Messages

16

Employment / Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) Seeks PSM Immediately

« on: Oct 06, 2014, 11:23 am »

I have no affiliation with this company, I'm posting this on behalf of a friend:

ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER SEEKS PSM ASAP:
Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC), Astoria's premier professional theatre is seeking a Production Stage Manager (Union on non-Union) for its AEA showcase production of a new play IN THE BONES, written by Cody Daigle and directed by Dev Bondarin.

PSM should be organized with strong problem solving abilities and able to maintain the show for the three week run. Stipend pay of $300.

Rehearsals are currently underway (evenings and weekends, Monday off)
Tech: 10/30-11/5
Run: 11/6- 11/22 (Thursday thru Saturday)
 
For more information about APAC and the production visit: www.apacny.org and to apply please send a resume to Production Manager, Annie Jacobs at annie@apacny.or

17

The Hardline / Re: AEA LORT COSTUME FITTINGS

« on: Sep 26, 2014, 12:28 pm »

That was in response to the need that Matthew originally stated that there would be more than one costume fitting in a given day (at 10, 10:30, 11 and so on). I was just writing out the call of that one particular actor. Of course, if there was only one fitting request for the day I'd make it as close to the start of rehearsal as I could.

Um, I wouldn't do it this way at all. I'd butt that fitting up to the rehearsal call, 11:25-11:55a, give a five minute break, and then proceed with the five hour call, shown in your example. Because, the actor can work up to six hours in a row, if one of those hours is a costume call. I would not, unless it was more convenient for the actor, call them at 10am, and then have them sit around for an hour and a half. This way, the actor has accrued only one hour against his "outside hours" for the week/run.

I believe that Ruth is right here, and this is how I've always scheduled fittings as well.

So:
10-10:30am Fitting
10:30am-12pm Break
12 - 5pm Rehearsal
5-6pm Break
6-8pm Rehearsal

This makes for a day with the appropriate break schedule and is less than 12 hours. The only 'hours' issue would be whether or not this falls in the allotted 3 extra hours a week and 7 hours for costume/photo/media per production.

Yeah it kind of stinks to have a 90-minute break at 10:30am, but presumably the contract compensates the actor for this, and also, it's one day.

Rule 51 A (3) Except for days when there are early student performances, the span of the work day shall not exceed 12 consecutive hours.

So you can add costume fittings/photo calls to rehearsals, up to a 12 hour span of day, as long as breaks are proper...

Post Merge: Sep 26, 2014, 10:00 amMost theatres I work in, with one notable exception, can only accommodate one fitting at a time. Costume shops, much of the time, have only one fitting room, and Designers and Costume Shop Managers are loathe to run between multiple fittings. And, most costume shops, especially ones with union employees, close down before the rehearsal day is over, so fittings after the rehearsal call are out of the question. And, in many LORT theatres, the designer makes a limited number of trips into town, for a certain number of hours or days, and this is when actors must be fitted.

I expend much scheduling energy negotiating my way around designer's schedule's, understaffed shops, and long standing institutional procedures that sometimes make it more difficult to rehearse the show. This, sadly, is what I have found to be be "business as usual."

The best directors understand that the actors have to have clothes on their backs, and they help engineer schedules that get it done.

<snip>

I don't think the union actors should bear the brunt of understaffed costume fittings or a designer's schedule . . . but I don't want to end up with a ruling that hinders production.

18

The Hardline / Re: AEA LORT COSTUME FITTINGS

« on: Sep 25, 2014, 07:23 pm »

I believe that Ruth is right here, and this is how I've always scheduled fittings as well.

So:
10-10:30am Fitting
10:30am-12pm Break
12 - 5pm Rehearsal
5-6pm Break
6-8pm Rehearsal

This makes for a day with the appropriate break schedule and is less than 12 hours. The only 'hours' issue would be whether or not this falls in the allotted 3 extra hours a week and 7 hours for costume/photo/media per production.

Yeah it kind of stinks to have a 90-minute break at 10:30am, but presumably the contract compensates the actor for this, and also, it's one day.

Rule 51 A (3) Except for days when there are early student performances, the span of the work day shall not exceed 12 consecutive hours.

So you can add costume fittings/photo calls to rehearsals, up to a 12 hour span of day, as long as breaks are proper...

19

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Sharing Paperwork with ASMs

« on: Aug 03, 2014, 03:03 pm »

I have never had an issue where the ASM doesn't have WORD

I have had an assistant without word, PAs and recently a PSM who didn't have Microsoft Office. It is always because they had a mac that came with iWorks and were able to mostly work around this by exporting as a word file, as Babens mentioned, or by sending out everything as a PDF.

20

Uploaded Forms / Re: Spike Matrix

« on: Jul 28, 2014, 01:32 am »

How many spikes you have to actually, physically make. Useful only if you use a color more than one time (yellow on my chart, for example). Also helpful in that that column can just be used to assign someone the task of making x number of y color, without the need to count rows for a total.

