Messages

916

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Tannoy etiquette?

« on: Feb 16, 2010, 12:03 pm »

um, what's a tannoy -

and I have never ever heard of putting folks in order by gender. By when they go onstage, by role size or star status yes, but not by gender or age!

And if it's a group, I call the group name "all kids" or "cabaret ladies" or "(xxx) number" and not by name.

917

College and Graduate Studies / Re: Best schools for SM.

« on: Feb 15, 2010, 10:47 am »

please reference the link in the first poster's reply - there is lots of great information there

918

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / COSTUMES: How involved do you get with costumes and wardrobe?

« on: Feb 15, 2010, 10:46 am »

Oh, I expect to know abt the costumes and work w the costumer abt QC and other issues - I just don't provide forms, take measurements, do laundry or repairs (except rare emergencies during a performance, and even then I give instructions rather than do most of the time since I still have to call cues) - I expect to get the plot, I love when the costumer is brilliant and makes a statement w his/her choices, will help actors who have to provide their own w suggestions abt stores, but I just won't do their job

919

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / COSTUMES: How involved do you get with costumes and wardrobe?

« on: Feb 15, 2010, 10:08 am »

y'know, this is one of those places I draw the line. Costumes are someone else's bailiwick, I can help by making sure actors know who launders and when, and with complete novices I have made my own costume plot for my own reference (for QC concerns) but otherwise, I step away - costumes are not my department. Not to say I haven't loaned things occasionally, or helped the costumer by suggesting places to find certain items, but I am a stage manager, not wardrobe mistress.

Split off and moved from the Uploaded Forms board.  Uploaded Forms is not for discussion.

920

The Green Room / Re: Thread to vent about / Actors behaving badly / As haiku only

« on: Feb 11, 2010, 12:54 pm »

Here are tonite's notes
Please keep the director's vision
Yes, that IS my job

921

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: New Stage Manager

« on: Feb 06, 2010, 04:40 pm »

FWIW, some professional actors will never put props back and you have to figure out where they leave them from nite to nite (it's not their job to reset props, and sometimes you just gotta know it ends in his pocket or her dressing table - and it's not necessarily obstructive, for some actors who live their roles, it never occurs to them to move/deal w props off stage)

922

The Hardline / Re: Excluded from Opening Night Tickets

« on: Feb 05, 2010, 01:30 pm »

capital A Actors includes stage management - it's in the definition page of every rule book

923

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: Taking the house back against your HM's will

« on: Feb 04, 2010, 10:42 pm »

It's also unfair to the audience members who were there on time. The only way you can train your audience to come on time is to start on time (well, 5ish after except for emergencies)

And it is really unfair to the actors, once they've been called to places, to have to wait and lose all that energy. Plus getting out later can be devastating to the budget (in a union show) or to morale (in both AEA and non-AEA shows).

I always get a late-seating point from my director, and then we start on time (which is 5 after most of the time) unless we have more than (x) tickets outstanding (which is theater dependent), with late seating at the appropriate moment.

924

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: What SMs Should/Should Not Say During Casting Process?

« on: Jan 31, 2010, 11:55 pm »

and as we have discussed, you were asked directly, and answered discretely. All appropriate, and well done!

925

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Professionalism: Pre-show drink

« on: Jan 31, 2010, 09:12 pm »

I would ask for a raincheck afterward. As the SM, I want all my wits about me, especially with that casual a show, which is when the bizarrest things go awry, y'know?

926

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: What SMs Should/Should Not Say During Casting Process?

« on: Jan 30, 2010, 11:32 am »

again, I only volunteer if asked.

927

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: What SMs Should/Should Not Say During Casting Process?

« on: Jan 29, 2010, 05:34 pm »

or even high-maintenance. or totally anal. <g>

the challenge is, some of them really are nasty evil folks....but yes, finding a word that doesn't always imply BAD would be a good thing

928

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: Have I overstepped the mark?

« on: Jan 29, 2010, 01:11 pm »

missliz, I think it is NEVER appropriate to volunteer that info. They want the person they want for whatever reason. And it isn't always the actor who is problematic - it cd be a designer, house staff, box office, whatever. Our job is to keep the show up and, when necessary, do what we need to keep folks from killing themselves or each other.

And Matthew is right - we adjust style to circumstance. While I know I still have a lot to learn about our profession, much of my career is based on the fact that (with a few exceptions) I work well with "difficult" actors/directors/designers/producers. In other words, folks call me when they want certain talent but know they are in for some serious behavior/attitude. The result is 1) I find I am often able to get along with/get results from high-maintenance folks (granted w a handful of exceptions) 2) those folks are often not "difficult" for me because I have cultivated a relationship with them and 3) I get work! Not to mention, many of those high-maintenance folks are "names" (on both sides of the table) who refer me for higher-end things cuz they know I will keep my cool and keep them happy.

Discretion at every turn. Always. (and, well, it applies here too - loose lips sink ships)

929

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PROFESSIONALISM: Have I overstepped the mark?

« on: Jan 28, 2010, 03:47 pm »

So sorry, I still disagree. This being a freebie is good info but since we never know where a show or its cast/crew are gonna end up, or where being seen in a given show may lead, I still feel (free or not) this oversteps our boundaries. We have this beast in LA called 99seat (we call it 99cent) - most folks are asked to work free or as good as free. But sometimes important folks come to see shows, sometimes the shows move on, sometimes the artistic and creative team members travel between union and 99seat work etc etc etc. Even in a 99-seat or community theater situation, it would still be inappropriate for me to say "so and so is a real jerk, unprofessional, hard to work w." My opinion comprises gossip and can be construed as slander. And, as professionals, whether I am being paid or not, my actions and behavior as a pro is always my parameter for everything.

930

Tools of the Trade / Re: iPad: What do you think?

« on: Jan 28, 2010, 03:15 am »

and I assume everyone has seen the MadTV skit on the unfortunate name....wonder how long it will be until they change it