Messages

91

The Green Room / Thank You

« on: Dec 25, 2015, 11:47 am »

Let's all thank and salute the brave crews who are working on Christmas day. I have worked right up to Christmas Eve before, but have yet to work on Christmas day itself. Thank you all for your time, energy, and may you have a great break after the show is done.

92

Introductions / Re: Hello!

« on: Dec 22, 2015, 10:21 pm »

"The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940" sounds like a great show. Have fun!

93

Introductions / Re: Hello!

« on: Dec 22, 2015, 10:15 pm »

Congrats on the gigs Megan, and welcome. You'll find this place to be a wonderful resource.

94

Tools of the Trade / Re: Prop cards

« on: Dec 22, 2015, 10:12 pm »

What a great idea! I'm definitely going to think about it for my next show.

95

Employment / Re: The importance of on line presence

« on: Dec 03, 2015, 02:08 am »

I second the contact form idea; [shameless self-promotion alert] it's what I recommend my clients do as opposed to listing an email address, since my other hat I wear is freelance web developer. If anyone wants to ask me specific questions or get advice, feel free to PM.

96

The Hardline / Equity Report for Limited Media Appearances

« on: Nov 30, 2015, 02:20 am »

I have one actor appearing under a guest artist contract in my show. According to the guest artist rulebook, 9(A)(1)(b) under Limited Media Appearances says:

(b) The Producer shall file a report with Equity giving the time utilized for the Recording sessions.

Does that mean we file a report beforehand informing them we will tape, or one afterwards summing up the taping?

97

The Hardline / Re: Script rewrites

« on: Nov 27, 2015, 12:02 pm »

FYI: there's a free online service called WriterDuet (https://writerduet.com/) that allows multiple users to see and make changes to a script. It's meant for screenwriters: you can import a FinalDraft files.

98

The Green Room / Re: Article: Suicide within the Entertainment Industry

« on: Nov 24, 2015, 12:58 pm »

Agreed maxi: just this year I had a hard conversation with someone on a production team regarding a situation that was potentially going to cause a lot of problems for my actors (it was eventually resolved). I spelled it out this way: look, none of us are doing this gig because we expect to get rich and famous, but in lieu of more substantive benefits we can at least treat people decently.

99

The Hardline / Re: 10 out of 12s Meal Break Question

« on: Nov 23, 2015, 11:55 pm »

Thanks for the Q&A; we'll be scheduling our 10 out of 12 soon and it's good to see all the variations people use. Love this forum and the multiple experiences I get to learn from.

100

Employment / Re: Is Stage Jobs Pro USA Useful?

« on: Nov 21, 2015, 09:39 pm »

Thanks for the run down on this website: I like the idea of email updates, something I wish I got from OffStageJobs. Looks like I'll have to take a look.

101

The Green Room / Re: ARTICLE: Theatre bans Jim Davidson for "slagging it off"

« on: Nov 10, 2015, 10:48 am »

No: never had that experience (thankfully!) though I did once have an older stage hand who refused to take direction from me (the younger PSM). The director and I had a conversation about it and she spoke to him, which resolved the issue. On the whole my experience with talent has been largely respectful, and I've been fortunate to work for places where arts management is clearly behind you.

I would dearly love the reporter to have found someone backstage to speak to about this incident, since I am sure there is way more to the story than is being said. But it brings up the issue I've seen in many places: who's going to speak out against wrong behavior when it could be your career you're sacrificing?

102

Introductions / Re: Silly joke

« on: Nov 04, 2015, 01:36 pm »

What a great intro: I had a similar background serving as a board member for a nonprofit children's theatre right out of college for years. Having all those skills is super important. You never what you'll need to know for a show!

My LD in college used to break out the cheesy jokes when we had long hangs. The one I remember that was hilarious (at around 11:30 or midnight) was: what do you say to a 3 headed, one legged, British hitchhiker? "'Ello, 'ello, 'ello, you look 'armless, 'op on in."

103

Introductions / Re: Not actually a SM, well probably anyways

« on: Oct 27, 2015, 07:00 pm »

I'm actually an electrician as well (still have my wrench and help out with hang/focus on occasion), so I certainly learned from multiple areas. This board is a great resource to answer questions of all kinds.

104

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: What are you looking from your ME?

« on: Oct 27, 2015, 06:59 pm »

I did mostly lighting work in college and only gradually came into SM from there, so I actually have ASMed and MEd for a show before (I don't recommend it: long story and crazy circumstances). However, I find in the theatres I work for as SM that I mostly only deal with the LD. Regardless, I appreciate any and all help I can get backstage, especially when I'm short-handed with crew. Now, if you're in certain places with union standards, that changes, but in the smaller regional theatre I work we often just have general "crew" backstage.

I think in the booth the most important thing I want to know is the general cuing of the show. Like, if for some reason we have failure on some special LX, what's a good cue to move to?

105

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Dealing with Panic Situations

« on: Oct 27, 2015, 06:49 pm »

I agree with everyone: it can be so stressful to run into problems, but now that I have several crazies under my belt I find I'm not nearly as fazed by the occasional mayhem that may crop up. It's like muscle memory: you learn how to respond to certain stimuli under pressure in tight situations.

Per children in shows: I was a children's theatre board member for many years and know first hand that some parents can be difficult, plus they're all still learning (as are we all, they're just earlier in that process), so expectations have to take that into account. It sounds like you did the best you could under the circumstances, and even if you had found a solution on your own, you definitely want to let your SM know what happened and what you did. I one time had an injury backstage that I didn't find out about until much later because my crew members didn't want to "bother" me. I quickly explained that I needed to know about such matters in real time.

Working under good SMs is another way to get a lot of practical advice/experience for how to handle things; I've definitely observed and modeled behavior that I find helpful. Even negative experiences may help, by teaching you what not to do.