Messages

61

The Green Room / Re: Keeping Focus avoiding burn out

« on: Apr 21, 2015, 01:18 am »

As far as boredom during the actual rehearsal, if it's in the moment:

-Try standing to take your notation.

-If you won't be distracting, massage the base of your skull. I've found this to be an amazing pick-me-up.

-If it's a repeated sequence and you have an ASM you trust, ask them to review your choreo notes and take a quick step out for a drink or splash some water on your face.

62

Self-Promotion / Re: Save Ballet San Jose by March 14 #SV4BSJ

« on: Mar 11, 2015, 12:32 am »

From SR to SL: ASM, PA, PSM (me) and Director of Production

Our board chair poked fun at me because I was a half second early on the feet opening to 1st position. I claim SM calling skills - if I called the cue there, the op would get it done at the right time. My feet just happened to be connected to the calling part of my brain. :)
Post Merge: Mar 11, 2015, 11:07 pmHere's an update: BSJ just received an unrestricted grant for $105,000 from the city of San Jose - and a few others donated right on the spot. We're at $520,000 and our goal for Saturday is $550,000. If you could keep sharing the posts I've mentioned above (or any posts about Ballet San Jose) I would be so grateful.

We've received donations from California to Pennsylvania to as far as Australia. If you feel inclined to help the cause, every little bit helps. If you have already shared (or donated) THANK YOU. Thank you for helping save the arts!

63

Self-Promotion / Save Ballet San Jose by March 14 #SV4BSJ

« on: Mar 10, 2015, 11:29 pm »

Ballet San Jose (BSJ) is on the verge of closing it's doors on it's professional company, school and education outreach programs - for good. We have to raise $550,000 by 11:59pm on Saturday, March 14. So far we've raised $336,000 - but there's still a long way to go in 4 days.

I've worked for this company for 12 years - I ASM'd for 5 and am now in my 7th season as a the PSM. I've learned so much about the art of ballet - the beauty, the difficulty - I've learned about myself as a person, and how to improve as a stage manager. I started out as someone who hated dance, and I've progressed through taking ballet classes personally, falling in love with dance, and bringing my son up in the ballet. Now he takes classes at my company and looks up to all of the professional dancers. And they love watching him grow in the studio - most have know him since he was 3 months old.

Our entire company has been on a strong social media campaign since last week - we've been lucky enough to have our story picked up by the local FOX and NBC news stations, as well as several papers - even the Washington Post. While I really want to save the company for the sake of art, I want to save it more for my son's love of dance. If this company closes, I lose my PSM job and the ability to afford ballet classes for my son. I don't want that to happen - I want him to keep dancing with a school, teacher and professional dancers that he loves.

I know it's asking a lot for people in the arts to donate to another arts group, so that's not what I'm asking for. I'm asking you to share our story - I'd love to push this message as far as it can go - and hopefully someone will see your post and want to help. For the sake of art and for the sake of ballet student's educations and futures in dance. Please help.

If you are willing to post, all of my company's posts are available for sharing (https://www.facebook.com/BalletSJ). There are several videos from students in our school, company dancers, and even the SM Staff (and Director of Production) for the cause. I'll post my favorite links below for sharing. Anything you can do to get our story out there more would mean the world to me. And when you do share, please use our campaign hashtag: #SV4BSJ (Silicon Valley for Ballet San Jose)

My SM staff and I for our "Best Dance Move"
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=938477289517548&set=vb.144316332266985&type=2&theater

My son's "Best Dance Move"
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=938468156185128&set=vb.144316332266985&type=2&theater

My son's "What BSJ Means to Me"
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=936679779697299&set=vb.144316332266985&type=2&theater

An amazing "Best Dance Move" video by students in the upper levels of our school
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=938790969486180&set=vb.144316332266985&type=2&theater

The starter video for "Best Dance Move" featuring CEOs and staff from Silicon Valley companies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epfwZ0UGXJc&feature=youtu.be

If you've read this far, thank you! I hope you can share our story - and if you want to donate, no amount is too small. We've had donations from $5 to $100,000 - every bit helps!

Thank you,
Les Reinhardt

Production Stage Manager
Ballet San Jose
balletsj.org #SV4BSJ

64

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: not needed until tech week?

« on: Feb 16, 2015, 11:42 am »

This is very common in dance - and I've experienced this a few times. It can be a great exercise in how fast you can pick up what's important for cuing and communication with the choreographers/designers.

Also, in those situations, you may want to find out what is truly expected of the SM. The run may be very short, you are not expected to give notes, not make sign in sheets, etc - just call the show. I've had this happen several times with a particular dance company - they had a company manager and a costumer that basically handled everything, except calling the show. It did make me feel very disjointed and not a part of the company, but I was brought in at the last minute, so there was no time to fit in.

