Messages

856

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SAFETY: Food allergies in rehearsal

« on: Apr 20, 2011, 08:43 pm »

if it's on the audition forms, what happens to those forms after casting? Are they shredded?

I may be an outlier here, but... yes?

I'm not usually involved with casting or auditions, so it's not something I think about a lot. I would hope they are too.

857

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SAFETY: Food allergies in rehearsal

« on: Apr 20, 2011, 03:23 pm »

Part of me says that no it shouldn't affect casting, but part of me wants it to.

It sounds to me that the problem in your particular situation has less to do with the kid having an allergy than a fussy parent/child in general. If it hadn't been allergies, it would have been something else (and you can't know ahead of time how people are going to act, all you can do is deal with the situation when it happens, and not cast them the next time around). Not every kid with allergies is a problem.

858

Employment / Re: To Break or Not to Break

« on: Apr 20, 2011, 02:50 pm »

Well, congrats! - it sounds like an exciting project for you.

859

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SAFETY: Food allergies in rehearsal

« on: Apr 20, 2011, 02:47 pm »

Is asking for medical history something normal for audition forms? Seems odd to me.

I have never heard about asking for medical information before casting- I think it's more appropriate to ask for emergency contact and medical info after an actor has been cast. (For me, I don't see any reason to ask for it prior to the first day of rehearsal).

In terms of who has access to the information - if it's on the audition forms, what happens to those forms after casting? Are they shredded? I doubt it. It's unfair to the actors to have that info floating around.

860

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SAFETY: Food allergies in rehearsal

« on: Apr 17, 2011, 12:23 pm »

Interestingly there's been very little mention of what to do when allergic cast have a reaction...

I've called paramedics before when an adult cast member had a severe allergic reaction during a performance. He had his epi-pen with him, but it didn't help quickly enough, and (like Jonas said) better safe than sorry. The actor had eaten something at dinner that he didn't know he was allergic to, but had other allergies and kept an epi-pen on him.

I wasn't the stage manager of the show- I was the venue supervisor, and part of my responsibility was maintaining the safety of the group renting the venue. I helped him administer his epi-pen (I am first-aid certified), called the paramedics, alerted the stage manager (who dealt with covering his absence in the show), and called his family. He was fine, and I hope to never have to do it again.

861

Stage Management: Other / Re: REVIVED THREAD: Transferring into Opera

« on: Apr 16, 2011, 01:43 pm »

I'll pick up a CD of the (full) opera (not just "highlights and arias") and once paper tech has been completed, I'll practice calling my cues to the CD.

As an ASM, I do the same thing with my entrance cues before rehearsal- particularly if there is a complicated or fast sequence. Sometimes I just do it at my desk, but if I want to figure out a traffic pattern, I'll go into the rehearsal room and walk the path. (I don't want rehearsal to start and realize that I'm unsure about a cue).

862

Tools of the Trade / Re: Fight certification

« on: Apr 15, 2011, 08:33 pm »

I'm not certified- I took a stage combat class in college, but in no way would consider myself skilled. A number of people I know were certified through the Society of American Fight Directors- http://www.safd.org. They offer training in various disciplines of hand to hand and armed combat.

As a stage manager, it's not a skill that I plan on using myself. It's nice to have a working knowledge of safe combat practices, but I don't want to be responsible for choreographing any fights.

863

The Hardline / Re: Rehearsal Shoes

« on: Apr 12, 2011, 08:31 pm »

I've never interpreted the rule to mean that shoes must be provided for rehearsals, since it doesn't specifically say that, but if the shoes are available I'll ask for them. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Some of the SPT theatres have something in stock that can be used, but not all theatres keep a costume stock (or have a costume shop for that matter), and if the shop and/or designer doesn't have anything available, the actors have to wait until the real shoes are available (which is often not until tech begins).

That said, if someone asks for shoes, I'm happy to ask for either the real shoes (if the powers that be are okay with them being used in rehearsal) or a rehearsal pair. It's something that is very important to certain actors, and they are usually grateful if you can provide something for them to use.

864

Employment / Re: To Break or Not to Break

« on: Apr 09, 2011, 01:05 pm »

I've done this twice. Once was an SM contract with a small SPT- I had a verbal agreement with them to SM, but they hadn't gotten around to sending me a contract to sign. I was offered a year-long position with a university, which paid better and kept me employed for a much longer time period. It was 9 months to a year out from the SPT show so I knew they would have plenty of time to find someone, and I took the university job.