21

The Green Room / Re: Mini Rant---SM T-shirts and products

« on: Jun 17, 2014, 05:58 pm »

I found this thread quite interesting which prompts me to just throw it out there: What would your ideal SM T-Shirt be if you could make one?---GO!!

"Hold please."

I had a shirt that says this. Someone made it/had it made as a gift for me years ago. It was lost in a move years ago. Devastating.

22

Job Postings / Production Assistant/SM Intern Needed for My Life is a Musical

« on: Jun 17, 2014, 05:38 pm »

Hi all,
I'm looking for a PA/Intern for an upcoming production of My Life is a Musical. I've worked on this show as it's been developed for the last two years, and can't wait for this upcoming full production.

My Life is a Musical is seeking a Production Assistant/Stage Management Intern for rehearsals in NYC and performances in Sag Harbor, NY. This is a full- time position beginning June 28 (partial day of prep); rehearsals begin June 30th. Schedule is Monday-Saturday 10a-6p at New 42nd Street Studios. PA would stay with the show through the end of August for tech/run in the Hamptons.

The ideal candidate will have some previous stage management experience, especially in regards to costume/props tracking. Responsibilities include assisting the Stage Management and Directing teams with basic rehearsal tasks as well as maintaining and distributing script changes, and assisting in the creating and maintaining of costume/props tracking paperwork with the ASM.

A small weekly stipend ($100/wk) is available as well as housing in Sag Harbor. Applicant must have NYC housing.

Please send resumes to Marcie Friedman, PSM - marciefriedman@gmail.com

23

Employment / Re: Putting ASM on Resume at Equity Theatre

« on: May 06, 2014, 06:25 pm »

I was a production assistant for 3 years at a LORT D theatre. I always worked and was referred to as the ASM. Listed in the program as the ASM always (at the theatre's discretion, not at my request). My resume has always listed ASM for these shows, and in 11 years it's never come up as a question.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I can offer from personal experience.

24

Tools of the Trade / Re: TOOLS: Post It Tape

« on: Feb 26, 2014, 11:55 pm »

LOVE this stuff. Wish it came in 1/2" too.

25

Employment / Re: How far to book ahead?

« on: Jan 28, 2014, 11:23 pm »

For me, it depends on the work. Normally I only book myself 3 months or so in advance, but a company that I worked with in September offered me a spot in their season, which though it has breaks in it, keeps me contracted through May.

I also have a 2 standing gigs that take me from May-Oct and then Jan/Feb and most of what I do build from that. I'm actually fortunate enough to be booked right now from May 2013-October 2014 with one 4-week gap for the month of April.

I would say book the work if it's being offered and it's something you want to do. If something comes along that makes you re-think that decision then you can look at it on a case by case or show by show basis.

26

Tools of the Trade / Re: POLL: Paperwork Ownership

« on: Jan 17, 2014, 10:34 pm »

What I've always wondered is why don't theatres, especially ones that have specific needs in their paperwork, provide the templates themselves?

I have actually worked at a few places where paperwork has been presented to me as a 'suggested format' and offered for my use. It was up to me as to whether or not I chose to use it. In some cases I did, or modified small things and used their general formatting. In other cases I, after checking in to be sure it really was ok to use my own, I did just that.

I've also worked at 1 company here in NYC (and know of a 2nd) that have templates that all stage management is expected to make use of. Both of these companies are large, and run multiple shows with up to 4 independent stage management teams in rehearsal/performance at a time, so it makes complete sense to me that they'd want a uniform set of materials distributed to various departments. 

For the record, I love one set and hated the other.

27

The Green Room / Re: Best one-liner from a performance report

« on: Jul 17, 2013, 09:05 am »

This didn't go into a report, but it made me think of this thread:

I spend my summers at Lincoln Center as part of the stage management team on 2 large music and dance festivals. One of our shows this year is a commissioned site-specific piece by a contemporary dance company with, at times, 80 dancers in and on the various structures here. As such, virtually none of the rehearsals are without a large number of the general public observing. And observe they do.

Yesterday, we had two dancers rehearsing in the large reflecting pool in front of the Beaumont Theatre and in the middle of this beautiful moment between the two dancers, a women stands up, points, and yells out, "Oh HELL NO. That man just tipped her back and put all her hair in that nasty-a** water."

28

Introductions / Re: My Introduction

« on: Apr 08, 2013, 11:31 pm »

I'm saying hi on here even though I know you in real life too!

29

Tools of the Trade / Re: Dropbox account full

« on: Mar 05, 2013, 08:56 pm »

Sugarsync! Just like dropbox, syncs to your hard drive if you want, cloud storage etc.

30

The Green Room / Re: SMNetwork fundraising drive 2013

« on: Mar 01, 2013, 11:22 pm »

done, though I wish it could have been more!

Thanks for all that you do!