be far less demanding as I won't be adding as many brand new features and recoding the scoring algorithm every two days. (I hope.)

The very excellent moderator team (and moderator-in-training) have been testing the heck out of it since the beginning of the year, but we're all staff members and familiar with the back end of things. I want to make sure that it works for folks who aren't as inured to the quirks of the system, and who haven't been watching me build it, break it and fix it over the past five alpha release versions.
 
Of course, if you get into it and find the whole thing fascinating and want to hack the heck out of it, I won't mind

What I'm primarily looking for is to make sure the scoring is fair, the instructions are clear, the features work the way they're supposed to, and that it's a useful thing.  I also want to make sure that the dynamic between regular users and patrollers isn't too icky.  I may have a couple of people "role play" during the beta from perspectives like a student with an axe to grind, or an employer looking to boost their score by posting bogus reviews.

We're rapidly approaching the season when students will be looking for summer internships and I want to have it up and running by the time they need it. I hope therefore that this beta will only be a couple of weeks long.

PS: We're up to 7 people! Keep it up, folks, and thanks to all who have volunteered!

740

The Green Room / Re: New Feature Beta Test starting Jan 14

« on: Jan 08, 2012, 08:10 pm »

Thanks to Aerial for notifying me that the signup link was messed up. I've clarified the instructions above.

741

The Green Room / Re: New Feature Beta Test starting Jan 14

« on: Jan 08, 2012, 01:04 am »

OK we have had one request so far. If any of the criteria above pertain to you, please join in?

I am moving this from Announcements to the Green Room so that you can ask questions if you've got them.

742

The Green Room / New Feature Beta Test starting Jan 14

« on: Jan 05, 2012, 05:46 pm »

As some of you know, I've been working on a new feature for SMNetwork. It's quite large and has been coded from scratch. (As a reference point, it's about twice four times as much code as went into creating BTDT.) (It grew.)

The moderators have been alpha testing it for the past week and will continue to do so for another week.

Starting January 14 (SMNet's 12th anniversary), this feature will have a limited, closed Beta test. I am looking for 10-15 members of SMNetwork who would like to participate.  The Beta will only run for a few weeks before it's opened to everyone, but I do want to be sure all of my code will hold up under increased load and use in real conditions.

What it does:
It's a rating system for unpaid and low-paid stage management internships in the US.

If you fall into any of these categories, please consider joining the Beta:
1. People who've worked on a lot of internships, or who have supervised a lot of interns.
2. People who are experienced with development beta tests for websites and are wiling to give lots of feedback on their experiences.
3. People who would like to be considered for a Patroller (staff) position monitoring the reviews.
4. People who are interested in the process of developing a new web application or who want to see what happens behind the scenes at SMNet.
5. People who will have some spare time during the 2nd half of January.
6. Nerdy types who dig statistics, grading, weighted averages and/or taking surveys.

Participation in the beta is restricted to registered members and you must have made at least one public post, as it utilizes the PM system.

How to sign up:
Go to your profile. Hover over "Modify Profile" and select "Group memberships" (Or if you have the left hand menu popped out, pick "Group Memberships" from the left hand menu.)
On the page that appears look towards the bottom. You will see "Beta Testers" with a link on the right saying "Request Membership."
Click that link.
On the next page, add a little note saying why you want to join, and then press "Submit Request."

EDIT: Beta's Over. The feature has launched. Locking this thread and moving on. Thanks to all who participated! Stay tuned for future beta tests over the next few months.

743

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: KCACTF Region III

« on: Jan 04, 2012, 06:36 pm »

Brittni, this thread is from 2007. I doubt any of the previous posters are there this year, but some other members might be.

744

The Green Room / Re: Adjusting Theater-Sized Expectations for Non-Thespians

« on: Jan 04, 2012, 12:24 am »

A stage managing supervisor once said to me, "Don't expect stroking from me for doing your job well. You're hired to do your job well."

When you're working in union theatre there's four levels of contractual obligations that go beyond the standard social contract.

1. You're doing something you love, and therefore there's a contract of dedication with yourself to respect your own craft.
2. You're doing something artistic, which creates a contract with the audience to create an excellent product.
3. You're doing something that's governed by a union, which mandates punctuality and safety, among other things.
4. You're doing a very unique task in an environment that's probably short staffed, which means there is no safety net and no buck passing.

If they're employed at all, most people are in jobs that they generally tolerate, but do not love. They're doing standard corporate work, under contract with their boss if anything, leaving the concern for the consumer in their boss's hands. They may be part of a union, which might help a bit with the punctuality, but for the most part outside of a work environment they're not going to stick to those habits unless under duress. (I mean heck, even actors are not known for their punctuality.)

Stage managers watch "Return of the Jedi" and find no surprise at Yoda's "Do or Do not, there is no try." Outside of theatre that is less of a mantra and more of a curiosity. I was trained to accept blame in tense situations even if the fault wasn't mine, just to get past the finger-pointing and on to solving the problem. I have NEVER found anyone outside of trained counselors and a handful of other SMs who are comfortable with that idea.

