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Topics - hbelden

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31
The Hardline / BAT Staged Reading Code
« on: Nov 29, 2006, 07:30 pm »
I'm doing my first AEA Code staged reading this weekend.  It's referenced to the BAT contract, so I'm assuming that all the break rules and rest period rules carry over from that contract - am I right?  We have to take 5 or 10 minute breaks per usual, we have to give a meal break after five hours of rehearsal, there needs to be a meal break between rehearsal and performance?

I know I don't need to elect a deputy - I did ask AEA about that.

Thanks,

32
Not sure where to put this topic, but I'm working on a Shakespeare on a LOA contract.

I know the AEA LORT book (that our letter references) has rules about the amount of rake the theatre can put the stage deck on, and that is 3/4 inch rise for a 1 foot run.  More than that, and the Theatre has to provide a professional movement coach.

What about Entrance/Exit ramps?  No one acts on this portion of the stage, they just run up or down it maybe ten or twelve times during the show.  However, the rise is 30 inches over a 7 foot run.  This is too much, isn't it?  Or does it even matter?

I remember the vom entrances at the thrust stage at La Jolla playhouse were a steep rake, but I don't remember how much.

Thanks for the help.

33
The Hardline / Health cards discontinued
« on: Aug 01, 2006, 11:39 am »
I see that we no longer have to fill out 3x5 cards for our health benefits!!  Yay! 

The AEA website says that the cards have been "replaced" by the First Rehearsal Questionnaire, and then goes on to say that the only people who have to fill out an FRQ are those who are on their first AEA contract, and those whose personal information (address, phone #, agent, etc.) have changed since their last contract.

I have two questions, and I'd be happy to post them to AEA, but people here usually know the answer better than our business rep...

1) How do you make sure your dependents are enrolled?
2) Is it true that AEA doesn't need anything other than your signed contract in order to calculate health weeks?

THRILLED about this change, but a little confused...

Thanks,

34
Here's the fun part of being an ASM.  I'm running SR, and just before going onstage, an actor put down a prop on the prop table, then made his entrance SR.  It's one of those specific props used in the show - like Desdemona's handkerchief.  I thought, "that's not right, is it?"  He exits SL and re-enters SL a minute later, so I didn't think he would want to crossover just to get this prop.  I double-checked with the SL stage manager, and it didn't make any sense to her either.  So, I walked over to SL with his prop and handed it to him - and was thanked profusely!  He had just spaced for a second and thought he was done with it.  It was the second show of a two-show day, and he got confused.  He would have been really struggling if he had gone on without it.

It's just so rare to be thanked by an actor - during a performance, even! - that I wanted to mention it here.

35
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / ASMS: ASM during Tech
« on: Jan 03, 2006, 10:58 am »
I'm putting in my time as ASM on the LORT level, one level up from where I've been stage managing, and I'm having a hard time making the adjustment.  I was fine while we were at the rehearsal hall, but now that we've started tech (it's an IATSE house) I feel superfluous.

I pay attention to every second of the tech; I know who's working and I know what's coming up next, I listen in on everything on my side of the stage, and every time the tech stops I go out on stage to see what's happening.  But for some reason, I just feel like an eavesdropper, a visitor.

When I was the Stage Manager, I felt totally plugged in to the entire show and everyone working on it.  Now that I'm the ASM, it just seems like I'm in the way.  The crew doesn't need anything from me, the actors are working out their issues, and when the director goes up onstage to talk to the actors, he doesn't say anything that anybody besides the actors needs to know.

It's true that it's a small show, with not much going on backstage.

Maybe it's just my own perception; maybe this is part of the normal differences between being an SM and an ASM.  This is the first show I've done in this house, and I have a second this season.  I'd like to feel more of a contributor on the second show.  

How can I be a more effective ASM during tech?

36
The Hardline / 401K plan
« on: Oct 14, 2005, 06:33 pm »
I had a 401K plan back when I had a day job.  I don't know much about it, but it did give me a couple of hundred dollars when I quit and cashed it in.

What's the deal with AEA's 401K plan?  Which employers contribute matching funds?  What are the pros of setting one up?  Are there any cons - like for instance, if I need cash now to pay down a credit card or a car loan or something.  What about if I don't have a theatre job for a few months?  What happens to it then?

Vernon, I saw you were part of the WCLO contract negotiation that secured this for us.  Can you give us the highlights?

