91
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Alley Staging
« on: Sep 11, 2008, 11:01 am »
this is getting sidetracked - but do you ever call that configuration a 'transverse' staging in the US?
News:
14 Jan 2021: Happy 21st birthday, SMNetwork! I replaced the old broken mobile theme. -K
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
92
SMNetwork Archives / Re: I could have kissed them!
« on: Sep 08, 2008, 11:36 am »
I was working on a show ith no asm and was quietly dying of the impossibilty of the task...
after rehearsal one day i was standing at the bottom of the stairs leading out of the theatre talking to the production manager and
trying to explain that there were a number of problems which needed his urgent attention if the whole thing ( and the stage manager )wasnt going to all fall apart . I was getting nowhere fast when the three cast members came down the stairs one after another but 2 minutes apart. I could have kissed them when they each stopped (uninvited) and spoke to me - the first said i was doing a great job and please, please hang in there. they didnt know how i was doing it. the second said, tough day huh? and the third said they were really really sorry they had behaved so badly it was only because they were so so stressed with the cooking they had to do onstage and that they really appreciated everything i was doing.
At this point my production manager just looks at me and goes ' so.what exactly is going on in there?' and for the first time started LISTENING to me. Truly, you would have thought it was a set up, but it was just coincidence that all stopped with such amazing timing!
I got an asm within 2 days.
God bless actors!
ChaCha
after rehearsal one day i was standing at the bottom of the stairs leading out of the theatre talking to the production manager and
trying to explain that there were a number of problems which needed his urgent attention if the whole thing ( and the stage manager )wasnt going to all fall apart . I was getting nowhere fast when the three cast members came down the stairs one after another but 2 minutes apart. I could have kissed them when they each stopped (uninvited) and spoke to me - the first said i was doing a great job and please, please hang in there. they didnt know how i was doing it. the second said, tough day huh? and the third said they were really really sorry they had behaved so badly it was only because they were so so stressed with the cooking they had to do onstage and that they really appreciated everything i was doing.
At this point my production manager just looks at me and goes ' so.what exactly is going on in there?' and for the first time started LISTENING to me. Truly, you would have thought it was a set up, but it was just coincidence that all stopped with such amazing timing!
I got an asm within 2 days.
God bless actors!
ChaCha
93
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Rutgers at the Globe
« on: Sep 08, 2008, 11:15 am »
keep us posted on your adventures in the uk. and hope you enjoy it!
94
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Gratuitious Paperwork
« on: Aug 15, 2008, 10:20 am »
ah yes, the older i got as a stage manager the less paperwork i seemed to need. definitely.
i bet all those 'young' stage managers are reading this and finding it hard to imagine. it's all that training - paperwork for every eventuality. all that anxiety - must have the paperwork for every eventuality. i am so with you matthew and ruth and co on this!
i bet all those 'young' stage managers are reading this and finding it hard to imagine. it's all that training - paperwork for every eventuality. all that anxiety - must have the paperwork for every eventuality. i am so with you matthew and ruth and co on this!
95
Employment / Re: I've offered the job but no response?
« on: Aug 15, 2008, 08:30 am »
happy ending!
and welcome to HR!
and welcome to HR!
96
Employment / Re: I've offered the job but no response?
« on: Aug 13, 2008, 11:29 am »
if you can't phone them, then i think you could offer the job to the new person. particularly if you can still offer A the asm role? But A will almost certainly surface just after B has taken the job and be very sad 
so be ready for that.
i'd probably give them another day myself, if time permits.
so be ready for that.i'd probably give them another day myself, if time permits.
97
Employment / Re: I've offered the job but no response?
« on: Aug 13, 2008, 11:15 am »Did person A give you any idea when they would get back to you?
Did you give person A a deadline to get back to you?
Can you contact person again and say 'now or never' ?
98
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Taping the Prop Table
« on: Jul 30, 2008, 12:08 pm »
In a similar vein to mac's tablecloths - For touring I discovered the joy of fabric covering for props tables. I would buy an old white (ish) sheet at an op shop (or similiar) and before setting out on the road (well past the time I'd expect substantive changes to a props table layout) I would redo the props table onto it - either tracing the objects of drawing boxes with the names depending on the ASM or my mood. Then it can just fold up and go into the top of the props roadcase ( or be used as packing for fragile objects!) and be ready to go. remarkably i seldom found that it wouldnt fit on the props table in each new venue. It even would go onto roadcases etc if required. I did avoid working too near the edges of a standard trestle to allow a little for smaller tables, but still, remarkably easy. It really helped the cast by guaranteeing the exact same layout every time. i can't recall where I first heard of this method, but I love it.
