COMMUNICATION: Surprise Load In

[Kaleigh.Knights]

Yesterday, I had something sprung on me and I wanted to vent/discuss it.

My director for the community theatre outdoor show that I am working on is infamous for not giving information out. I had to ask almost 10 times for the final cast list....AFTER we started rehearsals.

I am the TD for the scene shop this summer at my university and so I was in my office about an hour before rehearsal. The set designer, who is one of my friends, came into my office and asked what the plan was for load in that night. I had no idea what she was talking about. As far as I was aware, we were running Act 2, scenes 1 and 2 as well as Acts 4 and 5, scene 1. She said that she had arranged with the director to have the cast help load the truck and bring it over to the park where the show will be and set it up. I was floored. He hadn't mentioned anything to me at all. I was sure the cast had no idea either.

So I called him and asked him what the deal was. Below is roughly our conversation..

Kaleigh; "So, we have load in tonight?"
Director; "No, not really. We're just going to all load the truck with the set, and then bring it over and set it up."
K; "Okay...well that's kind of a load in. I would have liked to know ahead of time, at least more than 20 minutes."
D; "It was last minute, and I couldn't call you when I got home. I thought we would just use whoever was called and it would be fine."
K; "I do like emails, and texts are fine too. It would have been nice to know at all so I could inform the cast; now they are unaware and might not wear appropriate shoes or clothing. Were you anticipating running scenes at all?"
D; "I figured setting the set up would take most of the time...and we would cut out early."
K; "Okay, well tonight is the only night we have Oberon. He's gone all week, remember?"

The scenic designer and I then sat down and figured out how she could take a couple people and we could still rehearse. We were able to...except the 2 actors who were sent to help the designer ended up stay 40 minutes past when the actors who were running scenes had to. (Spaces were 20 minutes apart)


There have been a LOT of problems with the director and information. Including my payment. He almost promised me a flat fee of $600 for doing this show, and it's been dropped to $150. He never talked to the board, I had to email the producer to ask about my payment.

I am sorry for writing so much, I guess I just want someone to tell me if I did alright. My last SM gig, my director basically tore at my confidence as a stage manager (and person), and I want to make sure that this is actually something I'll at least be able to try establishing a career in. Has anyone else had any experiences like this?

I was dumbfounded. I mean, it may be hard to do your job WELL, but it's really easy to just DO your job!

Any thoughts/comments/funny stories would be MUCH appreciated.

Edit to subject line-Rebbe

[On_Headset]

Before you do anything else, a key question:

Is this what the company has always done? Has a load-in always been done on more or less this schedule, with more or less this level of attention to detail, with more or less the same notice given and expectations concerning use of cast members?

If so, this isn't actually a problem. The director should still have told you and clearly has some issues about communicating with key personnel, but there's nothing intrinsically wrong with community theatre load-ins happening under the circumstances you describe. (Heads would roll on a union show, but this isn't Equity.)

You may still want to have a word with company management about planning it better in future (just because it's always been done a certain way doesn't mean it can't be improved), but you probably won't get far arguing that the process is inherently dysfunctional. (If the company thought there were obvious or inherent problems with the approach, you'd already be approaching it differently.)

[Kaleigh.Knights]

We actually had load-in already scheduled for July 14th.  As far as I know, they don't usually do it under these type of circumstances.  I guess it's just such a foreign idea to me.  It just makes sense in my mind that we let the actors know ahead of time so they don't wear flip flops, etc (which most of them were). But, I can see what you mean.

[SMrose]

Is your schedule in writing?  Do you have regular production meetings (say every other week) where things can be discussed in advance.  You said you're the TD: Where is the SM in all this and why isn't s/he notifying all of changes? (Or do you wear both hats?)

[Kaleigh.Knights]

Is your schedule in writing?  Do you have regular production meetings (say every other week) where things can be discussed in advance.  You said you're the TD: Where is the SM in all this and why isn't s/he notifying all of changes? (Or do you wear both hats?)

I am the TD for the University, and the SM for the community theatre show. They aren't connected. (Except the show stored their set in my shop, which is why the designer came to my office.)

As the SM, I wasn't notified of the change until less than 20 minutes before rehearsal.

We have had no production meetings yet, but the schedule was passed out via email and a printed Google calender.

