Messages

886

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / It's Half-Hour: Do you know where your SM is?

« on: Oct 24, 2005, 08:40 am »

You should be setting this precedent (but is it a battle, and is it worth fighting).

Why? If it is a battle to fight, I want a reason.

Provided you have everything done before half hour call (or whatever) - as I hope you do, hell I like to have most things done before the 1 hour call! I see no reason WHY the 15 minute call should be given in person. I like to use the last 25 minutes before curtain to 'nest' and get everything arranged just right. I personally dislike giving the 15 minute call in person, as it is when the house opens and I am usually confirming a number of things over the cans before the house opens - like lx preset? sound preset? Pit raised to the correct hight? Dome ops in place? Flymen in place? It is rare I get into the booth before 25 to beginners, so that 10mins before 15min call is really essential.

It is all personal style. If, instead, you come in, set up your space, then do the rest, you probably dont need that 10 minutes of nesting time.

Each to their own. I know an SM who gives beginners in person. Bad form in my opinion, but she swears by it.

887

Tools of the Trade / Two-way radios

« on: Oct 23, 2005, 01:18 am »

You cannot go wrong with motorola 2 ways. They all have headsets and IIRC they have VOX (you do not need to Push To Talk (PTT))

888

Employment / One of the things I hate about the biz...

« on: Oct 22, 2005, 08:13 pm »

Keep it short (half a page to a page) and to the point. Use a formal layout, with both of your addresses/phone numbers at the top, date it. Then begin.

Dear sir/madame/other form of address

Please find enclosed my application for the possition of xxx advertised in yyy on the dd of mmm.

For the last xyz years I have Stage Managed a number of shows including a (directed by b), c (directed by d) & e (directed by f), within with such notable companies as h,i&j. I find myself eager to work on your production of qqq as (INSERT REASONS HERE).

I feel I can bring a number of things to the team due to:
* Bullet list of attributes like organisation skills
* past experiance
* having worked with the director before
* what ever

<insert whatever else>

Thankyou for taking the time to read through my application and I look forward to further correspondence

Regards

<INSERT YOUR NAME HERE>

889

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / It's Half-Hour: Do you know where your SM is?

« on: Oct 22, 2005, 08:04 pm »

It also depends on the space.

At half hour, I usually give the whole chookers speech, so none of our ops are in the booth then. Usually by 15 I will be in the booth though (as that is when the house opens, and I basically state that the door to the booth stays closed once the stage is live and until interval)

I like to be able to give the half hour call in person, I think that final bit of contact before the show really is important. I think the 'half hour' rule your theatre has may be so that the FOH staff can find you if there is a problem, or if there is going to be a major delay. It is a valid point. If it is the reason - try and convince them to get a set of decent walkie talkies. They are invaluable for communication during an emergency, and also for the FOH staff to give house open and close notices and other essential communications.

It is good that there is a deadline on when ops are in position, but it should be up to the SM and not the PM... after all, it is the sm's head if the lx op is not in place at curtain time.

890

SMNetwork Archives / A question of loyalty

« on: Oct 21, 2005, 08:24 pm »

In situations like this, sacrafices need to be made - and in my opinion it should never be your health (although it happens all to frequently IMO, the ammount of deep heat, panadol, caffine and ibuprofin I go through is ridiculous). When personelle restraints occur, it is often time to trim the show a bit. Most directors aim for the other edge of the universe, and usually, we as sm's at least manage to get to the next galaxy - maybe it is time to bring the director closer to earth - ie tell him "you cannot have that set piece which requires 5 people to move safely because you only have 4, I cannot do it without causing myself serious injury, why don't you make it smaller, cut out the ends and mask them with flats... or get the turns to assist."

Also, try and get a turn to assist you, even if it is "Could you help me a bit tomorrow, just for 15 minutes before and after rehearsal?" - of course you need to choose someone who will not mind doing this work as a community service rather than for $$$.

nb. IIRC turns assisting like that is not a contractual violation - but that is an Aussy (standard) contract, so check the contracts closely before suggesting it.

891

SMNetwork Archives / Ballet ASM question

« on: Oct 20, 2005, 06:39 pm »

Ballet is a lot more people management I find. Often you do not need to take things like blocking, as the choreographer either does it mentally, or themselves. You usually call off score if it is classical ballet, and usually will for others as well, although some ballets you can just call from the lyrics (rock being the obvious one). Sound cues are usually not too much of an issue, so you can concentrate on LX and Flys which is good. You rarely (scene changes are the obvious exception) have long runs of cues. The main thing, as always is timing. Dance is pretty much dependant on timing, and it can ruin the 'moment' if you are late on a cue.

On the few ballets I have worked on, there have been far more flys than a normal show - whilst most were done in blackout, I did one  where we flew an actor mid jump. Damn scarey cue, gave me nightmares. If called late the ballarina would be suspended in one spot for a moment, which looked rubbish, if early it risked injury to the dancer. It was also an OH&S nightmare - a lot of ballet is like that though - the surface needs to be really clean, some are extreamly particular about the weight of the sprung floor, some are particular about the surface type.