99
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Help! Beastly show and actor!!!
« on: Jul 21, 2008, 01:00 am »
LCSM - I think that was what I was trying to say!
100
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Help! Beastly show and actor!!!
« on: Jul 20, 2008, 10:08 am »
i worry about where it ends. where is the line when it stops being ok for the person with the ability to entertain other people to deal with the frustrations of the job by ranting, yelling, shouting at those who may not even be responsible for the perceived difficulty?
I was working at an international arts festival the year a well known american comedian was engaged to perform. Her hotel booking had been made incorrectly and the scene at the hotel had to be seen to be believed. Hotel staff were flattening themselves against the wall and 2 senior festival staff took the brunt of her 'displeasure'. The travel agent who made the mistake was physically ill from the abuse. In fact the festival had been made aware of the problem an hour or so prior to the performer's party arriving and had various alternate arrangements to offer. The exact room requirements were available at a hotel 3 blocks down the road, etc etc but she wouldnt even consider any of the alternatives. Too busy shouting!
The performer went on to demand everything and anything for the whole of her stay, and even the festival director was heard to wish that she could just refund all the tickets and put her on the next plane home without a show. But why did this woman even think this kind of behaviour was Ok? Did she start by ranting at the stage manager when the tech went too slow for her liking? I worry that we support the notion that this is acceptable behaviour in our industry. that amazing talent does excuse inappropriate behaviour.
i think that as in any situation each of us can only judge how we feel and what we can accept/absorb/cope with. and then it has to be ok for us to say 'here is my line'. and of course we all bring the different skills and experiences to the workplace discussed by others in this thread so of course the line is going to be an ever shifting one. but i do believe we all have an obligation to behave with respect to others in the workplace no matter our role in the production.
I was working at an international arts festival the year a well known american comedian was engaged to perform. Her hotel booking had been made incorrectly and the scene at the hotel had to be seen to be believed. Hotel staff were flattening themselves against the wall and 2 senior festival staff took the brunt of her 'displeasure'. The travel agent who made the mistake was physically ill from the abuse. In fact the festival had been made aware of the problem an hour or so prior to the performer's party arriving and had various alternate arrangements to offer. The exact room requirements were available at a hotel 3 blocks down the road, etc etc but she wouldnt even consider any of the alternatives. Too busy shouting!
The performer went on to demand everything and anything for the whole of her stay, and even the festival director was heard to wish that she could just refund all the tickets and put her on the next plane home without a show. But why did this woman even think this kind of behaviour was Ok? Did she start by ranting at the stage manager when the tech went too slow for her liking? I worry that we support the notion that this is acceptable behaviour in our industry. that amazing talent does excuse inappropriate behaviour.
i think that as in any situation each of us can only judge how we feel and what we can accept/absorb/cope with. and then it has to be ok for us to say 'here is my line'. and of course we all bring the different skills and experiences to the workplace discussed by others in this thread so of course the line is going to be an ever shifting one. but i do believe we all have an obligation to behave with respect to others in the workplace no matter our role in the production.
101
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Tips for Packing?
« on: Jul 16, 2008, 11:11 am »
when touring i actually take more clothes than i take for personal travel because so often its hard to find time to the washing. but then my touring tends to be the work 15 hr days or be en route to next venue variety.
personal touring favourites in the (not too big wheelie) suitcase include sarong type thing to use as a throw over boring hotel furniture/tablecloth or even to cover up a particularly hideous hotel painting in my room! tried various things over the years but now like to take my altec lansing portable speakers to attach to ipod/laptop/cd player or whatever to have my own music either in the room or during bumpin etc .the speakers produce an amazing volume for their size and have enlivened the final tedious hours of bump outs in remote country halls... ( now there's another topic - good music for bump in/out and/or setup for a show?)
I also like to take a plastic or metal bowl and a knife fork and spoon for those day off picnics, and oh god i cant stand another hotel breakfast im gonna have cereal in my room/ its 2am and i havent eaten for hours lets make couscous using the kettle moments...
and lets not forget a corkscrew on some knife or multitool ( hooray for the arrival of the stelvin cap!)
one tour i took up crochet and sat on the tourbus ( it was an opera) making a round rug until we got to the tropics and it was just too hot to have a rug all over me in my seat - back to reading - i buy a LOT of books on tour.
