91
Self-Promotion / Re: Julius Caesar & The Comedy of Errors National Tour
« on: Feb 11, 2012, 03:57 pm »
We just might 
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92
Self-Promotion / Julius Caesar & The Comedy of Errors National Tour
« on: Feb 11, 2012, 03:20 pm »
Hi folks! I'm ASMing Julius Caesar and The Comedy of Errors (in rotating repertory) on a national tour with The Acting Company. We'll be covering quite a lot of ground in the next four months... mostly in the Midwest, Northeast, the South and parts of California. If you're up for some very neat Shakespeare, please take a look at the "on tour" link on the Acting Co. website: http://theactingcompany.org/
We'll also be playing two venues in NYC - Baruch College in April, and Lincoln Center in May. If you're in town, drop me a line. I have some access to tickets (and am always happy to spend a few minutes visiting post-show!)
Meg
We'll also be playing two venues in NYC - Baruch College in April, and Lincoln Center in May. If you're in town, drop me a line. I have some access to tickets (and am always happy to spend a few minutes visiting post-show!)
Meg
93
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Dear Abby: What classes would you look for in a BFA stage management program?
« on: Jan 25, 2012, 10:29 am »
Shop class!
Knowing and understanding how a scene shop works, and having a basic carpentry vocabulary, are invaluable.
Also, chiming in on the language front... If you're planning to work in the US, I heartily recommend Spanish. Although any language can be advantageous, particularly Italian or French or German in the opera world, Spanish is a language you will find spoken in every theater, regardless of the form being produced. I'd be willing to wager that most working SMs have encountered a situation where speaking basic Spanish was (or would have been) immensely helpful in just getting something done. It's a delicate but very real fact that the army of people who support our business - in the form of transportation, building and operations services, food/catering services, construction, customer service, and so on - are often not native English speakers, and are often from Spanish-speaking countries or cultures.
Knowing and understanding how a scene shop works, and having a basic carpentry vocabulary, are invaluable.
Also, chiming in on the language front... If you're planning to work in the US, I heartily recommend Spanish. Although any language can be advantageous, particularly Italian or French or German in the opera world, Spanish is a language you will find spoken in every theater, regardless of the form being produced. I'd be willing to wager that most working SMs have encountered a situation where speaking basic Spanish was (or would have been) immensely helpful in just getting something done. It's a delicate but very real fact that the army of people who support our business - in the form of transportation, building and operations services, food/catering services, construction, customer service, and so on - are often not native English speakers, and are often from Spanish-speaking countries or cultures.
94
Employment / Re: Response Time
« on: Dec 30, 2011, 02:19 am »
Matthew, I agree that response time above 24 hours is uninspiring, especially in this market. However.... if it's genuinely urgent, might it not be more appropriate to make a phone call? Or even a call, followed up with a text saying "Hi, this is XYZ, please hear voicemail/see email in the next hour and respond"?
While I try to be fast about email responses (same day or next day, 99 percent of the time) there are times when email does not communicate the urgency of the request. I'm a big fan of using the most direct means available... you can have a conversation on the phone, and thereby avoid much time-consuming email correspondence. If it's important to generate a paper trail, I'm more than happy to send an email with detailed notes from a phone call, or receive the same from a colleague.
While I try to be fast about email responses (same day or next day, 99 percent of the time) there are times when email does not communicate the urgency of the request. I'm a big fan of using the most direct means available... you can have a conversation on the phone, and thereby avoid much time-consuming email correspondence. If it's important to generate a paper trail, I'm more than happy to send an email with detailed notes from a phone call, or receive the same from a colleague.
95
The Green Room / Re: ARTICLE: Confessions of a Serial Intern
« on: Dec 23, 2011, 07:33 pm »
Matthew - I'm in your camp here, I think, unless I've misinterpreted your response... The economics of labor in this business are TOUGH. And change, all too often, happens slowly, from the bottom up.
That said, I'm astonished: seven internships is a lot of work. While I'm happy to have done intern/apprentice jobs before, during and briefly after college, I question the habits of people who are truly serial interns. Even if we set aside the issue of working well below a living wage, these are still entry-level positions. Most arts internships, as advertised, run between two and ten months. Taking the average of that, should we expect that any early-career worker needs to spend between five and six years honing their craft for minimal pay? This is further complicated by the reality that a college degree is no longer special qualification, and recent grads often seek internships as a way to transition into the professional world. Four years (or so) of schooling at the college level, followed by five or six years of entry level work, sounds extraordinarily inefficient to me.
Perhaps I'm drawing a line in the sand... but it seems foolhardy, after the third or fourth such experience, to imagine that an internship will lead to employment. Applications for other jobs - with the same organization(s) an individual has interned, with different ones, with any companies at all - lead to paying work, higher on the totem pole.
That said, I'm astonished: seven internships is a lot of work. While I'm happy to have done intern/apprentice jobs before, during and briefly after college, I question the habits of people who are truly serial interns. Even if we set aside the issue of working well below a living wage, these are still entry-level positions. Most arts internships, as advertised, run between two and ten months. Taking the average of that, should we expect that any early-career worker needs to spend between five and six years honing their craft for minimal pay? This is further complicated by the reality that a college degree is no longer special qualification, and recent grads often seek internships as a way to transition into the professional world. Four years (or so) of schooling at the college level, followed by five or six years of entry level work, sounds extraordinarily inefficient to me.
Perhaps I'm drawing a line in the sand... but it seems foolhardy, after the third or fourth such experience, to imagine that an internship will lead to employment. Applications for other jobs - with the same organization(s) an individual has interned, with different ones, with any companies at all - lead to paying work, higher on the totem pole.
