Messages

946

The Green Room / Re: Road Life Advice

« on: Dec 31, 2009, 10:07 pm »

oh yeah - keep an eye out for "by 7 get the 8th free" kind of deals - we collected them for the different people thru the tour so we could give free meals to everyone on crew at one point or another (esp our costumer, wig master, pyro master, "prop tart" and a few other folks on very limited budgets and who rarely got breaks

they really appreciated it and made it fun in each city to find and really nice to share -

947

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: REHEARSALS: prompting requests around the world

« on: Dec 31, 2009, 11:32 am »

as Matthew said - while officially, "line" is the term, many actors just plain ol' don't use it as they fumfer in the moment to recover the lost words - the most important thing is not so much what they say as learning their body language and recognizing when they have gone up rather than are acting, feeling out the moment. The worst thing is volunteering the line when they are not lost for words but for action/activity/intention/whatever term they use.

Regardless, fun to find out what others do. I, too, get "what!, " f*** me" (and creative variations) or the stare more often than "line" -

948

The Green Room / Re: Road Life Advice

« on: Dec 31, 2009, 11:26 am »

As it's a bus and truck, don't be afraid to bring a bike! And, something we loved - everyone brings books they don't necessarioy intend to keep forever, and these become a lending library to share//lend among the cast/crew and if they get left behind no one panics. ALSO, things like Trivial Pursuit or other easy, q&a based board games help pass time in the bus. Believe me, sleeping and playing games will be premium options!

949

The Green Room / Re: Road Life Advice

« on: Dec 30, 2009, 05:53 pm »

oh yeah - I always take 1) an oversized towel (the hotel towels are never big enough) 2) my favorite big spoon 3) my big 12 oz mug and YES take a candle or three!

950

The Green Room / Re: An eye for details?

« on: Dec 29, 2009, 09:10 pm »

I've taken that first test in a room full of actors, lawyers and other professionals whose job it is to notice the details and was the only one who (first time) saw that silly costumed intruder....can't understand how others DIDN'T see it!

951

The Green Room / Re: Road Life Advice

« on: Dec 28, 2009, 03:15 pm »

what kind of tour? union or non, big cast musical or 2-person straight play, venue sizes, flying or bus/truck - etc - that info will inform a lot (I rarely hit houses where our local crew weren't theater pros, altho there were a couple of folks in one city... but they also know the best places to grab quick lunch or a drink after)

others who tour more often will be better than me at this but in general, this is what I learned: 1) bring things you like to do - knitting, long books, etc - things that require time that you otherwise wouldn't have time for 2) research your stops ahead of time and plan to see some highlights in each city 3) bring a bike or go for long walks and get to know the place 4) as SM we created a little tradition for each new venue that made us feel at home 5) bring something that makes you feel home - whether it's a photo album or your favorite blanket or a cuddly animal or something for "those" times.

Set aside something every week to save for later - it's too easy otherwise to spend the whole per diem on silly stuff and end up broke.

and most of all, enjoy yourself!

pat

952

Employment / Re: Santa Barbara

« on: Dec 23, 2009, 12:37 am »

As far as I know, there are only two AEA companies up there, and one uses a resident SM. The other is newer and may still be exploring options. Both companies are very ... specific in the ways they deal with things.

Have you been stage managing for a long time? What kinds of shows have you done?

953

The Green Room / Re: "How to get a job as a stage manager"

« on: Dec 22, 2009, 03:04 pm »

Yeah - I had carefully typed something when I realized that = am considering signing up and then un-registering after - more to help innocents than to put her down - it scares me that someone might actually believe it (producers as much as young SMs-to-be)

954

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PEOPLE: obnoxious crew member

« on: Dec 20, 2009, 11:50 pm »

Good points raised - actually, it is the SMs place to deal with this, not yours. Even tho you run the deck, this is a great example of protocol - your job is to tell the SM that she has arrived and then pass it along to the SM or PSM, who can take her aside and deal with this, keeping you out of the loop and enabling you to work together in future.

Of course, if this is her MO, then she needs to be replaced. But if this is not normal behavior, then she knows she is late (and the fact that she showed up alt all is a mark of responsibility) - so make your first words those of concern - "so glad to see you, we were really worried, are you ok, is everything all right, do you need anything?" etc - then you are more likely to generate dialogue and solve this constructively.

955

The Green Room / Re: "How to get a job as a stage manager"

« on: Dec 20, 2009, 06:07 pm »

someone brave needs to post a response to this delusional job description before a slew of innocents show up on our doorsteps with no skills, expecting to make a good living!

956

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: PEOPLE: Dear Abby: Trouble with Managing an ASM

« on: Dec 15, 2009, 08:04 pm »

Rebbe's response is great!

One more thing, since this ASM knows you did it last year it might help to make light of that fact, joke about the fact that it must be weird thinking they might be compared but no worries, and sorry if you make assumptions based on what you did previously, that you are open to their input because they are a new set of eyes and are seeing things you may have missed or doing things differently in ways that work better for them, and no problem with that.

957

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: How to back up the career of choice.

« on: Dec 10, 2009, 05:50 pm »

There is a great deal to be said for going to college and finding out what you love. You are in high school - that's not to say you don't know what you want and you won't end up as a stage manager, but there are so many things yet to learn, so many things to expose yourself to. You may decide you want theater to be your avocation, in which case may places will be thrilled to have a volunteer who knows what they're doing. You may decide you want to design sets or lights or sound, which is a great career choice. You may choose SMing as a vocation, but the vital skills you need for a long-term career are often best gotten from learning about other things, from studying the world and history and language and science, as well as interacting with people and just plain ol' growing up and learning how to focus on what's important and let the rest go, how to get folks to do what you want/need constructively; these all come with time and experience.

In the meantime, volunteering at all levels of theater in your area will teach you so much!

958

Employment / Re: shadowing

« on: Dec 09, 2009, 01:33 am »

http://smnetwork.org/forum/index.php/topic,2995.0.html is a good place to start

there are some notes on the board about shadowing, but as mentioned, the best thing to do is send notes to the Stage Managers or drop them at the stage door (which you shd be able to find with the help of the house staff). Some houses are not practical for shadowing, and some have interesting insurance issues with civilians on deck or in the booth, so keep that in mind if you aren't getting the answer you want.

959

The Green Room / Re: Video of an SM at Work from "In The Wings"

« on: Dec 08, 2009, 12:47 am »

very cool thanks!

960

The Green Room / Re: New web site about stage managers?

« on: Dec 06, 2009, 11:26 pm »

fwiw, I didn't get anything -