892

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Doodles

« on: Oct 19, 2005, 05:05 pm »

Provided you are not doodling in your prompt book, and rather in a separate notebook or something, it is fine. During a show I have been known to take fill a notepad entirely with doodles. Now that I use my laptop more (typing up all the notes because I am a faster typist than writer, although I still use my prompt book for blocking) I have been known to play those irritatingly ammusing, simple flash games during extreamly boring stretches (ie 10 minute monologues where the actor is stationary.... God I hate them, especially when the actor wants to retake it every time they screw up a line, and the director AGREES... ARGH!!! ) (kitten cannon is my favorite at the moment... I imagine the kitten to be mentioned actor.) You must of course be paying attention and have all your paperwork up to date

893

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Assistant Directors vs. Stage Managers

« on: Oct 17, 2005, 07:24 pm »

Often the AD's I have worked with have been used as a secondary director - ie if the groups is split to work on things the AD takes one group, the director the other. The AD usually knows the directors vision and oft times has some form of creative input as well - ie "Can we try it where they do this, this and this instead of that and that?" directed to the director, who cocks his/her head and then says "Okay, we will do this, this and this instead of that and that... go", then after seeing it goes... "Nope. We will do it my way." or "Great, we will keep it like that.".

That is the role I have seen ADs in most times. Then there are, as mentioned your 'work experiance' ad's who become gophers. I HATE that. It really does go against my grain - I have my ASMs for that sort of thing  :twisted:. Seriously though, a new AD needs to learn if they are going to become good AD's (and later directors if that is their desire, some have no ambition to become more than an AD) and if they are in the corner sharpening my new box of 50 penicils (see kit thread ;-)) then they are not learning.

894

SMNetwork Archives / kit

« on: Oct 17, 2005, 07:13 pm »

I usually dont care when people nick my pencils - I buy them in a cylinder of 50 for about au$2. They are the cheap and nasty yellow ones with the red eraser on the top that never works. Same with pens, I buy the sh!te ones and no one steals them. I have of course my nice mechanical pencils and my expensive pens in my pencil case or in my pocket (a bad habbit I am yet to break... just like carrying arround a notepad everywhere I go in a leather compendium)

If you have things that may go missing (ie pens, pencils), always make sure you get the cheapest, yet effective. Ie - gaffer tape. One has a choice between AU$45 a roll, AU$25, AU$12 or AU$4. I usually carry arround a roll of AU$25 which I do not lend to ANYONE and a roll of AU$12 which goes missing all the time and I have to hold the cast ransom until it is returned. Same with electrical tape - There is your expensive tape (I have quite a bit of it) and there is your middle of the road (also have quite a bit of it) and then there is your AU$2 for 5 colour packets of pure crap which does not stick to itself let alone something else.  Be aware of those things - in your rush to keep the costs down, do not sacrafice quality, it is a balancing act.

895

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Paint technique

« on: Oct 01, 2005, 11:10 pm »

Sand back to wood, paint with lighter colour, allow to dry. Paint on darker colour, and drag a special implement (or a rag will sometimes work) back along the wood, removing some of the darker colour.

896

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Where do you draw the line? (Producer rant)

« on: Sep 24, 2005, 08:46 am »

It really is very difficult to know when to say "enough is enough". Personally, I feel your producer is doing too much in his current role, acting more like a production manager than a producer. As SM, I normally would have specced out the venue myself, and talked to the sound designer about cans a long time before bumpin was even considered. I feel as the SM it is my job to know EVERYTHING that is supplied and required - for instance, I always keep a copy of the technical specifications of the venue (which should include whether or not it has cans) and THEN distribute the tech specs to the required departments. In production meetings

I try and get as much paper from the different departments as possible, so that I can say early into the run "I NEED to hire X belt packs, and a masterstation... No don't give me that, I talked to the sound guy and he said he does not.... I don't care if it is not budgeted, BUDGET IT!" (I have had that conversation many a time... which is usually followed by "No, if you INSIST on walkie talkies we DO need headsets... I don't care if they cost an extra $X to have them, I am making do with what you are providing, it is no where near ideal! I would rather canford-type cans")

I usually insist on a crew list a week before a show at least. It has happened more than once where I have said "If you do not give me a crew list before tomorow, I am calling in the crew. And if we end up doubling up on anything, then I will send them to complain to you"... I have been one of the people called too, in fact it was the night before the bump in, at 11pm, I recieved a phone call "Hey Mac! Um, our producer forgot to hire a rigger and flyman to do the fly's... can you do it?". I have also been called to do lighting design on the day of a bumpin. It is not pleasent, and you do need to make sure your producer knows that if crew are not given warning, they will do second class work. On professional jobs, I charge extra for things like that (in fact my rate almost doubles).

