Messages

31

Tools of the Trade / Re: Clock/Timer recommendation

« on: Jun 16, 2007, 10:59 pm »

I've been using the MegaWatch program lately (the one that also gives you Equity breaks),
The MegaWatch link is at http://www.geocities.com/willpickens/ under "Flash Projects" - available for both PC and Mac (and I've used both platforms).

Erin

Wow.  That is *amazing.*
And here i've been in the stone age with three stopwatches and a kitchen timer.

In my defense, the kitchen timer does have two clock functions that can time up or down, so i can set timer 2 to 10 minutes and then have a horrid alarm sound at the end of a ten minute break....everyone comes back pretty fast.....(only used in dire circumstances.)

theother erin

32

Tools of the Trade / Re: Keeping Spike tape down...

« on: Jun 16, 2007, 10:51 pm »

Tile floor:   paint pens.   Lotsa colors.  Latex/water based so that you can later clean it off with goo gone/409/nearly any solvent and a clean cloth.   Then cover with clear packing tape so that when all those students drag their chairs across the floor, they pick up with tape and not the spike.   Replace clear tape as needed to preserve spike.   (n.b.:  paint pen may not clean off other floor surface, test removability first.)

33

Uploaded Forms / Re: Actor/Scene Breakdowns

« on: Jun 16, 2007, 10:28 pm »

I go back and forth between horizontal and vertical set ups, very happy with current show because it allows for vertical, and fits neatly into notebook in portrait orientation    I've attached one vertical, one horizontal.  I also include where costume changes fall, and eventually timings for costume changes.  Wardrobe loves them.

34

Uploaded Forms / Re: Run Sheets

« on: Jun 16, 2007, 10:22 pm »

I use the terms interchangeably, though i would assume a run sheet to be more comprehensive than a shift plot (i.e. including prop handoffs, monitoring entrances and exits...things that aren't usually part of big shifts.)

Whenever i work with union crews they want timings, so i incorporate timings from the final rehearsal room run, so that crew members who have no familiarity with the show or production can calculate how much time they have from task to task. 

35

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Left or Right

« on: Jul 04, 2006, 05:15 pm »

Didn't we just do this thread?

there is a thread called "Lights? Electrics? What do you say" that sort of ventured into the realm of where in the bible you put your Qs and text, etc.

I was thinking of the "Your Book, Left or Right?" thread that got up to about four pages of comments not all that long ago.   

36

Employment / Re: Websites

« on: Jul 04, 2006, 05:32 am »

I keep a current resume (actually, more like a CV as I don't prune it like the one page resume) online as a referrence, so that if someone wants to double check something or refresh memory about a show that's been cropped off the resume i actually send out, they can just go to www.obscure.org/~nimue/resume.html.    Bandwidth through a friend's ISP, though i really ought to get a more professional domain name.

And a third here on avoiding personal blogs.  The last thing you want is to have potential employers start reading about your wild vacation.

37

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Dealing with stress

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 04:09 am »

If you have the time and $$$, you can try seeing a hypnotherapist during a down eveninng between shows and have them record a session that you can listen to on your own whenever you need to relax and clear your mind.
I had a session for chronic pain that i listen to every night (the recording of the session, her talking through the process) before sleep and always wake up feeling better.

38

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Step one in dealing with stress

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 04:05 am »

Um, most stage managers DON'T over commit.

And yet, as a student, you kinda have to.  I seem to recall a certain SM working multiple jobs and nearly keeling over one summer just after graduation....

- Sleep.  It's tough to find the time, but you must.  Breakdowns are even more time consuming.

- Drink water.  Not caffeine.  Caffeine energy runs out and crashes your immune system.

- Exercise.   A quick run around the building during a break gets your heartrate up in a good way, releases endorphins, burns off some negative energy, and helps tire your body enough to get decent sleep.

- Let it out.  At home.  Warn neighbors first (lest the police show up) and scream your head off.  Punch some pillows.

- Breathe.  Put a reminder sticky note where you'll see it constantly.  Every five minutes or so, take five deep breaths in and out.  Exhale completely. 

39

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: TECH WEEK

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 03:56 am »

hide all guns and sharp objects.

If they have no weapons, they shouldn't kill each other.

Rubbish.  Any prop can become a weapon.  You can't exactly hide every pen and pencil in the building.  Plus, someone's bound to have a multitool backstage and anyone could go postal and take out most of the chorus before you could get it away.

Find a way to make everyone laugh.   You'll never be able to change everyone's mind and make them like each other, but if you can get them laughing (as a group, not at anyone's expense) things tend to mellow out fast.

40

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Creating a call script

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 03:50 am »

And btw, Hi Erin!   

Off contract, eh? 

41

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Lights? Electrics? Elex? What do you say?

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 03:48 am »

Oh and Erin, I too call from a backwards script. It always screws with my assistants heads when I ask them make my copy of the script with the three-hole punch on the wrong side and reverse-collated.

But.  But.  But...you're right handed?  *boggle*

42

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Working with nudity

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 03:38 am »

There's rarely a need to have actors actually strip down during rehearsals.  If the rest of the cast isn't in costume....

And i have worked with more modest actors who preferred to wear a flesh-toned swimsuit or underthings for early tech rehearsals (that first time through, stopping and starting constantly), and save the full buff for dressed run through. 

43

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Left or Right

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 03:21 am »

Didn't we just do this thread?

Southpaw here, i make my left margin extra big (2 inches) for cues and warnings, blocking on slip pages to the right of the binder ring.

44

The Green Room / Re: thank you notes

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 03:16 am »

I also have to add that, yes, writing all those thank you notes during tech can be exhausting. 

That's why i wait until closing weekend for those involved in day-to-day running of the show

Then you can thank people for the entire process, rather than just rehearsals.

Another $.02

45

Employment / Re: stage management college degrees

« on: Jul 03, 2006, 03:05 am »

Forgot to mention the rude awakening that was the first professional gig after undergrad and before grad school.  What i learned at college was only the teeniest sliver of what a "real" SM does.  I had no *idea* what i had been neglecting and was incredibly embarrassed to have pitched myself as someone with experience and accomplishment.   Having two plaques advertising my "Excellence in Stage Management" was utterly worthless outside of that particular educational environment.

So yes, it is incredibly annoying to run into overly cocky graduates who think that all their work in college qualifies them as experienced SMs'.  The quality and breadth of educational programs runs such a spectrum....an interest in continuing that learning is key.

There are staples that every SM needs to know, and that is where educational theatre really shines.   The the MFA program i got a LOT of experience paired with supervision and feedback that don't exist in a working environment.   A program that brings in many different instructors with current working experience in a variety of formats in invaluable preparation for tackling new projects outside your comfort zone.

So a degree doesn't mean someone is is exceptionally good, but it does certainly indicate a commitment to the job!