The other contract I broke was for a one-night engagement with a dance company. I was offered an ASM position on an opera, which is 5 weeks worth of good-paying work. The dance company completely understood and there were no hard feelings. (it was also a couple of months out so they had plenty of time to replace me).

I have had the opportunity to break with a smaller contract for a larger one many  times- and in hindsight, I should have done it more. There have been a couple of those times when it would have helped my career in a major way to move to a larger company, and I didn't, for fear of damaging my relationship with the company I was contracted with.

(I received an offer to takeover a long run of a good show at a good theatre the day before I started rehearsals for what turned out to be the most miserable show I've ever done that ended up closing early- god do I wish I had broken that contract...)

I think for me, at this point, it would have to be a) a significantly longer running show, b) a better show, and c) with a company that I wanted to establish a relationship with. The new contract would have to be something that helped career more in the long run, not just a salary increase.

865

Stage Management: Other / Managing Large Rehearsals

« on: Mar 25, 2011, 05:24 pm »

What are some of the tools/methods you use to manage large-scale rehearsals? (50+ people)

Are there physical things that help you with big groups? (nametags, sign-ins, a different way of organizing the room set-up)

Do you use your staff differently? (more staff, different responsibilities, etc)

Are there scheduling tools that you use?

Does your management style change? What do you do differently to manage a rehearsal on a larger scale?

866

Stage Management: Other / Re: Transitioning from theatre to opera

« on: Mar 17, 2011, 10:34 pm »

And I see Maribeth that you're doing Turandot, my favorite opera thus far. Can you feel my jealousy?

Haha- it's a great opera and I'm having fun. Long long long days, but tomorrow we have our final run in the rehearsal room and we move to the stage on Tuesday. I can't wait to see it come together.

867

The Green Room / Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll

« on: Mar 17, 2011, 01:24 pm »

Done- I hope others do as well!

868

Stage Management: Other / Re: Transitioning from theatre to opera

« on: Mar 14, 2011, 09:34 am »

Something that I don't think has been brought up here before:

Often in opera, instead of building every show from scratch like many regional theatre companies do, they will rent a previous production from another company. So, if you are doing Rigoletto, you may be renting XYZ Opera's production of Rigoletto. This can mean that you are

1) remounting it completely, with the original director (or their AD) directing the show again
2) using the costumes and sets from the first production, but with a new director and new staging
3) other combinations- sets from one company, but new costumes, or costumes from a different company

Opera companies will sometimes split the cost of a new production- company A will build the sets, company B the costumes, or some combination, and after it's done playing at company A it will travel to company B, and then on to other companies who will rent the production after that. A new production is incredibly expensive, and renting it out to other operas will help recoup some of the costs.

If you're renting a production from another company, you can glean a lot of information from the paperwork of the old production. Running lists, prop lists, costume plots, etc can all be included. Your production may obviously vary and the paperwork will have to be redone, but it can be a real asset during prep week to have this information, particularly for a remount.


All of this has been on my mind lately as we prepare a new production, knowing that our paperwork will be going on to many other venues after this production closes.

869

Stage Management: Other / Re: How did you get started SM'ing Dance?

« on: Mar 14, 2011, 09:10 am »

My first show fell in my lap. I had no experience SMing dance, though I had taken a number of dance classes. An LD I'm friends with reccommended me to the production manager of a local modern dance company that he worked with, and she called to offer me a show. I've done several shows with them, some local and some out-of-town. Most (but not all) of my dance experience is working with the same company- I'd love to get some experience working in another type of dance, like ballet.

I like SMing dance a lot- part of that is likely the company I work with. They produce interesting work about unusual topics (the piece that I work with the most often is about the trials at Nuremberg- not a topic you expect to see in a dance piece).

I also get to travel a lot with them, as they have a lot of out-of-town gigs. Which means that we usually have a couple off rehearsal days in the studio to "get it back", and then maybe a day or two (sometimes only a few hours) of tech before performances. It's fun to work at that pace.

I haven't been doing much dance lately- but after a long period doing only theatre and opera I do miss it.

870

Self-Promotion / Re: Next stop: dream job!

« on: Mar 02, 2011, 03:28 pm »

That's great Heath- Congrats!!