Messages

1

College and Graduate Studies / Re: Little help please... (Seeking College Recommendations)

« on: Jan 07, 2007, 02:13 pm »

Dusting off my keyboard for a post on this subject:

Before going back to professional SMing, I used to teach and recruit theatre students for both undergrad and grad degrees at a big 10 University with a really large theatre program.   I  know a bunch of stage managers from reputable schools (some with actual stage management degrees) that really suck at stage managing.  I know an equal number of really excellent stage managers that didn't go to school for stage management at all.  There is no one school in the US that offers the best stage management program for all people.  There are certainly programs out there that can offer great opportunities and help mold good SMs. 

With that said, my suggestions:

ask yourself what kind of SMing you would like to focus on: opera, theatre, dance (for example).  Find a program that offers lots of direct opportunities in that area.

Look at what the people teaching in the program have been doing.  Why would you hone your craft under someone who hasn't worked professionally (went straight into teaching after getting their MFA?) or who hasn't worked professionally in a long time and doesn't have good, recent  professional contacts for you to take advantage of?   There a disheartening number of people out there teaching people how to stage manage that have not had a good solid professional stage management career themselves.  How can they teach that which they do not truly know?

Focus on programs either in large metropolitan areas with a vital theatre community that will offer a large number of professional (and paid!) opportunities -OR- a program that brings in a lot of professional directors, choreographers that are actively working in the professional theatre world.  Getting professional contacts and credits is vital to your resume.  More important than a BA, BFA, or MFA after your name.  Having both is great (both professional credits and degree letters...)! 

As a recruiter for the university, I was looking for students with practical experience and drive versus focusing on their scholastic pedigree.  Now that I am back out in the "real world" and working professionally, I ALWAYS hire an assistant based on recommendations with professionals I trust.  Never on where they went to school...unless they worked with a professional director or choreographer there that I know and have worked with personally and trust. 

Personally I agree that a liberal arts degree is nice in the long run (especially if you ever want to teach) but a conservatory type school is more likely to offer solid professional leads.  Of course, good leads are certainly not exclusive to a BFA!

My 2 cents...good luck! 

2

Stage Management: Other / Dance stage management: stopwatches shiver me timbers!

« on: Jul 11, 2006, 08:30 pm »

I've been quiet on this network for a while, but had to leap out of hiding for this subject.  I have been working exclusively (with two quick summer theatre exceptions about 8 years ago) as a SM and lighting designer for dance professionally for the last 15 years.  I agree that there are as many ways to SM dance as there are SM's but I have to admit that hearing people claim to call a modern dance show from a stopwatch chills my heart when I first hear it...then makes me smile because it is that sort of dance stage manager that ensures that I will always be able to find work. 

I work for a rather large, well known modern dance company that tours domestically and internationally and can say from experience the last SM that "called from a stopwatch" with this company did not last long. 

Now, please don't take offense at my personal distaste for the stopwatch calling.  It is just that I happen to feel in my heart that stage managing (and certainly GOOD stage managing) is an art.  Part of what makes us artists is our ability to flow with the production and serve it in a way that makes sense to the moment...to the energy of that particular performance.  And stage managers that call a cue :20 into track 2 regardless of what is happening on stage are doing the flow of the performance a disservice.  In my opinion, anyways... 

With that said, my call sheets tend to be laid out in 4 columns: 
1: Cue Number
2: time (count of the cue)
3: action (a physical description of what I am looking for to place the cue or description of the sound...because let's face it, in dance AND in theatre, sometimes the cue is visual, sometimes its from a line, sometimes its in a certain point in the music)
4: notes.  I find that I end up using this column to describe what is happening in the light cue so I understand what is happening to help place where it starts to happen or it could also be a little sketch of a stage picture to help clarify things.  Especially since usually I am usually not incredibly familiar with the piece before it starts to tech.  And tech tme is so short.

I used to do pages with stage diagrams, but found them annoying to work with and often confusing...the above method just works better for me and how my mind processes. 

For the actual calling, I do a warning (or standby if you prefer to call it) and then the GO.  The warning generally happens 20 seconds before the cue. 

Whew!  Now that I've said my piece, I will return to stalking in the shadows.  Good luck Jorge, with finding what works for you!