What can you do though. Once more than a few weeks into a show's rehearsal period, I feel wrong abandoning a show (although I have done it when things are unsafe. I also found out when the interviews were and warned every stage manager who walked through the door for the job. They did not get another stage manger, the show did not go on.)

Being left off the promo material is rude and annoying. I suppose the only thing you can do is make a point next time he expects something big... "Oh, you want ME to do that? But that seems far too involved for a member of the team so insignificant that members of the chorus are considered more significant." Then of course, do the job.

897

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Drop Count

« on: Sep 23, 2005, 11:57 pm »

We added "Cake Count" for one show - the final number of the series of short acts in my first show involves a story teller distributing cake as she walks out. The Cake Count is the number of slices of cake taken, as you ALWAYS get people who say "No thanks"...

The show is in a REALLY SMALL church hall, with an audience capacity of about 50 people per show. It is part of a 'festival' of new australian youth works, each show written by one of 27 or so new australian writers and < 40 mins in length. There are 8 places converted into performance spaces and the audience travels arround to different spaces to watch shows (or if they don't mind waiting, they can stay in the same space and wait for the next show to come on).

898

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Call backs

« on: Sep 17, 2005, 07:32 pm »

What are stage Managers expected to do for call backs? How can I tactfully and tastfully suggest a friend of mine for a part?

Suggestion: DON'T! If it is your FRIEND it is EXTREAMLY un professional, and contains an aspect of favoratism. As a Stage Manager, you should be above that. If you are not, you will loose all respect of the creative team in many cases.

If you think about it, each member of the creative team who sits in on auditions, has a standard - 'the bar'. Call backs are decided based on who goes over the bar. Occasionally, exceptions are made where a cast member goes above and beyond what could be expected. If you have to suggest a call back for a 'friend' chances are they did not meet everyones expectations. Not only will they ruin your credability, should the team call them back, chances are they will be knocked out next round.

There are of course cases where you think "Why the hell didn't xxx get called back", and you can do a little bit of nudging, like a quiet 'wow, that was brilliant', or a 'what did you think of him/her/it'.

When on the job, you are a stage manager, god in all but name, morally uncoruptable, pillar of society, unbiased and fair. Don't screw it up.

899

SMNetwork Archives / kit

« on: Sep 14, 2005, 08:52 pm »

Pair of Stringlines - great for marking centerlines, or a hundred other uses
2 large measuring tapes
Spike tape

A lot of people suggested a lot of tools - I did not see anyone suggest a grabba gun (aka cordless drill). These days you can get them for about au$30 with a pair of batteries. I inherited mine from my parents and it has 4. The main advantage - screwdriver bits. Combine that with my leatherman, and I can screw or undo almost anything

Condoms are a big thing for noiseboys - when I did gigs with wireless mic packs (cos I am part noise boy) I used to go to the chemist and buy multiple party packs - believe me, there is nothing worse than buying 5 dozen condoms then asking them to order in another 3 dozen. A tip if you need condoms en bulk is to get the catalogue from one of those mailorder pharmacies - often they allow bulk purchases to be cheaper. Just a warning though - make sure your Significant other knows that they are for business only - that avoids them getting jealous when the quantity goes down, or them deciding that they may be 'put to better use'. Some places will have EOL (End of Life) stock - you can ask them to put them asside for you and buy them for a small fee instead of being dumped...

Leci tape in many colours - Electrical tape in as many colours as you can possibly manage is a very useful thing. White and black are the most needed though. Noise boys and bubble blowers always forget the white gaffer or leci to mark up their boards. If you can chuck them a roll of whit leci and a sharpie, they will love you for life.

This may sound weird, but white cotton gloves and a baton. I have a set since I can conduct - I may not be able to MD, but I know how to lead a band. I have had many a show where the MD does NOT have a baton or white gloves and they come in handy.

Also: If you are going to have cosmetics in your kit, make it known that they are a LAST RESORT and anything taken out of them will be taken from the shows budget. I used to keep foundation, hairspray etc in my kit which makeup somehow found out about... so they 'borrowed' it, and it all suddenly evaporated

900

SMNetwork Archives / KIT: Interesting (and unusual items) - what have you accrued?

« on: Sep 03, 2005, 11:10 pm »

Today I was looking through a box labled 'misc show stuff' which had a bunch of things I had made for shows over the last few years and was just wondering what strange and unusual items you have accrued over time. Here is a brief list of some of my favorite things I have built and or sourced which I reuse show after show.

• Home made projector shutters which work in tandem or seperatly
• Home made cue lights
• Home made phone ringer
• Home made 4 station, full duplex intercom
• 4 camera 'security' system
• Home made string of 50 candles arrayed like the small candles that you light in a catholic church which flicker
• Home made 'smoke curtain' creator
• LED gooseneck lamp powered from battery
• gooseneck lamp powered from phantom power