[DeeCap]

It sounds like you did the best you could in this situation. The set arrived, rehearsal happened, and no one was injured.  If the theatre does some sort of post mortem following the production then inform them that load-ins should not come as a surprise.

Only you can decide if stage managing is the right path for you. I'm sorry that a director bruised your ego, but throughout this industry you will encounter directors, designers, actors, etc that can unintentionally chip away your confidence. It's up to you to grow a tough skin and know what it takes to get the work done. 
I've been at this for sixteen years and I still have to say to myself, "Okay, it's time to grow a set" 

[Rebbe]

You did alright.  Here is some of the evidence I see :
1.  You had a good enough relationship with the set designer that she came to talk to you before rehearsal.
2.  One of your first thoughts was to consider actor safety and comfort (appropriate clothes and shoes)
3.  You didn’t dwell in panic land, instead you worked out a plan to make the load-in work
4.  You gave the director options for contacting you in the future, other than by phone. 
5.  You demonstrated that you were looking out for the best interest of the show by mentioning that Oberon had limited availability, so the director had a chance to reconsider before inadvertently missing a chance to rehearse that actor

I agree that to some extent, you need to develop a thick skin to SM.  One thing to remind yourself of is that you are often the most readily available and safest person people have in rehearsal to vent their frustrations to.  Often it really is not about you personally, it’s about you-as-SM, which is not the same thing.  Some people are jerks out of arrogance, or insecurity, or because they think SMs are failed actors...you usually can't change people, but you can change how you react to them, and whether you allow them to bring you down.  As you move forward in your career, you always have the option of saying no to working with people or companies who tear you down. 

[hbelden]

About the stipend - next time, don't start work on a show without a signed contract that states a specific fee.  When you get called to the first meeting about the show, ask if you'll be signing your contract at that meeting; when you talk to the producer about the first rehearsal, ask if contracts (for yourself and the actors) will be ready for signing before the rehearsal actually starts.

If you're getting paid for a show, you have the right to know exactly how much before you start working on it.

[planetmike]

I like the contract advice. Several years ago I was supposed to stage manage a summer pseudo-professional show. It ended up getting canceled the week before rehearsals were to start. All the time I (and others) spent in pre-production meetings and auditions ended up being as a donation to nothing. Sigh. If I ever get paid to SM again, there will be a contract.

[Kaleigh.Knights]

Thank you all for the advice!
 
As for the contract; I really should have. I see that now. This is my first non-educational gig and so I'm still trying to find my footing. One thing that made it awkward for me was that the director and I have been friends for a long time. We drove to Boston and back in a day (12 hours of driving) and we didn't turn the radio on at all because we were talking so much. So, I thought that I could trust him. I had no idea what I was getting into. I love him as a friend, but he is a nightmare professionally. Next time, there will be a contract, FOR SURE.

I have always been sensitive to what others thought. But, I've also known my worth. I think what made it so bad was that it was supposed to be an educational experience, and I didn't feel I was given the chance to learn or grow. I was told in my post mortem meeting with my mentor that they almost took me off the show completely, and gave me tech as my "last chance". I was really hurt by that, because, while I knew I wasn't doing a perfect job, I had NO idea that they thought I was doing so poorly. I had no chance to fix things while they were happening, because I didn't know what I was doing wrong.
I understand that I will meet directors, actors, and lots of other people who are going to try to tear me down, or are going to do it unwittingly....but I think that there are certain circumstances that call for different behavior. I am in college, and I'm trying to learn by doing. I can't teach myself everything, and I think it is/was unfair for them to treat me the way they did.
I hope I don't come off as whiny. I'm still sore about it.

I love stage managing, I love it with all my heart. I want to get better, I want to learn. And so, I thank you all for helping me and taking the time to talk about these things. I know that is what this board is for, but I appreciate it so much.

[lawvd]

Before you do anything else, a key question:

Is this what the company has always done? Has a load-in always been done on more or less this schedule, with more or less this level of attention to detail, with more or less the same notice given and expectations concerning use of cast members?

If so, this isn't actually a problem. The director should still have told you and clearly has some issues about communicating with key personnel, but there's nothing intrinsically wrong with community theatre load-ins happening under the circumstances you describe. (Heads would roll on a union show, but this isn't Equity.)

I can't tell you how much I disagree with this. People working for free or for token payment deserve AT LEAST as good working conditions as those who are making their living. If this is an example of standard practice with this company, it makes a strong argument for never working with them again.