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Students and Novice Stage Managers / Low tech crew morale - can I do anything?
« on: Mar 15, 2019, 06:24 pm »
Hi all,
I know this is going to read like I'm ranting/venting but bear with me please.
I'm working on a production of Sweeney Todd which opens next week at my college and so this week I've been in tech rehearsals. My directors (yes I have 3) are also Dramatic Arts teachers (One is the head of department) just to give you some background.
The week before our tech rehearsals, me, the LD (who is also a student and also one of my friends) and the D.A technician, spent 3 hours rigging and talking about how we wanted this week to go. Two of the directors were supposed to show up with the props and scenic dressing but they never showed up so we went home after we were all done.
Me and the LD came in early Monday morning to see what needed doing in terms of rig checks and last minute focusing and other miscellaneous jobs - the D.A technician had been there for about an hour when we showed up setting things up so there wasn't that much left to do.
Our tech was supposed to start at 9am so the cast were there but the directors showed up about 20 minutes late and the first thing they said was "Where's the window?" to the D.A technician - completely ignoring me and the LD. We have a hanging window to show Johanna's bedroom in the Judge's house.
So that was the start to the day and it just got progressively worse from there - the LD had followed the brief given to him by the directors a few week back which was "Dark dirty grimy gritty nasty London - no white light" so the vast majority of the lighting was made to look sepia but of course they wanted white light and only white light.
They also made some very rude comments about the whole tech aspect of the show as well as the technicians and now my LD is thinking about dropping out of the show entirely because he doesn't feel like he's being appreciated and honestly, so am I. The D.A technician also feels the same way and feels sorry for us for how we're being treated by the other staff on the show. And therein lies the problem.
I'm a student so I don't feel I can say anything to the directors (who are staff members) without me being seen as being disrespectful but I also want to say something to stick up for the techs in this show. But the D.A technician also can't say anything she feels without it being considered disrespectful either because they're her bosses so it's like a catch-22.
My LD is really talented when it comes to lighting and I don't think it's right that anyone, regardless of their level of experience or calibre of show, should be treated that way or treat someone that way but especially since we're both students at the college. The LD just feels like there's no point in him being involved because of this.
What can I do to help my LD feel better about this? Should we both walk away from this show? Is there any point in trying to talk to the directors/staff members on the show about this? Or should we just both make it clear the reasons we're leaving?
I realise that this sounds like a rant and I didn't mean for it to, I just have never come across a director or directors who are just as rude as these staff members are and it's just frustrating me because not only is the LD my friend but also he is very talented and I don't want him to walk away but I don't want him (or the D.A technician) to be treated like they are but I can't do anything about it.
Thank you for all your advice and I'll try to keep you updated as to what happens.
I know this is going to read like I'm ranting/venting but bear with me please.
I'm working on a production of Sweeney Todd which opens next week at my college and so this week I've been in tech rehearsals. My directors (yes I have 3) are also Dramatic Arts teachers (One is the head of department) just to give you some background.
The week before our tech rehearsals, me, the LD (who is also a student and also one of my friends) and the D.A technician, spent 3 hours rigging and talking about how we wanted this week to go. Two of the directors were supposed to show up with the props and scenic dressing but they never showed up so we went home after we were all done.
Me and the LD came in early Monday morning to see what needed doing in terms of rig checks and last minute focusing and other miscellaneous jobs - the D.A technician had been there for about an hour when we showed up setting things up so there wasn't that much left to do.
Our tech was supposed to start at 9am so the cast were there but the directors showed up about 20 minutes late and the first thing they said was "Where's the window?" to the D.A technician - completely ignoring me and the LD. We have a hanging window to show Johanna's bedroom in the Judge's house.
So that was the start to the day and it just got progressively worse from there - the LD had followed the brief given to him by the directors a few week back which was "Dark dirty grimy gritty nasty London - no white light" so the vast majority of the lighting was made to look sepia but of course they wanted white light and only white light.
They also made some very rude comments about the whole tech aspect of the show as well as the technicians and now my LD is thinking about dropping out of the show entirely because he doesn't feel like he's being appreciated and honestly, so am I. The D.A technician also feels the same way and feels sorry for us for how we're being treated by the other staff on the show. And therein lies the problem.
I'm a student so I don't feel I can say anything to the directors (who are staff members) without me being seen as being disrespectful but I also want to say something to stick up for the techs in this show. But the D.A technician also can't say anything she feels without it being considered disrespectful either because they're her bosses so it's like a catch-22.
My LD is really talented when it comes to lighting and I don't think it's right that anyone, regardless of their level of experience or calibre of show, should be treated that way or treat someone that way but especially since we're both students at the college. The LD just feels like there's no point in him being involved because of this.
What can I do to help my LD feel better about this? Should we both walk away from this show? Is there any point in trying to talk to the directors/staff members on the show about this? Or should we just both make it clear the reasons we're leaving?
I realise that this sounds like a rant and I didn't mean for it to, I just have never come across a director or directors who are just as rude as these staff members are and it's just frustrating me because not only is the LD my friend but also he is very talented and I don't want him to walk away but I don't want him (or the D.A technician) to be treated like they are but I can't do anything about it.
Thank you for all your advice and I'll try to keep you updated as to what happens.