Messages

1

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: NEW WORKS: Script Changes with Colored Paper?

« on: Mar 02, 2014, 06:19 pm »

Thank you all!  I am going to end up using a different color paper for each time something gets revised in addition to all the typical theater script tracking methods.  And I'll see if adding the colored paper ends up being helpful.  I have a feeling it won't hurt.

Thanks so much!
Brendan

2

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / NEW WORKS: Script Changes with Colored Paper?

« on: Mar 01, 2014, 04:05 pm »

Hi All:

I'm working on a new work that starts rehearsals in a few days and the director and choreographer would like the script changes tracked by handing out pages on different colored paper for each change.  They don't really know how they want that organized, they haven't really done new works here before, and they believe that is "the way to do it" so that's what they want to do.

I've done new works multiple times before and I usually handle changes by documenting them in the rehearsal reports, documenting them in a script changes tracking spreadsheet that tracks all the changes from beginning to end, and also by updating the script and handing out new pages which are dated.  I'm perfectly happy to use colored paper as well, but I'm wondering if anyone else has done this before and how they have done it.  (From my research it seems to be more of a film thing than a theater thing).

So pretty much what I'm wondering is has anyone tracked changes by changing the color of paper and if so do you change the paper color based on the day or based on the amount of changes to that particular scene or piece of music.  So for example:

If I have a change to Act 1 Sc 1 on Monday and an change to Act 1 Sc 2 on Tuesday, do I print Act 1 Sc 1 on Blue paper because Monday's color is blue and print Act 1 Sc 2 on Yellow paper since Tuesday's color is yellow.  Or do I print both on blue paper since the color for first revision is blue.  In that case yellow would be used a second revision color, so if Act 1 Sc 1 was revised a second time on Thursday then it would be yellow for second revision.  Make sense?

So I know it could be done either way, just looking to see if anyone else has tracked changes this way and to see if they have had success either of those ways or a different way.  I'm still going to use all the traditional script changes tracking methods as well, the colored paper is in addition to those methods.

Thanks so much!!

3

Employment / Leaving an AEA contract early

« on: Nov 18, 2013, 01:19 pm »

Hello!

I am looking for some advice and figured I would post it here and see what feedback I could get.  I am an Equity Stage Manager.  I recently got offered and accepted a gig in March and April.  I'm also currently working on a show that plans to close at the end of the year.  When I got offered and accepted the show in March/April I immediately tried to figure out what I could do to fill the gap between my current show closing the end of December and this show starting in March.  There is a company I have worked for several times before that is remounting a show I have done twice before.  I went to them after I got offered this show in March and asked them if I could do their show again.  They said yes.  This show starts rehearsal right when my current show is closing, but it runs until mid March.  The contract has an out in it, you just have to give four weeks notice.  The show runs for 8 weeks total, I am available for the first 5 weeks of the run, then I would need to leave.

So my question is - should I tell the company about the conflict before I sign the contract, but then risk them deciding they would rather find someone else who can do the entire run, or should I just give the amount of notice required in the contract? 

Any advice is appreciated!  Thank you!