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Topics - dallas10086

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16
Employment / How to give a recommendation?
« on: Feb 23, 2015, 12:33 pm »
I'm being contacted by other companies that ask, "Is there anyone you know that's available?" Sometimes though, their question is "Have you worked with X? Would you recommend them?" Unfortunately I can count the number of SMs I'd wholeheartedly recommend on one hand, the talent pool here is just that limited. But I don't want to come out and say "For the love of god, PLEASE don't hire this person, they're just too green for your needs." Legally that's a no-no.

If I'm unsure I'll usually ask what type of production it is (plays are better for brand new SMs), what their specific needs are (ex: someone familiar with The Nutcracker though it was a reimagining), what skill set they require (ex: QLab), those kind of questions. Are there any other things I should do or questions I should ask? I like being a helpful resource to these companies, and in my mind if the bar is raised across the board it benefits the whole community. I don't want to send over a terrible SM and have them doubt my recommendations.


17
http://www.hesherman.com/2014/10/21/how-to-fail-at-canceling-the-most-popular-play-in-high-school-theatre/

It seems the popular go-to response from school administrations - who originally give permission for such productions with a semblance of gay characters or issues - that they pulled the plug based on 'lack of approval,' rather than saying that there was backlash from the community.

At least these kids took the initiative and took the production off school grounds, proceeding in a new venue with funds raised from Kickstarter.

18
The Green Room / ARTICLE: SM left paralysed by fall
« on: Oct 20, 2014, 11:58 am »
A visiting SM walks through an unlocked 'Juliet' door and falls 10 feet, sues theater: http://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/soho-theatre-stagehand-fall_36050.html

19
The Green Room / MOVED: Which is better?
« on: Oct 20, 2014, 11:04 am »
This topic has been moved to Employment.

20
The Green Room / Happy International Stage Manager Day!
« on: Oct 10, 2014, 01:04 pm »
Did anyone's cast/crew/etc. do anything special for them today, even if it's just a smile and a hug?

21
Stephen Schwartz, on behalf of Dramatists Guild, writes a letter to South Williamsport Junior Senior High School administrators for canceling a production of Spamalot due to gay content.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/dramatists-guild-fires-off-scathing-letter-to-school-officials-for-cancelling-spamalot-over-gay-content-330403

The letter itself is here:
http://cloud.playbill.com/pdf/DramatistsGuildLetter.pdf

22
http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/06-2014/scriptopia-and-the-impending-death-of-paper-play_68834.html

They admit that the system isn't going to be that much help for SMs or those doing musicals, but it's a promising step towards a paperless system.

23
The Green Room / ARTICLE: The Big Wigs of Broadway
« on: May 12, 2014, 02:00 pm »

24
The Reluctant Dragon
Children's Theatre of Charlotte
Charlotte, NC

Running through May 4th.

I'm quite proud of this, mostly because Rupert (the name we've given our dragon) is a 25' long puppet - that's just over half the length of our stage - that is 12' tall and takes 4 actors to operate. The rehearsal process was very different than I've done in the past, and some days it was very much trial by error. But he looks fantastic - he even got his own standing ovation on opening night.

Here's a video of our Dragon Walk (I'm in the pink shirt "steering" Rupert): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_-8q6wnK0w&feature=youtu.be

Our in-house promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMQJ-wwabQc&list=UU7Qciw9p4WsK1obNUj8Gj7A

And some press: http://www.wcnc.com/charlotte-today/The-Reluctant-Dragon-254888481.html

25
The Green Room / Movies to musicals
« on: Feb 19, 2014, 01:37 pm »
Legally Blonde, Ghost, Sister Act, The Wedding Singer, Kinky Boots, Big Fish, Far From Heaven, Bridges of Madison County, and now Heathers...

What does everyone think of Broadway's recent infatuation with turning mediocre-to-decent movies into large scale musicals? Companies like Disney do it fairly well, but sometimes I hear some of the titles going up and I think...Huh? Why?

26
A great point came up in the Sound of Music Live! thread:
Is this helpful of theatre? Or is it troubling to see live performances on television when people aren't necessarily leaving their homes to see live theatre?
A friend of mine and I come back to this discussion often, since there's been a surge in televised/film productions within the past couple of years - Fathom Events televises live productions of Met Opera into movie theaters, as well as (if I remember correctly) performances of Company, The Nutcracker, and Memphis, among several others. For those of us outside of NYC where most of these original performances are held, it's a gold mine - I get to see performances at a reasonable rate that otherwise I would have to spend money on not only a show ticket but hotel and airplane tickets, driving my cost of seeing the performances live substantially.

Does broadcasting the performances somehow demean them or lower their artistic level? Do they hinder industry professionals or help them? Is this going to be the new standard to make the arts more accessible to the masses? Or will it make them too lazy to see the real thing onstage?

27
The Green Room / "The Sound of Music" Live on NBC
« on: Dec 04, 2013, 05:31 pm »
There's more press and word-of-mouth about "The Sound of Music" Live than I thought the general public would care to engage in - I'm happy and sad about it (Carrie Underwood? Really? But yay musical theatre on TV?) My Facebook feed is awash with invites for viewing parties with drinking games ("Reverend Mother!"= 2 shots).

What does everyone think? Do you think The Sound of Music was a good choice? Are they crazy to do this live?

29
Children's Theatre of Charlotte
Opens Sept. 20th, closes Oct. 20th

Shadowing opportunity for college students or any other interested SMs. Go to ctcharlotte.org for dates and times. There are also several school shows in the mornings that aren't advertised on the website, PM me a date and I can let you know if there's a performance.

30
The Green Room / On-camera interview
« on: Sep 10, 2013, 10:18 am »
We're in promotional mode and we've had a couple interviews lined up for the director and leads this past week. I asked the director if I was needed for a specific onsite on-camera interview, since it was only two actors without costumes, etc. and it was scheduled on my day off. I was told yes, I should be there. After the interview was done, the interviewer asked the director if there was anyone else she should talk to? The director said - loud enough for me to hear - "you should talk to our stage manager, she could offer you a different perspective." I pointedly declined (a nice way of saying I said "What? No. NO."), largely because I was given no notice and I didn't think I would represent the company well in my present state (another nice way of saying I put no thought into how I looked that morning). My director looked disappointed and asked me again, and I declined again. I feel like I wasted my one day off if a surprise interview was the reason for me being there.

Has anyone else been surprised into an interview of some kind? Should I have gone ahead with it?

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