Author Topic: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew  (Read 6107 times)

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BARussell

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PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« on: Feb 18, 2013, 02:16 pm »
My question is sort of similar to this so I figured I'd attach here. I realize this is from a million years ago but I looked all over the board and didn't see an answer.

I am working with an IA crew for the first time (yay!). I have worked on big shows with large crews at many places but none have been union so far. I am excited and scared. As the ASM what can I NOT do when it comes to dealing with union crews. I already know don't touch props, or costumes, but what else? I'm just so used to jumping in there when something needs to be done, do I do spikes? Are singers allowed to get their own props?  Do I do run sheet assignments? HELP! This is for an opera, Aida, so I won't be bored backstage with all my cues, but I just don't want to look like an idiot on that first day of tech.


Mod Note: This topic split from ASMS: ASM during Tech - Maribeth
« Last Edit: Feb 19, 2013, 05:47 pm by Maribeth »
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Bwoodbury

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #1 on: Feb 18, 2013, 03:06 pm »
The last IA opera company I worked with had an asm dedicated to IA wardrobe and one dedicated to IA set, deck, and props. I was the latter, so that's where my advice is coming from. I did running paperwork assignments in consultation with the TD. After the first show, I had a better sense of who was good at what, so I was able to make the decisions on my own. Just be prepared for them to ask for changes. The IA crew will do spikes. Singers will occasionally take their props from the table or from their dressing rooms, but any handoffs need to be done by a crew member. I know the wardrobe asm had a similar set-up with the wardrobe supervisor.

My biggest piece of advice is just to get to know the guys (and gals). They're usually pretty cool and are comfortable telling you what they can and cannot do. I would also meet with the TD or have the sm meet with the TD (this depends on the sm/asm relationship, really. My sm had so much cuing to do that she wanted us to be pretty independent.) and just ask your question. Every venue is different.

Running paperwork advice: IA guys tend to go for diagrams and pictures instead of just descriptions, so my paperwork had both. Make sure you date the paperwork and possibly give it a version letter. I had my guys take notes on their paperwork and then took it back at the end of the day to make their corrections and make sure old version weren't floating.

I also brought in a lot of candy.

Do you have any other specific questions?
« Last Edit: Feb 19, 2013, 05:43 pm by Maribeth »

BayAreaSM

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #2 on: Feb 18, 2013, 04:27 pm »
I haven't worked an opera with an IA crew, but the ballet company I work for has always used IA.
Bwoodbury has given a lot of good advice - and here are a few more things I think can be helpful:

1. Always be available. You are more familiar with the show than the crew. They are going to have questions and you need to be easily accessible. My previous ASM used to wear brightly colored shirts to tech so that the crew could spot her. (She would switch to blacks for Dress and Performances.)

2. Know where you are in the show. There have been times when a crew member wants to know how long it is to their next cue (they need to fix a problem, need a bathroom break, etc) and the SM may be too busy calling to give an answer. I personally time stamp my run sheets by the activity onstage, so that I can follow along and let someone know how long they have until a shift or a hand off.

3. Respect your crew. When I was interning in a major Lort house I learned that the crew had no respect for my fellow SM intern who was working the shows opposite the ones I was on. When I had the opportunity to watch her interact with the crew she was incredibly casual, giving people nicknames, being very touchy and acting generally ditzy/giggly. When you're the new kid in town, you need to act professionally and respect your crew. You have to give respect to get respect. It took me some time to get comfortable with my IA crew, and while we may joke around, I am still respected by my crew and my directions are followed.

Bwoodbury's advice regarding paperwork is probably better than mine. I would normally generate separate run sheets for Props, Carps, and Rail/Winch.  I would then leave it to the appropriate department heads to assign specific tasks. Your ASM Run Sheet should include all of those items. For Ballet, I also include any Deck Elec tasks which involve shifting rovers for set changes and wardrobe receives/hand offs - all with timestamps. At the ballet it's the wardrobe supervisor's job to generate the notes for the dressers, but I needed to be aware of their tasks - as sometimes I had to warn them when their receives were coming up.

The one thing that can be tricky when working with IA is when to step in without stepping on toes. As your run sheet should have all of the tasks for the various crew departments, you are aware of when and where things are happening. One thing I have noticed most often is a missed prop receive. Usually I will stand near where the receive is going to happen and wait for the crewman to show up. Most times they do walk up right before it is supposed to happen (as they are following their paperwork/notes as well) and there are no worries. However, if the cue is coming up and they are reading a book, I would go over to them and let them know that it's time for their cue. After doing that once, they tend to not miss again.

There have been instances where I was waiting for the crewman to arrive and I could not find them so I simply stood in their place, received the props, and did not move. When the crewman arrived he took the props from me. That particular moment was an important receive, as the actors were running off into a wing and I knew they had to run through the cross over for a quick change, so they couldn't wait for someone to take their props (and could not run with them either). The crewman cannot be mad at you if you couldn't find them and it's their job to be there. I felt the important point in this was that I did not move once I received the props. I wasn't trying to do their job (I didn't put the props away), I was merely standing there and someone gave their props to me.

