Messages

91

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Rehearsal Reports

« on: Oct 23, 2015, 04:15 pm »

exactly. A first pass reading "we need x by (date)" usually works very well - but if you keep asking with no response, you can also say something along the lines of "we are waiting for x to finalize blocking of scene 3. Can you tell us when to expect it?"

92

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / SCENERY: How to make a floor more slick

« on: Oct 23, 2015, 04:13 pm »

OK - an interesting conundrum needing any help you can offer.

Our set designer used the house floor and their paint - which is low quality and designed not to be slick - rather than the company's meso that gets painted with a higher quality paint that is less sticky, and then would usually be sealed. Our costumer used suede/leather/rubber soles on the shoes as normal based on normal floor. And normally, the challenge would be modifying the slippery qualities with a coke wash or other solution from that direction.

But the cheap paint is sticky and the actors are struggling. Feet stick to the floor (and paint comes up on the shoes so they stick to the tile in the dressing rooms too), keeping them from being able to move their legs - especially knees - without injury.

We have mopped, not mopped, mopped with soap or pine-sol or other solvents, with water, and not mopped at all. So far nothing works.

Yes the easiest solution would be to seal the floor, requiring a repaint after for the house, which means expenses the theater company is trying to avoid but will do if necessary ... if we can find the time to accomplish this while the show is running.

But does anyone have ideas how to make a floor MORE slick?

Edited to add topic tag- Maribeth

93

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Rehearsal Reports

« on: Oct 22, 2015, 01:50 am »

yup.....

94

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Rehearsal Reports

« on: Oct 21, 2015, 09:32 pm »

(eek thanks PSMKay - I just wasn't paying attention!~)

But rehearsal reports are kinda similar - a general idea of what happened but condensed to a sentence or two. A feel for the rehearsal, what was accomplished or discovered, which scenes / songs were completed or sketched or off book - things like that.

examples of designer notes - things like
COSTUMES: please add a brown 60s style purse for actor x to accomplish y (big enough to hide a gun, three pockets to find three specific props) etc; or LIGHTS: Video needs to run behind onstage action on a screen center stage, so please discuss pipe assignments with the Video team, and note that spots will not be feasible for lighting actors.

I always say please and thanks, esp for things completed (which I also note, eg) SET: thanks for the lip on the upstage platforms. The actors feel much safer.

95

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Rehearsal Reports

« on: Oct 19, 2015, 01:39 am »

Here's a good rule of thumb: If you missed the performance, what would you need - or want - to know? You don't have to go line by line, but a sense of the show, a sense of the house, whether there were problems that need to be solved. Was there a standing O (even a partial one)? Was something especially wonderful or memorable? Did someone solve something in the midst of a scene? Did something fall or break? Was something in the show particularly wonderful?

You don't need to write a novel, but a sense of the show, a feeling for how things went, is vital. And learning how to write so people who need to can read between the lines......

96

Self-Promotion / Re: Rothschild & Sons

« on: Oct 17, 2015, 05:53 am »

Hooray! Congrats!

97

The Green Room / SD SM calling Hairspray

« on: Oct 10, 2015, 01:35 am »

here's some fun, listening to the SD Rep SM call Hairspray

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TXBqdDAXgE

98

Self-Promotion / Re: I'M STILL GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER

« on: Oct 09, 2015, 05:33 pm »

Wish I could - sounds wonderful - and you have a lovely cast! So break legs!

99

Introductions / Re: Hi everyboy

« on: Sep 15, 2015, 10:58 am »

(and <g> you might want to check your title, so the gals feel welcoming too....)

100

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Props: The Clean House

« on: Sep 14, 2015, 03:49 pm »

For the spice, we used confetti. Really. And the dirt was dirt - but it was a few handfuls on top of a styro base holding a fake plant.

Also, you only need to use 2-3 real apples, the rest can be fakes.

A bunch of us have done the show, you might check the BTDT and see what ideas other people had.

101

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Hairspray spray.

« on: Sep 05, 2015, 03:33 pm »

Have you checked the BTDT? There are a slew of folks who've done the show to ask -

102

Stage Management: Other / Re: Blocking notation for a mobile rehearsal

« on: Aug 24, 2015, 02:50 am »

Old school paperwork. A clipboard or the script in a small binder. Use the individual floor maps as your set for the groundplan you take blocking on. And find shorthands for the most common movements. Look up those on the site who've done environmental/site specific pieces cuz that's what this is.

103

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Sondheim on Sondheim

« on: Aug 21, 2015, 01:17 pm »

Thanks - I wasn't sure how much book there was, but I always default to the reduced piano score since it usually is the most complete and cues within music are more easily called (I read music). Once they have them, I will go into the office and do a page by page comparison to see if I need the libretto at all (other than it usually has more space on the page....). As usual w musicals, I was worried abt missing or different lines in different iterations.

But in reading up on it at MTI and reviews, I hadn't realized that there are NO spoken lines, only video, so that is great info. Thank you those who had seen the show and cd offer that insight!

THANK YOU ALL!

104

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PLAYS: Sondheim on Sondheim

« on: Aug 20, 2015, 02:52 am »

I checked the BTDT and no one has posted for this show yet - But not everyone posts all their shows so am asking here as well - has anyone done Sondheim on Sondheim? I am picking up the book this week for first rehearsal, which doesn't happen for a few weeks. But I need to decide whether I need just the libretto or the piano/conductor's score. And I understand there's multimedia in this one?

If anyone can help, deepest thanks

Edited to add topic tag- Maribeth

105

The Hardline / Re: CER (Casual Employment Rider) and Prep

« on: Aug 06, 2015, 03:40 pm »

Having done far more than my share of "holy whatever we open tomorrow how fast can you learn the show" anything you can do ahead of time will make your life easier on the other end.