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Messages - megf

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196
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Actor's Packets
« on: Jul 19, 2006, 10:32 am »
On the shows I've done at my college, most of the hospitality and welcome-to-the-area can be dispensed with - I imagine that most or all of the folks involved in this show are attached to the school, and so would already have access to the local resources as far as medical, transportation, etc. Although, if you have new students or "walk-ons," and will be holding late-night rehearsals, etc., a listing of nearby all-night coffee shops, Internet cafés, restaurants might prove helpful. If you are at a school where few students have their own cars, or in a place with unsafe public transit, or (as is the case at my school :-) ) are scheduled to work past the last campus shuttle time, collecting info from your cast on who drives and who can give others rides home could be useful.

Two things that I feel are important in educational (especially university) theater - dramaturgical resources. Even just a short bibliography/reading list for the cast to use in preparation for and during the rehearsal process. University libraries will usually hold books on reserve if you have the approval of a faculty member or graduate student. Providing these resources helps keep the educational part of educational theater present in the show, and (ideally) encourages a fuller understanding of the show.

The second thing - a handout or basic contact listing for the Ombuds/campus conflict resolution services. Sometimes, as a student stage manager, it's hard to mobilize the company when there are conflicts between individuals or groups - depending on university policy, you may not technically have the clout to call for department- or staff-supported intervention, should there be a need. If you make this information readily available, you can let everyone know that you are not overstepping your bounds as a student, but that there are unbiased third party resources for conflicts.

Best of luck, and have fun!!

megf

197
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Re: Actor's Packets
« on: Jul 17, 2006, 04:33 pm »
What is the producing context? Regional, college/university?

198
If you have this kind of office budget - or are comfortable bringing in the materials yourself - 3x5 index cards work nicely. I know a choreographer whose preferred method is to take individual notes, much like BalletPSM's post-its, but a bit easier to shuffle through and hand out, and then walk about handing them off to performers at the end of the day.

The advantage to the post-its (this is what I imagine - I haven't used them *yet*) is that performers can place them exactly where they apply in the script. The advantage to index cards is that they are easier to hand off, if you find yourself giving notes out piecemeal and need to shuffle through them quickly.

199
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Stage Managers & Computers
« on: Jun 14, 2006, 09:31 pm »
A college POV -

As a full-time student, at a university that is moving *very* quickly to being totally "paperless" on the financial aid and registration fronts, I find it's easy to use online scheduling applications on student shows, and (for the Yahoo Groups types) to post any kinds of resource files (dramaturgy, announcements, etc.) for company members to download.

On the down side of this - since UCLA's School of Theater has its own online scheduling and resource system - when the system is down, suddenly everyone is terribly out of the loop, and Stage Management winds up making paper copies to distribute.

I agree with mc that keeping hard copies is important - not only because it is a critical backup in the event of a power or software glitch, but also because (in my experience) it is easier to instill a sense of trust in your colleagues when you don't need to check the computer for all kinds of information. Even if that means flipping to the right page in your binder instead, which is functionally the same thing, it doesn't put the machine between you and the other person - that kind of separation can make or break the "playing for the same team" feeling.

If your research paper has a section on computers and theater in general, I'd love to IM/PM with you about it - last year, I worked with a graduate student whose entire focus was the impact of digital media on theater, and I'm sure he could point you toward some great resources!

200
Moving back in the direction of layout formats (as opposed to software formats :-) ), I found the graphic design/desktop publishing class I took in high school really helpful. Just the basics of laying out text so it's easy to read, and setting it up to "move" the reader's eye across the page have helped me organize my resume so that it's clean and simple, but not at the expense of necessary info.

Most bookstores have nice desktop publishing handbooks - glancing at some of those guides might be useful.

201
SMNetwork Archives / Calendar Programs?
« on: May 22, 2006, 03:03 pm »
I'm in prep for a big-ish show right now - and one of our first hurdles was figuring out a way to share detailed schedules between Mac and PC machines. We settled on Trumba, which has a free membership option.

You can publish to it from iCal (which works just fine for me...) and can set up password-only calendars to send out to cast members and staff.

You can go thru the view-only page to download ICS and RSS calendars - so I can also import events into my iCal, and my PC colleagues can import into Outlook (this is a little more complicated, I think, but the help page is really user-friendly).

www.trumba.com

megf

202
Students and Novice Stage Managers / What tends to work best...
« on: May 13, 2006, 04:08 am »
I'd recommend you check in first with production and stage manager types in your area - these are the people who will, in all likelihood, be looking at your resume in the near future, so their thoughts on formatting and presentation would be great. Not only does it put you on their radar screens to ask for suggestions, it also lets them know you are interested in modifying your approach a little - that you want to learn from them.

That said, I would also suggest that you look at how "autoforms" put resumes together. Disney has a specific format for online applications - the details depend on the position, but the basic idea is that you list the company in a bullet, your role, the dates of the engagement, and then a detailed, concise list/explanation of what your responsibilities are. As a student myself, this formatting choice helps me break the ice with potential internship coordinators; rather than just saying I was the PA, I can make sure they know exactly what PA meant in a certain context.

