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Messages - dwj0772

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Looking for PDF and/or Word versions of A Christmas Carol (the Menken/Ahrens version) and The Pirate Queen. PM me please.

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I'm looking for In The Heights in Word.  Thanks!

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Looking for a electronic copy of CATS if anyone has it.  Thanks!

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Employment / How much to charge?
« on: Apr 10, 2009, 05:23 pm »
I am the Stage Manager for a local community theatre group, and our resident Choreographer has a dance studio that she runs as her primary source of income.  She recently lost her long-time "stage manager" (really a mother of one of her dancers that stepped in to help out), and has asked me to SM her upcoming dance recital.  In the e-mail, she asked if her husband had talked to me about "appropriate pay."  I'm not Equity, so I don't have those rates to give her, but I don't know how to put a monetary value to what I do.  Any suggestions?

David

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SMNetwork Archives / Re: Happy Stage Management Memories?
« on: Jun 14, 2007, 11:14 am »
Quote
Congratulations!

Thanks!  It's a little scary, but if i can manage 35 actors ages 16-25 all at the same time, I can raise one son, right? (Yeah, I know - I have no idea what I'm getting in to! :o)

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SMNetwork Archives / Re: Happy Stage Management Memories?
« on: Jun 12, 2007, 10:42 am »
I work part-time as an SM for a theatre group that is part of a local community college.  Every year for our Fall and Spring show, we cut our show down to a 1-hour exceprt performance, and put it on free of charge for local elementary schools.  They come in, get to see a show, they learn how to act in a theatre - we even give them a blackout and let them practice being quiet for a couple seconds.  For a lot of these kids, we are their first exposure to theatre, and is a joy to see them excited about the show, about meeting the actors, and just getting to experience the theatre experience.

My other "memory" is one that keeps on giving - we have a core group of performers that consistently audition for our shows.  Many of them are in high school or early college, and are either working on a theatre degree, or just love it and want to be a part.  As a result of the majority of the casts being younger than me (I'm in my mid 30's), I am considered a father figure by many of them.  My last name is Johns, and a few shows back, I had a young lady in the cast call me "Papa Johns".  The nickname has stuck, and now pretty much everyone (older or younger) calls me that during shows.  I recently found out that I am also going to be a daddy for the first time, and that has given a whole new meaning to the nickname.  ;D

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Stage Management: Other / Re: Just did my first wedding...
« on: Mar 21, 2007, 09:07 am »
I'm getting married in 10 days, and all of a sudden, can't get the wedding coordinator to call me or my fiance' back.  Not sure what's going on, but I'm prepared if it comes down to the wire to SM my own wedding.  It's will be a low-tech affair anyway, but I had gotten myself used to the idea that I wasn't going to be in charge (I know - can you imagine an SM not in charge?!), and now it looks like I may have to be after all.

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Tools of the Trade / Re: What is Gaffer Tape?
« on: Mar 20, 2007, 10:19 am »
I used gaff tape to hold my car door shut when the latch froze open until I could defrost it and make it work again.

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SMNetwork Archives / God mic system
« on: Mar 09, 2007, 11:40 am »
Does anyone have any suggestions on where to look to purchase a onstage/backstage intercom system?  I'm the stage manager for a community theatre group, and we are looking into grant money, and I was asked to create a wish list.  One of the things I want is a god mic, but I have to be able to tell them exactly what I want, how much it costs, etc. and I'm not sure where to start.

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: The Ultimate Decision
« on: Feb 19, 2007, 02:25 pm »
My story is a little different... I acted in one show in high school, then ran lighting for a second.  Fast forward 12 years... the local community theatre was putting on The Sound of Music.  It's my mom's favorite musical, so we decided to audition together.  We both made the show in chorus roles, and had a great time. I skipped a few shows, then auditioned for Annie, and got another chorus role.  Decided after that I didn't like the amount of rehearsal time I was having to put in just to be in the chorus.  The theatre did "Seven Brides...", and the stage manager was a 17 year old that I knew, and I ended up helpng out a little bit with building the set, and then watching her run things.  I decided if she could do it, so could I.  I spoke to the director about SMing for the next show (he changed SM's every show 'cause people just didn't want to keep doing it - something about the time commitment) and he said the job was mine.  We are working on our 6th show together, and I love being an SM.  I'm about 7 weeks away from getting married, and have a young one on the way, so I don't know that I will ever be able to puruse this as a career, but I do love working in our little theatre, and if that's all I ever do with it, I'm happy.  ;D

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I'm thinking for future shows im gonna start asking them to give me a $1 deposit to borrow a pencil just to train them to return what they borrow.

I buy a box of mechanical pencils at the beginning of a show, and then charge anyone that needs one $1 for the pencil.  (They don't have to have the $1 on them; I just make sure they pay up by the end of the run.)  They get to keep it, and it makes me enough money to replace the box when it's empty.  I've yet to have someone need to buy two pencils.

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SMNetwork Archives / Re: Great Online Software
« on: Jan 29, 2007, 09:07 am »
I've also used it, and not had a very good response, either from the software or the developers.  The software seemed to have a lot of bugs that either someone didn't have time to work out, or didn't know how to work out.  I never did get multiple shows to work, and got a lot of error messages simply trying to submit data.  I submitted a few things to the developers and got no response back.  That was over a year ago, so it may have improved, but that's my 2 cents worth.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: marijuana and theatre
« on: Jan 23, 2007, 12:08 pm »
...a travel size spray bottle filled with 50/50 water and vodka...

Wow - another good use for vodka!  :)  Just don't use the expensive vodka you have at home - go buy the cheap stuff.

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Depending on how your report is set up in Excel, you can also put in formulas that will calculate the time difference between two times and then another one to add them all up.  PM me if you want more specifics (a copy of your report would be helpful so I can see exactly what you want.)

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SMNetwork Archives / Re: Digging Out in Denver
« on: Dec 28, 2006, 04:59 pm »
Yikes - I've done a fair bit of travelling (both pre and post 9-11), but no stories like that.  They do say Israeli airport security is by far the most stringent. 

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