Messages

1

The Green Room / Lawrence Stern requests help for the 12th Edition of "Stage Management"

« on: Nov 20, 2020, 02:53 pm »

Hey peeps! I've heard from the legendary Lawrence Stern again about the upcoming publication of the 12th edition of "Stage Management." SMNetwork has been mentioned in many previous editions of the book and will be mentioned again in the next version. Mr. Stern has some questions for us, the answers to which may be included in the book:


1. What are you doing during the coronavirus pandemic to improve your SM skills and/or improve your chances of being hired when theatres reopen?  We'd like to list the top ten most popular strategies (thinking that even when the pandemic is history, many SMs will experience periods of "at liberty" when they can apply those strategies).


2. Are you a cartoonist?  Would you like to see your cartoon about stage managers, backstage work, or theatre in the 12th edition of Stage Management?  Please send your cartoon to stagemanagement@hotmail.com.  If we print your cartoon, you will receive a comp copy of the 12th edition.


EDIT: Deadline is 31 Dec 2020. Lawrence has been linked to this thread for answers to #1.

2

Announcements / Re: Server changes and upgrades in process

« on: Jun 26, 2020, 10:22 am »

Ok if you're seeing this post we're on the new server. (Well, the old server that I rebuilt and moved us back to.)


It's taking some time for the DNS changes to propagate. People using slower internet providers will see a closed version of the site in "Maintenance Mode". Depending on where you connect (home, work, Starbucks wiki, etc.) you may see the old or the new version of the site for a few days.


I've decided to put the Internship survey out to pasture since during its entire lifespan we only got about 80 reviews. BTDT is working although there may be some bugs. The mobile version should be working although I may switch us to a different theme that's responsive by default so we don't have to use that wonky grey one anymore. Or I may finally bite the bullet and make my own theme, we'll see.

3

Announcements / Server changes and upgrades in process

« on: Jun 05, 2020, 06:48 pm »

Hi peeps!

I'm moving servers again, probably will do so twice within the next month or two. Expect periodic outages of a couple of days here and there. I've moved us to a temporary home on a cheap shared server while I tear down and rebuild the bigger production server that's housed us for years. Once the rebuild is done, I'll move us back.

Think of it like decamping to a hotel while contractors work on your house.

I'm doing some much needed upgrades on the forum software simultaneously.

On the plus side, the Search function is finally working again after a year!

On the minus side, several of the mods that have been used for many years are no longer compatible with the newest version of the software, so until I can crack open the code and fix it manually things will be a little barebones. BTDT and the Intern survey are both offline.


The "Thanks" feature has been replaced with a new one. Old "Thank you" tallies are not lost but are inaccessible at the moment. I'll try to figure out how to move them over at some point. There may be some other broken links like the Homework Help request form that just don't work while we're in our temporary home.

I figured it best to do it this way so you at least had something to look for the 4-6 weeks it will take for me to rebuild, even if it's a sort of hacky and slow server.

Many apologies for any bugs or weirdness. You should at least be able to read, post and search.

4

The Green Room / Re: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAY

« on: Dec 26, 2019, 03:31 am »

Belated thanks. Hope those who celebrate Xmas enjoyed it with welcoming families of their choice.

5

The Hardline / Re: Malcollm Ewen

« on: May 22, 2019, 02:53 am »

His SMNet Profile: http://smnetwork.org/forum/profile/?u=2437


He was a mentor to my mentor and we met in passing, but we never worked together. Not only was he a member of the Steppenwolf Ensemble, but when he was added in February he was the first member of the ensemble to come from the tech side. Everyone before him had been an actor, director or playwright.

6

Tools of the Trade / Re: Stage Write software

« on: Feb 02, 2019, 04:16 pm »

They are on the naughty list for spamming us and violating advertising rules. They don't deserve your money or time and all discussion of their products is banned from this community.

7

The Green Room / Re: Any historians of turn of century rigging/ backstage?

« on: Oct 19, 2018, 06:16 am »

Locked as a homework request until OP has passed the 5 post threshold for homework help.

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The Green Room / Re: Looking for turn of century photos of theater backstages

« on: Oct 19, 2018, 06:16 am »

The New Post Button in Homework Help only shows up when you've made at least 5 posts, as is explained in the rules for that board. This post is locked until you've passed that threshold.

9

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Pre-Show Speech - Land Acknowledgements

« on: Sep 04, 2018, 09:12 am »

KMC - it isn't really virtual signaling in Canada, where first nations have far more clout.


For those outside of Canada who may not understand the practice of land acknowledgement in that country, here's a bit of a quick primer at CBC.

10

Introductions / Re: Greetings from Great Britain

« on: Apr 10, 2018, 05:56 pm »

Welcome! If you're headed for your Bachelors degree then it's "going to college" in the US as well. Enjoy your stay (here and there) and don't hesitate to ask for translations to British English.

11

Employment / Dear Abby: Rebuilding References after a Long Hiatus

« on: Jan 24, 2018, 11:03 pm »

From time to time our moderator staff will receive messages to post on behalf of our members who wish to remain anonymous. This is one of those messages.

It has been a few years since I've been on the site. After personal reasons, mainly to burnout, I decided to leave the industry a few years ago to try and pursue something else. After deciding that that new venture was not for me, plus deciding that I really missed the theatre, I'm making the decision to come back.

I am caught however, in a standstill for applying to future positions, especially for the upcoming summer. I have already taken stock and drilled into my brain the learning experience that is coming with my past decision, not networking as best as I could have. Lesson learned! Now it's time to move forward!

I am now left with the task of finding new references, as the ones I used previously are no longer valid and I do not believe would be good ones for me to use any longer. I possibly have a few I might try. But, I am curious if anyone might have some ideas on how I might approach this in a way in the event that I might not have appropriate references for applying to future positions while I am starting back up?

Thank you for any insights you might be able to give!

12

Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Saving Prompt Books

« on: Jan 14, 2018, 01:56 pm »

In my experience they always became property of the producer when the show ended.

13

Introductions / Re: Alabama/Arizona Collegiate SM!

« on: Dec 21, 2017, 05:15 pm »

Welcome acm! There's not many places where we can step out of the shadows, but this is one of them. Thanks for joining!

14

Introductions / Re: From Thespian to SM

« on: Dec 05, 2017, 01:39 am »

Welcome, roarie! I like the arms-up trick!

15

Introductions / Re: Re-introduction

« on: Nov 15, 2017, 07:58 pm »

Oh hey I remember you! Former moderator. Welcome back.