JOB DESCRIPTION: Fill in the BLANK...

[Trevor7]

I got hired for a company that hired me as a "Stage Manager" and expected me to be a house/company manager and for the "tech" as they called him, to do what an SM does.  It was small off-off broadway and I am pretty sure they didn't know what an SM was.

[sievep]

I've only come across it at one particular company.  It wasn't awful, just weird.

[damjamkato]

For my high school production of Thoroughly Modern Millie I found out 5 days before the opening that I was responsible for creating the subtitles to be projected on a screen hung above the stage so the audience could understand what the Chinese characters were saying.  I had to stay late and come early more than one time to get that done and the right size on the screen.

Projection design really isn't my strong point...

[goldbird]

Last night at 12:30am- Headliner act called me with this one:  "Can you bring me some laundry detergent?  I'm all out, and there's none in the store, and I only have dirty clothes."

[RuthNY]

OK, I started this thread but never offered my own "Fill in the BLANK..."

I was interviewed many years ago for a job with a LORT theatre. During the interview, the Production Manager let me know that at his theatre, the AEA PSM was responsible for giving wake up calls in the morning to any actor who requested them.  My face must have belied my feelings, because I did not get the job.

Hadn't they heard of alarm clocks?

[BalletPSM]

Wow!  Required??  Did you say, "please show me in the LORT handbook..."

I've offered to give wake up calls to actors as a courtesy when we've had 10:00 am performances or 9:00 am saturday rehearsals!

Hmmm...I guess I've never really been asked to do anything out of what I would consider ordinary responsibility.  I do think it was odd at my undergrad that stage management was required to gather rehearsal props - often from their own personal stuff!  I remember the first time I worked outside of undergrad and I was so excited I didn't have to do that!

[RuthNY]

I recall my jaw falling open and running for my life outta there...

Wow!  Required??  Did you say, "please show me in the LORT handbook..."
<snip>

[SM19]

I was kinda surprised when one of the vocal directors came to me (at a totally different activity away from the theatre) and told me that "As a stage manager, it's your job to keep the directors in line". Um...no? The directors should be keeping themselves in line. I work with a very lax and very informal production every year and we have first time writers this year. There was some debate whether or not it would work and so far it has. But we hit a glitch where things werent' running as fast as everyone hoped it would and they brought that up to me. I politely told him that that's not my job. This is where a nice thing I like to call a job description would come in handy. I'm not saying that if someone else isn't doing their job that I wouldn't step up for them and help, but they shot down the idea of a job description because the show is very lax. I dont agree with that. I dont know...sometimes the Kabaret Board stresses me out lol Oh well