If you'd like to see copy of my resume, PM me.

megf

203
College and Graduate Studies / undergrad programs
« on: Apr 19, 2006, 06:43 pm »
I'd be happy to PM/email/IM about UCLA. It is smack in the middle of the city, but, like all programs, is less than perfect.

email: megfriedman@yahoo.com
IM: megf86

megf

204
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Original Script
« on: Mar 25, 2006, 03:09 am »
First (and only) easy fix: make separate blocking sheets. What worked best for me on an original show I did last year was punching holes on the "wrong" side of the page, so each blocking page faces the script page it refers to - then use numbers to track moves throughout the dialogue. Saves a ton of time, when you have frequent rewrites. An even faster fix (though a tad messy, if you're rushed) is to use sticky notes for everything, and layer them on the pages as you go.

About the professor: if she is overstepping her professional bounds - i.e. expecting you to shelve your academic work - she is asking too much, and that should be addressed first through the SM advisor, then through Production Mgt higher-ups, and finally through the department chair and/or campus conflict resolution mediators. You are at the college to get your degree first, and to stage manage for this person second; it is unreasonable to expect you to put aside your school work (taking calls during class or after a decent hour at night, for ex.) for a faculty-directed show. As faculty, part of her responsibility is helping you become a productive, educated adult with the ability to prioritize - the "in loco parentis" part of teaching, basically.

About the reference issue: are you depending on this person for a recommendation in the future? Does she (or will she) have any influence on your future at your school or in the area you hope to work?

About the reputation issue: college theater departments tend to be gossipy places - sometimes beneficial, sometimes damaging. You said that this director is notoriously difficult; that seems to be a point in your favor, as far as reputation goes - by sticking it out, you will prove your mettle. Should you choose to leave the show, I think (and I hope) that your department is understanding of the difficulties this director presents, and will take that into account in assessing your choice and in future show assignments.

Best of luck.

205
There is a site devoted to the suit at www.movinoutlawsuit.com. The complaint is quite a read, but does provide some details that may satisfy the curious...

206
Speaking as a current student, sometimes it is hard to establish oneself as "on the staff" without having actual administrative (i.e., grading) authority.

My college doesn't foster any maintenance tactics usually - with one or two weekends of performances for any given show, it is rare for a director not to be there for the bulk of the run, and because this is a liberal arts program, the emphasis is more on the process than on hard-and-fast emulation of the pro world. Stage managers (who are *nearly* always students) typically work with maintenance issues only when they affect actor safety and last-minute changes to the technical running of the show.

A few questions for other students out there - I'd love to know how other universities work with SMs maintaining shows, particularly faculty-directed productions. What kind of authority do you have in terms of calling understudy rehearsals? If there is a consistency or discipline problem, does it need to go to the director first, or production management? Do acting faculty members get involved?

megf

207
SMNetwork Archives / If memory serves me correctly...
« on: Mar 09, 2006, 12:57 pm »
The best analogy I've heard was from VSM (months back - correct me if I am not remembering this right...).

I was the ASM/set crew on a show with lots of furniture to move about, and no blackouts - he said "do your best impression of a waitor/waitress during the lunch rush." Worked out great. A few months later when I said it to a student crew at my college, it really helped settle the tech rehearsals, and reduced our scenes change running times by as much as 45 seconds apiece.

208
Tools of the Trade / Kit Container
« on: Mar 02, 2006, 11:17 pm »
This is more an office kit than an "anything" kit, but then, I tend to work in places that have shops (or carpenter types, at any rate) around:

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=sb0006

I like that it can be modified, too....

209
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Context
« on: Feb 07, 2006, 02:35 pm »
What resources does your school (college, I assume) offer SMs?
Is the director a member of the faculty?
How does production management figure into this?

I've done a few years of university theatre, and while in my experience it is rare for a SM to be replaced, there are times when ASMs do step up to take the bulk of the workload. If nothing else, make sure that you touch base with an advisor/supervisor type - not to lodge complaints, necessarily, but to make sure that the authority figures know what is happening and that you are picking up the slack. That way, you can avoid stepping on toes, while acknowledging openly that you are taking on more than is your share of the work.

Best of luck
megf

210
SMNetwork Archives / Racism - dilemma?
« on: Dec 21, 2005, 09:57 pm »
(If this post should go to a different forum, please let me know)

How does one deal with accusations of racism in rehearsal?

I am currently working on a show in university (not as SM; I am the research assistant for the directing and design staff), and in five of our fifteen rehearsals we have stopped discussion of the show to iron out differences between actors and the director. This stems out of some particularly clumsy comments the director made regarding character histories, which a number of the actors have taken issue with. He has admitted that the original comments were, perhaps, in poor taste; has asked the cast to take his opinion with a grain of salt; he has offered to step back from the construction of character histories completely, in the hopes that the relationship he has with the actors can improve.

While I have spoken off line with the SM, there is little I can do to affect this situation. The director has asked me to speak to the mentality of the actors (who are all students as well), and I have done my best to maintain their confidences and to help him understand where they are coming from.

One of the questions that I am having a hard time hammering out an answer for is this: when do you go to a producer/production manager/dean and ask for conflict resolution specialists to be brought in, if at all? As a student who has stage managed at this institution, I am fairly familiar with what students can and can't do or be involved in, but this is a new experience for me, and unfortunately, I can't go to one of my school's advisors without spilling what might be too much information.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

megf

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