Messages

811

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Reports during technicals

« on: Nov 12, 2007, 05:49 pm »

Since Production Management and all departments are present, it really would be a waste of time.

Matthew, I respectfully disagree here.  In several other threads recently the aspect of record-keeping has come up.  If 10 years later a dancer makes a false injury claim for an injury that allegedly occurred during a tech rehearsal and there is no report to document that the rehearsal even took place - could turn into a sticky situation.  Things like this are rare, but if you don't document every rehearsal and performance you're setting yourself up for trouble.

edit: added "that allegedly"

812

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Reports during technicals

« on: Nov 12, 2007, 04:33 pm »

I typically do my regular rehearsal report and include any notes that weren't given after rehearsal, while making a note for areas where notes were given after rehearsal.

edit: fixed typo

813

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Tech or Church?

« on: Oct 26, 2007, 02:41 pm »

In a democracy the majority rules.

In a democracy yes avkid, the majority does rule; a workplace however is not a democracy.

You mentioned some statistics about religions in your post about  - I think these are irrelevant to the debate in this thread.  If, as a manager, you are going to acknowledge religion you need to be consistant and respect the religious views of all of your team members, regardless of how small a minority their religion may be in the bigger picture. As a manager it's important to remember to be as conistant as possible in your approach and treatment of all employees.  Getting into a situation where you pick and choose which religions to observe would get very messy very quickly.

814

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

« on: Oct 24, 2007, 02:42 pm »

Bubbly lamps?  Sounds like someone touched the lamps with their fingers and didn't clean it properly 

815

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Snappy SM

« on: Oct 18, 2007, 12:18 am »

LJH, I agree almost exclusively with your post - however I think in an ideal world the TD should have informed the SM at the same time he/she said the changes were being made (maybe they did).  Also, if I'm the SM - if anyone even makes a mention of a change backstage I will ask "how does this affect the actors, and how does this affect cueing". 

816

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Looking for Stage Management workshop ideas

« on: Oct 17, 2007, 02:45 pm »

So much of what we do is conflict resolution and logistical problem solving; how about tossing some common issues you've run into at the group to facilitate a problem solving discussion?

817

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Spiking on crazy floor treatment.

« on: Oct 16, 2007, 04:28 pm »

I'd work with your scenic designer on this.  It's important in my opinion that spike marks fit in with the show, nothing drives me crazy like seeing a stage lit up like a runway. 

One option here could be to cut stencils out of matboard and spraypaint the spike marks onto the stage.  This should overcome the rough texture.

818

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Being "Written Up"

« on: Oct 14, 2007, 11:05 am »

I've had to write up both actors and crew before.  It was always within a corporation so there was a set process followed within company Human Resources, however the basics are fairly universal.  It should be on a separate form and should not be made public.  In a theatrical setting I'd recommend it stay between yourself, the offending actor, and your immediate superior.  If that person decides to share it with others, that's their business.

As far as what to put in the form the basics are a description of the incident, a statement by the offending employee if they choose to make one, and corrective actions to be taken to ensure a repeat does not occur, also date/time/place and all that great stuff that we SMs love to put everywhere .  When presenting to the employee it's best to be in a private setting.  Explain to the employee why they are receiving disciplinary action, explain that the behavior he/she exhibited is not acceptable and explain why it is unacceptable.  Let the employee read your warning, offer them the chance to write a statement, and after they have done so they should sign the form acknowledging that they understand.  You should also sign the form in front of them.

If you anticipate any potential conflict it can be helpful to have your superior there. It can help ease tension between you and the employee, reassuring them that it's the company's view on the incident and not your personal view. It can also be beneficial on your end to have a witness present.


For situations below where you deem a warning is not required, I've found it's still a good idea to document the incident.  If a future incident happens it's helpful to have a paper trail.  In these cases I'd still include the offending employee on the discussion, and inform them that the incident has been documented. 

It's not fun to do, but as a manager it's part of the job.   

