CALLING: Backstage or Booth? (meta-topic)

[BalletPSM]

This odd bend towards the secretarial (sorry, administrative) may also explain why there are fewer male SMs now - however un-PC that might be to imply.

Baz -- can you please elaborate on what you mean by this statement?  I'm not sure I understand what your implications are here. 

[crazylady]

Backstage if I can have it. I admit this is a control thing and comes directly from my ASM days. Yes, it is easier to call Q's in one sense from the booth because you can see everything and there is less craziness going on around you so you can concentrate better - but most theatres have video monitors at least. I prefer to be backstage for when things go wrong. Yes, I trust my ASM's, but when things go wrong and you are in the booth, there is nothing you can do about it except keep calling the q's - it is MOST frustrating. And really calling from backstage isn't much different than calling in the booth. The first time I called from backstage I was like, Oh, I don't understand what the big deal was - this is fine!

[TechGal]

I actually call my shows, not from backstage, not from the front of the theatre, but from ABOVE the stage.  Yes that's right, above the stage.  The theatre I work at is in the round and I call the shows from upstairs looking down through the grid and I have a TV monitor that shows (most of) the stage from the front.  This is a carryover from the days when the stage there went up and down via hydraulics.  The SM would raise the grid up then raise the stage.  They'd load set pieces on from upstairs and lower everything back down again.  This was all long before I worked here.  The hydraulics broke and I'm told would be cost prohibitive to fix.  However, the light board (which I also run) is still upstairs right by the old controls for the stage and grid.  To be honest, while I've gotten used to it, I hate calling from above because no matter how you slice it, it's really hard to see and get a true feel for the show.  Especially when it comes to lighting.  I'm thinking about starting a campaign to move the light board downstairs and out in the house next to audio.  Not sure if I'd be abel to connivence our producer though because it'd require eliminating a couple seats.     

[ManageThis]

In our black box theatre the booth is in an absolutely terrible position. Only one show in the two years since we opened has been called by the stage manager in the booth. Since our budget was cut and we don't have any video monitors in any of our theatres, we have to be a little creative with how we call. The first few stage managers started calling from the cat walks (don't get me started on those horrible things), and now our TD has even put a desk up there for the SMs. I should be calling my first show in there next year, and I honestly can't wait. I've never called a show outside of the booth, and it'll be a challenge for me since I tend to be a little too chatty on com.

[missliz]

Oh man...the thought of calling from backstage makes me very nervous. Maybe it's because I'm used to being in the booth, but it just seems much more convenient...better viewing of the stage, closer to the other tech people in case there's a headset issue, no distracting actors running around, etc.

[maximillionx]

I prefer booth. As said, I like to see what's going on.

I actually call my shows, not from backstage, not from the front of the theatre, but from ABOVE the stage.  Yes that's right, above the stage.

I have actually done this in our blackbox theatre (I sat in the grid that's approx. 20-30 feet up) and found it just like the booth.  You just have to be much quieter.

[BayAreaSM]

For me, it depends on the type of show. I work as the resident SM for a ballet company, and the SM always calls the shows from SR. However, every time I call a straight play, I'm always in a booth.

When I first started calling ballet for small companies, I preferred to be in the booth, due to limited tech time, and the fact that there was no monitor. However, it felt strange.

It may seem strange and stressful, since the candy drawer is in my console and dancers are always getting in there while I'm calling, hanging on me, watching my monitor (thankfully it is in color) or using my console as a warm up barre - but I love it. I have had to make my ASM play bad cop and get supernumeraries away from me when I'm in a difficult sequence, but I wouldn't have it any other way. The dancers can tell when I'm in a serious concentration mode, and when I'm relaxing between cues. Actually, the SM's for our ballet company felt ostracised when they were sent to the booth - if the show had too many sets in the way and the SM couldn't see to call the show. So far, I haven't been sent to the booth, but I may this coming season.