One thing i love is that so many items of clothing/books/etc come from one tour or another so I remember the places and the people when I wear/reread/see them...
personal touring favourites in the (not too big wheelie) suitcase include sarong type thing to use as a throw over boring hotel furniture/tablecloth or even to cover up a particularly hideous hotel painting in my room! tried various things over the years but now like to take my altec lansing portable speakers to attach to ipod/laptop/cd player or whatever to have my own music either in the room or during bumpin etc .the speakers produce an amazing volume for their size and have enlivened the final tedious hours of bump outs in remote country halls... ( now there's another topic - good music for bump in/out and/or setup for a show?)
I also like to take a plastic or metal bowl and a knife fork and spoon for those day off picnics, and oh god i cant stand another hotel breakfast im gonna have cereal in my room/ its 2am and i havent eaten for hours lets make couscous using the kettle moments...
and lets not forget a corkscrew on some knife or multitool ( hooray for the arrival of the stelvin cap!)
one tour i took up crochet and sat on the tourbus ( it was an opera) making a round rug until we got to the tropics and it was just too hot to have a rug all over me in my seat - back to reading - i buy a LOT of books on tour.
One thing i love is that so many items of clothing/books/etc come from one tour or another so I remember the places and the people when I wear/reread/see them...
102
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: How to deal with problem Actor's/Audience members
« on: Jul 03, 2008, 11:27 am »
I had the problem with an actor (male lead) changing a line in the show because he thought it sounded better or was was funny or somesuch ( it was long ago when i was a young stage manager and I forget exactly why). It was an exit line for the scene and of course his version was terrible; more to the point, it wasnt as written. It was a new work, so there had been lots of rewriting and i expect all the cast felt a bit of text ownership, but we did have a playwright! The actor and I had gotten on well until now.
The first time I gave him a line note. He explained he'd done it on purpose. I said, please dont. he did it again. I told him not to in small words. he did it again. I wrote in the show report " Mr X changed exit line Sc X, has been asked not to do this' No one from management commented or got back to me. I am getting all worked up and actor and I are annoying each other a lot! I write it in the show report again. Finally the Director calls ( from 2500kms away) and I ask him if its Ok with him. He says no way, tell Mr X to stop. I relay the message. Actor stops. we continue to be polite but not superfriendly with one another.
A few weeks later we tour the show to Sydney, Mr Xs hometown. all the other cast are from Perth, where we rehearsed and opened the show. Between seasons we have a week off, Mr X at home in Sydney.
On day one of the Sydney season, Mr X comes to me and, out of the blue, apologises for his behaviour in Perth regarding the line. I suddenly realise he had been feeling hugely stressed without the director still there to support him, and without his usual networks . he was quite young ( so was I I guess!).
I was glad then that I had always stayed professional, and even though i had taken his refusal to deliver the line as written as a personal affront I hadn't behaved like it was personal.
Of course now I think about this incident and laugh. I was a baby stage manager. now i doubt the actor would have defied me, and if he had i would have done exactly as i did but the situation wouldnt have got to me. I would have left it on the show report and gone home and forgotten about it.
The first time I gave him a line note. He explained he'd done it on purpose. I said, please dont. he did it again. I told him not to in small words. he did it again. I wrote in the show report " Mr X changed exit line Sc X, has been asked not to do this' No one from management commented or got back to me. I am getting all worked up and actor and I are annoying each other a lot! I write it in the show report again. Finally the Director calls ( from 2500kms away) and I ask him if its Ok with him. He says no way, tell Mr X to stop. I relay the message. Actor stops. we continue to be polite but not superfriendly with one another.
A few weeks later we tour the show to Sydney, Mr Xs hometown. all the other cast are from Perth, where we rehearsed and opened the show. Between seasons we have a week off, Mr X at home in Sydney.
On day one of the Sydney season, Mr X comes to me and, out of the blue, apologises for his behaviour in Perth regarding the line. I suddenly realise he had been feeling hugely stressed without the director still there to support him, and without his usual networks . he was quite young ( so was I I guess!).
I was glad then that I had always stayed professional, and even though i had taken his refusal to deliver the line as written as a personal affront I hadn't behaved like it was personal.
Of course now I think about this incident and laugh. I was a baby stage manager. now i doubt the actor would have defied me, and if he had i would have done exactly as i did but the situation wouldnt have got to me. I would have left it on the show report and gone home and forgotten about it.
103
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: What would you like to hear?
« on: Jun 13, 2008, 11:19 am »
why you want to shadow this particular show
what you think you would get out of the experience
and not too long a letter!
what you think you would get out of the experience
and not too long a letter!
104
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Plotting Points on a grounplan
« on: May 14, 2008, 10:41 am »KNEEPADS for taping
chocolate frogs for taping too!