Thanks,

37
The Hardline / 401K plan
« on: Oct 14, 2005, 06:30 pm »
I had a 401K plan back when I had a day job.  I don't know much about it, but it did give me a couple of hundred dollars when I quit and cashed it in.

What's the deal with AEA's 401K plan?  Which employers contribute matching funds?  What are the pros of setting one up?  Are there any cons - like for instance, if I need cash now to pay down a credit card or a car loan or something.  What about if I don't have a theatre job for a few months?  What happens to it then?

Vernon, I saw you were part of the WCLO contract negotiation that secured this for us.  Can you give us the highlights?

Thanks,

38
Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PROPS: Outdoor Shakespeare
« on: Jul 07, 2005, 03:39 am »
We're doing Two Gentlemen, and in the second scene Julia gets a letter which she tears up, throws on the ground, then regrets and has a whole monologue dealing with the pieces of paper on the ground.  "Wind, blow not a word away" is a line that sticks in my head as we are performing outdoors in an often windy space.  At tonight's dress, sure enough, the heavyweight cardstock we had picked for the letter flew away almost as soon as it had left her hands, making her monologue fairly pointless.

We tried soaking the letter to give it more weight; we tried adding dabs of hot glue to each going-to-be-torn piece; I'm not finding a lot of success.  I know somebody out there has faced this problem before; was there a good prop solution that didn't leave the actress in an awkward position?

Thanks,

39
The Hardline / candid rehearsal snapshots?
« on: Jun 23, 2005, 01:06 pm »
I'm working in an LOA company off the LORT contract, and I'm not sure how to approach this topic.

We have more non-AEA actors than AEA actors, but of course, we have to work under AEA rules.  A couple of the non-AEA actors have brought cameras to rehearsal and are taking "souvenir" shots.  One guy only did it one day, but the other guy has brought his camera to a couple of rehearsals.  Neither of them used flashes, and neither of the cameras beeped, and as far as I can tell, neither were a distraction to anybody working (except me, of course).

It seems wrong to me, but I don't know exactly why.  It just seems unprofessional.  My plan is that the next time a camera shows up in rehearsal, I'll take the guy aside and say something like, "I'd really rather not have you taking photos in rehearsal any more.  How do you feel about that?"

If we were working in costume, or under lights, or doing run-throughs, I'd  put my foot down about it.  And if the producer were coming around with a camera all the time, I'd remind her of the 24-hour notice; but it doesn't seem to me that the intent of the AEA rules was to keep memories out of the scrapbooks of people who probably won't be making a professional career out of acting and just want to remember the summer they did Shakespeare.

Advice?

40
The Hardline / New LORT contract
« on: Apr 15, 2005, 01:27 pm »
I'll be working this summer on an LOA referenced to LORT-D.

With the new LORT contract, are there any changes to the Rehearsal section that would affect scheduling?

The press release from AEA doesn't mention anything about changes like that, so I guess I can plan that there aren't any, but I figured someone on here - Vernon? - would know for sure.

Thanks,

41
The Hardline / unemployment
« on: Oct 06, 2004, 09:56 pm »
Okay -

Unemployment insurance.  Often there's a month, maybe two, in between the end of one contract and the start of the next.  We all pay in to it when we work - at the end of the contract, can we collect?

How does this work for theatre artists?  Is it common to collect unemployment?  How long can you collect?  How do you go about getting the money?

Never thought about this before.

42
This just happened to me last week...
 
I'm working for a summer outdoor festival, that doesn't have time to do laundry inbetween its matinees and evening shows.  As a result, despite numerous encouragements, many actors don't fully get out of costume during the meal break.  Mr. Hernandez (not real name) has a costume with black leather pants and a western gun holster, over which he puts a baseball jersey for the meals.  He also has a ton of gel in his hair for the show.

I've just called half-hour over the monitors, and I'm walking backstage to check on things... through the trees I see four or five blue uniforms congregating backstage.  I start hurrying.  One of my actors is converging on the spot, saying "Heath, you see what's going on?"  I say "Yes, stay back for a minute" and turn to see four or five policemen, with their guns out, circling Mr. Hernandez.  The campus' security guard is behind the police, pointing and accusing my actor of "peering into his truck".  Mr. Hernandez is calm, quiet, and cooperating, saying "I was just taking a walk".  Meanwhile, the younger (and more hot-headed) members of my cast are coming up near the spot, wanting to find out what's going on.

I'll finish the story later...

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