One other item that can be touchy - giving a Clear to the SM to indicate a completed shift. In our theater, that is the job of the Head Carpenter. I had never been told this (when I was the ASM), so I would be give the PSM the Clears to move on. It actually took a few years for the Head Carp to finally say something to me, and I apologized for my lack of knowledge. ASMs still give Clears to let me know the talent is set (places, bows, etc) but my Head Carp is the one to tell me that shifts are complete.

And you are correct: don't touch props, don't touch costumes, don't touch anything that isn't your run sheet or your pencil. If you notice something is wrong, find the appropriate crew member to handle it. If you need a dresser because someone's costume is coming undone, find them or have them paged. The talent should not be dressing each other, nor should they be doing each other's hair (assuming you have union Hair and Makeup). Spikes are generally set by the department they affect: carps do their own scenic spikes, elecs spike their rovers, props spikes the props - and in the ballet, they generally spike for the dancers, if needed. In this case, you are truly stage management - you make sure everyone is doing their task at the right time and that everything is running smoothly.
« Last Edit: Feb 19, 2013, 05:44 pm by Maribeth »

Maribeth

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #3 on: Feb 18, 2013, 07:25 pm »
I second what's been said so far- esp. regarding respect and about being available to the crew. Once you develop a good working relationship with a crew, they can be really helpful to you. (And if you don't have a good relationship with you, they can make your job really difficult). If you can find a way to either make their job a little easier, or do something nice for them, it really goes a long way. My fellow ASM and I used to buy the props crew those little Keurig coffee packs for opening night- they loved them and the theatre only bought loose ground coffee. Candy is also pretty popular. :)

The crew will do spikes, but I would advise keeping a list of spikes and checking them every night. Even if the crew checks them, you never know if one will get pulled up by accident. I did an show in a large venue where the set was struck to make room for a one-night concert and loaded back in the next night. When it was loaded back in, one of the floor panels was flipped the wrong way- even though the crew checked the spikes, they ended up out of place.

It's good to figure out what tasks fall to which department in a particular theatre. In my experience props usually handles moving music stands and step units for assistant conductors to use for conducting coro or banda backstage, but deck elex might be responsible for stand lights and moving roving monitors into position. It's good to check and make sure what the breakdown of responsibilities are at your particular theatre so that you can break down changes accordingly.

Definitely agree with the diagrams- I am not particularly skilled with making little clipart prop diagrams (though I know other SMs who are) so sometimes I end up taking photos of a complicated set up and label accordingly.

Make sure you date the paperwork and possibly give it a version letter. I had my guys take notes on their paperwork and then took it back at the end of the day to make their corrections and make sure old version weren't floating.

YES. I've also done photocopies on colored paper (in addition to dating and labeling) depending on what version it is. For instance yellow might be for piano tech, green for piano dress, pink for orchestra tech, blue for orchestra dress, and white for the final version. Makes it really easy to see that a crew person has not yet received the most up-to-date running paperwork. (I have worked at companies that have standardized colors for particular rehearsals- worth asking the SM or TD if there's a preferred way to do it).

What BayAreaSM said about you knowing the show is absolutely true- a lot of what I end up doing backstage at IA houses is double checking things. That all the props are set correctly, that the crew heard the SM give the 5 minute call on the next scene change if they don't have a headset, that the crew is on their way when their next handoff or quickchange approaches, etc.

In this case, you are truly stage management - you make sure everyone is doing their task at the right time and that everything is running smoothly.

Well said.
« Last Edit: Feb 19, 2013, 05:45 pm by Maribeth »

BARussell

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #4 on: Feb 19, 2013, 04:13 am »
Thanks everyone who has responded, sorry it has taken me so long, but I was working on the exact paperwork you were describing all day today (complete with lots of pictures and diagrams). I am assigned to wardrobe and costumes so it's not too tough for me, but I've been helping out on prop paperwork. Luckily the other ASM and SM have worked with union crews before so they will be there to help, and most of the stuff you mentioned we have taken care of. I just don't want to be the weak link and everyone on here always has great advice and tips.

 If anyone can think of a specific "this is a common SM task in a non-union house but a big no-no in an IA house" sort of thing that would be great for helping me, i'll probably bring notes on all of this to tech.  Talking to the TD seems like a great idea so that's probably my next step. It's sort of convenient not being able to touch or move anything considering I'll be carting around a 4 act score. I feel a lot more confident but if anyone else has any good tips or reminders keep 'em comin!
« Last Edit: Feb 19, 2013, 05:45 pm by Maribeth »
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Maribeth

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #5 on: Feb 19, 2013, 12:18 pm »
I'll be carting around a 4 act score.

