Messages

1

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Sound effects

« on: Jan 30, 2008, 10:33 pm »

Even when they are actual recordings of the event in question

Amusing in the context of needing a sound effect for decapitation.
I guess you can give your body to theater as much as you could give it to science...

2

Employment / CAREER: No longer an intern - Professionalism and transitioning

« on: Jan 22, 2008, 05:50 am »

(Not sure if this is the right location for this, but please move me if there's somewhere better.)

I am making the transition from being an intern in a professional environment to actually assisting in a professional environment. I've ASMed in the "real world" before, but now it's full fledged and full time, no "I'm an intern" label or September return to college to fall back on.
With this, I have been mulling over a few things and thought I'd seek some feedback.
So I ask:

What makes someone a professional?

For the seasoned folks, what qualities impress you in a young stage manager-- what tells you someone is progressing in their career and is not just a green SM anymore?

How do we qualitatively grow in our careers in ways that are less obvious than the quantitative business of mastering various paperwork styles and eloquently recording the rehearsal hotline? How does one do this early on in their career and get the most mileage out of it? How do those of you in the business for a long time continue to grow? What advice would you give your young self however many years ago when you were just starting professionally?

Excited to hear people's thoughts on this.

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: "Shadowing" Stage Managers?

« on: Jan 02, 2008, 11:56 pm »

I suggest calling administrative phone numbers at the theatres where the tours are coming through. I did this once before in college, and just asked whoever answered the phone if they would be willing to pass a message on to the show's stage management staff -- "I'm a student in the area studying stage management and would like to come shadow you/your team on a show if it's possible." I only did this once in college but it worked. It did take them awhile to call me back though; I'm sure they're busy. When I went to London for a few days I emailed British SMA and they forwarded my contact info out- I got more offers to shadow than I could take!

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College and Graduate Studies / Re: Internships?

« on: Dec 26, 2007, 09:29 pm »

I did the Seattle Rep program last season and am happy to answer any questions you have about it or about living/working in Seattle. It was a great program and I totally recommend it.

I would also suggest checking out websites of LORT Theatres- I also really wanted to intern at a regional theatre, but found all the info online. You don't want to bug them by asking obvious questions if the internship info is readily available otherwise. You can and should always ask to talk to current interns and find out what opportunities they are getting and how their experience is. And oftentimes that info is disseminated to the interns from the department that will take a look at your resume, so it's good that it shows you're really interested. I also found that I got a lot of info from them during the interview process, so you can just shoot for that point and then glean info and ask questions during the interview- you get to interview them too!

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

« on: Dec 26, 2007, 07:55 pm »

Keens, keens keens. I love them. www.keenfootwear.com
Comfy, black, all purpose. Now I just need a brown shoe that functions the same.

Reading about BalletPSM's St. Patty's day attire inspired me to share this:
On the longer first days of tech, I like to wear black shirt, a black skirt, and funky colored tights- I have red and black striped, blue, pink, yellow, and am getting orange soon.
Why?
Because inevitably we'll be holding, I'll come out onstage, a long design conversation takes place in the house while I chat politely with actors onstage, and just when it gets to be tedious, someone will go "Oh wow, your tights are so fun/cute/whatever!" Then the actor is temporarily entertained and in good spirits. I know it seems stupid, but so far it's been a winner every time. Plus it puts me in a good mood to wear bright colors.

I just wear a belt loosely outside of the skirt and put my flashlight on it. The fleece pockets hold extra pencils and stuff. If I find I need to hold more stuff, I may start searching for a sweet fanny pac.

There was also one tech that was pigtail tech... the PSM and director had pigtails, I did it, and the first ASM made pigtails by ripping out two my little pony tails and attaching them to a headband... good times.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Preshow (turn off your cellphone) announcements

« on: Dec 26, 2007, 07:17 pm »

So this is kind of off topic, but maybe it fits here just enough to stay as a brief lark:

Last year there was an actor in a show who had this super distinctive phone ring; I believe it was a clucking sound. He's onstage in front of a packed house in the middle of a quiet scene, and he hears his phone, clucking. It doesn't stop.

The clucking is coming from the front row of the audience, where it fell out of his pocket during fight call.

hehehe.

7

Employment / Re: From the other side of the resume (low key rant - personal advice)

« on: Dec 26, 2007, 09:44 am »

(Wow... I haven't posted here in like a year... it's nice to be back)

Two things I do that are different....
So one thing I have on my resume that nobody has mentioned here is the SMs I worked under for the show. The goal was to identify where specific SMs have have worked with me repeatedly. Since at this point I'm not really building a relationship SMing for specific directors, at least a PSM/PM could see that I have worked with some SMs who want me back, even across different theatres. Also, I am in a relatively close professional community (Seattle), and knowing that I've worked with so-and-so on a specific show is helpful, (assuming I know that so-and-so wants to work with me again) because then they can call up whoever it is and ask about me, and I widen my pool of references to someone they'll know and trust.
(Of course, I would hope they wouldnt call and tell this person that I made them a reference when really they were just listed on the resume. But all of those people listed there have been references at one time or another as I gained more experience, and usually those listed as references are just my most recent work, or someone I know has worked with the company.)
It's listed pretty clearly on the resume actually, right next to director.
Company Name
Gem of the Ocean   SM Intern (2nd ASM)    dir. Phylicia Rashad / SMs: E. Farwell, S. Lotti, A. Poisson
Blue Door      SM Intern (ASM)        dir. Leigh Silverman / SM: JR Welden

Has anyone else heard of this or seen this? I'm sure I'm not the only one.