These aren't always the most satisfying gigs, but they do have fill employment gaps.

65

Employment / Re: Overqualified?

« on: Feb 13, 2015, 01:18 am »

...In YOUR opinion can someone be "overqualified" for a position?...

I've been in a similar position many times, and this question always comes to mind. For our low-paying PA position, I've had applicants from the "never worked backstage in a theater before" to MFA student to AEA SM who's been SM'ing longer than I have.

In a recent season, I talked with my PM about who was the right person to hire for the PA job. I was torn between one who was a few years my senior as an AEA SM and a young SM who had just finished college. In my mind, the young SM was the right fit, as she was still green and needed to learn, but the AEA SM was between gigs and definitely overqualified. When it came down to it, we decided to hire the AEA SM, because, in truth, she was qualified for the job - because overqualified is still qualified.

I am always thinking about the person I'm hiring and if they are really considering the costs of moving to our area, how much will the pay actually support them, will they even like the job, etc. But my PM told me to stop worrying about those things - that it is on the applicant. In the end, she was a great hire: she did the job and we had a great time working together. I know she wanted to learn about SM'ing ballet, which is an area she didn't have any experience in - and I was able to hand off tasks to her with less instruction than I would an entry-level PA. I really went against my gut with hiring her, but I don't regret it - and she liked it so much she asked to come back the next season, in the same position.

66

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: CALLING: Articulation marks in SM calling script

« on: Feb 11, 2015, 12:26 am »

Speaking for myself, it really depends on the kind of dots you get. The ones I use haven't been terribly hard to reposition - or just pull up, and add a new one.

For me, as the show goes on, I move my starting points, as I get more comfortable with the calls.

67

Stage Management: Other / Re: Rehearsal DVDs becoming obsolete

« on: Feb 07, 2015, 03:11 am »

We have the same issue with our ballet company and the lack of DVD drives in laptops, or dancers simply using iPads instead.

I recommend a product called Wondershare (or any watermarking software). I had my company buy it for my work computer. I add text and sometimes a water mark to our videos, put them on Vimeo and send out a link with a password. You can remove the embedding option and lock it from being downloaded. And if you don't want it to be shared, just change the password the next day and then no one will be able to view it.

I only tout Wondershare because every day my staff and I find out something else it helps us do. When we don't have a rehearsal CD, it quickly rips the audio off the DVD for us - and makes it easy to cut up tracks to make a CD. Need a still from a DVD? It does that too. Upload a DVD video with watermark in any platform? No problem. It's fast and easy to learn, which helps.

Also, not to be negative, but depending on your company and the contracts you have with the choreographers, trusts, etc - they may not allow videos. Then you can tell your dancers they can borrow the DVD, if they watch it onsite in your studios. Then you don't have to worry about videos leaving the building or dancers not having DVD players. We've gone that way as well. (It's actually our current policy that no one gets to take any videos home - they have to watch it on paid time in studios if they want to watch one.)

68

Tools of the Trade / Re: Dropbox Teams

« on: Feb 06, 2015, 02:39 am »

Just bringing this back for the simple reason of touting my even stronger love for Dropbox.

Being a resident PSM who ended up buying Dropbox Pro (as did my Assoc AD) so that we could work together on files - I had been working with staff at DropBox for about 1.5 years, seeing if there was any way they would consider donating a Business account (which I think was what KMC was calling "teams" 2 years ago). After not hearing anything for 3.5 months, I suddenly got an invitation to be the Admin for my company's very own, non-expiring, $0/year, 50 licenses & 50 TB of storage business account!

I am very excited to embark on this new world of Dropbox and how the work environment can be improved at my ballet company. For one, to avoid dipping into my assistant's personal Dropbox accounts, they have always used the network to access my computer, get on my Dropbox that way, and get into my files. (Not my favorite thing, but it was the easiest way to go.) Now with the business account, I can create accounts for the company's computers/generic emails (not the people), and we can link what we need to, (no one needs to log into my computer and see all of my personal dropbox stuff - and yes, I know about selective sync). And yes, you can still invite people to folders, if they are outside of the company itself - for those that are freelance SMs.

I for one, am very excited - and who knows - recommend that someone at your company contact Dropbox. Perhaps they'll offer a free Business account for your art group. I've been at the ballet for a long time, so this is major for me, and I hope it sticks around (and remains useful) long after I'm gone.

69

Employment / Re: Application Rejection, Replying Email

« on: Feb 05, 2015, 02:36 am »

I know that this is a frustrating situation, as you would love to know what to fix to do better next time, but I wholeheartedly agree with Mac.

The possible situation that Mac brings up is a very real one, at least for me. I get a high number of applicants for my assistants each time I post a job, and only have the means to interview the ones I feel are the right fit for the job. And because I am a seasonal worker and not year round, I don't always have spare time during the rehearsal day to work on things not pertaining to the immediate task at hand.

