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Topics - RuthNY

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16
The Green Room / IFTTT
« on: May 27, 2014, 11:11 pm »
You favorite recipes?

17
Job Postings / Perseverance Theatre, Juneau Alaska Job Posting
« on: May 09, 2014, 10:40 pm »
http://www.perseverancetheatre.org/company-stage-manager-job-opening/


(I have no connection to this company. Just posting this, as a service to others.)

18
The Hardline / AEA ASM & EMC
« on: Apr 17, 2014, 03:07 pm »
Such as...?

<snip>

I'm simply a young-ish SM thinking about the future. I am part of the EMC program, although that has proved to have it's own challenges.

19
The Green Room / Personal Budgeting
« on: Feb 17, 2014, 11:49 am »
Does anyone have a favorite personal budget spreadsheet or software that they use, to keep on track financially? I've never officially budgeted each month in "writing" and I'd love to try it, to see if I can save more money than I'm already saving, but I need some recommendations! Thanks!

20
The Green Room / Your Paranoia/Obsession
« on: Dec 13, 2013, 06:50 pm »
So, I admit, I have a Stage Management obsession/paranoia.

I'm never satisfied that all my actors are in the building. I check the sign-in sheet several times to make they're signed in, as I tend to do shows where I never see all of the actors prior to curtain, and indeed sometimes see none of the actors prior to curtain. I always worry, not that they haven't signed in, but that I've read the sheet incorrectly and someone is actually missing, no matter how careful I am.  It's like going back into your home and checking to see if the iron or oven is off, even when you know they are. (I don't do THAT, by the way...)

Do you have a Stage Management obsession/paranoia? And, what should I do about mine, lol?

21
Those of us who work as freelancers, move around to different organizations quite frequently. Every different organization has its own rules and guidelines for administrative/full time production employees, and most now publish an employee handbook, so everyone has seen the rules, in writing, and will abide by the policies of the company. Some even include sections for Union artists (AEA, SDC, USA.)

I was quite surprised, earlier today, when I ran across this rule in an Equity theatre's employee handbook: "Calls for places will be given at the following times: 30, 15, 10, 5, and 3."

So, has any SM here ever been required by a theatre's policy to give specific pre-show calls? 

Has any SM here ever given all the above calls?

What kind of situation can you think of that would necessitate all the above calls, at every performance?

And, please note "Places," is not on the list.

Would LOVE to hear some discussion of this!

There's also this statement-"Any Equity actor who is late to the 1/2 hour call of a scheduled performance, or a prior fight call shall be fined $25 and the said amount shall be deducted from the Actor's next paycheck."

Legal, or not?  Discuss

22
Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown, PA is looking for a Non-AEA Stage Management Intern for their 2 show FALL season. This SM Intern assists the AEA Stage Manager in rehearsals, prep., paperwork, and does whatever is necessary on the deck during performances. Mountain Playhouse operates under the AEA-CORST contract, and this Non-AEA "ASM" position is required for CORST Z theatres.
The position pays a small stipend and housing is provided. The dates are Sept. 3-Oct.13.   Transportation is not reimbursed.

You may send resumes to TSMarafino@aol.com, with "SM Intern Resume" in the Subject Line

That's the official portion of this posting. Here is the unofficial information, from me, personally:

This theatre is in the country. If you will not be happy in a rural environment, do not apply. There is no Starbucks, no grocery store, nothing except a diner and a gas station convenience store, within walking distance. The nearest shopping district is about 8 miles away. However, it is beautiful there! If you like the country, and all that goes with it, then by all means, apply. You will be happiest, if you have a car at your disposal.

The theatre is an old Grist Mill. The technical facilities are basic. If you only want to work in a high tech environment, do not apply.

The SM Intern will rehearse one show while performing another. In other words you will rehearse all day and then be called for performances (both matinees and evenings), and do your paperwork when you can. This is the nature of Stock.

The housing is shared, rustic and basic. There is no cable or TV unless you pay to install and maintain the service. If you require this in your life, you won't be happy here, unless you have your own TV and can afford to pay the bills.

Many of the AEA actors who work here, have been returning here for many years. You will be working with pros, who gather around a bonfire at night, play music, and have a ball together.


Management looks forward to hearing from you!

23
I've been wanting to discuss this topic for a while, as through recent years, I see more and more of a trend here.  Let me explain. AEA has pretty clear rules in every contract, so that Producers notify the cast, in advance, of when photos will taken, whether they be rehearsal shots or set-up shots, whether for media/website/social media purposes or archival purposes.

But, more and more, I'm seeing actors and directors taking photos during the rehearsal process, both in the rehearsal space and onstage, and then posting these shots to social media. These actors and directors do not "notify" anyone that they are shooting, and certainly do not ask "permission" to post these photos online. (Yes, I do concur that some directors / designers /actors do take photos along with the "official" photographer when a photo shoot has been posted. But that's not what I'm talking about.)

So, does anyone else see a problem here?  An official photo call notification, implies the producer's right to "use" the photos, and implies the actors' permission for them to be "used."  Actors prepare for photos by dressing or making-up in a certain manner, when they get "official notification," particularly for rehearsal shots.  But when photos are being taken of them with no notification, they cannot control how they appear in the photo, nor whether that shot will appear somewhere online, and be downloaded or reposted over and over again.

Not to mention the fact, that if you are an actor taking photos in a rehearsal, you may very well be doing that at the expense of the job you were hired to do, especially those actors who carry phones/cameras onstage during tech. etc., and pull them out and start clicking away whenever they are asked to "hold."

I feel that actors/directors should not be taking photos during rehearsals, except, maybe, during official photo calls, and then only when it does not hold up the process. I am also dead set against social media posting of photos, where the subject/actor was not even aware that the photos have been taken.  And yes, I've had actors come to me, asking me to tell their fellow actor to take a photo down off the internet.

