Messages

931

Tools of the Trade / Re: [FAQ] Scheduling and Calendar Applications

« on: Apr 08, 2007, 10:59 pm »

I'm going to toss another vote into the hat for google calendar (and google documents).  So much of what we do as SMs is communicate and share information.  In my mind there's no better way to share information than give people direct access to the files.  You also have access to control who has write access and read-only access.  This is the direction that information sharing is headed in the next 5-10 years, learn to love it!

932

Tools of the Trade / Re: Google Groups?

« on: Apr 08, 2007, 10:55 pm »

We actually went a step further when I was at school.  Beginning the fall of 2004 we had the entire callboard for the school of theatre online, hosted on a university server.  All performance reports, rehearsal reports, rehearsal schedules, notes, minutes, production calendars, etc... were all online.  It makes the life of a stage manager so much easier.  Example - in rehearsal you type your report in excel as you go, as soon as your rehearsal is over you save the excel file to the server and you're done, everything is updated for the world to view.  Most of the time I was packing up and done with rehearsal before the actors were packed up.

933

The Hardline / Re: "Unprofessional"

« on: Apr 07, 2007, 06:24 pm »

I see it turned into a catch-phrase for any behavior that someone finds fault with, whether that behavior is truly out of bounds or not. 

Centura - I think that's a more articulate way to state what my thoughts were when I started this thread. 

934

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Paranoid/Offensive Director

« on: Apr 07, 2007, 09:45 am »

Have you spoken with the grad student's advisor, or your advisor?  You may have some luck on that level as opposed to going right up to the director of the school of theatre.

As far as working with this guy again, I don't see a reason to sugarcoat things.  Of course you don't want to piss him off during the current production, but you could say you're not interested in working with him again.  If he asks "why?" it may even be a great chance to open a dialogue with him about some things that are frustrating you.

935

The Hardline / "Unprofessional"

« on: Apr 06, 2007, 03:24 pm »

I feel like this word is tossed around a bit too much in our industry, thoughts?

936

Tools of the Trade / Re: Anyone have to pre-rig milk cartons?

« on: Apr 05, 2007, 01:59 pm »

Let's just say this is a high-maintenance actor.....one whose requests we have to at least attempt to fulfill.

You could get him a sippy cup, that won't spill and should work well with his personal character.. baby.

937

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Dressing For The Part?

« on: Apr 05, 2007, 08:42 am »

What's the reasoning behind wearing blacks to anything but tech rehearsals and performances?

I don't think there is a reason to wearing blacks to anything but tech/performances (unless you're a choreographer  )  As an SM what you wear needs to be an intentional choice - it goes a long long way towards setting the atmosphere.  Personally I prefer to dress very casually and subdued, I don't like attracting attention to myself.  If I wanted to do that I'd be on the other side of the table.   

938

Employment / Re: Job Reference

« on: Apr 04, 2007, 06:23 pm »

actually,

 "I think person A is terrible and you shouldn't hire them"

IS slander and/or libel - you are telling someone else how to hire (or not) and your opinion of their character is not the same as your opinion of their work

No, sorry to say it's not slander.  .

Just to be clear, yes it IS slander. The minute you say "you shouldn't hire them" you have overstepped your bounds. Saying the person is terrible can be construed as slander without anything backing it up, and beyond being a bad way to chat abt someone, suggests that your opinion is colored by an emotional reponse that has nothing to do with their job capabilities, since it is a subjective statement and not substantiated.

Perhaps we should visit the definition of "Slander" as per webster's dictionary.

Slander:
"a false and defamatory oral statement about a person"

The use of the conjunction "and" implies that for something to be slanderous it must be:
a) false
b) defamatory
If either of these are criteria are not met, it's not possible for a statement to be slanderous.

Saying "You shouldn't hire this person" is not false at all, it's not even a fact that can be proven false and therefore is not slanderous.

It's unfortunate that you fail to understand the definition of slander.

939

Employment / Re: Job Reference

« on: Apr 04, 2007, 12:00 am »

actually,

 "I think person A is terrible and you shouldn't hire them"

IS slander and/or libel - you are telling someone else how to hire (or not) and your opinion of their character is not the same as your opinion of their work

No, sorry to say it's not slander.  For something to be slander there has to be factual (something that can definitively be proven true or false) information.  An opinion is not a fact.  Saying "I think person A is terrible" is not a fact, there is no way to prove that true or false.  Saying 2+2=3 is a definitive fact that can be proven wrong. 

Of course it's not good business practice, especially in such a close-knit industry, to do any of what I said - but legally you're fine.

940

Employment / Re: Job Reference

« on: Apr 03, 2007, 05:59 pm »

This is a great question, and it can get you in a lot of trouble.

Legally, the whole reference thing is very dangerous.  While you can give someone a glowing recommendation, you can't give them a poor recommendation or you can be sued.  Instead, you give a neutral recommendation, stating when the person was hired, left, and if they left at the end of their contract or left early.  That's it.  "I don't feel confortable answering that question" is a great way to answer followup questions someone may have, and will tell them what they need to know without you actually saying anything that will get you into trouble.

I really don't think there'd be any possible legal action as long as you tell the truth.  For someone to prove slander (verbally spoken defamation of character) they have to prove that what you said was a) false, and b) caused measurable damage to them.  Now the measurable damage would be easy, you prevented them from getting a job.  You also can't get sued for your opinion.  If you say "I think person A is terrible and you shouldn't hire them" that's not exactly good practice but it's not slander.  If you say "Person A quit without giving me notice, I wouldn't hire them" and that person did quit without giving notice, that's also not slander.  Now if you make up all kinds of bogus lies about the person and it prevents them from getting the job then you may be in trouble.

941

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Noises Off

« on: Mar 31, 2007, 11:45 am »

Any chance of having the theatre for rehearsal?  I know most of the time it's a resounding "no!" from the production team but for a show with as much physical comedy as noises it could be incredibly helpful.

942

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: School or work?

« on: Mar 31, 2007, 11:41 am »

I think another thing that is often overlooked with a four year degree is the education you get outside of the theatre.  Theatre mirrors life, and in my opinion a well-rounded education is imperative.  There have been some other posts in different threads about people who have degrees in fields nowhere even closely related to theatre that are thriving as SMs. 

943

College and Graduate Studies / Re: Texas Schools

« on: Mar 31, 2007, 11:28 am »

Ahh puff your chests with academic pride!!

Of course everyone is partial to their school.  I think the person's question would be best answered by folks that are a few years removed from academia and have worked with people from all over.

944

Employment / Re: Have any of you worked on broadway?

« on: Mar 31, 2007, 11:22 am »

Have you thought about starting out at a large university without a declared major?  My brother is in a similar situation not knowing what he wants to study and that is what I recommended to him.  Large schools do give you the advantage of being able to study just about anything you want, but you have to be sold on the large university environment or else you'll just be miserable.  Deciding where to go to school is a tough decision, good luck.

945

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: YAle Short Hand

« on: Mar 29, 2007, 01:25 pm »

Maybe what we should be looking at is not "what" Yale shorthand is.  Obviously it's not something that's terribly significant.  There are plenty of experienced SMs here and it seems not one of us has really even heard mention of it, let alone use it.