Depending on their current schedule, if you do send your email (which seems to be worded just fine), I don't know that you would get as helpful of a response as you would like. You could always try, you never know.

70

The Hardline / Re: Facebook Postings

« on: Feb 04, 2015, 02:00 am »

And even to toss in another layer to this - as Matthew said:

So, is there an AEA rule about an actor video taping another actor - I don't think there is . . .

For Ballet Companies - we sign contracts with choreographers, Rights and Trusts - and there are very specific rules about videotaping, even from the wings, of the choreography. If anyone (including a performer) videos the performance, or any portion thereof, from anywhere - and that video gets posted online, and is discovered - the company that signed the contract for the rights to that ballet can lose their license rights.

For us, this is a major issue in our company - and it's up to the management to explain this situation to the performers and enforce it. So, speaking from that side, the answer is no. And they shouldn't be videoing the performance anyway. Period.

However - if this video is of backstage antics - be it nothing to do with the actual performance - that's another matter. How does the company (producer or performers) wish to be perceived in social media? Even if posted privately, the video can get out easily. That's a branding concern that also has to be handled by company policy.

71

Stage Management: Other / Re: Help Organizing costumes...

« on: Jan 27, 2015, 02:42 am »

I may be preaching to the choir - but these costumes came about somehow, yes? Does the company have a costume shop manager? At my ballet company, it is that person's job to inventory costumes (as well as a myriad of other tasks). If not and it falls on you, I can tell you what our shop manager does.

1. Create dressing lists for each ballet
2. Organize costumes by ballet on the rack
3. Small accessories (gloves, pins, removable decor, jewelry) in diddy bags next to each appropriate costume
4. Larger accessories organized by type, per ballet, in cardboard boxes  (hats, shoes, etc)
5. Create giant "pods" of safety-pinned muslin to completely cover the costumes in the warehouse (grouped by ballet)
6. Label the pods with the ballet title, label boxes with ballet title and type of accessory. (If necessary, number the pods "pod 1 of 4" and same with the boxes. Also note the number of boxes on the pod label.)

During either dress rehearsal or performances, photos are taken. The shop manager saves the photos in her electronic archive along with dressing lists and show paperwork. Based on those photos and dressing lists, she pulls from ballets if needed in the creation of a new work.

I will say, because I've been with the same company for 12 years, I have a pretty good memory of what we have in stock, even though I have nothing to do with costumes/wardrobe. If this is solely on you, get as familiar as you can with the costumes. If you can do all of the above, you will be familiar enough with it all to recall items you have in stock, and based on your paperwork, know exactly where to pull the items from. When creating the new ballet, be sure when building your dressing list that you say where pulled items came from - and be sure to return them to the original show. In ballet we do this all the time with props - and if we get around to selling a show, I make sure to remind the PM that if we sell Show X, props a, b and c also go with Show Z, so be careful about what goes in the sale inventory.

Of course this doesn't cover the whole measurements situation, but once you pull your stock, you can always measure before fitting on someone. Hoping you're not the one stuck doing fittings either?

72

Tools of the Trade / Re: [FAQ] What goes inside a SM Kit?

« on: Jan 23, 2015, 01:18 am »

As I know most of you are aware of Q2Q comics, this one just came up and I thought it would be appropriate to add to this thread:


Or here's the link to view it nice and large: https://q2qcomics.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/q2q-145.png

73

Tools of the Trade / Re: Ergonomics and the Tech Table

« on: Jan 19, 2015, 06:20 pm »

When in the house for tech I used to use a buttboard, but it was too painful, so I sit with the LD.

During shows, I'm backstage at a console. I have tried a variety of "sit-ables" but when it comes to calling, I am always standing. It also helps the dancers know when they shouldn't bother me - when I'm sitting I'm relaxed between cues and can chat, if I'm standing - I'm in the zone, so do not disturb!

Yes, this does mean I get up and down a lot, which doesn't bother me - it keeps me moving. As an added bonus, it turns out that my movements also signal the crew to get ready before I start to call standbys.

And my winning choice of seat so far - a medium height (non-rolling) stool with a thick cushioned top that spins.

74

Employment / Re: Negotiating pay

« on: Jan 07, 2015, 12:44 am »

I second what Matthew said, as someone in the same position.

Know that sometimes the budget is what it is, so while you are open to request an increase, be aware that the producer can come back and say "Sorry, we don't have more money for you." At that point, it's up to you to take it or leave it, as there is always someone else who will take it.

75

December Madness 2 / Re: SOFTWARE Division Finals: Excel vs Qlab

« on: Dec 22, 2014, 03:51 pm »

Even though I do lean heavily on QLab when working on small gigs, I use Excel in every SM and PM job I do. For me, I can't do a show without Excel for my paperwork and organization, but I don't need QLab for every show.