Should actors/directors be subject to the same rules as producers?

Should photo taking, while on call (not on break) be banned altogether?

Or should we lighten up about all of this and allow producers to shoot whenever they like, too?

Any discussion?

24
The comment below got me to thinking. I love an editable script as much as anyone. My book stays cleaner if there are changes to the script,  I can hand out clean script pages to cast and staff, and come Tech. time I can format it anyway I want, to accommodate the cues. OK, that's all great. But, I worked for years without this capability, prior to computers. The only way to have a sort of editable script was to type new pages or sections, yes on a typewriter, if we HAD to. And very few expected that of an SM, as it was so cumbersome, but if you had to get it typed, there were typing services for hire.

So, an editable script is nice, but why do you HAVE to have one, if one is not available somewhere?

Why is the SM below planning on typing out his whole script if he can't get an already existing copy? (Nothing personal, TommyBoy249er.) What is so NECESSARY in an editable script, that an SM would take the time to type an entire script? Is it necessary to do the job?

Would you, and why?

If anybody actually has a .doc version of "The Woman in Black" that would be perfection.  Samuel French hates stage managers and I'll probably be typing up this script myself. 


Edited to add topic tag- Maribeth

25
I have a line on a Props Master job for the upcoming summer season. The producers had someone quit on them at the last minute. If  know anyone who might be interested, please send me a PM or an email! Thanks!

26
Students and Novice Stage Managers / What's the Difference?
« on: May 02, 2013, 11:58 am »
Students and Pros,

For the edification of our early career SMs, can you name some differences between running an Equity rehearsal and a Student or Non-AEA rehearsal? If a student or institution wished to run their rehearsals as if they were AEA, what would they have to pay attention to?

You examples can range from the first day of rehearsal in the rehearsal room, through the final dress rehearsal. 

Discuss!

Post Merge: May 02, 2013, 07:10 pm
Seeing that there have been no replies to this post yet, should our our early career members come to the conclusion that there are or should be NO differences between rehearsing and AEA or a Non-AEA production? This could possibly be an answer...

27
Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown, PA is looking for a Non-AEA Stage Management Intern for their 4 show summer season. This SM Intern assists the AEA Stage Manager in rehearsals, prep., paperwork, and does whatever is necessary on the deck during performances. Mountain Playhouse operates under the AEA-CORST contract, and this Non-AEA "ASM" postion is required for CORST Z theatres. You will be assisting two different AEA SMs, who alternate shows. You would NOT alternate shows. You would work all of them.

The position pays $150 per week, and comes with housing. The first rehearsal is June 5, and the summer season closes on August 18. There MAY also be an Intern position available for the fall season of two shows. You must be an adult, 18 years old, or over, to apply. Transportation is not reimbursed.

You may send resumes to TSMarafino@aol.com, with "SM Intern Resume" in the Subject Line

That's the official portion of this posting. Here is the unofficial information, from me, personally:

This theatre is in the country. If you will not be happy in a rural environment, do not apply.  There is no Starbucks, no grocery store, nothing except a diner and a gas station convenience store, within walking distance. The nearest shopping district is about 8 miles away.  However, it is beautiful there! If you like the country, and all that goes with it, then by all means, apply. You will be happiest, if you have a car at your disposal.

The theatre is an old Grist Mill. The technical facilities are basic. If you only want to work in a high tech environment, do not apply.

The SM Intern will rehearse one show while performing another. In other words you will rehearse all day and then be called for performances (both matinees and evenings), and do your paperwork when you can. This is the nature of Stock. If you are not willing to work hard and spend many hours at the theatre, do not apply. And there is one day off every OTHER week, not every week.

The housing is shared, rustic and basic. There is no cable or TV unless you pay to install and maintain the service. If you require this in your life, you won't be happy here, unless you have your own TV and can afford to pay the bills.

Many of the AEA actors who work here, have been returning here for many years. You will be working with pros, who gather around a bonfire at night, play music, and have a ball together.

If you have questions, feel free to PM me! If you'd like to send me your resume and have me forward it, I can do that, too.  Meanwhile, management looks forward to seeing your applications.

28
Students and Novice Stage Managers / Helping with SM Homework
« on: Apr 13, 2013, 10:33 am »
I have to say this, as I've been thinking it for a while. I have participated in a lot of homework assignments, but i think it's unfair for the student to ask SMs to write out their answers, in essence writing the essay for the student. I am not going to participate in this manner, much, any more. I feel it's doing the work FOR the student, so they can cut, paste, and rearrange to their heart's delight. Now, if a student would like to PM me, and arrange to get my phone # or Skype id, etc. and interview me, then do all the transcription and organizing of said interview, combining my answers with the answers of other, yes, I'm more than happy to do that.  But, I think I will no longer answer questions in writing for Homework Help, under most circumstances.

I love to mentor, I have mentored many young and upcoming SMs. But from now on, if you want homework help, well, it's your homework, you do 99% of the work. I'm taking a leave from writing essays, perhaps a permanent one. Is this hard-line? Perhaps. But I did my High School/College writing on a manual typewriter. No internet. It's time for the upcoming generation to "do-it-themselves."

I am not trying to be unkind or disrespectful, and this is not aimed, personally, at the most recent Homework Help poster. I've been thinking it for a while.  Your thoughts?

30
Employment / Two Job Postings
« on: Jan 20, 2013, 04:43 pm »
I am not affiliated with either company. I just saw these postings, and thought I'd offer them up for general consumption:

http://www.simplyhired.com/job-id/xajkdpyy3g/temporary-assistant-jobs/

http://www.orlandojobs.com/site_job_detail.asp?job_id=23974

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