Another SM on here mentioned that their SM console was on wheels and sometimes she had to move it for large pieces of scenery. For our R&J ballet, it's so tight that while you're flipping cue lights and calling the show, you have to roll your console out of the way for Friar Laurence's cell, then move it again for Juliet's bedroom, and back again. We actually had spike marks for the console. That was far too much, so the SM was sent to the booth while I flipped cue lights and rolled  the console around for him. I'm planning on making a change for us when we do the show this season, biting the bullet and calling the show from the booth, but taking the cue lights with me, so that my ASM can actually manage her side of the stage.

Calling the show from the stage or the booth greatly depends on what kind of show you're doing, and the facilities that the theater has to offer. No monitor backstage? Then you're probably not calling from backstage unless you are on a wireless and run around all the time. No ASM or infrared monitor to help you know when things are set or the stage is clear? Then you're probably calling from backstage.

It's all personal preference - and we work best where we know we work best.

[heatonSM]

I'm currently working in a space that has a booth but it is on the SL wall of the theater.  This means that there is a flat that basically covers the window the booth.  So I'm calling the show from a monitor inside a booth!

To me it doesn't matter.  As long as I can see what's going on, watch performances, ensure safety and uphold design elements then I am adjustable.

As technology progresses, we have to be able to watch performances on monitors since the theater's we are working in aren't getting bigger but the sets etc. are...this makes less room for calling stations and they often have to be placed somewhere other than the deck or a booth.

[sievep]

I just called an opera (La Traviata) and a ballet (Coppelia) for the Southern Illinois Music Festival from the booth . . .it was the first time in 8 years I had not called from the deck.

It was actually kind of interesting, but was a great reminder of why I prefer to call from the deck.  Although there are more distractions when you are on deck, you can also see whats going on during shifts. 

I had also done the lighting design for the Traviata, so during tech not only was I calling the cues, but adjusting times and levels as we teched.

[Zelma]

I LOVE calling from backstage.  You're so much closer to everything and everybody.  If there's a problem, or someone gets hurt, you can deal with it right away rather than wait for an ASM who was busy flirting with the lead actor to figure it out.  And as an added bonus, stagehands and actors will often come by and spontaneously start rubbing your back!

I totally relate. Some of my best moments calling from backstage were accompanied by a massage.
Post Merge: Jan 17, 2012, 10:16 amI have done both. In my early years as a SM (late 1970s-early 1980s), backstage was the only place available. I had to know the show really well because my favorite director doesn't restrict his actors to behind the proscenium arch. There were a few things I couldn't see from my position, and therefore had to call on lines and my knowledge of their timing. That was really the only drawback for me. I loved being near the action and I could deal with problems quickly. I never had an ASM. Actors knew better than to bother me in the middle of a cue.

After the booth was built back of house I called from there. The obvious advantage was now I could see the whole show, and I appreciated that, but I missed being in the thick of the action.

I recently co-SM'd a show in a different theater where one SM was in back of house calling lights while I was backstage wrangling actors, running our numerous scene shifts and calling the start of the acts. That was an insane experience.

Another recent show, I was given the option of calling backstage or in the booth. I was so tempted to call from backstage! But even with a monitor, too much of the show would have been invisible to me because of the way it was blocked. I called from the booth.

[SMeustace]

For me I like calling from a position that I can see the stage clearly, call actors/crew and call cues. This position can be in a booth or back stage. If backstage I need a clear video monitor.

There are times when I Stage Managed a show at a theatre that had very clear video monitors. Some theatres I had to call the show in the booth cause the video monitors was crappy or there wasnt any at all.

One time I was calling a dance show backstage right at a podium that had a video monitor attached to it. Half way into the first part the video monitor decided it wouldn't work properly anymore. All that was on the scene were moving white dots and fuzzy lines. I had to watch the dancers from offstage while calling the show. It was difficult. I waited for intermission then moved into the booth and called the show.

It doesn't matter where you call the show as long as you have good video and audio of the stage.