96
Tools of the Trade / Re: Health Products
« on: Dec 16, 2011, 07:42 pm »
A tennis ball - does wonders for sore neck and shoulders (ask the dancers in your life how to use it for any number for muscle and tension relief massage tricks).
Water, water, water, water. I try not to drink more than a cup of coffee a day in tech, and maybe a half-cup at the end of the meal break on a long day.
Water, water, water, water. I try not to drink more than a cup of coffee a day in tech, and maybe a half-cup at the end of the meal break on a long day.
97
College and Graduate Studies / Re: SM Certificate Programs?
« on: Dec 07, 2011, 01:08 pm »
Josh -
If you're based in Northern California, and looking to build your academic credentials without relocating, check out the program at Foothill College in Los Altos. I'd be happy to PM with you if you'd like
Meg
If you're based in Northern California, and looking to build your academic credentials without relocating, check out the program at Foothill College in Los Altos. I'd be happy to PM with you if you'd like
Meg
98
Tools of the Trade / Re: Backstage Calling Station/Console
« on: Dec 07, 2011, 08:47 am »
Flexibility so the caller can sit (in a drafting chair or similar) OR stand
Flexibility in where Q-lites are placed, if possible - righty/lefty callers will thank you!
A 1'' high lip all the way across the edge of the primary surface - not just braces for the book itself
Hooks or shelves for sundries (tissues, some essential first aid, tape, etc)
Flexibility in where Q-lites are placed, if possible - righty/lefty callers will thank you!
A 1'' high lip all the way across the edge of the primary surface - not just braces for the book itself
Hooks or shelves for sundries (tissues, some essential first aid, tape, etc)
99
The Green Room / Re: Tax Season!
« on: Nov 05, 2011, 02:27 pm »
Gym memberships may not be deductible - but I agree wholeheartedly that physical fitness is important for all SMs, for a host of reasons.
If the expense of exercise facilities and/or gear is cumbersome, I'd be happy to share my personal shortcuts via PM
If the expense of exercise facilities and/or gear is cumbersome, I'd be happy to share my personal shortcuts via PM
100
The Green Room / Re: Nudity and Sensitive (Sexual) Material
« on: Nov 03, 2011, 04:10 pm »
I'm game. Thanks, Ruth!
101
Tools of the Trade / Re: 5 fingers
« on: Oct 08, 2011, 12:06 pm »
Love 'em. I've worked with electricians and carpenters who swear by them, and I've teched and run shows in them myself. (I also actually run in them, usually 5k-10k distances.)
The first time a stagehand wore them backstage on a show I was ASMing, I was *very* skeptical. We agreed she could wear them, and we would re-evaluate at the end of the show... and she wound up saving the day by scaling concert truss to guide a finicky chiffon drape during a massive set change.
On my current show, one of the carpenters wears them, and he does some pretty cool maneuvering underneath a large set piece, using the shoes to grip the floor and muscle the unit into position.
I have not yet explored the safety or efficacy of the shoes in a setting with heavy automation - anyone with experience on that end?
The first time a stagehand wore them backstage on a show I was ASMing, I was *very* skeptical. We agreed she could wear them, and we would re-evaluate at the end of the show... and she wound up saving the day by scaling concert truss to guide a finicky chiffon drape during a massive set change.
On my current show, one of the carpenters wears them, and he does some pretty cool maneuvering underneath a large set piece, using the shoes to grip the floor and muscle the unit into position.
I have not yet explored the safety or efficacy of the shoes in a setting with heavy automation - anyone with experience on that end?
102
The Green Room / Re: Happiness is...
« on: Sep 21, 2011, 04:10 pm »
...when the crew chief (and two carpenters) offer to bring food back for you at dinner. For three days in a row. Love 'em.
103
The Green Room / Re: It's been so long...
« on: Sep 19, 2011, 03:11 pm »
Scott - congratulations! I'm so glad you're making TW your home again.
I was there for a few shows in 2009-2010, and it seems the company as a whole has now regained some well-deserved equilibrium. 2010 was definitely a time of change :-)
Well done, and here's to many happy returns!
Meg
I was there for a few shows in 2009-2010, and it seems the company as a whole has now regained some well-deserved equilibrium. 2010 was definitely a time of change :-)
Well done, and here's to many happy returns!
Meg
104
The Green Room / Re: You know you're in tech when....
« on: Aug 03, 2011, 01:30 pm »
...you reach for your hip when you need stronger light, expecting the flashlight to still be there.
On the A train platform.
On the A train platform.
105
The Green Room / Re: What would you do, with a grant for SMing...
« on: May 31, 2011, 02:33 pm »
This year, I'd apply the money to training and certification opportunities: First Aid, CPR, Fire Guard certification, a basic music theory class or music lessons, a language course (Spanish or French) and I'd contact a friend about doing some sort of observation or work exchange to look at the operations of a high-end scene shop, from the first day of the build through first paid public performance on a single project. I know what the timeline looks like from a SM view, from prep through opening night; seeing a project from the perspective of the shop in a commercial setting would be really cool. Like dallas10086, I would also love to visit the West End and some regional theaters. After all the experience and knowledge-building stuff, I would consider updating my office/tech tools, but really... I'll do that anyway 
If I'd had a grant, say, eight years ago, I would have applied a portion to essential training, and earmarked the bulk of it for travel and related expenses. I was lucky to have opportunities in a variety of places; for a very early career SM (without the benefit of experience in negotiating reimbursements, or the backing of a union affiliation at the time) it was an expensive task to travel for great learning opportunities.
If I'd had a grant, say, eight years ago, I would have applied a portion to essential training, and earmarked the bulk of it for travel and related expenses. I was lucky to have opportunities in a variety of places; for a very early career SM (without the benefit of experience in negotiating reimbursements, or the backing of a union affiliation at the time) it was an expensive task to travel for great learning opportunities.