Have you considered getting your score spiral bound? It's cheap- probably between 5 and 10 dollars at Kinko's or Staples, and it makes it SO much easier to haul around. (If you have and your score is just really big, then my sympathies). It's totally worth it to not need a giant binder. I usually carry my bound score and a WWW with me backstage and that's about it.


Post Merge: Feb 19, 2013, 12:51 pm
If anyone can think of a specific "this is a common SM task in a non-union house but a big no-no in an IA house" sort of thing that would be great for helping me, i'll probably bring notes on all of this to tech. 

The only thing that I can think of now is that at the last IA house I worked at, props filled backstage water pitchers. ASMs set out cups, paper towels, and cough drops, but if we needed a water pitcher filled, we asked props. I don't know if that's a standard thing or not.
« Last Edit: Feb 19, 2013, 05:45 pm by Maribeth »

ejsmith3130

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #6 on: Feb 19, 2013, 02:42 pm »
I'll be carting around a 4 act score.

In addition to Maribeth's advice of spiral bound, if possible you can split the score up into seperate smaller binders by act. This give the potential for missplacing one or grabbing the wrong one (clearly labeling or color coding is essential) but it can be a quick fix if it is easier than getting it spiral bound.

I also carried a set of index cards on a carabeaner on my belt that clearly had all the deck cues I needed to be aware of (basically the deck paperwork shrunk to fit on a 3x5 card) so that I had quick access to that without another stack of papers. This also helps you keep an eye on your IA crew members to make sure everything is set and in place.
« Last Edit: Feb 19, 2013, 11:58 pm by ejsmith3130 »

NomieRae

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #7 on: Feb 19, 2013, 06:12 pm »
Quote
The only thing that I can think of now is that at the last IA house I worked at, props filled backstage water pitchers. ASMs set out cups, paper towels, and cough drops, but if we needed a water pitcher filled, we asked props. I don't know if that's a standard thing or not.

YES. For a tour I did this was also the case. Seemed silly at the time considering how props light the show was, but I am glad I asked when we moved into each venue. When in doubt, ask the TD or their rep where it should fall. This is especially true if you're touring because everyone's idea of the rules will shift with each venue.

For instance, we had a lead who needed props brought to her at half hour in her dressing room. In our rider it was spelled out that only the ASM and wardrobe was allowed in her dressing room once she arrived. (she was a very modest woman and was only comfortable with female crew she was familiar with) Some venues insisted that their props head bring them from the table and hand-off the props to me at her door to be set with her, while others just let me set them myself as long as I confirmed with props once it was complete.

I've never had an IA crew member get mad because I asked questions. It is when you assume or plow ahead without asking when they tend to get bristly.
--Naomi
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LizzG

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #8 on: Feb 20, 2013, 10:17 am »
I've always done my own spikes when working with an IATSE crew, but it seems like that is NOT the norm.  I would love to hear from others about who spikes!

When in doubt, ask.  I've toured through a ton of union houses, and they are all quite a bit different as to who deals with setting up our pit seating, who is and isn't allowed to load weight, etc, and how strict they are.  Some of my road head carpenters have left it to our ASMs oversee the crew, and some really want to do it themselves.  Talking with your TD is a great first step.
« Last Edit: Feb 20, 2013, 10:34 am by LizzG »

ejsmith3130

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #9 on: Feb 20, 2013, 02:32 pm »
I've always done my own spikes when working with an IATSE crew, but it seems like that is NOT the norm.  I would love to hear from others about who spikes!

The last IA crew that I worked with we split who did the spikes. Stage Management transfered the spikes of furniture from the rehearsal hall, and they took care of all the others that had to do with larger set pieces.

To be fair, it was an extreemly relaxed crew in Anchorage Alaska, and the show was really behind schedule, so there were several times that I was asked to step in and help with things that were not normally things I was allowed to touch (props, etc.) This was a show that they were still painting the set at 1/2hr on opening night though so it was very out of the ordinary...

MarcieA

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #10 on: Feb 20, 2013, 06:47 pm »
I have been following this thread because of my next project and noticed that you're working with Margie and Seth, ejsmith! She is the reason that I have my Equity card, and I worked with Seth years ago on a show in Philly. I don't know if either would remember me, but they're wonderful.
Companions whom I loved and still love, tell them my song.

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #11 on: Feb 20, 2013, 11:06 pm »
(FWIW I know some of the SB IA crew - they are lovely folks, appreciate courtesy and kindness and are a lot of fun!)

BARussell

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Re: PEOPLE: Working with an IA crew
« Reply #12 on: Feb 23, 2013, 09:04 pm »
I had a great meeting with the TD/Production Coordinator today and he was a great guy and very helpful in letting me know whats what, and dealing with my stupid questions. I also got to meet with him, head of wardrobe, and the entire wardrobe crew, so that was also really helpful. I also made sure to ask about water, so thanks for the tip. I feel like a kid in candy store at this point, it's such a nice space, newly renovated and all, I'm definitely not going to take it for granted.
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