If nobody is depending on you to do something, including yourself, there is no sense of urgency and there is no sense of obligation or responsibility to others. If there are 40 other people in a company doing the same job as you, there's no urgency except for fake intramural competition. There is a very small sense of individuality. Punctuality is a luxury. Caring is a luxury. RSVPing is a pipe dream. Not taking sick days or vacation is grounds for termination and definitely a sign of psychiatric imbalance.

Responsibility is a leadership trait that must be taught and practiced. It requires a Type A personality along with curiosity and autodidacticism. It requires an environment where passing the buck is unacceptable. It requires an understanding of passion and respect. Not everyone is going to be a leader, and leadership sucks sometimes. You're the one who has to ask all the uncomfortable questions and push people to change stuff.

I try to encourage responsibility with a combination of tough love, raised eyebrows, and leading by example. I've had to rule out a lot of friendships with people who don't get it. If a cost of friendship is time and love, I will pay it gladly. If the cost is stress and impatience and frustration I'll go shop somewhere else.

As for expectations. Think of the people you know or have heard of who are really passionate about crazy things. They could be fans of a certain video game or comic, religious nuts, crazy cat ladies, Mac fanboys, political yahoos, people who maintain free websites for their former industries...well, maybe not that last one. Everyone knows someone who is obsessed about something bizarre. Remember how you feel when you think about those people. Now think about the dude that sits at home playing on Facebook all day while the rest of us work. Combine that images with the previous one. That is how many "normal" people feel when they look at us.  Play to your audience.

745

The Green Room / Re: Happy New Year SM Network

« on: Jan 01, 2012, 06:24 am »

My Resolution is 3360 x 1050. (Same as last year, although I didn't say so at the time.)

Happy new year!!!

746

Employment / Re: Response Time

« on: Dec 29, 2011, 01:08 pm »

I've been trained to the following intervals as acceptable:

Text message, Facebook chat - 5 min tops
Voicemail - 1-2 hrs
Facebook inbox, Facebook or twitter @msg - 4-12 hrs
Email - 12-24 hrs

And always reply using the same medium: if you receive an email, reply by email.

747

The Green Room / Re: Picture Wars!

« on: Dec 24, 2011, 06:10 pm »

Carnivores will be the first ones against the wall when the livestock revolution comes.

748

Announcements / Congratulations to dallas10086!

« on: Dec 21, 2011, 10:56 pm »

After much deliberation and a very tough choice between two excellent nominees, the staff of SMNetwork would like to welcome dallas10086 as the new co-moderator of the Green Room!

Dallas will be a moderator in training for the next several weeks until she is comfortable with all the extra buttons that just got added to her arsenal of tools.

Many thanks to all who volunteered!

749

Tools of the Trade / Re: The Motion Labs cue light system?

« on: Dec 20, 2011, 11:58 pm »

Given that we're now search result #2 and 3 for this particular topic (thank you, Google!) I figured I'd best come up with an answer.

There's a brief and relatively recent conversation at The ControlBooth about this system and a few others. Looks like it isn't listed on the Motion Labs website but available if you contact them. They also list the name of a vendor that rents out the systems.

Perhaps someone needs to hat-tip Motion Labs and let them know to pop the specs up on their site if this has come up twice in 4 months on various tech bulletin boards.

750

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Student SM Challenge #16: Designers, make it work!

« on: Dec 19, 2011, 05:47 pm »

Student SM Challenges are designed as mental exercises for our younger and novice members of the industry. Pros are welcome to think through the challenges but we request that they hold back from commenting for the first couple of weeks and allow the new guys to figure them out on their own.

Your challenge is based on another story from my personal experiences:

You are working on a collaborative piece with a very loose script - basically plot points - and an experimental first time director. The piece will be happening in a black box with infinitely reconfigurable seating.  The piece is evolving continuously through the rehearsal process.  Every actor is likely to be playing several different roles as the storyline evolves.  You have a 6 week rehearsal process.

To establish a baseline of your director's level of technical awareness, at the 2nd rehearsal, she states "OK here I want the light to come down to about 2 feet above the actress's head, and then stop completely before it reaches her."  After a brief discussion of the laws of physics she still insists that this must be achieved in order to maintain her artistic concept.  To paraphrase the esteemed Mr. Gunn, she's sure that the designers can make it work.

Given this scenario, tell me:

1. How do you structure your rehearsal process and set deadlines to make sure everyone has the info they need within a reasonable time frame? Think about things like the audience seating arrangement, prop and lighting requests, locking in the script and getting the actors "off book", and settling on who's playing which characters so that the costume department can properly dress the cast.

2. How do you establish a communication system with the design team to handle this type of director without damaging the production, the team spirit, or the designers' own concepts?