The other thing I do is specify the functional role in the production I had when I was an intern. I have been told it's helpful in indicating what "intern" means. And, as I'm reading this, it probably seems weird that there are three SMs there and I write that I acted like the 2nd ASM- in rehearsal I was a 2nd, but three are listed because one had to leave when we opened. And I have another credit like that where we added an SM for the run when one of the team was ill. Again, functioned as second assistant, but I worked with all three.
Is that weird to anyone who hasn't heard that explanation, or does it make sense? It doesn't seem like a piece of cover letter-worthy info. Is it something that would make you think I was a liar, or (as has been the case before) something you'd ask about in an interview?

I hope this is clear... I've been on here super late catching up on old posts! :-)
Thanks for the welcome back.

8

SMNetwork Archives / Drinking Games

« on: Sep 18, 2006, 03:20 am »

...it’s probably best not to tech a show while under the influence of alcohol – but come on, many people have done.  Doesn’t  mean everyone should do it.

Well Matthew, personally, I'm a fan of the "hold please" drinking game during tech. But to each their own.

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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / INTERNATIONAL: Italy and other countries

« on: Aug 19, 2006, 01:13 am »

So, I am a communicatively fluent Italian speaker.
I have seen some people on here talk about having worked in other countries, including Italy.
How did people get to work in Italy? International tours? I know a little bit about what does and doesn't exist there but any info is helpful. I am hoping to get my EU citizenship at some point in the next year (through my mother), and then I'd be able to work there... but how do people get hired out there?

(I am asking about Italy because I care chiefly about Italy, although if anyone has info about other countries, it would be really interesting to find out about them too.)

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Stage Managing the World

« on: Aug 18, 2006, 01:22 pm »

So um, I'm 22 and learning how to drive (don't ask).
The mnemonic my dad and my sister used to teach me how to merge smoothly was SMOG (lights, mirror, over-the-shoulder, go)... that and my dad remarking, "it's all a series of picking up cues" (without realizing the significance of that phrase) sort of got me thinking through my driving as just a complicated sequence of calling to yourself and then executing cues... I still haven't managed to pass my driver's test yet though...

but I'm working on it. :-)

11

The Green Room / Merged Topics: Food, Tech Dinners, etc

« on: Aug 04, 2006, 02:30 am »

So recently encountered a cool idea at Shakespeare and Company that I wanted to pass along.
The theater that I'm at has an SM staff of 10. During 10/12s the other SMs bring in dinner to them. Doesn't have to be spectacular food; the point is that those in tech didnt have to cook it! Plus it's sort of random and fun when everyone brings in what they've cooked/bought, and then you can talk shop for a while with the other SMs during the break.
I think the tradition was borrowed from somewhere else- I want to say Milwaukee Shakespeare, though I'm sure it's not the first place to ever do that.
In any case, it's kind of a nice tradition if it fits your staff and production needs. A nice morale boost and way to show support for one another.

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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: thanks KC

« on: May 24, 2006, 12:19 am »

i'm stage managing oklahoma this summer and am worried about calling the show. the director is a good friend of mine and i keep panicing about dissapointing her.
all of those tips are great!

I'm sure you know this, but one of the best things you can do is stay calm. Keep a bottle of water next to you and just breathe and take a sip whenyou have a complicated cueing sequence. If you panic then you can't focus, and that is where you'll make mistakes that you can prevent. :-) Remember that you are also learning the cues- nobody calls a show perfectly the first time- that's why we rehearse!  :wink:

13

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Outdoor Theatre - Basic Information

« on: May 22, 2006, 09:56 am »

Mop the stage for bird droppings.
The last thing that should happen before you open the house is a final sweep, of the dust, grass, etc. that will get tracked on by everyone as they prep their respective areas preshow.
Beware the chirping birds during the matinees. Apparently they are aspring actors as well.
I just finished a show outdoors, and the light board op was dying from allergies (eyes swollen near-shut and the like), although I don't know how much of a summer problem that is.
Is your cast going to be cold during evening shows- what are they wearing? (In theory the costume designer should think about that, but they might not).

This is some stuff that came up for us. But like MC said, more info would help us to know what the situation is so we're not just shooting in the (outdoor) dark.

14

SMNetwork Archives / Website suggestion!

« on: May 13, 2006, 01:30 am »

Resumes/cover letters is also a fav

15

SMNetwork Archives / Website suggestion!

« on: May 12, 2006, 08:11 am »

So it seems that more and more there are questions about topics that have already been extensively discussed and it makes everyone grumble a bit when we see the same question. Well we're stage managers, we solve problems, don't we? Let me suggest a solution to this one, so nobody starts heckling new members who are, more than likely, so overjoyed to have found a community of SMs and share their inquiries, that they don't realize they're jumping off the virtual bridge of e-awkwardness.
Can there be a FAQ section, or some sort of archiving of all the threads on the popular topics? I know there's a search feature but it is hard to sift through its results. Maybe just one page of most popular topics, and link to that page in the requisite email where you get your password. Or, it could pop up the first few times you log in or be a big link or something. Topics I'd suggest in there include grad school, undergrad, show calling, Broadway, kits, PSM vs. SM, tips for new stage managers, salaries, high school sms, etc. (Others I'm sure will remember other popular topics I have forgotten).

Made this into a poll! --PSMK