I hope you find this helpful!

819

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: ASM Books?

« on: Oct 10, 2007, 03:02 pm »

StageMgr2Stars,

I agree with you below.  I've always told my ASMs their job is to be one step ahead of me.

820

Uploaded Forms / Re: Line Notes (for going "off book")

« on: Oct 08, 2007, 06:52 pm »

Well, forms and all are good. But I just did Comedy of Errors and I never had time to be shifting through 20 pieces of paper to look for each actor's page.

Rather than making it my job to make sure they knew what line each actor missed, we kind of put it in their hands. We made a copy of the script and put it into transparent pages. Each night I would follow along with that book and highlight a line missed or fuddled with a dry-erase marker (different color for each night of the week).

At the end of the week I would erase the book and start fresh. In this manner it was up to the actors to take some of their down time between scenes to check the book for their lines. We found it worked really well, after they had checked the book they would erase it so that we were sure they had gotten their notes.

I love this idea!

Was it a tough transition for the actors to get used to seeking out their own notes?

821

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: LX 56 was late- PSM Error

« on: Oct 02, 2007, 09:37 pm »

In my opinion it's not even about fairness or anything like that - your performance reports are the historical record of the show, and many times the only record a theatre has of a performance.  It's important to report completely and accurately.

822

Tools of the Trade / Re: SM Software

« on: Sep 27, 2007, 12:44 pm »

Sarah not sure I agree with you here! 

10 years ago cell phones would never replace land lines and email would never replace snail mail.  Both are well on their way!  It's only a matter of time before someone is able to create an effective SM package.

Cell phones were useless during 9/11 -- only landlines were working.  Just saying...

And landlines are useless during a hurricane -- only cell phones work when phone lines go down.  Just saying...

There is a give and take with any technology.

823

Tools of the Trade / Re: SM Software

« on: Sep 27, 2007, 11:18 am »

Sarah not sure I agree with you here! 

10 years ago cell phones would never replace land lines and email would never replace snail mail.  Both are well on their way!  It's only a matter of time before someone is able to create an effective SM package.

824

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Word Use

« on: Sep 13, 2007, 11:45 pm »

Hi D, well first of all happy opening tomorrow!

As with any production you're going to run into frustrations, it's part of the gig 

I used the phrase only once, last Saturday on the first day of tech, to express to the cast that water bottles and personal items are not to be placed on 'my' set because we now have a crew to move set pieces in and out in show order as this is a hazard for one, and simply a no-no.

I'd be careful here.  Now I'm just reading this online and didn't hear it said in context, but I can certainly see how someone could interpret this as demeaning, both to the performers and to the folks who designed and built the set.

This woman has been the thorn in my side from the beginning as she is a producer that walks into every rehearsal after starting and pulls the director or choreographer aside to talk about things.  And I mean right in the middle of working a section.  So now I have 27 people standing around for 15 minutes.

I would certainly be annoyed with this too, as I think most of us here would be; however she is the producer, ultimately if she wants to walk into a rehearsal she has every right to do so. 

One solution to this that would have the least impact on the rehearsal would be to politely ask if they need ten minutes.  If so put the cast on a 10, then you're able to work for 80 minutes straight through once she's finished.

I have a show to open tomorrow and have been able to let all this other BS roll off my back to get to this point until now with this crap about the use of the word 'my'.

I'd do your best to brush it off.  You've come too far to let this get in your way one day before opening.  You're never going to like everyone you work with, it's a fact of life. 

If it's that miserable you certainly have the option of not working with this producer again.  Do your best to get through this, I promise you'll make it in one piece!

Good luck, let us know how the run turns out.
 

825

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Is there a right and worng way to call cues????

« on: Sep 13, 2007, 01:14 pm »

To add to what dramachic said - consistency is a big thing as well.  Consistency in terms of how long your standys are, your pace in speaking, pause between the cue# and the word go, etc... all should be consistent from cue to cue.